Littge was the third most decorated pilot in the 352nd Fighter Group, earning the Distinguished Service Cross and the Silver Star. “Then he went down, they said it was a gradual decline, into the clouds and they never saw the crash, but they knew he was gone.” “They say his oxygen equipment gave out,” said Don Littge.
In May 1949 on a flight from his California base to Washington State, Littge, at the age of 25, died doing what he loved, flying. Ray returned to active duty, but this time was tasked with flying a new kind of plane, the F-84 thunder jet.
A couple years later they had their first child. “Her writing is amazing she has a great sense for writing the right stuff that’s in her own words and we used a lot of that in the book to support some of the facts occurred,” said Schmelig.Īfter Germany surrendered in 1945, Ray came back to Altenburg, to be with his wife. It tells the story of Raymond Littge using military records, flight logs, newspaper articles and a detailed diary kept by Richard’s mother, Ray’s only sister. Richard had the book, “Absolutely Fearless” commissioned. The people of Missouri should be proud of this guy,” said Schmelig. “These heroes are fast disappearing and it’s important to capture this information and get it out to the public. Several years ago, Don and his cousin, Richard Schmelig, teamed up for a project to make sure everyone knew the story of their uncle. Don has made it his life’s work to research, collect and tell the stories of his uncle. Raymond was born in 1923 in Altenburg, Missouri, in Perry County.
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