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"The Hunters" © Troy White, Oil on Canvas, 28" x 46"

Lt. Colonel Ed Heller and Capt. Dolph Overton III of the 16^th FS, 51^st FIW, head north looking for MiGs on January 22, 1953. On this day Heller, squadron CO, flying an F-86E-10 serial #51-2756 HELL-ER-BUST X shot down two MiGs to bring his score to 3.5 MiGs destroyed, adding to his 5.5 victories from WWII.

Meanwhile, Dolph Overton, flying an F-86E-1NA serial # 50-631 Dolph’s Devil, shot down a single MiG to bring his score to 3 MiGs destroyed. Before joining the 51^st FIW, Overton had flown 102 fighter-bomber missions in F-84s with the 8^th squadron of the 49^th FBW. Capt. Overton was nearing the end of his operational tour with the 51^st when, in what has been described as the hottest streak in USAF history, he shot down five MiGs in just four days thus earning the coveted Ace status.

The day after this depicted mission Lady Luck would turn her head as Lt. Col. Heller was shot down by a MiG over Manchuria. Though badly injured while bailing out, Heller survived. He went on to spend over two years in captivity before being released in 1955.

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