SAN ANTONIO: As an Air Force pilot, Col. Harold E. Fischer achieved the designation of ace during the Korean conflict and was a high-profile prisoner of war.
Colonel Fischer died April 30 in Las Vegas, Nev. He was 83.
Originally from Iowa, he joined the Navy after graduating from high school in 1944. He attended Iowa State University for two years after being discharged, then enlisted in the U.S. Army. He transferred to the Air Force in 1950.
Flying the F-86 Sabrejet, Colonel Fischer was credited with 10 kills against MiG-15 aircraft along Korea’s famed Mig Alley.
A captain at the time, he was shot down April 7, 1953, and was held as a prisoner of war at a location outside Mukden, Manchuria. During his time as a POW, he dug a hole through his cell wall and escaped before being recaptured at a railroad station. He and three other American pilots would continue to be held after the July 27, 1953, armistice and cease-fire agreement. Finally, the four were released May 31, 1955, by the Chinese in a move to ease tensions with the United States.
Colonel Fischer was a man modest of his accomplishments. However, his many decorations included the Silver Star, Distinguished Flying Cross and Distinguished Service Cross.
He is survived by his companion, Tsai Lan Gerth of Las Vegas, three sons, a daughter and five grandchildren.
