Strana 46
P-51C, 42-103903, Lt. Lester L. Arasmith, 530
th
FS, 311
th
FG, China, 1944
P-51B, 43-7058, Capt. Burton N. Rodier Jr., 26
th
FS, 51
st
FG, China 1944
Lester Leroy Arasmith was born on June 9,
1924 in St. Joseph, Missouri. Just two months
after his 18
th
birthday, he enlisted in the
U.S. Army Reserve on August 5, 1942 and entered
the Aviation Cadet Program of the U.S. Army Air
Forces on February 4, 1943. He graduated and
was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant
on December 5, 1943. He then underwent
advanced fighter training in the Curtiss P-40
before transitioning to the North American P-51.
In August 1944, he arrived in the CBI Theater
and joined the 530
th
Fighter Squadron, part of
the 311
th
Fighter Group. He began operations
out of bases in Burma before the unit moved
forward into China. Arasmith flew grueling
dive-bombing, escort, and air defense missions
and was credited with six aerial victories, the
first one achieved on November 17, 1944 and the
last one on March 24, 1945. He was one of only
two pilots of 311
th
FG to achieve the Ace status
while assigned to 14
th
AF. After WWII, Arasmith
returned to active duty to serve as a fighter
pilot in the Korean War (flying F-51 Mustangs
and F-80 Shooting Stars) and later deployed
as a Group Commander during the Vietnam
War. Colonel Arasmith retired from the military
in 1969 and passed away in 2019 at the age
of 95. This Mustang was named „Penny“ and was
adorned with cutouts of Vargas girls from the
famous Esquire calendar. Arasmith later named
another Mustang as „Princess“.
Burton N. Rodier Jr. was born on September
8, 1920, in Los Angeles, California. A gifted
student, he was accepted to the prestigious
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).
After the attack on Pearl Harbor, he decided to
volunteer for military service. He enlisted in the
USAAF, passed the rigorous military selection
process, and successfully completed full pilot
training. Thanks to his abilities and leadership
potential, he was quickly promoted to the rank
of Captain. He was deployed to the China-
Burma-India (CBI) theater of operations, where
he became a member of the 26
th
FS, which was
part of the 51
st
FG of the 14
th
AF of the USAAF.
This group was responsible for protecting key
supply routes, conducting attacks on ground
targets, and defending Chinese cities and Allied
bases against Japanese air raids. Rodier named
his Mustang, Army serial number 43-7058,
“JEANNE III.” On September 5, 1944, Capt. Rodier
was returning to his home airfield, Kunming
Airdrome, in southern China. The area was
experiencing adverse weather conditions with
low cloud cover. The pilot likely lost his sense
of direction in the thick clouds and crashed his
Mustang at full speed into the Wai Chen Shan
mountain range. He died three days before
his 24
th
birthday. After the war, his remains
were exhumed and returned to his homeland.
Today, he is buried at the Golden Gate National
Cemetery in San Bruno, California. In China,
his sacrifice is permanently commemorated at
the official Memorial in Nanjing, which honors
foreign pilots who fell defending the country.
KITS 09/2026
INFO Eduard46
September 2026