Reflections of Honor

Cuthbert Augustus "Bill" Pattillo and Charles Curtis ”Buck” Pattillo were twin brothers. They were also Air Force pilots, war heroes, founding members of the USAF’s Thunderbirds air demonstration squadron and the legendary Skyblazers aerobatic team, and full-fledged, United States Air Force Generals.

That Bill and Buck Pattillo excelled across multiple fields of endeavor is as obvious as it is improbable.

The Pattillo twins served their country as fighter pilots during the Second World War. While stationed in Europe with the 352nd Fighter Group, Bill scored six kills in his P-51 Mustang before being shot down over Bavaria and spending the remainder of the war in a German POW camp. Not to be outdone, Buck—who also flew with the 352nd—piloted his P-40 to a Distinguished Flying Cross and an Air Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters.

After the war, the Pattillos were instrumental in forming the Thunderbirds, in which Bill flew right-wing and Buck flew left-wing throughout the team’s 1953 inaugural and 1954 sophomore seasons. The Thunderbirds’ first international trip saw the Pattillos fly with Chuck Yeager—himself an aviator of some repute.

During their stint with the Thunderbirds, Bill and Buck Pattillo helped create many of the maneuvers for which the team is renowned, including the famous "Bomb Burst" finale.

The good times ended in 1954 when Bill was assigned command of the Air Force’s 3603rd Combat Training Crew at Luke Air Force Base.

Between the two of them, Bill and Buck Pattillo racked up two Air Force Distinguished Service Medal with oak leaf clusters; two Legion of Merit awards with a total of five Oak Leaf Clusters; two Distinguished Flying Crosses, each with an Oak Leaf Cluster; two Air Medals with a total of 23 Oak Leaf Clusters; two Army Commendation Medals; two Distinguished Unit Citation emblems, each with an Oak Leaf Cluster; a Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal; a Republic of Vietnam Honor Medal First Class; a Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal, a Silver Star, an Air Force Commendation Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, and two Croix de Guerre with palm.

In 2000, the Pattillo twins were inducted into the Georgia Aviation Hall of Fame.

Longevity, too, was among the victories to which the Pattillos laid claim. Bill passed in 2014 at the age of 89. Buck’s watch lasted until 2019, when he passed away at 94.

On 14 September 2022, in the midst of a weeklong celebration of the U.S. Air Force’s 75th anniversary, Generals Cuthbert Augustus and Charles Curtis Pattillo were honored in a rare inurnment ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery. The Thunderbirds honored the Generals with the team’s first ever dual missing man formation, which saw two of the squadron’s six F-16 Vipers pull heavenward, away from the Delta formation as the team overflew Arlington’s solemn and sacred vistas.

The Pattillo brothers, despite having richly earned their resting places among America’s honored military dead, agreed in life to delay the interment of their remains until both men and their wives had passed away. All four were laid to rest together.

FMI: www.af.mil