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Fritz E Wolf 1916 - 1997

Fritz William Emil Wolf of Middleton, Dane County, WI was born on February 8, 1916 in Shawano, Shawano County, and died at age 81 years old on April 24, 1997 in Middleton, Dane County. Fritz Emil was buried at Woodlawn Cemetery Sunset Blvd, in Shawano, Shawano County.

Fritz William Emil Wolf
Fredrick Emil Wolf
Name
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Middleton, Dane County, WI 53562
Last residence
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February 8, 1916
Shawano, Shawano County, Wisconsin, 54166, United States
Birth
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April 24, 1997
Middleton, Dane County, Wisconsin, United States
Death
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Updated: November 11, 2023
Biography ID: 55753774 What's this
Fritz E Wolf Fritz Emil (1916 - 1997)
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Fritz William Emil Wolf's History: 1916 - 1997

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  • 02/8
    1916

    Birthday

    February 8, 1916
    Birthdate
    Shawano, Shawano County, Wisconsin 54166, United States
    Birthplace
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  • Ethnicity & Family History

    Fredrick William Emil Wolf (Fritz) was born on February 8, 1916 to parents William Frances Wolf and Helen Bessie Safford. His mother Helen was born on February 19, 1897 in Manawa, Waupaca County, Wisconsin, USA. She passed away in 1919 in Shawano, Wisconsin, USA. His father William was born on April 28, 1884 in Wisconsin, USA and grew up in Shawano, Wisconsin, USA. He passed away there on September 19, 1967.

  • Nationality & Locations

    Fritz was born in Shawano, Wisconsin, USA and grew up in Shawano, Wisconsin, USA. He and his wife, Martha, resided in Madison, Wisconsin, USA. They moved to Madison in 1946 where they lived until Martha's death in 1984. He remarried and then moved to Middleton, Wisconsin where he lived until his death in 1997.

  • Early Life & Education

    Fritz Wolf attended Shawano High School where he excelled in athletics, acidemia, and leadership. He was on the football team that won the conference and on the basketball team that went to the state playoffs in Madison in 1933. He was also the Vice President of his senior class. After graduating from Shawano High School in 1933 he received a basketball scholarship from Carroll College in Waukesha, Wisconsin. Interestingly he never played basketball for the school but turned to football where he became all conference fullback for three straight years during the four years he was there. During that time the school only lost one game while he was there. He graduated in 1938 with a degree in business administration.

  • Military Service

    In 1939, Fritz Wolf enlisted in the U.S. Navy and became a Naval Aviator. He served as a Dive-Bomber pilot on the USS Saratoga in 1940. His skills garnered attention, leading to his selection as one of the fliers to be feature in the movie "Dive Bomber," portraying Uncle Sam's Dive-Bomber pilots before the war. In the summer of 1941, Fritz volunteered for the AVG (American Volunteer Group) Flying Tigers. Sailing with the inaugural group of AVG pilots from San Francisco on July 6, 1941, aboard the Jaegersfontein, Fritz Wolf, under the guise of an "agriculture student," spent the first month learning Chennault's tactics to combat Japanese pilots. On December 20, 1941, he participated in the Flying Tiger's first action near Kunming, China, downing two Mitsubishi bombers and assisting in downing a 3rd. In February, over the skies of Rangoon Burma he was able to shoot down 3 planes but because his combat records where lost he did not receive credit for them. On April 8, 1942, near Loiwing, China, Fritz successfully shot down two fighters. Fritz was honorably discharged when the AVG/Flying Tigers were disbanded on July 4, 1942, after logging 220 hours of combat flying in the skies over Burma and China. After returning to the Navy as a Lieutenant, senior grade, Fritz Wolf assumed the role of a fighter pilot instructor at the Jacksonville Naval Air Station in Florida. Following the training of his team, they were deployed to Guam and assigned to the USS Hornet on January 8, 1945. Piloting Grumman F6F Hellcats, Fritz and his squadron conducted missions over Japanese targets in Hong Kong, Formosa, Hainan Island, and French Indo-China. On the 1st of February he was made skipper of VBF-3 aboard the USS Yorktown. On February 16th Fritz lead his squadron on two fighter sweeps to knock out targets in the Tokyo, Japan. They were the first Naval Pilots to attack Japan. His Squadron received the Presidential Unit Citation and Fritz received the Distinguish Flying Cross. He also shoot down his 5th plane to make him a ace. Concluding the war as the executive officer at the Naval Auxiliary Air Station, Brown Field, Wolf left the Navy in 1946 to join the Wisconsin State Aeronautical Commission, retiring from the Naval Reserves as Commander in 1967. During his military career, Wolf earned awards including: White Cloud Banner 6th Grade, China Air Force Wings 2 & 4 Star, China War Memorial Decoration, Two Distinguished Flying Crosses, Air Medal, Presidential Unit Citation Award, WWII Victory Medal, Asiatic Pacific Campaign Medal Three Star, Philippine Liberation Medal One Star.

  • Professional Career

    Fritz was the first paid employee of the Wisconsin State Aeronautical Commission, later assumed leadership roles, serving as the Wisconsin Director of Aeronautics and Bureau Director of Wisconsin's Department of Transportation. He retired in May of 1981. Recognized for his achievements, Wolf was inducted into the Wisconsin Aviation Hall of Fame in 1989, and in 2006, the State Aviation Facility at Dane County Regional Airport was renamed the Fritz E. Wolf Aviation Center in his honor. He also received over a dozen Aviation awards during his 35 years of distinguish service to the Sate of Wisconsin.

  • Personal Life & Family

    On August 4, 1942 he married Martha Catherine Moyer (1921–1984) at a family wedding in San Diego, California, USA. The service was performed by Martha's father who was a Navy Chaplain. The couple had three children together including a daughter named Catherine Mabel Wolf (1945-2006), Linda L. Wolf (1947 - ) and Richard A. Wolf (1949 - ). After Martha's passing, Frtiz remarried on July 5, 1986 to Kathleen Keleny Meuer (1924-2019). He was 70 at the time and she was 61 years old.
  • 04/24
    1997

    Death

    April 24, 1997
    Death date
    Death was due to a blood clot after a hip transplant.
    Cause of death
    Middleton, Dane County, Wisconsin United States
    Death location
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  • Gravesite & Burial

    mm/dd/yyyy
    Funeral date
    Woodlawn Cemetery Sunset Blvd, in Shawano, Shawano County, Wisconsin 54166, United States
    Burial location
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10 Memories, Stories & Photos about Fritz

Fritz E Wolf
Photo of Richard Wolf Richard Wolf
20 favorites
09/22/2023
Fritz E Wolf
This picture was taken after Fritz returned from China in 1942. He was one of the pilots that flew with the American Volunteer Group/AVG/Flying Tigers from July 1941 to July 1942. He was credited with destroying two bombers and two fighters in the air.
Date & Place:
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Fritz E Wolf
Photo of Richard Wolf Richard Wolf
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09/22/2023
Fritz E Wolf
This is the Fritz E. Wolf Aviation Center at the Dane County Reginal Airport in Madison, Wisconsin.
Date & Place: Not specified or unknown.
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Fritz E Wolf
Photo of Richard Wolf Richard Wolf
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09/22/2023
Fritz E Wolf
This picture is Fritz's Honorable Discharge from the American Volunteer Group that fought for the Chinese people from July 1941 to July 1942
Date & Place: at Kunming, China in Yunnan China
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Fritz E Wolf
Photo of Richard Wolf Richard Wolf
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09/22/2023
Fritz E Wolf
This picture is of Fritz Wolf and his combat team. Fritz is in the center. This picture was taken on the Aircraft Carrier the USS Yorktown. Better known as the Fighting Lady. Fritz was the Squadron Commander VBF-3.
Date & Place: at USS Yorktown CV-10 in the South Pacific
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Fritz E Wolf
Photo of Richard Wolf Richard Wolf
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09/22/2023
Fritz E Wolf
These are news paper clippings that Fritz's Mother clipped from news papers. The news paper clippings tell the story about Fritz Wolf and his Squadron VBF-3. They were the first Naval Aviators to bomb targets on mainland Japan. Fritz lead two fighter sweeps on Feb 16th, 1945. His squadron shot down 24 Japanese aircraft and received the Presidential Unit Citation and Fritz received the Distinguish Flying Cross.
Date & Place:
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Fritz E Wolf
Photo of Richard Wolf Richard Wolf
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09/22/2023
Fritz E Wolf
This is Fritz's Distinguish Flying Cross Citation.
Date & Place:
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Fritz Emil's Family Tree & Friends

Fritz Emil's Family Tree

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Fritz E Wolf
Fritz E Wolf Feb 8, 1916 - Apr 24, 1997
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Other Biographies

Other Emil Family Biographies

Emil, Pelagia (Jan 22, 1902 - Jun 1991) Emil, Kate (Nov 20, 1900 - Jan 1987) Emil, Helen (Sep 15, 1904 - Nov 1969) Emil, Mary (Jun 26, 1911 - Dec 19, 2000) Emil, Mollie (Apr 28, 1910 - Oct 1995) Emil, Arthur (Dec 29, 1924 - Jul 6, 2010) Emil, Bertha (Feb 6, 1902 - Sep 1989) Emil, Nathan (Jul 14, 1898 - Jun 4, 1989) Emil, Bernard (Mar 31, 1917 - Feb 24, 2001) Emil, Gerald (Feb 14, 1949 - Apr 20, 2003)
Emil, Frieda (Feb 27, 1910 - Mar 1987) Emil, Nathaniel (Sep 7, 1910 - Nov 27, 2002) Emil, Anna (Jul 16, 1895 - Apr 1984) Emil, Charles (Sep 28, 1891 - Jul 1982) Emil, Harry (Jul 10, 1904 - Oct 17, 1990) Emil, Jacob (Sep 9, 1891 - Feb 1966) Emil, Joseph (Jul 17, 1898 - Apr 12, 1989) Emil, Henry (Mar 18, 1910 - Dec 25, 1998) Emil, Ruth (Jun 4, 1930 - May 30, 2011) Emil, Irene (Aug 1, 1920 - Aug 27, 2010)
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