Raymond H Fredette

Raymond H. Fredette, age 98, of Alexandria, Virginia passed away on Friday, August 5, 2022. Raymond was born April 26, 1924. Raymond graduated from Gardener High School in 1942 and entered the Air Force on Dec, 4 the same year. Going on active duty in January 1943, he was trained in the U.S. as a B-17 togglier, assigned to the Eighth Air Force in England. He flew 31 combat missions over Germany in 1944 and 1945, and was with the Army of Occupation in Germany from late 1945 to spring of 1946, remaining in the active Air Force Reserves. He earned a degree in History from Tufts University and a master’s degree in International Relations from Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. In 1946, he married the former Pamela M. Dorsey of Derby, England, who joined him here. He was recalled to active duty in 1951 as a French interpreter in Morocco, serving until 1952. He attained the rank of first lieutenant in 1952 and attended the Russian language school of Syracuse University for a year. He was intelligence officer with the Air Defense Command from 1954 to 1956 and with USAFE in Frankfurt, Germany from 1956 to 1959. An Air Force ROTC instructor at Stevens Institute of Technology at Hoboken, N.J. from 1959 to 1963, his next assignments were staff instructor for the Defense Intelligence School in Washington, D.C. from 1963 to 1966; intelligence officer Headquarters, Military Assistance Command in Saigon, Vietnam in 1966 and 1967, and foreign liaison officer, headquarters, USAF, at the Pentagon until 1969. His last assignment after he came back from Vietnam was with the Office of Air Force History at the Pentagon researching Air Force recipients of the Medal of Honor. He holds the Bronze Star, Air Medal with four Oak Leaf Clusters, EAME Campaign Ribbon with four battle stars, Defense Meritorious Medal, Joint Service Commendation Medal and Air Force Commendation Medal. After his retirement in 1970, he wrote to aviator Charles A. Lindbergh, who held a peace time Medal of Honor for his famous flight. The two met for dinner at the Army and Navy Club in Washington to discuss the possibility of a book. Lindbergh agreed to cooperate in the writing of a book about his military activities and the men became well acquainted over those years. Lindbergh gave Col. Fredette unrestricted access to his papers at Yale University and other depositories, the project expanding when Anne Morrow Lindbergh authorized him to write her husband’s biography. When Col. Fredette’s research and writing led to a standoff with his publisher of Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich, the book was never published. He is the author of many articles on aviation history and an earlier book, “The Sky On Fire,” about the origins of strategic bombing in World War I. The book was reissued as a volume in the Smithsonian History of Aviation Series and recently republished by the University of Alabama. Widowed in January 2010, his son Paul, a former student counselor at Taipei American School in Taiwan, predeceased him in May, 2015. He was also predeceased by his brother George H. Fredette in 2011. He is survived by a sister-in-law Stazy Fredette, a nephew Stephen Fredette, and his wife Patricia Fredette, and a host of relatives and friends.

Contributions can be made to Good Shepherd housing.

A graveside service for Raymond will be held Wednesday, December 14, 2022 from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM at Arlington National Cemetery, 1 Memorial Ave, Arlington, VA 22211.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.DemaineFuneralHomes.com for the FREDETTE family.