San Antonio, Texas >> In a ceremony on Oct. 17, Col. James A Gunn was awarded the Silver Star for gallantry in action 50 years ago.
Born in Kelseyville in 1912, Gunn joined the U.S. Army Air Force before World War II. Shot down during a raid near the Ploesti oil fields in Romania on Aug. 17, 1944, Gunn was repatriated shortly after, when the Romanian government quit the war.
He then rode to Italy in the fuselage of a Romanian ME-109 — a German-built fighter — to plan and help execute the liberation of more than 1,000 allied prisoners of war near Ploesti.
It became the largest airlift evacuation of POWs during the war.
Gunn remained in the military, retiring from the U.S. Air Force in 1966. He died in 1999.
Several of his relatives, including those with Kelseyville ties, attended the ceremony. Lt. Gen. Perry Wiggins, commanding general of the U.S. Army North, presided over the ceremony.
Family members, including Aileen Gunn, Bill Gunn, Ann Le and Jill Gunn, gathered in Texas as James Gunn (d. 1999) was awarded a Silver Star for action during World War Two. Gunn was born in Kelseyville. (Contributed Photo)
