Hometown: Jefferson City, TN
Branch: U.S. Air Force
Unit: 12th Fighter-Bomber Squadron, 18th Fighter-Bomber Wing
Military Honors: Air Medal, Purple Heart
Date of Sacrifice: April 13, 1952 - KIA southeast of Chŏngju, North Korea
Age: 22
Conflict: Korean War, 1950-1953

“Al” Bettis lived in Jefferson City, Tennessee—at the southern tip of the Cherokee Reservoir—with his parents, Rue and Cecile, and his older sister Dorothy. His father was a rural mail carrier out of nearby Dandridge, Tennessee.

Al’s mother, Cecile, told The Standard Banner that as a boy, he “was always eager to fly,” and that his room was filled with model airplanes.

After graduating from Jefferson City High School in 1947, Bettis attended Carson-Newman College from 1947-1948 and the University of Tennessee from 1948-1950, majoring in Civil Engineering.

In August 1950, Bettis enlisted in the United States Air Force. According to his niece, Angelyn Bales, “His father (my grandfather) told Allan not to join the Air Force if there were recruiters on campus at The University of Tennessee. That’s exactly what Allan did. He wanted to be a pilot.”

Bettis spent six months in primary and basic flying training at Randolph Field in Universal City, Texas. He was then sent to the Advanced Flying Training School at Craig Field in Selma, Alabama, where he earned his pilot wings. Commissioned as a second lieutenant, Bettis was transferred to Luke Air Force Base near Phoenix, Arizona, for gunnery training. 

Trained as a fighter pilot, Bettis was assigned to the 12th Fighter-Bomber Squadron, 18th Fighter-Bomber Wing, and sent to Korea in January of 1952. Two years earlier, his squadron had deployed to the combat zone.

In Korea, Bettis flew the F-51D Mustang (tail number 45-11736)—a fast fighter-bomber aircraft with a range of more than 2,000 miles, known for its superb performance at low altitudes. The Mustang was ideal for destroying enemy vehicles, warehouses, factories, bridges, troop concentrations, railroad supply lines, and anti-aircraft sites.

Bettis was promoted to first lieutenant and awarded the Air Medal after flying 20 dangerous missions over Korea. His citation reads:

While participating in aerial flights against the enemy forces in North Korea, First Lieutenant Allan S. Bettis distinguished himself by meritorious achievement. By completing numerous combat missions in F-51 aircraft from 30 January to 26 March 1952 he contributed greatly to the success of the United Nations’ Forces and effectively damaged the military potential of the enemy. Many of the flights were exceptionally hazardous because of the long distance flown over enemy held territory, during which time enemy contact was probable and expected. By his courage, aggressiveness and initiative in the face of the enemy, Lieutenant Bettis reflected great credit upon himself and the United States Air Force.

On April 13, 1952—Easter Sunday—1st Lt. Bettis took off in his Mustang from Hoengsong Air Base with three other aircraft. He would not return. In a letter written to Bettis’s family, Air Force Lt. Col. Joseph T. Crane, Jr., of the 12th Fighter-Bomber Squadron, recounted Bettis’s 26th and final mission:

I know that you are terribly upset and in an effort to relieve some of the uncertainty and anguish I will attempt to reconstruct as well as possible the events leading up to Al’s accident. Al departed K-46 [Hoengsong] Air Base in Korea at 16:45 on April 13, 1952 with a flight of four aircraft. Their mission was to bomb rail lines 6 miles Southeast of Chongju on the Northwest coast of North Korea. The flight to the target was uneventful and the dive bomb run was started. From pilot reports Al’s aircraft was seen, apparently hit by anti-aircraft fire and out of control. The aircraft was observed to crash with no evidence of a parachute. The pilots with him immediately searched the adjoining area of the crash but no signs of life were observed.

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency listed Bettis as unaccounted-for and later presumed dead, “Because the crash occurred in enemy territory, no further searches were conducted. No returning POWs mentioned having contact with 1st Lt Bettis, nor was he seen at any known holding point, interrogation center, hospital, or permanent POW camp.”

First Lieutenant Allan Shields Bettis was 22 years old when he was lost in North Korea.

In Honolulu, Hawaii, 1st Lt. Bettis is memorialized at Court 8 in the “Courts of the Missing” at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. His name is also engraved on the Wall of Remembrance at the Korean War Veterans Memorial, on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. (Panel 98).

Sources
Details provided by Angelyn Bales, 1st Lt. Bettis’s niece
Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency: 1st Lt. Allan Shields Bettis
Standard Banner, Apr. 5, 1951: Local Student Completing Study To Get “Wings”
Grainger County News, Sep. 26, 1951: Lt. Allan Bettis Home Recently On Furlough
East Tennessee Veterans Memorial Association: Allan S. Bettis
U.S. Department of Military Affairs: Veterans Legacy Memorial—Allan Shields Bettis
The Knoxville News-Sentinel, Apr. 27, 1952: Fighter Pilot, Allan Bettis, Is Missing
Standard Banner, Jan. 6, 1954: Lieut. Allan Bettis, Missing In Korea Since April 13, 1952, Now “Presumed To Be Dead”, His Parents Here Notified
The Knoxville Journal, Apr. 29, 1952: Flier Missing In Korea On His 26th Mission
Truckbusters from Dogpatch—The Combat Diary of the 18th Fighter-Bomber Wing In the Korean War, 1950-1953: p. 476, Combat Losses in April: 1st Lt. Allan Shields Bettis
Burial Site: Find a Grave