On June 5, 1944, twenty C-47s carrying almost 300 specially trained paratroopers, known as the Pathfinders, were dropped behind enemy lines in Normandy. The Pathfinders were divided into 18 teams, one team per aircraft. Within each team, nine to fourteen men were signaling specialists, with radio sets and signal lanterns, with four to six men protecting the drop zone from the enemy. Once on the ground, their mission was to use their radios and lanterns to guide Allied aircraft onto the target areas, preparing for the airborne assault of some 13,000 paratroopers expected within an hour. One of these aircraft was flown by David Hamilton. Born in Watford, England in 1922, Hamilton spent his early years in Paris, before returning to New York City at age six. In 1942, Hamilton enlisted in the USAAF, graduating from pilot training with Class 43-C in Waco, Texas. Hamilton and the Pathfinders would later take part in the August 1944 invasion of Southern France, as well as the massive September daylight landings in Holland. Pathfinders from the 101st Airborne Division also jumped into Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge, using their beacons and lights to facilitate supply drops. Hamilton led that operation in a formation of 27 C-47s, of which only nine returned. As a civilian after the war, Hamilton flew C-47s and C-54s with Transair, a non-scheduled airline, as well as with American Overseas Airlines, where he flew Constellations. With the Korean War, he returned to the USAF in 1950 and flew with Military Air Transport Service. He served in Korea from June 1950 to November 1952, flying 51 missions in B-26 aircraft. His final active duty billet was Operations Officer of Air Evacuation at Bolling AFB. In 1953, he transferred from active duty to the reserves, serving with the Eastern Air Defense Command until retiring in 1964. He worked as an executive with a well-known food and liquor distributor. Hamilton passed away on January 5, 2025 at the age of 102.
Inducted in 2019.
Portrait Location: Modern Jet

Induction Video