 Alden
Rigby was born in 1923 in Fairview Utah. He attended Brigham
Young University before entering the Aviation Cadet program
in 1943.
Rigby earned his wings in December 1943 at Spence
Field, Georgia, and was assigned to P-51 training at
Bartow, Florida in February 1944.
After briefly staying on as an instructor, Rigby requested
and received an assignment to the 352nd Fighter Group
at Bodney, England. His duties included dive-bombing,
strafing and bomber escort. In December 1944, Rigby
moved with the 352nd to Belgium to help fight in the
Battle of the Bulge.
In January 1945, Rigby found himself involved in Operation
Bodenplatte. The German operation included some 900
German aircraft assigned to hit 16 allied airfields
simultaneously and has since been called the most devastating
air-to-ground attack in World War II.
Rigby was the first plane in the air from his group
and, after the struggle of just getting airborne, he
found himself having to dodge ground fire, as well.
Of the four enemy planes destroyed by Rigby that day,
three were shot down after his gun sight failed.
After the battle, Rigby mistakenly claimed only ½ kills
on two of the downed planes. And it wasn’t until
September 2000 when the American Fighter Aces Association,
using only 8th Air Force official documentation, awarded
full kills to Rigby — as did the 352nd Fighter
Group, making him their 29th Ace and easily the last
Ace of WWII.
 Rigby’s squadron was the first and only to receive
the Presidential Citation. After WWII, Rigby was recalled
for the Korean conflict and spent three years in the
Air Defense Command in Kansas City with the added duty
of flying Navy fighter aircraft.
He remained with the Utah Air National Guard and was
also employed by the Federal Aviation Administration
as an air traffic controller for 25 years. Rigby was
recently elected to the Utah Aviation Hall of Fame. |
