Background
The collection of Colonel Harold E. Fischer, Jr. describes his military career and personal life before, during and after
his service as a fighter pilot in the Korean War. He was credited with shooting down 10 Soviet-made Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-1MiG-15
(MiGs) fighters, enough to qualify him as a double ace during the Korean War
On April 7, 1953, he parachuted into enemy territory, just north of the Yalu River, which separates North Korea from China
and held captive for more than two years by the Chinese government. Harold E. Fischer, Jr. and the other pilots captured
during the Korean War were released May 31, 1955.
Harold E. Fischer, Jr. was born May 8, 1925 and grew up on a farm outside of Lone Rock, Iowa. As a child he enjoyed reading
magazines about World War I Flying Aces. After attending Iowa State University for two years, he enlisted in the United States
Army. He transferred to the Air Force in 1950 and attended flight school at Williams Air Force Base in Chandler, AZ. After
his release from captivity, Colonel Fisher returned to Iowa State University to pursue a master’s degree in Industrial Administration.
During the Vietnam War, he flew 200 helicopter missions. His final active-duty assignment was with the Arms Control and Disarmament
Agency.
Fischer was married three times. His first marriage to Dorothy Herron and they had a son named Harold E. Fischer, III. The
marriage ended in divorce shortly before he was captured by the Chinese government. Harold, III, was six years old when he
was reunited with his father after being release from his captivity. An Air Force widow, Mary Jane Erickson, wrote to Fischer
during his captivity and the two married shortly after his release. His wife had a six-year-old daughter.
Later, Colonel Fischer had two more sons with Mary Jane, named Kurt and Clint, and a daughter who died in infancy. After
the couple divorced, he was married to Jean Cramlin. They had no children together and the marriage also ended in divorce.
He died on April 30. 2009. He was survived by his children and his companion at the time, Tsai Lan Gerth.