Colonel Livingston Gilson Irving (1895–1983): Decorated Aviator who flew in WWI and WWII

 

Colonel Irving & Burial Vault

Main Mausoleum - Section 8, 104, T4

Livingston Irving (1895–1983) was an American aviator, decorated war hero, and aviation pioneer whose flying career spanned more than six decades. Born in San Francisco, he was the son of Samuel C. Irving, mayor of Berkeley, California, and owner of the Paraffine Companies Inc., where Livingston also worked.

Irving began flying as a barnstormer in 1915 and joined the Lafayette Escadrille in 1918, later serving in the 103rd Aero Squadron of the U.S. Army Air Service during World War I. He earned the Distinguished Service Cross for extraordinary heroism in combat near Bantheville, France, where he attacked a formation of 11 enemy aircraft, downing one and forcing another to land. He was also awarded the French Croix de Guerre and is credited with one official aerial victory.

After the war, Irving remained active in aviation and became the first entrant in the ill-fated 1927 Dole Air Derby, a transpacific air race from California to Hawaii. Sponsored by Paraffine Companies employees, he flew a custom-built Breese-Wilde monoplane named Pabco Pacific Flyer, decorated with the Indian head insignia of his wartime unit. Though qualified as both pilot and navigator, his overloaded aircraft stalled and crashed during takeoff, disqualifying him from the race. Irving later donated his radio to fellow pilot William Portwood Erwin, who perished in a rescue attempt during the event that claimed ten lives.

The Irving Family and the Pabco Flyer

Irving later repurchased and rebuilt his plane into the Irving Cabin Monoplane "Redwing", which he planned to use as an airborne radio station. Under the call signs KHAC and later KFBI, he briefly broadcast from the skies over Hayward, California, until the Federal Radio Commission discontinued licenses for portable stations in 1928.

Recalled to active duty during World War II, Irving served as a squadron commander and B-17 pilot, attaining the rank of Colonel in the U.S. Air Force Reserve. A graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, he logged more than 10,000 flight hours without serious injury. He died in 1983 at the age of 87,