George Mobbs (1920–2022)

A native of Wooster (Faulkner County), George Mobbs spent decades in military service, including time as a fighter pilot during World War II.

Born on March 25, 1920, to George Mobbs and Ola Salter Mobbs, George Dalton Mobbs was the youngest of four children. As a child, he worked in various family ventures, including a cotton gin, sawmill, sorghum mill, and grist mill. In the eleventh grade, Mobbs joined the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and worked on various projects at Oark (Johnson County), Centerville (Yell County), and Monticello (Drew County). While in Centerville, Mobbs graduated from high school, and he later studied at what is now the University of Arkansas at Monticello (UAM). Mobbs’s father died in 1939, and he returned to Faulkner County to help his mother.

While taking courses at Arkansas State Teachers College (now the University of Central Arkansas) in Conway (Faulkner County), Mobbs became one of five students at the institution selected for flight training. After taking courses with Starnes Flying Service in Conway in 1940, Mobbs left college to become a cadet in the United States Army Air Corps in February 1941. He received a commission as a second lieutenant in September, along with his pilot wings. His first active unit was the Eighth Pursuit Squadron on Long Island, New York, for which he flew P-39s, P-40s, P-36s, P-43s, and P-47s.

In July 1942, Mobbs moved with the Sixty-fourth Fighter Squadron as part of the Fifty-seventh Fighter Group across the Atlantic onboard the USS Ranger. From Lagos, Nigeria, the men flew across Africa to Palestine, via Egypt. While stationed in the North African Theater, Mobbs and his comrades escorted planes belonging to the British Royal Air Force, South African Air Force, and Royal Australian Air Force, as well as American aircraft. As a fighter pilot, Mobbs was tasked with protecting bombers as they made runs against German positions. He also participated in dive-bombing and ground-strafing missions against the German Afrika Corps. During an escort mission with South African bombers on December 8, 1942, Mobbs’s plane was attacked by multiple German fighters. During the fight, seventy-four holes were shot into his plane, and he was wounded in the left thigh. Despite the intensity of the attack, Mobbs shot down one of the enemy planes and crash-landed at his home airfield. For the entire campaign, Mobbs received credit for shooting down four enemy aircraft.

Returning to the United States in 1943, Mobbs held several posts for the remainder of the war, including administrative positions with two squadrons and command of the 14th Fighter Squadron. While serving, Mobbs married Juanita Patton of Little Rock (Pulaski County) on June 20, 1944; they had three sons.

While stationed at the Venice Army Air Base in Florida, Mobbs evacuated 131 planes from the facility in the face of an approaching hurricane; his wife had to evacuate on her own. Mobbs received a letter of commendation for the evacuation.

After the war, Mobbs remained in the Army Air Corps and later transferred to the United States Air Force. He earned a degree in accounting from the University of Arkansas (UA) in Fayetteville (Washington County) in 1948. On active duty until 1966, Mobbs served in the Philippines, Vietnam, and Okinawa, as well as at the Pentagon. His roles included the director of value engineering. He earned multiple honors, including the Purple Heart, the Air Medal (with seven oakleaf clusters), the Distinguished Flying Cross (with one oakleaf cluster), and the Distinguished Flying Cross from the Royal Air Force.

Upon retirement at the rank of colonel, Mobbs operated an accounting firm in Little Rock. Juanita died in 1989, and Mobbs married Gwen Duke-Bartels in 1990. He died on November 14, 2022, and is buried with Juanita in Rest Hills Memorial Park in North Little Rock (Pulaski County).

For additional information:
“Boozman Shares Service Memories of 101-Year-Old Arkansas Veteran.” John Boozman, United States Senator for Arkansas, October 29, 2021. https://www.boozman.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2021/10/boozman-shares-service-memories-of-101-year-old-arkansas-veteran (accessed November 20, 2024).

Dishongh, Kim, “George Mobbs, 101, Was WWII Flying Ace.” Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, June 27, 2021, pp. 1D, 7D. Online at https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2021/jun/27/george-mobbs-101-was-wwii-flying-ace/ (accessed November 20, 2024).

“George D. Mobbs.” American Air Museum in Britain https://www.americanairmuseum.com/archive/person/george-d-mobbs (accessed November 20, 2024).

David Sesser
Southeastern Louisiana University