[Jay T. Robbins oral history interview]

Fighter ace Jay T. Robbins is interviewed about his military service with the United States Army Air Corps during World War II. He describes his wartime experiences as a fighter pilot, including his time in the Pacific Theater with the 80th Fighter Squadron. Topics discussed include his personal background, his service and training history, notable combat missions in Papua New Guinea, and the courtship between him and his wife Ina, who served in the Pacific with the Army Nurse Corps.

The interview is conducted by John Florea, a former war correspondent for Life Magazine; by fellow fighter ace Eugene A. Valencia; and by an unidentified man.

Jay T. Robbins was born on September 16, 1919 in Coolidge, Texas. He graduated from Texas A&M with a reserve commission through ROTC and entered active duty with the Infantry in 1941. Soon after, he applied for flight training with the Army Air Corps, receiving his pilot’s wings in 1942. Deployed to the Southwest Pacific Theater, Robbins served with the 80th Fighter Squadron, known as the Headhunters. In 1944, he was appointed squadron commander and later became deputy group commander of the 8th Fighter Group. During his combat tour, he met Ina Louise Priest, an Army nurse stationed in Australia, and the two were wed while serving overseas together. Robbins remained in the military after the war and went on to serve in a number of command and staff positions, including with Tactical Air Command, the Twelfth Air Force, and Military Airlift Command. He retired as a lieutenant general in 1974 and passed away in 2001.