Mayhew Foster | |
|---|---|
| Nickname | Bo |
| Born | (1911-10-09)October 9, 1911 Richmond, Virginia, U.S. |
| Died | March 21, 2011(2011-03-21) (aged 99) Missoula, Montana, U.S. |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Branch | United States Air Force |
| Rank | Brigadier general |
| Unit | Montana Air National Guard |
| Awards | Silver Star Légion d'Honneur |
Mayhew Y. "Bo" Foster (October 9, 1911 – March 21, 2011)[1] was an American soldier who flew capturedNazi war criminalHermann Göring from Austria to Germany for interrogation by the7th Army.[2][3] For his actions inWorld War II, Foster was awarded both theSilver Star and theLégion d'Honneur.[2][3]
Göring was convicted of war crimes, but in October 1946 before he could be hanged by the Nuremberg authorities, he committed suicide by taking acyanide capsule someone had smuggled to him.[2]
By October 1945, Foster was back in the United States, having flown seventyreconnaissance combat missions during his wartime service. He returned to his adopted home state ofMontana, where he was appointed as lieutenant colonel in theMontana Army National Guard. He was thereafter promoted to brigadier general, a rank that he held from 1963 until 1971.[4]
A native ofRichmond,Virginia, Foster graduated in 1937 with a degree in English fromYale University inNew Haven,Connecticut.[4] He and his wife, Virginia Lou Foster (February 15, 1916 – May 7, 1993),[1] were married in 1940. The couple had one daughter, Susan Carol Foster Korkalo (1944–2007).[1][4]
Foster died at the age of ninety-nine in a nursing home inMissoula, Montana. His last city of residence wasLivingston inPark County, Montana. Survivors included son-in-law Roy E. Korkalo of Livingston, grandson Chris Korkalo, and a sister, Priscilla F. Howell.[4]
