in China, probably with the expectation that he would serve as AMISSCA's liaison to the AVG, which was in need of experienced staff officers. He flew east on a Pan Am Clipper flying boat that was carrying tires and spare parts for the AVG fighter planes. The cargo was dumped, and Baumler and the aircraft returned after it was strafed at Wake Island on the morning of December 7, 1941 – the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. In February 1942, Baumler served in the 45th Pursuit Squadron, and in May he was sent to China as a U.S. Army captain. He was credited with two aerial victories, on June 3 and 22, though these cannot be confirmed, and the first is probably erroneous. From July 4, 1942, he served in the successor of the Flying Tigers, the 75th Fighter Squadron of the 23rd Fighter Group as a pilot and as squadron adjutant under Major David Lee "Tex" Hill. Flying P-40E fighters, he was credited with four or five further Japanese aircraft from July to September 1942, his last victories. From December 11, 1942, to February 18, 1943, he commanded the 74th FS. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and Air Medal, and was promoted to major. He seems to have been the first American pilot credited with destroying aircraft of all three Axis Powers. The end of the war resulted in the rapid demobilization of the Air Force and Baumler, lacking a college degree and with a history of drinking problems and former association with the Soviets, was turned down for a regular commission, and accepted a permanent rank of master sergeant in order to remain in the service. In the immediate postwar period, he served at Gander Air Force Base in Newfoundland. During the Korean War, he served as a Ground Controlled Approach (GCA) operator and was selected as the controller to direct the landing of General (and President-Elect) Dwight D. Eisenhower's plane when he made his famous visit to Korea. It is said that during the Korean War he was responsible for a radar interception unit and from the way some Migs were manoeuvering he identified some of the Russian pilots as his former wingmen in Spain. He used to refer to them, laughingly, as 'My Boys'. Baumler's final duty station was Perrin Air Force Base in Texas, where he met and married Erma Loraine Northern of