Small Town, Big Hero: Perry County Native & WWII Pilot Ray Littge
Captain Raymond Littge was born on October 18, 1923, in Altenburg, Missouri. Altenburg is a small city located in Perry County in the Southeast part of Missouri. It has strong ties with German American heritage as well as the Lutheran church. Littge was born into a poor German American farming family and was one of nine children.
Littge’s fascination with planes began at a young age. As a young boy, he built model planes with his brothers and saved up money with his father to buy planes from mail-order catalogs. As his love for aviation grew, he begged his mother to let him take flying lessons, and eventually, he was able to. Littge graduated from Perryville High School in May of 1942 with his pilot’s license.
On July 1, 1942, he enrolled in the Aviation Cadet Program of the Army Air Corps. He was inducted at Jefferson Barracks on January 19, 1943. Littge received his wings and was commissioned a 2nd Leutientant on December 5, 1943. From there, he was assigned to the 487th Fighter Squadron of the 352nd Fighter Group in England from June 1944 until returning to the US in 1945. He flew 391 combat hours during his year overseas and became Missouri’s top-ranked World War II fighter pilot.
Littge’s German heritage came into play during an assignment he received on May 7, 1945. His job was to debrief a German pilot who had defected with one of Hitler’s new jet aircraft. Because of his pilot status and fluent German, he played an instrumental role in obtaining information about the new German plane from the defected pilot.
His loyalty to the American cause is demonstrated through these actions, however, many German Americans faced strong waves of anti-German sentiment during both WWI and WWII. Many were forced to assimilate and give up their German traditions to fit into American society. In Missouri, people were more accepting of Germans and believed that they were loyal and hard-working citizens. This general attitude among Missourians may have played a role in Littge’s success.
After the end of WWII, Littge returned home and married his long-time sweetheart, Helen Fischer. One of his later planes was even nicknamed “Miss Helen” after her. Together, they had two children, George and Ray Junior. He left active duty on May 20, 1946, to serve in the Air Force Reserve and focus on his family but returned to active duty on March 17, 1947. Even as he worked in various other jobs, he continued to fly as a test pilot.
Ray Littge’s life came to a tragic end on May 20, 1949, when he was only 26 years old. He was killed in the crash of his F-84 Thunderjet near Maupin, Oregon, while he was serving with the 83rd Fighter Squadron of the 78th Fighter Group. His death is thought to be attributed to a faulty oxygen supply in the plane. Littge is buried at Trinity Lutheran Church Cemetery in his hometown of Altenburg, Missouri.
While Littge’s life was cut short, he still left a lasting impact during the war and on his German community in Perry County, Missouri. In addition to being Missouri’s top-ranked WWII fighter pilot, he received numerous awards and recognitions during his flying career. He earned the Distinguished Service Cross, a Silver Star, and a Distinguished Flying Cross, just to name a few.
Captain Raymond Littge came from the small, German-heritage town of Altenburg, Missouri, but he left an impactful legacy through his contributions during WWII. They established a granite monument to honor him in downtown Perryville. What started as a fascination with planes in his youth led to the development of one of Missouri’s best pilots and a significant military contributor during WWII.
