Colonel Edward F. Rector Memorial, Marshall
The memorial to Colonel Edward Rector consists of a bronze tablet attached to an irregular shaped stone slab about three-feet tall. Centered in the tablet’s upper half is a relief depiction of Rector in his World War II flying gear.
Images:
Bronze plaque |
Far-off view
COLONEL EDWARD F. RECTOR, USAAF / COLONEL EDWARD F. RECTOR, A NATIVE OF MADISON COUNTY, / NC, PROUDLY SERVED OUR COUNTRY IN WORLD WAR II AS A / MEMBER OF THE FLYING TIGERS / DONATED BY / VETERANS OF FOREIGN WARS POST 5483 / AND THE AMERICAN LEGION POST 317
Madison County
Late 2013 or early 2014
35.797510 , -82.684040
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“Col. Edward Rector – AVG Flying Tiger Ace,” youtube.com, (accessed July 30, 2017) Link
“Colonel Edward F. Rector, USAF,” The Historical Marker Database, HMdb.org, (accessed July 25, 2017) Link
“Colonel Edward Franklin Rector,” Find A Grave, (accessed July 29, 2017) Link
“Colonel Edward Rector,” Asheville Citizen-Times (Asheville, NC), April 28, 2001
“Commissioner Reappointed to A-B Tech Board,” The News-Record (Marshall, NC), March 20, 2013
“History of the Flying Tigers,” USSHawkbill.com, (accessed July 30, 2017) Link
Yes
Bronze on stone
Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 5483 and the American Legion Post 317
Rector, a native of Marshall, North Carolina, was a naval aviator assigned to USS Ranger when he was recruited for the American Volunteer Group (AVG) in the summer of 1941. The AVG, the official name of the Flying Tigers was formed by the Chinese government using American flyers to help defend the Burma Road and Chinese cities from Japanese attack before the United States entered the war. On December 20, 1941 the Flying Tigers engaged in combat for the first time during a raid by Japanese aircraft on the Chinese city of Kunming. During that engagement Rector provided the AVG with its first aerial victory. The AVG was disbanded in July 1942 and replaced by the Army Air Corps 23rd Fighter Group. Rector was one of only five AVG flyers to remain in China with the 23rd. Late in the war Rector commanded the 23rd Fighter Group and claimed that units last aerial victory in the war. Rector was credited with destroying 10.5 Japanese aircraft in aerial combat during the war.
The marker is located on the front lawn of the Madison County Courthouse at 2 North Main Street, Marshall, NC. It stands near the sidewalk to the left of the front entrance to courthouse. A few feet away is a Robert E. Lee Dixie Highway Marker. Further to the left and closer to the building are two markers mounted on metal poles. They commemorate the Buncombe Turnpike and David Vance (father of Zebulon Vance).
The memorial marker stands on the grass of the front lawn.
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