NIDO – Alberto A.

Alberto_A._Nido_jpg.

Brigadier General Alberto A. Nido (1 March 1919 – 27 October 1991) is a former United States Air Force officer who during World War II served in the Royal Canadian Air Force, the British Royal Air Force and in the United States Army Air Forces. He was also the co-founder of the Puerto Rico Air National Guard.[1]

Military Career

After he graduated, he was given a job as an aviation instructor in the institution. An officer of the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) who was in Tulsa looking for recruits asked Nido to consider joining them. Nido accepted the offer and on September 1941, he received a telegram from the RCAF office in New York City, requesting his presence at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. Nido traveled to New York and on 7 September, was sworn in as a member of the RCAF.[1] After 3 months of intense training in Canada, Nido was commissioned a Flying Officer and sent to an air base in Quebec, where he served as an aviation instructor to bomber pilots and artillery gunners.[1] Nido returned to his homeland, to spend 15 days with his mother and three brothers Rafael, Pedro and Thomas, who were members of the United States Armed Forces. During his stay he met his future wife, Alile Colon, a university student at the “Colegio del Sagrado Corazon”, from the town of Yabucoa.[1]

World War II

Type of P-51 which Nido flew for the USAAF

On 24 December 1942, Nido was sent to London, England, and participated on the European Theater of the war as a bomber pilot. He was transferred to 610 Squadron of the British Royal Air Force and participated in various combat missions as a Supermarine Spitfire pilot. In November 1943, Nido, then a Captain, was among 10 pilots of the 67th Reconnaissance Squadron who were sent to weather school at RAF Zeals under the command of Colonel T. S. Moorman. His unit participated in 275 missions.[2] Later, in 1943, Nido and 59 other American pilots were transferred to the U.S. Army Air Forces. He was assigned to the 67th Fighter Group as a P-51 Mustang fighter pilot. Nido baptized his P-51 with the name of “Alile” in honor of the girl that he left back home.[1]

[Source: Freebase.com;  Wikipedia; Courtesy: Wayne Saunders]

One addition to “NIDO – Alberto A.”

  1. Benjamin Quiñones adds:

    Alberto Nido and Gabriel Covas are two natives from my home town Arroyo, Puerto Rico who served with distintion during World War II. Alberto flew over 200 missions over Europe under the canadian and british flags before the U.S. Air Force sent their planes over Europe. Later Commander of the Puerto Rico National Guard Air Force.
    Meanwhile, Gabriel was a graduate from the Merchant Marine Academy ai Kings Point New York who comandeered a merchant ship. His ship was torpedoed and sunk by a german submarine and he was declared missing, but eventually returned home safely.

    August 4th, 2012 at 11:09 pm

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