Retired Lt. Col. Claude R. Kinsey, who became an ace flying the P-38 during World War II, died Feb. 4, of cancer, the Washington Post reported Thursday. He was 86. Kinsey, who is credited with shooting down seven enemy aircraft over North Africa, enlisted in the Army Air Forces in 1940, becoming a sergeant after completing flying training. After Pearl Harbor, he was trained in the P-38 and commissioned. After the war, he flew B-47s in Strategic Air Command, retiring in 1965.
The U.S. military is sending more fighter jets to the Middle East to step up its war with Iran, adding to what is already the largest buildup of airpower in the region since the 2003 invasion of Iraq. For now, the operation shows little sign of coming to a quick…