Jesús Antonio Flores Villamor (November 7, 1914 – October 28, 1971) was a Filipino-American pilot, spy, and Medal of Valor awardee who fought the Japanese in World War II.

Early life and career Jesús Villamor was one of six children of Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, Ignacio Villamor (who had earlier convicted Philippine independence general Macario Sakay) of Bangued, Abra, and Mariquita Flores. He studied commerce at De La Salle College (now DLSU-Manila) in Manila, hoping to pursue a business career.

During summer, he and his family went to Baguio and stayed in one of the government houses on Hogan's Alley, which are now assigned to Justice of the Court of Appeals, just below Cabinet Hill along Leonard Wood Road. One of his playmates during this time was Roberto Lim, son of Brigadier General Vicente Lim. Roberto would later train under Villamor in a Stearman plane, and Villamor would also sign Lim's first civilian license.P51, Pushing the Envelope, A Biography of Roberto H. Lim, Composed of Collected Letters, Emails and Photos

Nicknamed “Jess”, at the age of 14 to 15, he was already an aviation enthusiast. As his father and uncles were lawyers, his parents were not too keen over his desire to take up flying and encouraged him to follow the family tradition of practising law. After his father's death his mother relented and encouraged Villamor to take up flying. He was worried his short height would disqualify him in the physical exam; nevertheless, Villamor learned how to fly with a Cox-Klemin Aircraft at the Philippine Air Taxi Corp. (PATCO) at the former Grace Park Airfield next to La Loma Cemetery. He earned his wings under PATCO's General Manager, Captain William "Jitter Bill" Bradford, who was later to become the head of the "Bamboo Fleet" which served as the lifeline of the USAFFE during the Battle of Corregidor. Villamor also learned under Instructor Pilots and World War I aviator veterans Bert Hall, Charlie Heston, and Don Kneedler.

After completing 20 hours of solo flying, Villamor proceeded to the Bureau of Aeronautics to apply for a pilot license, but failed the test. Bureau director Captain Russell Maughan commented that Villamor's flying was unsafe, and told Bradford that Villamor should never fly again. Hall, on the other hand, was disgusted with Maughan's rejection of Villamor. A few days later, Hall encouraged Villamor's mother to send him to the Dallas Aviation School in Texas. On his way to the United States, Villamor became acquainted with fellow students, Augusto Luciano and Rafael Roces Jr. Villamor would later earn his "Transport Pilot License" at the Dallas Aviation School.

Upon returning to Manila, Villamor found neither PATCO nor its competitor, Far Eastern Air Transport (FEATI), would have slots for him. Villamor then applied for a slot in the first batch of cadets of the Philippine Army Air Corps Flying School in 1936. He was joined with six other students: Lt. Antonio Alandy, Francisco Reyes, Ramón M. Zosa, Andrés O. Cruz, Jacob Ouiranle, and Azarías M. Padilla. The first batch learned under Lt. William "Jerry" Lee in a Stearman Model 73.

Villamor along with Francisco Reyes were later sent to Randolph Field in San Antonio, Texas for further training in 1936. En route to the United States, they had a stopover in Tokyo where they had the chance to examine a Mitsubishi A5M naval fighter. Reyes would later wash out from the class, but Villamor persisted in flying with the class, earning him the moniker "Little Chief Oompah." He would qualify in a Boeing P-12, and upon graduating on June 9, 1937, received news that he was going to be commissioned as 3rd Lieutenant in the PAAC.

Military service 94th Pursuit Squadron Prior to returning to the Philippines, Villamor was sent to Selfridge Field in Detroit, to join the 94th Pursuit Squadron, under World War I top ace, Eddie Rickenbacker, flying Boeing P-26, along with World War II ace pilots John R. Allison and Philip Cochran.

Philippine Army Air Corps Returning to Manila in 1938, Villamor was assigned as Stage Commander of the PAAC in Zablan Field in Camp Murphy, and by 1939 was promoted to 1st Lieutenant and Director of Flight Training. Here he would have the opportunity to train Lt. Col. Dwight D. Eisenhower, who would be the first President of the United States with a pilot's license, and Lt. Col. Richard Sutherland.

He also began flying B-17's as part of the US Army Air Forces Strategic Bombing Squadron.

Villamor was assigned to lead the 6th Pursuit Squadron (now the 6th Tactical Fighter Squadron) in Nichols Airfield. On July 26, 1941, by order of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the Philippine Army was incorporated into the United States Army Forces in the Far East. Following this, PAAC was inducted into the Far East Air Force on August 15, with 141 pilots, 17 ground officers, 1,200 enlisted men, and 64 aircraft, with Maj. Basílio Fernando as its Commanding Officer. Gen. MacArthur himself was the inducting officer, and correctly forecasted that the Empire of Japan would attack between January and April 1942.

Battle of Zablan Field

Eight hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 8, 1941 10:00 am PST, bombers and fighters of the Imperial Japanese Army and Navy took off from Takao Airbase in Japanese-held Formosa and targeted sites around Baguio and Iba Airfield in Zambales, with a second wave attacking Clark Air Base and Naval Station Sangley Point. The next day, the FEAF's capabilities were crippled with half of its air assets destroyed, with the Japanese losing only seven aircraft in the two-day raid, giving them practical air superiority over northern Luzon.

With the FEAF crippled, the 6th Pursuit Squadron at Nichols Airfield was one of the remaining units available to meet the enemy. At 11:30 am on December 10, while the unit was having lunch, general quarters was sounded, and the PAAC would have its baptism of fire. Capt. Villamor, along with Lieutenants Godofredo Juliano, Gerónimo Aclan, Alberto Aranzaso, and José Gozar, met another wave of Mitsubishi G3M "Nell" bombers and Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighters over the skies of Zablan Airfield and nearby Pasig with their Boeing P-26 Peashooters.

Capt. Villamor was first to take off and meet the attackers, only to find himself greatly outclassed by the better Japanese fighters. A Japanese Zero gave chase, and Capt. Villamor manoeuvred his aircraft to shake off his opponent. He dove his P-26 and hugged the treetops of the Marikina Valley and even flew under high-tension wires. The Japanese pilot gave up the chase thinking he had hit the ground. Capt. Villamor then pulled up only to find himself being pounced by another Japanese Zero. He swung his aircraft on a vertical left bank, putting it on a stall but training his guns towards a face-to-face engagement with the enemy. The Japanese pilot was surprised by the manoeuvre, but Capt. Villamor was able to fire at the wings of the Zero, which burst into flames. This was the first confirmed kill by the PAAC.

Despite the disadvantage, Capt. Villamor and his squadron was credited with four kills – one Mitsubishi G3M bomber and three Mitsubishi A6M Zeros. Two kills were credited to Villamor. Upon landing his aircraft, Capt. Villamor was met by the Philippine Army Chief-of-Staff, Gen. Basílio Valdés, who asked of him if he was afraid the whole time, with Capt. Villamor confirming he was.

Battle of Batangas Field

The following day, the 6th Pursuit Squadron moved to Batangas Airfield north of Batangas City. Around noon of December 12, a force of 27 bombers and 17 fighters targeted Batangas Airfield. The PAAC flight group of 5 P-26s headed by Capt. Villamor scrambled to meet the closer flight of enemy bombers heading south. Lt. César Basa, sent on a reconnaissance mission two hours before, joined the flight as Capt. Villamor's wingman. Swooping from a higher elevation, Capt. Villamor and the PAAC flight attacked the lead aircraft of the Japanese Mitsubishi G3M "Nell" bomber, scoring his second kill in the war. The Japanese Zeros pursued the defenders, and in the ongoing melée the PAAC relied on cloud-cover and outmanoeuvred the faster Zeros with tighter turns.

Lt. Basa meanwhile kept on Capt. Villamor's tail, but was soon pounced on by a Japanese Zero. His aircraft was damaged and wings broke off, but Lt. Basa was able to bail out of his P-26. Basa's bullet-riddled body was later found, and according to Capt. Villamor's account, the former was shot down by Japanese fighters while parachuting. Lt. Basa became the first Filipino casualty in aerial combat.

Lt. Antonio Mondingo meanwhile was also shot by a Japanese attacker and was forced to bail out, rescued by civilians upon landing. Lt. Manuel Conde also suffered the same, but was able to land his P-26 in Zablan Field. However, his aircraft exploded moments after he exited and took cover from the onslaught of Japanese strafing. At the conclusion, the Japanese lost two bombers, while the PAAC lost three aircraft.

The 6th Pursuit Squadron returned to Nichols Airfield on December 13, with four remaining P-26s. The following day, Lt. Gozar for the last time in the war was able scramble by himself to meet Japanese raiders. Lt. Gozar was able to survive the encounter against three Japanese Zeros with one unconfirmed kill, and land his battered aircraft.

While outclassed and outnumbered, the accomplishments of the 6th Pursuit Squadron have become legendary among ground forces and civilians who witnessed the defence they mounted in the skies of Luzon. On December 15 Capt. Villamor, Capt. Colin Kelly, and Lt. Gozar were personally awarded by Gen. Douglas MacArthur the Distinguished Service Cross for defending the airspace above Manila. Lt. Gozar's wingmate, Lt. Godofredo Juliano, received the Gold Cross.

Retreat to Bataan

Upon activation of War Plan Orange, the 6th Pursuit Squadron and the rest of the PAAC were ordered to destroy their aircraft inventory. Capt. Villamor and his unit were ordered to a strategic retreat to Bataan and transformed their mission to air defense. He would join Gen. MacArthur and President Manuel L. Quezon on the ferry to Fort Mills on Corregidor Island on December 24, 1941. Capt. Villamor and his unit were still hoping to receive new aircraft from Australia. However, the shipment of the Pensacola Convoy never came through.

For leading his squadron, Capt. Villamor was twice cited by the United States Army for bravery, receiving the Distinguished Service Cross for actions on December 10, 1941, and an Oak Leaf Cluster in lieu of a second award of the Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) for actions on December 12, 1941. Villamor is the only Filipino to receive the DSC twice.

Gen. Harold Huston George, head of the Far East Air Force was tasked by MacArthur to conduct an aerial photography mission over Ternate, Cavite to search for the artillery placement of Maj. Toshinori Kondo. Gen. George had tasked Capt. Villamor for this mission. On February 9, 1942, Capt. Villamor conducted a reconnaissance mission over occupied Cavite in a PT-13, escorted by four American P-40 Warhawks. Capt. Villamor was on the student-pilot seat, while Sgt. Juan V. Abanes from the 5th Photographic Squadron volunteered to operate the camera. Six Japanese Zeros appeared, and while Capt. Villamor's aircraft was damaged he was still able to land it safely. One P-40 was lost at the cost of four Zeros. Capt. Villamor's mission proved to be a success, as the films were delivered, information was collated with ground observers, and counter-battery fire was put into effect.

Escape to Australia