When Ronald O. Boston was born on January 26, 1917, in Smith Center, Kansas, his father, James,Gibson Patterson Boston was 33 and his mother, Inez Pearl Boston, was 25. He had four brothers and five sisters.

Ronald enlisted in the United States Army Air Corps, Philippine Department. August 2, 1939, probably his second enlistment. He was living/Stationed in South Dakota at the time. Pior to being deployed to the PI he was stationed at Hamilton Field CA and attached to the 21st Pursuit Squadron

1st Sgt Ronald O. Boston was assigned to the Service Command Unit 27th Material Section, at Nichols Field, Bataan Philippines, under General McBride from Jan. 2nd to Jan. 25, 1942. He died aboard the Japanese Freighter the "Shinyo Maru", on September 7th 1944.

The Far East Air Force (FEAF) was the military aviation organization of the United States Army in the Philippines just prior to and at the beginning of World War II. Formed on 16 November 1941, FEAF was the predecessor of the Fifth Air Force of the United States Army Air Forces and the United States Air Force.

Initially the Far East Air Force also included aircraft and personnel of the Philippine Army Air Corps. Outnumbered operationally more than three-to-one by aircraft of the Japanese Navy and Army,[1] FEAF was largely destroyed during the Philippines Campaign of 1941–42. When 14 surviving B-17 Flying Fortresses and 143 personnel of the heavy bombardment force were withdrawn from Mindanao to Darwin, Australia in the third week of December 1941, Headquarters FEAF followed it within days. The B-17s were the only combat aircraft of the FEAF to escape capture or destruction.[2][3][nb 1]

FEAF, with only 16 Curtiss P-40s and 4 Seversky P-35 fighters remaining of its original combat force, was broken up as an air organization and moved by units into Bataan 24–25 December.[4] 49 of the original 165 pursuit pilots of FEAF's 24th Pursuit Group were also evacuated during the campaign, but of non-flying personnel, only one of 27 officers and 16 wounded enlisted men escaped the Philippines.[5] Nearly all ground and flying personnel were employed as infantry at some point during their time on Bataan, where most surrendered on 9 April 1942.[6]

The surviving personnel and a small number of aircraft received from the United States were re-organized in Australia in January 1942, and on 5 February 1942 redesignated as "5 Air Force". With most of its aircraft based in Java, the FEAF was nearly destroyed a second time trying to stem the tide of Japanese advances southward.

The surviving personnel and a small number of aircraft received from the United States were re-organized in Australia in January 1942, and on February 5th, 1942 predesignated as "5 Air Force".  With most of its aircraft based in Java, the FEAF was nearly destroyed a second time trying to stem the tide of Japanese advances southward.