Arthur Van Haren Jr.

Van Haren died in 1992 at the age of 72 in Dewey, Arizona. His wife of more than 50 years, Elizabeth Van Haren, died in May 2009.

Following his service in the Navy, Van Haren Jr. received his law degree from the University of Arizona in 1948. As part of his legal career in Phoenix, Van Haren served as a deputy Maricopa County attorney, legal counsel to the Maricopa County Planning and Zoning Commission, and as a City of Phoenix municipal judge. However, the majority of his days as a lawyer were spent as a defense attorney in private practice. In 2007, Van Haren Jr. was featured in a book entitled "A Legal History of Maricopa County," which, among other things, documented the numerous practicing attorneys from Maricopa County who had proudly served in World War II.

While attending the University of Arizona in Tucson, AZ. Van Haren Jr. joined the Navy at the beginning of World War II, and was part of the famous U.S. Navy Fighting Squadron Two (VF-2) Rippers. VF-2 was featured in the October 23, 1944 Life Magazine edition as the "ace makers" squadron. Van Haren Jr. completed his naval aviation training in 1942. However, he was considered to be such a good pilot that the Navy made him a flight instructor, and he spent over a year teaching other Naval aviators how to fly. That year as a flight instructor proved to be invaluable to Van Haren Jr. He was able to sharpen his flying and air gunnery skills and, at the same time, the U.S. Navy was in the process of moving from the F4F Wildcat to a more superior aircraft—the Grumman F6F Hellcat—as a way to better compete against and outclass the Japanese Zero.

Arthur Van Haren Jr. (April 9, 1920 – August 11, 1992) was a World War II fighter pilot and considered the top fighter ace of World War II from Arizona. He may be one of very few highly decorated Hispanic fighter-pilot aces in the history of aerial warfare.