Born in Boise, Idaho, on 16 July 1921 Beeson eventually moved to Californa, where he worked as a hotel clerk.  Deciding to leave this boring job behind, he joined the Royal Canadian Air force on 23 June 1941, and was commissioned as a pilot officer on 26 February 1942, being sent overseas shortly afterwards. 

Once in England, Beeson completed the five-month long Spitfire conversion course at RAF Usworth, just south of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, with No. 55 Operational Training Unit, before being posted to No 71 'Eagle' Sqn at Debden, in Essex He arrived on the unit of 5 September, and 24 days later became a part of the US Amry Air Force when No 71 Sqn was transferred to VIII Fighter Command control. 

Now flying with the 4th Fighter Group (FG), 2Lt Beeson was a assigned to the 334th FS, which swapped its Spitfire VBs for P-47C Thunderbolts in early 1943.  He seemed to click with the Republic 'heavyweight', and scored his first victory on 19 May 1943 when he shot down a BF 109 over Holland.  From that point on this score rapidly rose, and he became the 4th FG's first ace on 8 October.

 'Bee" Beeson was given command of the 334th FS on 15 March - by which time the unit had converted to P-51B Mustangs,  On 5 April 1944, he was shot down by flak while strafing a German airfield at Brandenburg, near Berlin.  Immediately taken prisoner, Beeson was released following the surrender of Germany.  He elected to stay in the AAF postwar, and was promoted to lieutenant-colonel on 24 October 1945.  However, a promising career was cut short when Duane Beeson died for a brain tumour on 13 February 1947, aged just 25.*

References

Aircraft of the Aces Legends of World War 2

Compiled by Tony Holmes Osprey Aviation 2000