Charles Dahlin
CHARLES DAHLIN,born in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1922. His family moved to California and Chuck received his education in Los Angeles. He enlisted in 1942.
After graduating from Williams Field, he
took operational training in P-39's and P-38's at Moses Lake. He was assigned to the 508th Group and after one flight in a P-47
was sent overseas to Hawaii. From there, he
was transferred to the 333rd Squadron,
318th Group on Ie Shima.
The 318th was one of the few combat units
flying the P-4 7N. Operating out of Ie Shima,
this was a necessity, as the nearest enemy
coast was 450 miles away - over water. The
average mission was 7 '/2 hours. An escort
mission to Seoul, Korea, called for 400
gallons minimum gas over the target and
lasted 91/2-10 hours.
The 318th missions were diversified, dive
bombing, strafing, escort and napalm bombing.
On the last day of hostilities, August 14,
1945, Dahlin flew a fighter sweep to the
Tokyo area, and although he didn't get in on
the kill, he witnessed what was probably the
last confirmed "kill" of WWII. At approximately 3:11 PM he saw his squadron leader
Douglas Curry shoot down a Nakajima
"Frank."
Dahlin flew combat missions to both the
Japanese and Chinese mainlands and maintains that, although it was as rough over the target area, being faced with from 450 to
600 miles over water to get home was almost
as bad.
After V.J Day, Chuck returned to Los
Angeles and finished his education. He is now
a Senior Design Engineer with Weber Aircraft in Burbank, California.
In May, 1979, Chuck was elected Region
VII Vice President of the P-4 7 Pilots Association, and re-elected again in 1980 at Lake Charles. He is currently serving his second
term as President of the "Western P-47
Pilots," a west coast group of P-47 pilots.
Pilot Name
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Biography Summary
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John Abbotts
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P-47 transition followed at Pocatello, Idaho and Greenville, Texas after which he was assigned to the 56th Fighter Group in England. When the news of his arrival reached Berlin, Hitler retired to his bunker with his cyanide capsule and revolver. Eva found the news equally depressing.
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Asa A. Adair
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He returned to the States in August of 1944 after participating in the invasion "D" Day. He flew P-63's, P-51's, F-80's, T-33's, F-84's, T-38's, P-47's in numerous assignments during the following twenty years in in, Japan, U.S.A. and Europe before retiring after twenty-six years of Active Duty.
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Edward B. Addison
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The 507th Fighter Group, equipped with P-47N's, won the Presidential Unit Citation for destroying 32 Japanese aircraft in the air on one mission to Seoul, Korea. The average flying time for raids to Korea and Japan would be 7 to 9 hours flying time. In a total of 31 months, the 507th not only provided top cover for B-29's, but also
dive-bombed, napalm-bombed and flew low-level on strafing missions.
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Levon B. Agha-Zarian
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It is rumored that he, took his primary training on a flying rug. He flew Spits, briefly, in England, but as the, war moved to the East, he was sent to India as a Sgt. Pilot and first saw action from Ceylon, flying the Curtiss P.36, the Brewster Buffalo, and the Hurricane. At this point he might have opted for the rug! This was at the time of the fall of Singapore and the sinking of the Prince of Wales and the Repulse.
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George N. Ahles
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Posted to A-20 light bomber squadron Barksdale Field, Louisiana. . Group moved to Hunter Air Base Savannah, Georgia. Qualified for Pilot training November 1940. Entered Aviation Cadets January 1942. Presented wings November 1942 class of 42-J. Married Mary Louise while in Advanced Pilot Training at Craig AFB, Selma, Alabama, September 1942.
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Roy J. Aldritt
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Shortly after the group moved to France he ran into some unseen flak and was forced to make a nylon descent behind the lines; some evasion and a lot of luck had him back with his unit
in 24 hours.
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Eugene J. Amaral
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After graduation from Stonington High School he enlisted as an Aviation Cadet in December 1942 and was called to active duty in March, 1943. He received his wings and commission at Spence Field, Georgia as a member of the Class of 43-C.
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Talmadge L. Ambrose
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Flew 84 missions thru VE Day, was downed by 22mm ground fire over Siefried Line. He destroyed 11 enemy aircraft, 9 known confirmed in air and on
ground, including 4 FW 190-D's in one afternoon over Hanover, Germany, April 8, 1945. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross,
Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal, 17 man, Oak Leaf Clusters, Good Conduct Medal, Pacific Theatre and European Theatre Meda1s with 5 Battle
Stars and Unit Citation Medal.
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John C. Anderson
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After P-47 transition he was assigned to the 406th Fighter Group, 512th Fighter Squadron. (E.T
.0.) He flew 56 missions through January, 1945 destroying supply routes, bridges, and railroads; he also flew close support missions with the ground forces, with attacks on tanks, artillery and enemy positions.
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William Anderson
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It was not always flak,two ME-109's beat the hell out of me one day. The central controller called me and said "Basher-Red Leader do you have contact Bandits," I replied, "I sure do, I'll bring them over the field in 3 minutes, they're chasing me home." Got all the usual medals including two Belgium and two French but one I'm most proud of is the Silver Star -it is the greatest.
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