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Robert D. Dillon, Jr.
ROBERT D. DILLON, JR., born
October 8, 1924 in New Orleans, La. and
was educated in public schools. As soon as he
reached 18 yrs. old he enlisted in the Air
Corps as a private and was assigned to Randolph Field. At Randolph he passed the cadet exam and then was sent to Santa Anna, Calif.
for pre-flight, Ryan Field for primary, Maranna for basic, and finished at Williams Field in Class 44-A in P-38's. From Williams Field
he went to O.T.U. at Van Nuys, Calif. and
then was shipped to England. In England he
was assigned to the 392 Sq. 367 Ftr. GrP- 9th
Air Force which was based at Stony Cross. He
flew combat out of England, moved to France
after the invasion then from several different
airfields as the allies advanced toward Germany. He completed 49 missions before his 20th birthday. His group was converted to
P-47's and he flew his last few missions in the
Jug. He completed 64 missions in P-38's and
5 in P-47's. He downed 1 FW-190 while in a
P-38. Finished his combat tour as a flight
leader, was awarded the DFC and Air Medal
with 14 clusters and promoted to Capt. He
was sent home on R&R and was home on
leave at V.E. Day and was released from
active duty shortly afterwards.
After the war he went to L.S.V. for a
couple of years but the lure of flying was too
strong. He started crop dusting in southwest
Louisiana and has been at it ever since. He
operates his own crop dusting service but is
not active as a pilot anymore. After approximately 23,000 hrs. it was time to hang up the
goggles.
He is happily married to Lillian Abshire, a Be
Cajun girl from Gueydan, La. where they
make their home. They have been blessed
with five children - Raymond, Elaine,
Robert, Ruth, and Tom.
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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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