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Gardner W. Engel
GARDNER W. ENGEL, born in Philadelphia, 4 February 1920. Nicknamed
"Jim," he was educated in Philadelphia area
schools and was employed as an accountant
prior to enlisting as an Aviation Cadet in
January 1942. He graduated flying school at
Dothan, AL 14 January 1943 in Class 43A.
Introduction to the Jug (B series with fabric
covered elevators) followed a month later at
Westover Field. He joined the cadre of the
359th Fighter Squadron, 356th Fighter
Group and after several stateside moves, the
Group settled at Felixstowe, England in September 1943. His 300 hour combat tour was
a mixture of escort, strafing and divebombing
sorties plus a few level bombing runs. The
level bombing was accomplished by the
squadron releasing on the signal of a modified
P-38 complete with bombardier. Results
were recalled as being less than spectacular
and served to emphasize the discipline shown
by the bomber pilots in holding formation
when the flak started. One memorable sortie
included becoming separated from his flight
while following an ME-109 through an
undercast for a "probable," sighting a formation of 60 plus bandits at low altitude and a
long, lonely ride home. His sighting report
proved to be a forewarning of the gaggle
tactic the bombers were to face over Berlin.
More vivid than any of his recollections of
the tour remained the view of the D-Day
armada when dawn broke that morning over
the Channel. He continued in Jugs at Suffolk
County Airfield, training Brazilian pilots and
at Selfridge where the French were flying the
P-47 and the Martin B-26. After V-Eday, the
56th Fighter Group was reformed at Selfridge and equipped with the last of the breed, theP-47N. When the N was replaced, his Jug
hours totaled over 800.
At war's end, he decided to seek a regular
commission and make military flying his
career. This decision led to a 30 year span of
being associated with fighter aircraft as a
pilot and in later years, as a specialist in
command control communications. A Command Pilot, he retired as a Colonel, USAF, in
March 1972. His decorations included the
Legion of Merit, 2 OLC and the Distinguished Flying Cross, 3 OLC. A second career started with his becoming a consultant to
DOD industry. This pursuit led to employment by the Harris Corporation, Melbourne, FL where he resided in 1980 with his wife, Diane. Their three children presented two granddaughters and one fighter pilot candidate.
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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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