Henry Jackson Flanders, Jr.
HENRY JACKSON FLANDERS,
JR., born October 2, 1921 in Malvern,
Arkansas, but was reared in Little Rock,
Arkansas. He entered the Baptist ministry
while a senior in Little Rock High School in
1939. He majored in religion at Baylor
University (Class of 1943) and was first
President of Honor Council and was elected
Permanent President of his class. Learning to
fly in the Civilian Pilot Training Program
resulted in his becoming an aviation cadet,
Class of 44D, graduating at Spence Field,
Georgia. He was flight instructor before
transferring to combat with the 324th Group
and the 314th Squadron (First Tactical AF,
part of 9th AF) at Luneville, France, a group
assigned to the 7th army, but also supporting
the 1st and 3rd armies. He flew his 50th
combat mission in P-47's on the day before
the war was officially over. He landed three
planes so "shot-up," they never flew again.
He had two escort missions and forty-eight
Close-support, dive-bombing and strafing,
missions. Joltings by 88's, shifting of tracer
shells, bursting of train engines and trucks,
explosions of fuel storage and ammo dumps,
and the loss of close buddies, he well remembers - as well as rest camp on the Rivers and
conducting a post-war R&R tour from Stuttgart through Heidelberg, Mannheim-Ludwigshaven, Cologne, Luxemberg,
Brussels, and Antwerp.
He returned to the States in summer of
1944 to form and train a new group to go to
the Pacific. During 30-day leave, war in the
East ended. On discharge, Jack returned to
theological training at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky
and received Ph.D. in 1950. He was Professor of Religion, Chaplain and Chairman of
the Department at Furman University in
Greenville, South Carolina for 12 years.
Then he pastored First Baptist Church,
Waco, Texas for 6 1\2 years. He has been
Professor of Religion at Baylor University in
Waco, Texas since 1969. He became Chairman of the Department on June 1, 1980. He
has studied in England, Scotland, Germany,
and Switzerland.
He authored several books and journal
acticles on the Bible, the New Testament
being his area of specialization. Several times
he was designated "Favorite Professor" at
Furman and "Top Prof' at Baylor. Across
the years he has had a weekly television
program; been Board Chairman (or Golden
Gate Baptist Theological Seminary, Heart of
Texas Red Cross, Economic Opportunities
Advancement Corporation; been Chaplain of
the Texas Ranger Commission; and other
services. He has one daughter, Mrs. A.G.
(Janer) Mitchell, and one son, Jack III.
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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