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James Samuel Green
JAMES SAMUEL GREEN, born
July 6, 1918, grew up in Pittsburg, Kansas.
He worked on highway construction until his
induction November 1941. As a private he
was assigned to Patton's 2nd armored division but soon transferred to the air corps.
After flight training at Napier Field, Dothan,
Alabama, he was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant with class 43-G. By August 1943
transition was made from the AT-6's to P-47D's. January 1944 he was stationed at
Ringwood England as part of the 9th Air
Force, 404th Fighter Squadron, 371st
Fighter Group. After D-Day the 404th was
moved to Sainte Mere L 'Eglise and eventually to Dijon.
One day in September 1944 Sam and the
404th found themselves in a dog fight with
eighteen German FW-190's. Belly tanks
were released, Sam and his wing man Lt. W.
R. Myles pursued a plane performing climb,
turn, and dive maneuvers and were easily
able to shoot it down. They went after two
more Germans but they proved too far away
even for the big fifty caliber machine guns.
In the process Sam lost sight of his wing man
and when he tried to rejoin his squadron he
found himself alone. Low on fuel and with
ammunition spent he settled into a low altitude flight with cowl flaps open and a lean
mixture. He was near home when he spotted
what looked like four spitfires on his tail,
upon closer inspection they proved to be
ME-109's. Owing to his slower speed relative
to the pursuing planes a tight turn brought
him around behind them and what followed
was a case of plane chasing plane until the
Germans broke off.
Sam was separated November 1945; with
the rank of captain and credit for approximately 300 hours combat time. He was
awarded the Air Medal, fifteen oakleaf clusters, the A.D.S. Medal and the E.A.M.E.S.
Medal. He remained in the reserves until
1955.
In 1952 he married Arlette Moulinet, a
French language teacher. They have two
children, Sandra, an aeronautical engineer
and James, a paramedic. Sam is presently a
general contractor building homes in the San
Francisco Bay area.
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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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