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Leo Greenfield
LEO GREENFIELD, born December
25,1923 in Middletown, New York, enlisted
in the Aviation Cadet program in 1942 while
he was attending the University of Miami in
Coral Gables, Florida. He graduated in Class
44E and was commissioned as a Second
Lieutenant at Craig Field, Selma, Alabama.
After training in P-40's and P-47's, he was
assigned in 1944 to the 493rd, "Fix.up"
squadron of the 48th Fighter Group, 9th Air
Force. He flew thirty-eight (38) missions
through V.E. Day and was primarily engaged
in destroying supply routes, ammunition
dumps, close support of tanks and artillery as
well as escort missions for medium range
bombers and protective coverage on the.
"Ramagan Bridge"; and penetration and disbursement of counter-attacking forces at the
"Bridge." On his tenth mission, his aircraft
was shot up by 20 mm ground fire during a
dive bombing attack on selected ground targets near Cologne, Germany. He stayed with
his burning aircraft, crossed back into friend.
ly territory, and bailed out near Maastricht,
Holland. After two weeks of hospitalization,
he returned to duty with his squadron.
After V.E. Day, he was selected for training in the P-47N, for long range escort of
B-29's in the Pacific Theater, however, with
VJ Day, he was returned home and discharged into the reserves. He is the holder of
the Air Medal with four clusters, Purple
Heart, the Presidential Unit Citation and the
Belgian Fourragere. He was released from
active duty in 1946.
In 1948, he graduated from the University of Miami Law School with a degree of Juris
Doctor and in 1950 obtained his Bachelor of
Business Administration from the University
of Miami. While practicing law in Miami, he
simultaneously was an Instructor of Law at
the Law School of the University of Miami.
He continues to practice in Miami, Florida
where he heads up a successful law firm. He is primarily engaged in
trial and real estate practice and is known in
the State for his expertise in usury law.
He is a 32nd Degree Mason, a Shriner, a
member of the Florida Bar as well as other
various affiliations. He is a lifetime member]
of the P-47 Thunderbolt Pilots' Association.
In 1959 he married the former Barbara
Anne Merritt of Miami. They have two
daughters, Jacqui who is eighteen and Heidi
who is fifteen and reside in North Miami
Beach, Florida.
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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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