William W. Hargus
WILLIAM W. HARGUS, born May
28, 1921, in the little West Texas town of
Marathon, Texas. I went through high school
at Marathon, Texas, then attended two years
of college at Sul Ross State College at Alpine,
Texas. I took Civil Pilot training while in
college and joined the service in the summer
of 1942. I started Cadet training about the
first of 1943, pre-flight training at Maxwell
Field in Montgomery, Alabama, and then on
to primary training in Stearman at Union
City, Tennessee. I did my Basic BT13 training at Malden, Missouri, then on to advanced
AT6 and P40 training at Napier Field in
Dothan, Alabama. I took gunnery training at
Eglin Field in Florida and graduated from
the class of 438 at Dothan, Alabama. I was
then shipped to Tallahassee and Perry, Florida for RTU (P-47 Fighter Pilot training).
After my training, I was shipped out from
Camp Miles Standish through Boston and
arrived in the British Isles about the first of
1944. I went through Atcham pre-combat
training and was in the 353rd Fighter Group
in the 350th Fighter Squadron. I flew 85
missions and put in about 300 hours in
combat. I made the invasion of June 6, 1944,
was shot up, bellied in two times and shot
numerous trains, trucks, dive bombs, and
bridges, and strafed many targets of opportunity. I straffed a couple of air drums, got shot
up two or three times and received the Air
Medal three times and D.F.C. twice. I then
rotated from Europe back to the States in the
early part of the summer of 1944 and got out
of the service in 1945.
I am now and have been a Fixed Base
Operator since 1946. I now have over
25,000 hours of flying of which about
1,000 hours were in a Thunder Bolt.
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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