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Stuart E. Hayes
STUART E. HAYES, born February
10, 1922 at Dover-Foxcroft, Maine,
attended Bowdoin College majoring in Political Science and graduated (in absentia) magna cum laude in June, 1944. He had joined
the Enlisted Reserve Corps in October,
1942, and was called to active duty in
February, 1943, becoming an aviation cadet
later that year. In April 1944 he was commissioned and graduated in the Class of 44D at
Spence Field, Moultrie, Georgia. After further training in the P-40 and P-47, he joined
the 473rd Fighter Group, 412th Fighter
Squadron at Louvain, Belgium, in November, 1944, remaining with the unit until its
return stateside in August, 1945.
Stu flew 57 missions through VE day,
almost all of which involved dive-bombing or
ground support. The closest he ever came to
enemy aircraft in the air was a near-miss from
an ME 109 shot down seconds before by Len
Martin. He claims 31/2 enemy AC destroyed
(on the ground), and admits to 1 P-47
destroyed, another severely
injured, and the under carriage of a PT-23.
For this slight edge in favor of the Allies, he
has the air medal and 5 oak leaf clusters. He
was discharged as a first lieutenant in October, 1945, joined the Reserves and in 1967
was transferred to the Retired Reserve as a Lt.
Colonel.
Stu entered Harvard law school in the fall
of 1945, and graduated with his LLB in
January of 1948. He returned to Maine that
Year and has practiced law in Dover-Foxcroft
ever since. Professionally he has been active
in the Maine State Bar Association and had
the honor of serving as President of that
organization in 1978. He married the former
Ruth Stacy in 1945, and they have three
children, Anne, Sara, and Jane.
Time has dimmed many wartime memories, but two post-war events stand out in
Stu's mind. The first was the occasion of the
20th birthday celebration of the P-47 in New
York City. At that time he awoke at 2 A.M.,
stepped through a door to answer a call of
nature and found himself, locked out of his
room on the 14th floor of the Hotel Commodore. The elevator attendant showed more
aplomb when summoned than did Stu, but
then, it is difficult to maintain one's poise
when one is stark naked. The second and
much more pleasant occasion was the day at
the 1978 meeting of the P-47 Thunderbolt
Pilots Association in New York spent with
Carroll Wooge, who 33 years before had
helped haul Stu out of the wreckage.
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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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