Wesley U. Johnston
WESLEY U. JOHNSTON, born
February 9, 1918 in Philadelphia, Pa. His
business career started in 1937 with IBM
Corporation upon completion of Field Engineering School with assignments in Philadelphia, Pa. and Wilmington, Del. He joined the
Army Air Corps as a Flying Cadet in January
1942 in Class 42-I and was commissioned a
Reserve Officer at Moultrie, Ga. and graduated from Pilot Instructor Schools at Maxwell
Field, Ala. He was a basic flying instructor at
Walnut Ridge AAB, Ark. late 1942 until
1944. Was assigned for P-40 and P-47 training at Dothan, Ala., Goldsboro and Wilmington, N.C. In 1944, assigned to China Burma
India Theatre in the 58th Fighter Squadron,
33rd Group in Karachi, India where he
tested P-47's shipped from the states.
Assigned to Jungle Survival Training conducted by Office of Strategic Services (OSS) personnel, with Kachin hill tribesmen, at a
jungle outpost on the Chindwin (Tanai)
River near Taro, Burma, after which he
trained group pilots in survival. While flying
combat missions in P-47's in Burma, he was
responsible for training and checkout of
58th and 59th squadron pilots in P-38's at
Moran and Nagaghuli in Assam, India. He
had not seen a P-38 before and today has the
Pilot Manual he used to conduct training.
The 58th moved to Sawmah, Burma and Wes
continued flying combat missions, (leading
many as Squadron Operations Officer) in
Burma, Siam and China. Having completed
94 missions through V/J day he was awarded
the Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal
with clusters, and battle stars Cor India,
Burma and China offensives. He left India
for the U.S.A. and was discharged as a Captain in January 1946. He continued flying in the AF reserve as Operations Officer and
Squadron Commander. First checked out in
jets in the F-80 at Langley AFB in 1948.
Currently a retired Lieutenant Colonel
USAF Reserve, a charter/life member of the
P-47 Association, residing in Binghamton,
N.Y. and with IBM having filled positions in
Personnel Starr and Management. He married Mary Graham in 1950 and has one
daughter Gail (Grambling) of Norman,Okla.
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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