Glenn H. Koelling
GLENN H. KOELLING, birthdate
October 18,1922 in Franklin, Missouri, the
third of four sons of Catherine and Coy
Koelling. After high school at New Franklin,
Missouri, he was attending Central College at
Fayette, Missouri at the time of entering
service as an Aviation Cadet, Class of 44D,
and got wings at Aloe Field, Victoria, Texas.
He flew P-40's and P-47's stateside and
joined the 66th Fighter Squadron, 57th
Fighter Group, 12th Air Force near Grosseto, Italy as one of a group of fourteen fresh
rookie combat pilots.
At the war's end and 96 missions later, he
had been awarded the Distinguished Flying
Cross, 6 Air Medals, along with the group and
unit citations given to one of the best flying
outfits to be privileged to serve our country.
Some of his random remembrances which
may stir similar recollections of other flyers
bringing home tree branches and belly dents
from an encounter with a forest during a
strafing run near Lake Como. . .looking out
after a dive bombing run into Brenner Pass
and seeing daylight through a wing where no
daylight should have been and wondering
why the controls still work. . . marveling
how a machine could go through such a solid
wall of flack on a hit of rail yards near Torino I
and come through without a scratch. ...good old water injection. . . the bad days of
empty slots in the coming home formation
and empty spaces at the mess table. . . the
elation of a direct hit on an ammunition
dump or the clobbering of a supply train. .
falling off the back of a moving truck while
coming back from a ..little party" on a rainy
night and feeling around for broken bones or
St. Peter's hand.
Koelling married a hometown girl, Hilds
Mae Amick in 1946 and they have two
daughters, Sherry and Nancy, and two grandchildren, Brett Randall and Sarah Roberts.
He is a registered engineer and is currently
the General Superintendent of the construction firm of George J. Shaw Company in
Kansas City, Missouri. He resides in Independence, Missouri.
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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