Art Kuhlmann
ART KUHLMANN, born on February 2, 1922, in Garden City, Kansas,
attended public schools in Wichita County.
Married former wife, Helen, in November,
1945, and had seven children. (You can
count them yourself.) I managed to barely
pass the Entrance exam to Aviation Cadet
Training. I was sworn in on August 6, 1942
and was sent orders to appear in San Antonio,
Texas in early 1943. Survived that and was
sent to Parks Air College in East St. Louis,
Illinois for primary, Independence, Kansas
for basic, and graduated from Eagle Pass,
Texas class 43K, December 5, 1943. I was
then issued orders to appear in Salt Lake City,
Utah. When we arrived, we discovered that
we were to be B-24 co-pilots in the E.T.0. We
all bitched, and 30 of us managed to get
assigned to P-47 R.T.U. in Baton Rouge,
Louisiana. I don't remember the dates when
we left Baton Rouge and arrived in New
York; but I do remember that we sailed East
on Easter Sunday, on the Queen Mary with
15,000 strong on board. We had 300
W.A.C.'s on board; also 300 sailors fresh out
of boot camp. Everyone had been promised a
trip home before going overseas and some of
the guys still thought we were going to turn
around and come back when we were halfway
to England. My first duty assigned to me was
to appear at the bow of the ship and take
charge of the 300 sailors. As I remember it,
they were in bunks 12 high and each one
puking on the next one below him. My job
was to make them clean up their quarters.
Being a farm country kid, I hadn't seen the
ocean, much less been on a ship. My quarters
were amidship and I didn't get sick till I stuck
my nose in the bow of good old Queen Mary.
When I told the sailors what the orders of the
day were, I heard (4 letter word you Lt.) I
hadn't been issued a gun, and I didn't have a
club. I also weighed 125 lbs. - so I got sick
with them all.
The W.A.C.'s had a small upper deck to
themselves and M.P.'s were lined up 10 deep
to make sure none of us strayed up there.
Sometime after midnight, their C.O. pulled a
bed check and was (Short). The M.P.'s spent
the rest of night going up and down on the
decks as the G.I.'s slept in 3 shifts on open
decks. They would rap the foot of the sleeping
bags and when they heard a squeal, they
would escort a Soldier back to her upper deck.
Pilot Name
|
Biography Summary
|
John Abbotts
|
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.
|
Asa A. Adair
|
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.
|
Edward B. Addison
|
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.
|
Levon B. Agha-Zarian
|
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.
|
George N. Ahles
|
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.
|
Roy J. Aldritt
|
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.
|
Eugene J. Amaral
|
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.
|
Talmadge L. Ambrose
|
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.
|
John C. Anderson
|
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.
|
William Anderson
|
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.
|
|
|