John F. Leamon
JOHN F. LEAMON almost missed
combat duty but managed to get in fifteen
P-47 missions over Germany before the Hun
gave up in May 1945. He joined the 377th
Fighter Squadron, 362nd Fighter Group,
9th Air Force on April 4, 1945 at Etain,
France and was immediately engaged in close
support work for Patton's ground troops. At
that time Patton's advance was so swift that
the Group had difficulty staying within fighting range, so it moved to Frankfurt, Germany
on April 13th and was preparing for another
move to Illesheim, Germany when the war
ended. During May and June the 377th got
in more Jug time at Straubing and Pocking,
Germany, but, in July and August, it was
virtually grounded at Camp Detroit (Laon,
France) waiting for a transfer to the Pacific.
Later, however, as the transport ship moved
out of the harbor at Marseilles, the ship's
captain announced, "Gentlemen, I am sure
you will all be happy to know our next stop
will be Brooklyn Harbor."
John's flight training began in Piper Cubs
when he was an Aviation Student at Mississippi State College. From there it was PT-19's at
Sikeston, Missouri, BT .13's at Strother
Field, and AT-6's at Aloe Field. It was at Aloe
Field he received his wings and commission
in Class 44-F on June 27, 1944. Following
graduation he obtained AT-6 gunnery training on Matagorda Island followed by some
P-40 time back at Aloe Field.
He was introduced to P-47's in October
1944 at Seymour-Johnson Field where he
got his basic fighter training. In December he
moved to Dover, Delaware for P-47 gunnery
training.
John was born November 12, 1924 on a
farm near Lafayette, Indiana. He attended
grade school and high school at Stockwell,
Indiana and received his BS degree in Aeronautical Engineering at Purdue University.
Since 1951, he has been in Propulsion Engineering with Trans World Airlines at Kansas
City, Missouri. He and his wife, Jean, have
four children - Paula, Doug, Julie, and
Brad.
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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