John M. Lepry
JOHN M. LEPRY, born on July 17,
1917, in West Warwick, R.I. He graduated
from Warwick High School in June, 1934.
Before WWII he worked as a clerk in the
Warwick post office. He enlisted in the Aviation Cadet program in 1942 and graduated
with Class 44-B at Spence Field, Georgia. He
then went through fighter transition in St.
Petersburg, Florida, where he flew P-40's. In
June, 1944, he arrived in Italy and was
assigned to the 86th Fighter Group, 526th
Squadron, which was based in Corsica and
was equipped with P-47's. The 86th Fighter
Group eventually moved to Grosseto, Italy,
and then to Pisa. The Group's primary mission was to cut off supplies to enemy forces.
He took part in the destruction of bridges,
railroads, trains, trucks, ammunition dumps,
and anything that moved on the highway. He
also flew many close support missions. In
January, 1945, the 86th Fighter Group
moved to France where the same kinds of
missions were flown into Germany. He flew
101 missions and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal with 3
clusters, and the Soldier's Medal.
Released from active duty in December,
1945, he enrolled at Providence College and
graduated with the class of 1950. He taught
school in the Warwick School system until he
retired in June, 1979.
He became a member of the 152nd Fighter Squadron, Rhode Island Air National
Guard when it was formed in 1948. The
RIANG was originally equipped with P-47's.
He remained with the Guard until he retired
as a Lieutenant Colonel in 1972.
He married Rachel Bouchard in 1953 and
has two children, Mark and Suzanne, and
three grandchildren.
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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