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John C. McClure
JOHN C. McCLURE, born 7 November 1917 in Newark, Ohio, graduated from
Ohio Wesleyan University with a B.A. degree
in Pre-medical biology. He enlisted as a
Flying Cadet, was commissioned with Class
41-I in December 1941. He joined the 56th
Fighter Group flying P-35's, P-36's, P-38's,
YP-39's, P-40's, P-43's, and ferried the first
P-47-B for military use from Farmingdale,
L.I. to the 62nd Fighter Squadron at Newark
Airport in May 1942. Arriving in England in
1943, he flew the first P-47 combat mission,
led by Chesley Peterson, with Zemke, Schilling and O'Neill. Later, parachuting from a
combat-damaged Jug into the North Sea, he
was incarcerated in Amsterdam Prison and
eventually reached Stalag Luft III at Sagan,
Germany as a P.O.W. Returned to the U.S. in
1945, he again joined the re-formed 56th
Fighter Group at Selfridge Field. After a tour
as Advisor with Ohio A.N.G., he joined the
388th Fighter Group in Clovis, New Mexico,
moving with them to Etain, France in
December 1954. Transferred to Germany in
1955, he commanded the 7330th Group at
Furstenfeldbruck, training NATO fighter
pilots in Jet operations and instrument qualification. This included the first 400
Luftwaffe pilots qualified for flight status
after W.W .II. He assisted in establishing the
Luftwaffe's first fighter squadron in F-84's,
and was presented Luftwaffe pilot rating and
wings with honorary rank of Oberst in September 1957. Assigned to DASA, 1958, he
was operations chief in nuclear Weapons
Effects Tests at both Eniwetok and Nevada
Test Sites. In 1960 he flew F-l04 's at George
A.F.B., then moved to MacDil1 A.F.B. in
1961 where he aided in establishing Strike
Command. In November 1962 he retired
from active military service.
At the University of New Mexico, he
directed the Federal Education Aid Programs
until 1968, when he moved to Atlanta,
Georgia as a distributor for the Automotive
Battery Division of Gould, Inc. Joining Western International Hotels in 1975, he participated in opening Peachtree Plaza Hotel in Atlanta, and retired from active employment
in 1978.
He is a Charter life member of the P-47
Thunderbolt Pilots Association, a Senior
Active Rotarian, Scottish Rite Mason and
Shriner. In 1945 he married Charlotte
Swain. They have three children; John,
James, and Barbara.
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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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