Jack Raphael
JACK L. RAPHAEL, born, 1923, in
St. Louis. At an early age, he moved to the
Pacific Northwest. He began flying at age 15
and, when 18, joined the RCAF before the
U.S. got involved, officially, in WWII. He
flew Hurricanes, Spitfires, and the Typhoon
before transfer to the USAAF in March of
1943. After transfer came transition to the
P-47 and assignment to the 4th Fighter
Group, 336 Squadron, where he flew with
Don Gentile, Johnny Godfrey, Jim Goodson,
Vermont Garrison, Bob Nelson, and a host of
other hired killers.
Shortly after the invasion he was assigned
to liaison work with the French, since he
spoke fluent French. Raphael was ultimately
severely wounded in the "Bulge" area and
flown to the ZI.
Jack married Muriel Drilling, daughter of
a 30-year Navy man, and they have two
offspring, Lyn, born in Tacoma, now an
executive secretary with Occidental Petroleum. Dave, born in Liege, Belgium, is in the USAF in satellite control.
After completing requirements for a BA in
three years, Jack was granted a Fulbright
Scholarship in Belgium and Luxembourg
(1951-52.) He did historical research on
Luxembourg.
He was Chief of Operations Analysis for
the 25th Air Division, McChord AFB, before
being hired by the RAND Corp. in Santa
Monica. After 11 1/2 years with Rand and
SDC he retired from the rat race. While with
SDC he spent three years in Germany as a
training consultant to USAFE. This was followed by 1 1/2 years as a consultant to the Spanish Air Defense Command in air defense.
Jack is a member of the Order of
Daedalians, EAA, American Aviation Historical Society, Cross and Cockade, and the P-47 Thunderbolt Pilots Association.
He was awarded DFC, Air Medal with 3
OLC, British War Medal, Canadian Volunteer Service Medal - a total of 15 pieces of "fruit salad."
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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