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John C. Robertson
JOHN C. ROBERTSON, born
November 1914. John grew up in Dayton
Ohio, and graduated from DePauw University, Greencastle, Indiana. He graduated from flying school in 1940 and was assigned
Selfridge Field, Mt. Clemens, MI. He flew
high altitude tests at Wright Field on the
Seversky P-35, a forerunner of the P-47.
Later, he flew P-39's with the 31st Pursuit
Group and accompanied it when the first two
U.S. Groups (31st and 52nd) sailed to Eland in the Spring of 1942. There, he flew Spitfires on fighter sweeps over the low
countries (after the RAF-s experience, the
P-39 was considered too vulnerable for initial U.S. combat operations in Europe).
October, 1942, John was selected to Command the newly organized, and P-39
equipped, 346ih Fighter Squadron, 350 Fighter Group, activated at RAF Station
Coltishall, in East Anglia. On 3 January 1943, he led a flight of P-39;s (along with B-25 escort plane) some 1200 miles, at,
altitude of 200 to 300 feet, from England
Morocco, North Africa. In February 1943
he faced the rather awesome task of leading
this new squadron of pilots, many of whom
had accumulated very few hours in
already suspect aircraft, against the best that
Rommel's experienced troops and pilots
could offer. In these initial U.S. air-ground
tactical fighter operations in Tunisia, there
were no established tactics, no radars or
control centers, no radio homing beacons a
no reliable voice communications, even
between aircraft within the flight, much of
the time. .
John was a pioneer and an outstanding combat leader in this embryonic, yet ultimate testing ground. Eventually, he moved on up
serving as either Deputy or interim Commander of the 350th Fighter Group as it
moved through the Mediterranean campaigns. He continued to fly his share
missions with the squadrons, year in and year
out, when the 350th sailed from Italy for the
Pacific Theater, John became its commander, staying with the Group until its inactivation after the war. Whenever the show got to
be too binding or too boring, John was not
above falling back on an outrageous fraternity house sense of humor which he periodically inflicted on his friends throughout his life.
He became a regular officer following WW II, and retired from the Air Force in 1965.
John is gone now, but there are still some old fighter pilots out there who remember him well, and with great fondness.
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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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