John L. Rutherford
JOHN L.RUTHERFORD Shortly
after his eighteenth birthday in 1942,
Johnny Rutherford saw a picture of a diving
P-47 in the Philadelphia Inquirer. He went
to an Army recruiting station and told them
he wanted to become a P-47 pilot. Through
a combination of desire, ability, good instructors, and the Lord watching over him, he graduated from single-engine school at
Spence Field, Moultrie, Georgia (Class 44-B). His dreams came true when he checked out in
P-47's at Richmond, Virginia. After
transition and aerial gunnery, 2nd Lt. Rutherford was sent to the European Theater of Operations where he joined the 411th
Squadron, 373rd Fighter Group as a replacement pilot in August, 1944. He and his buddies, Jack Reynolds and Bill Shepherd,
asked for the 373rd because they heard a
rumor that the Group was living in a chateau
in France. Actually that 9th Air Force Group
was living in tents at a Pierce-plank strip
(A-13), near Caen, France.
Johnny flew forty-five combat missions,
dive-bombing and strafing front-line troops
and other military targets, without ever
being struck by enemy fire. On his forty-sixth
mission, however, his P-47 was hit by 88 mm
flak as he was pulling off the target. Johnny
bailed out just before the plane exploded and
landed in the midst of the German troops that
had just been attacked. He spent the rest of
the war as a P.O.W. in Stalag Luft I and was
liberated by Russian soldiers in May, 1945.
Two days after getting home in July, 1945, he met his future wife, Sally Richards; they now have two sons, David and Peter.
Although Johnny was a high school drop-out
in 1942, he went to college under the G.I.
Bill, majoring in physics, and then got his
M.S. and Ph.D. in metallurgy. He has
enjoyed a very satisfying career as a materials
research scientist in the aerospace industry
and has published many papers in international professional journals. Dr. Rutherford is a member of five professional societies and
his biography is listed in American Men of Science and Who's Who in the East.
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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