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Fred Christian Sautter
FRED CHRISTIAN SAUTTER,
JR, born July 9, 1920 in Montclair, New
Jersey. He attended West Virginia Wesleyan
College, leaving in 1943 to join the Air Corps
to become a pilot. He had done CAP flying
while at Wesleyan so naturally the Air Corps
was his spot when the time came.
He was commissioned and received his
Pilot's wings in October 1943 at Craig Field,
Selma, Alabama with the Class of 43-J.
His first assignment was with the Third Air
Force 439th Flight Squadron, Tallahassee,
Florida. Then in March 1944 he received his
overseas assignment to Europe with the 50th
Fighter Group of the Ninth Air Force, 81st
Fighter Squadron.
He flew 81 missions in 10 months and was
assigned back to the States, having been
awarded the Air Medal with 14 clusters.
Released from active duty in May 1945,
he returned to civilian life and took on the
world of the salesman of heavy equipment to
the railroads.
He worked all over the country selling
railroads but then he concentrated in the
East - nearer to home. Things went very
well until 1974 when the bottom dropped
out of the railroad market in the East.
So undaunted, Fred went out to look for a
job. He found one in Montclair selling hearing aids and acoustical equipment. Quite a change from the railroads.
By 1978, he had bought out his partner
and was well on his way to another career.
In 1946 he married a local gal, Lorraine
Riker and they have three children, Chris,
Kim and Beth and now they have two grandchildren. Chris is a chip off the old block. He graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1969 and is flying planes.
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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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