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Roy D. Carlson
COLONEL ROY D. CARLSON, USAF (ret), born in
Red Oak, Iowa 14 January 1922 and graduated from
Jefferson High School, Council Bluffs, Iowa
in 1939. One year later he joined Consolidated
Aircraft Corp. in San Diego, Ca. building
B-24's and PBY-5's. Pearl Harbor caused
him to sign up with the Army Air Corps at
Lindbergh Field in April 1942, winning his
wings at Foster Field, Texas with Class 43-D.
From there he proceeded to Westover Field
for P-4 checkout and transition. That summer
he joined the newly activated 368th
Fighter Group, 397th F.S. at Mitchel Field,
N.Y . Two hundred fifty Jug hours later in
Dec. 1943, the Group sailed from Boston to
England.
By March 1944 they were given the green
light by Pete Quesada and flew their first
mission over France. Flying bomber escort
out of England one day, he picked up his
brother's bomb group and provided personalized
escort service. Needless to say, this made
headlines in the Red Oak Express.
Two weeks after D-Day the Group was
operating out of Strip-3 Isigny, France and
by fall they were in Belgium by way of
Chartres and Laon. With 104 missions
behind him, Roy received a call from the
Shrink at the Ritz Hotel at Atlantic City and
had a 30 day R&R in the Z.I.
Returning to the fray in February 1945,
he joined his old squadron at Metz, France in
time for the spring offensive. Shortly thereafter
he picked up two aerial victories, an
ME-II0 and an ME-I09, and moved up to
Sq. Ops. of the 395th F.S. He finished out
the war at Frankfurt, Germany having flown
129 missions. Occupation duty followed and
September 1945 found him boarding ship at
Marseilles to the strains of "Sentimental
Journey."
College at the University of Iowa, where he
received a regular commission, and marriage
were the next steps. Thirty years later after
duty in Newfoundland, Spain, Okinawa and
Vietnam, still a Fighter Jock in F-102's and
F-4 's, he retired to Tampa, Florida. With his
five children now grown, he sells real estate
and plays golf.
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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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