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Roger F. Carroll
ROGER F. CARROLL, born June 16, 1924 in Waterbury, Connecticut,
attended Amherst College. He enlisted in the
Army Air Corps in 1942 as a glider pilot.
Later when the glider pilot program was
curtailed, he transferred as an aviation cadet
in the Class of 41-I, graduating and commissioned
a 2nd Lieutenant at Spence Field,
Moultrie, Georgia. First assignment flying
P-39's and P-40's in Tifton, Georgia. Then to
the 3rd Air Force in Tallahassee, Florida
flying P-41's, In December 1943, Carroll
transferred to the 5th Air Force in the
southwest Pacific area where he was assigned
to the 311th fighter squadron, 58th fighter
group, at the ripe old age of 19. He was
stationed in Australia, New Guinea, the
Dutch East Indies, the Halmaheras, Philippine
Islands, and Okinawa where he flew 126
combat missions. These missions included
escort, patrol, interception, and close ground
support. His squadron would carry 2500 lbs.
of bombs on each plane. (1000 under each
wing and 500 under the belly). On many
missions napalm was carried for close support
of the ground forces. His longest mission was
from Dutch New Guinea to the oil fields in
Borneo on a B-24 escort mission. This lasted
8 hours and 20 minutes. While in the Philippines he was credited with shooting down a
"Nick," a twin engine Zero.
He was awarded the Distinguished Flying
Cross, Air Medal with 4 clusters, the Asiatic-
Pacific Theater Ribbon with 3 battle stars,
and the Philippine Liberation Ribbon with 2
battle stars.
He left the 5th Air Force in July of 1945
and returned to the United States. Released
from active duty in December, 1945 he
completed his education at the University of
New Haven. He was active in the reserves till
1949 when he transferred to the Connecticut
Air National Guard where he flew P-47Ns
till 1951 when he was released from
the Air Guard as a Captain. Still active in
flying, he now speeds along at 120 mph in a
Cessna 172.
He is the Manager of the Engineering
Department of the Southern New England
Telephone Company in Waterbury and has
been a member of the P-47 Thunderbolt
Pilots Association since 1963. He is married
and lives in Middlebury, Connecticut.
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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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