L. W. Chick, Jr.
L. W. CHICK, JR. In 1933, I was a
16-year-old kid looking out the window of my
Thomas Jefferson High School Civics Class in
San Antonio, Texas. A string of P-l's were
having a rat race, performing loops, slow
rolls, and in general, beating up the sky. They
were from Kelly Field. This was when I
decided that I would rather be a fighter Pilot
than President. Three years at Texas A&M
gave me the college credits and the years of
age to become a member of the class of 38-B,
training at Randolph and Kelly Fields. Flying P-12's at Kelly and P-6.E's and P-26's at Barksdale was real living. I ferried a P-26 to
Panama in 1939 and remained there until
August 1942. At the time of Pearl Harbor, I
was commanding the 24th Pur. Sq. equipped
with P-40's and later P-39's.
The fall of 1942 found me commanding a
Fighter Group on the East Coast when
"Greazy Pete" decided to send me to England
to be killed. Upon arrival at the Eagle Squad.
rons I had 45 minutes in a Spitfire Mark V
before my first combat mission. In April 43
we were re-equipped with Jugs. The Big Assed
Birds. I had 3 hours in them before going into
combat. After a year in England, a P-40
outfit in North Africa was being re-equipped
with Jugs, and I was sent there to teach them
how to fight with Jugs. In December we
moved into Italy, mud, tents, steel plank
runways and all those goodies. I set up my
Jugs to pull 70 in. hg. at 3000 rpm with
water injection. The fuel consumption was
horrible and the engine life was nothing to
brag about but how that old prostitute would
perform. A hundred victories by 25 pilots
with a loss of only 4 pilots. The tech reps were
pulling out their hair but the figures weren't
lying. Loaded properly and using the right
technique, you could Immelman on take off.
I was often asked how I expected to walk out
if I were shot down wearing cowboy boots
which I wore on all missions. My answer was
always, "I plan on flying home." If you kept
your eyes open you could do it if you were
flying a Jug.
Yes, I am still alive and kicking. I have kids,
grandkids, cows and lots of pecan trees.
Today, instead of trying to wipe out humanity, I am trying to feed it. Scouts honor.
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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