Burton W. Cole
BURTON W. "TOM" COLE, JR.,
born February IS, 1919 in Somerville, Massachusetts. Enlisted U.S. Army Air Corps,May 26, 1939. After Pearl Harbor,'Staff
Sergeant at this time, applied for and became
an Aviation Cadet graduating in Class 43-G
and commissioned a 2nd Lt. at Aloe Army Air
Field, Victoria, Texas. Flew P-40's out of
Clearwater, Florida, then P-39's with final
training in P-47'sat Walterboro, South Carolina with the 405th Fighter Group, 509th Fighter Squadron. Group was sent to the
European Theater, a Fighter Strip at Christchurch, England, southern coast, right off
the Isle of Wight. "Tommy" as he was called
in those days flew 82 combat missions with
200 combat hours; he was awarded the
Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal
with 15 Oak Leaf Clusters. His first mission
was high altitude escort of B-17 's and B-24 's,
then later, on the Continent flew low altitude
missions destroying supply routes, ammunition depots, bridges, railroads, tunnels and close support attacks on tanks and artillery.
On the 4th of July "Tommy" received
heavy ground fire which ruptured an oil line
forcing him to land on an unfinished strip near Ste Mere Eglise, France. Army engineers were building this strip at the time; they
gave "Tommy" lunch, helped him patch up
the oil line, then "Tommy" flew back to his
home strip at Christchurch, England.
On September 24, 1944, Lt. Cole along
with eleven of his fellow pilots volunteered for
a hazardous mission in extremely inclement
weather to bomb and strafe a group of enemy
tanks that were threatening General Patton's
ground forces. His attacks under extremely
difficult and hazardous conditions contributed in large measure to repulsing the enemy attack. General Patton was so pleased with
the results of this mission that he had us all
land at Verdun, France, the General's Headquarters, in order for the General to congratulate us in person. We landed there ok but
never did get to meet or see the General as it
was getting late and we had to return to home
base before dark. However, General Patton
recommended that we all be awarded the DFC
for this mission. All 12 did receive the DFC,
one, posthumously.
"Tommy" retired as a Major from the
USAF on December 11,1963 with 23 years
active military service. Recently retired with
disability for the Federal Reserve Bank, Kansas City, Missouri. He married Annie Polinick in 1948 and has three children, Bonnie,
Tom and Joanne.
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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