Paul Conger
PAUL CONGER, In 1931 Paul Conger was sitting on his bicycle at the Santa
Monica Airport (Clover Field then) watching
a group of P-12's from Langley Field Virginia land. And as they taxied by with prop wash dirt flying into his face and warming his blood
to the tune that to be a Fighter Pilot would be
his greatest dream.
Paul was born May 3, 1918 in Los
Angeles, California and as a graduate from
Beverly Hills High School he proceeded to
attend the College of Pacific. After completing 4 years of college, majoring in metallurgy he received a full time job with the Standard
Oil Company of California, San Francisco,
California main office.
November 1941 he became an Army Air
Corp, Cadet with the Class of 42F, receiving
his wings at Kelly Field, Texas. Further
assignment was to the 56th Fighter Group,
61st Squadron at Bridgeport, Conn. Where
the P-47B (with the fabric tail) gave the
56th group the job of being test pilots.
December 1942 the 56th Fighter Group
went to England as the first U.S.A. Fighter
group. Paul flew with the 61st Squadron
under the command of Francis Gabreski. On
his first tour and then his second tour was
with the 63rd Squadron. He logged a total
of 560 combat hours consisting of 168 missions from England to the Continent. The P-47 was the only bird for the 56th Fighter
Group during the entire W .W .II.
By the end of the second Tour of Combat
Paul chalked up 11 1/2 aerial kills plus tanks,
Train-convoys, land and sea and had been
awarded the Distinguished Service Cross,
Silver Star, Distinguished Flying Cross with 4
Clusters, Air Medal with 19 Clusters, Purple
Heart and Unit Citation with 1 Cluster.
In the past several years Paul has tapered
down to Heavy Equipment Truck lease and
sales business. Prior to this change in tempo
he was very active in the Air Freight Business
maintaining two G-45 Beechcraft Cargo
Ships whereby keeping him fully occupied
each day of the year.
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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