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George W. Janovitz
GEORGE W. JANOVITZ, born on
the 15th of August, 1915 in Newark, New
Jersey. He grew up in the Hillside, New
Jersey area; attended local schools and graduated from Hillside High School, class of 1936. He volunteered for military service in
lieu of the 1940 draft and was assigned to the
44th Infantry Division at Fort Dix. His one
year of duty was extended after the bombing
of Pearl Harbor in December 1941. He
applied for Officers Candidate School (OCS
and graduated as a 2nd Lt. in the Field
Artillery Ft. Sill, Okla.) October 1942. He
applied for flight training (in Grade) and
graduated from single-engine.school (Spence
Field, GA) class of 43-K. RTU was at Perry
Fld., Fla. in P-47G's. He was transferred, in
March 1944, to England and with subsequent assignment to the 511th Fighter Sqdn. (405th FG) at Christchurch, (Bournmouth,
England).
The Ninth Air Force flew some escort missions but the primary objective was close air support in support of Gen. Patton's 3rd
Army. The 511th sqdn. on D-30 arrived at
Picaville, France with subsequent (A-8,) at
A-14, Creteville; A-64, St. Dizier and during
the BULGE to Y-32 in Belgium, in support of
the 1st US ARMY. He flew 95 missions and
was Squadron Operations Officer at the time
of rotation (4th of May 1945).
Returning stateside he ferried fighters
from Romulus (Mich.) and Long Beach
(Calif.) to storage. In 1945 he was assigned to
the 1st (71st FS) Fighter Grp., March AFB
who were being outfitted with P-5O's. He was
assigned to the Air Tactical School, Tyndall
AFB, Fla. as maintenance officer for P-51 H's. Future assignments were to Alaska, Albuquerque (93FS), Korea, Minot, ND,
Hanscom Fld., Mass. Alaska Danang, SVN
and Orlando, Fla. He retired as a Lt. Colonel
with 30 years service in Jan. 1970.
He met and married Hazel Marie Huff
(TONI) whom he met in Pocatello, Idaho, in
(1947). They have no children. Their marriage took place in Andalusia, Alabama on 1 Nov. 1947.
He has been active in local civic affairs and
has been associated with the Real Estate
profession since his retirement, and since has
acquired degrees in Public Administration
and Real Estate.
Decorations include the DFC., Air Medal
with 15 Oak Leaf Clusters and the ETO
ribbon with 6 battle stars. A legion of merit
was awarded at retirement. The 511th FS
members received the "Belgian Croix de
Guerre" for its ,accomplishments during the
"Battle of the Bulge".
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Pilot Name
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Biography Summary
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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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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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W.B. 'Tex' Badger
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Eight and Ninth Air Force in WWII. B-l7's, P-51's and P-47's. Fifth Air Force in Korea, F80's and F86's. WWII and Korea, Flew 156 missions. Tactical units served in with the USAAF and USAF were: 305th BG , 368th Fighter Group, 4th Fighter Group, 49th Fighter Group, 12th Fighter Wing, 506th Fighter Wing.
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Robert T. (Bob) Bagby
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He trained in P47's at Cross City and Dale Mabry Fields, Florida and then joined the 341st FS Black Jack Squadron), 348th FG of the 5th AF in Brisbane, Australia in June 1943. Bob flew 78 combat missions in New Guinea (Port Moresby, Finchafen, Sador, Wakde and Biak) primarily as wingman to squadron CO's John Campbell and John Moore. Also privileged to fly wing to Neil Kirby on several occasions.
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Frank Baker
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After brief stops at Stone and Atcham, England he joined the 313th Fighter Squadron of the 50th Fighter Group in France. He flew 90 missions through V.E. Day. Most of the missions were close support attacks on various ground targets with a few B-26 escort missions thrown in. All of the missions took place in eastern France and southern Germany. He was awarded the Air Medal with 11 oak leaf clusters.
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John M. Balason
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To relieve the boredom, Balason went down on the deck and blew up a locomotive
he had observed at altitude. A few seconds after making his strafing pass he received a hit in his left wing tank and a fire started immediately in the cockpit. The paralyzing effect of the intense heat made climbing out of the cockpit impossible.
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Albert W. Barlow, Jr.
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He flew 69 escort and ground support missions. Destroyed one E/A (ME-I09). Was shot down on Sept. 8, 1944, and evaded enemy ground forces for 8 days. Was picked up by an American Recon. Unit behind the German lines. Was hospitalized until Feb. 1948, when he was medically retired with the rank of Capt. Awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal with four Oak Leaf Clusters, and Purple Heart.
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William T. Beckler
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In July, 1944 Beckler exchanged his P-40 for a P-47N Thunderbolt. Missions in the Jug covered Northern Italy and Southern France. These included escorting medium bombers. The Bombers, based in Southern Italy, would be escorted to France by Thunderbolts based on Corsica. Shortly before target the Jugs would pull ahead of the bombers and bomb the enemy gun positions.
Beckler's activities while participation in three major campaigns earned him the DFC, two Air Medals and two Presidential citations.
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Herbert R. Benson
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After training in P-47 Thunderbolts at bases in North Carolina, Virginia, and Delaware, he was
assigned to the European Theatre of operations and joined the 48th Fighter Group
493rd Fighter Squadron at St. Trond, Belgium. After flying 44 combat missions, he was awarded the Air Medal with 4 Oak Leaf clusters.
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Marvin C. Bigelow
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Training in the Southeast Training Command with the class of 44C, he graduated and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant single engine pilot at Marianna, Florida with the class of
44D. After checking out in the P-40 at Marianna, he transitioned in the P-47 in the Northeast Defense Command and after gunnery at Dover, Delaware was shipped on the Queen Mary to England.
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