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Jack A. Quinlan
JACK A. QUINLAN, born October
20, 1923, at Marceline, Missouri. When
Jack was about five years of age the family
moved to Topeka, Kansas, where he attended
the public schools and was graduated from
Topeka High School in the Spring of 1941.
He then enrolled at Washburn Municipal
University in Topeka where he played varsity
football. Shortly after Pearl Harbor he
enlisted in the U.S. Army Aviation Cadet
Program where he was assigned to the West-Coast Training Command. He completed Pre-flight training at Santa Ana, California; primary at Tulare, California; out of basic training at Merced, California, and received
his wings and commission at Luke Field,
Arizona. He was then assigned to the 6th
Night Fighters Squadron of the Fifteenth
Fighter Group on the Island of Oahu in
Hawaii. There he flew P-39s and P-47s. He
was then reassigned to the 5th Air Force to
the 348th Fighter Group, 340th Fighter
Squadron. He joined the Squadron in group
at Port Moresby, New Guinea. He then flew
all types of missions in New Guinea, the
Halmaheras, the Phillipines, and was stationed at IE Shima when the war in the
Pacific ended. During this period of time he
flew P-47s and his squadron was later
assigned P-51s. In May of 1944 he was shot
down over Wewak, New Guinea when his
squadron was on a strafing mission at Wewak.
He was able to find his way out of the jungle
after nineteen days and was subsequently
hospitalized at Port'Moresby, New Guinea.
He then returned to combat duty where he
completed flying some approximately 200
missions. He was credited with having shot
down 208 enemy aircraft from New Guinea
through Ie Shima. The last two aircraft were
shot down over the Southern Islands of
Japan.
Released from active duty in March of
1945, he returned to Washburn Municipal
University where he completed the undergraduate work for his degree. He then continued on to law school and was graduated with
a J.D. Degree. He has been in the private
practice of law in the City of Topeka and is
the senior member of the law firm of SCOTT,
QUINLAN & HECHT.
He married Imogene Ransdell in 1946. They have three children, and presently have three grandchildren.
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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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