1st.
Lieutenant Norm Achen
flew with the 4th Fighter Group, 344th Fighter Squadron from
Debden, England from June 1944 to August 15th. He was shot
down by ground fire in his P-51 while searching for targets
of opportunity after escorting B-24's to Hanover. Norm later
escaped from a P.O.W. camp and after 15 days reached a General
Patton tank unit.
2nd.
Lieutenant Lewis H. Maynard
enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corp
near the end of 1942. He took pre-flight in San Antonio, Texas,
and basic training in Kansas. He trained on P-47’s and
flew 500 hours of air-sea rescue. Shipped to England, he served
with the 5th Air Sea Rescue Squadron out of Halesworth.
Lieutenant
Everett ‘Bud’ Miller
was born in Nashua, Iowa, and raised in Chino, California.
He was initially with the 94th F.G. (Hat in the Ring) in the
Mediterranean. His first victory was a Fw-190 returning from
Ploesti on May 10, 1944. His 2nd, 3rd and 4th victories were
on June 10 over Romania.
Captain
Ronald J. Nash was
born in Hanford, California. He was an Aircraft Commander
on B-17’s with the 390th Bomb Group, 8th Air Force.
On his 27th mission (Dec. 31, 1944), he was shot down over
Hamburg and suffered spinal injuries. He spent 3 months in
a German military hospital, and afterwards was incarcerated
in Stalag 10.
Lieutenant
Joseph A. Peterburs enlisted
in the forces at Milwaukee, Wisconsin and by November 1944
was with the 20th F.G., 55th F.S. on Mustangs. He was Assistant
Flight Leader by February 1945. On April 10th he shot down
Oberleutnant Walter Shuck, while escorting B-17’s over
Germany. It was his 49th mission and his last, for he was
then shot down and became a POW but escaped and fought with
the Russians.
|
|
Oberleutnant
Walter Schuck
joined the Luftwaffe in 1937. He scored his first victory
while with 7./JG-5 based at Petsamo on the Polar Sea. On June
5th, 1942, he shot down 4 Russian fighters. His rate of victories
increased steadily. During March, 1944, he shot down 7 Boston
bombers and by April had 84 victories. On June 15th he scored
6 more, and on the 17th, 12 more victories in 24 hours! By
August he had 150. Later in the war he flew the Me.262 jet
with JG-7. He shot down 4 B-17's in the 262, with 8 victories.
His all-up score was 206 confirmed aerial victories. His awards
include the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves.
Oberleutnant
Kurt Schulze
Began his service as a cadet in 1939.
As a wireless operator, he flew in Me 110's over southern
Russia with 3.(F)11. From 1942 - 44 he was Communications
and Navigation Officer of 1/KG-2 and flew night missions to
England as a navigator in Do 217's. While with KG-2, he became
a pilot and in 1944, flew Me 109G's with III.JG-5 from northern
Finland and Norway. There, he participated in photo reconnaissance
missions over Murmansk, (F)124. In early 1945 he commanded
1/JG-51 in Gdansk, where he flew the last of his 103 missions
and ended the war commanding 13/JG-5 in Norway. He was credited
with 3 victories and holds the Iron Cross 1st and 2nd Class,
Flight Clasp, etc. After the war, he spent two years as a
P.O.W. in France.
Captain
Robert P. Winks
Robert Winks was born in Sumner,
Iowa. He joined the service in 1943, and after training was
posted to England. Flying his first combat mission in July
1944, he served with the 364th Fighter Squadron, 357th Fighter
Group at Leiston, flying P-51's. He scored his first victory
in November 1944, with a second in December. Then on January
14, 1945, he had another 2 1/2 victories and the next day
on a mission to Augsburg he saw a 262 jet slow rolling near
its field and shot it down in flames. His year long tour in
Europe took in the heavy fighting over the Battle of the Bulge,
the missions to support the Arnhem operations, and the Battle
of Berlin, when the 357th destroyed 56 enemy aircraft. During
this time he flew some 69 combat missions. His personal P-51D
was 'Trusty Rusty'.
|