Colonel Chesley Peterson (left), CO of the Fourth, and at twenty-three the youngest full colonel in the US Army, with Lieutenant-Colonel Oscar Coen, Carbondale, Illinois, a schoolteacher who became one of the first airmen to be shot down and escape from France.
The legendary ace of World War I, Eddie Rickenbacker, visits the Fourth Fighter group at Debden. General ‘Monk’ Hunter is on the left.
‘Deacon’ Hively.
Blakeslee’s P-47 after being escorted back to England by Goodson. It had been hit by a total of 68 cannon shells.
The starboard side of the P-47 after the oil had been cleaned off, showing shell holes in cockpit canopy, fuselage and wing.
336 Squadron scoreboard with (left to right): Tussey, Patteeuw, Benjamin (intelligence officer), Emerson, Goodson, Hobart, (standing) Blakeslee and MacCarteney.
General Eisenhower, General Carl (Tooey) Spaatz, commander of USAAFE, General James Doolittle, commander Eighth Air Force, Major General William Kepner, commander VIII Fighter Command and Colonel Don Blakeslee at Debden.
Vic France, The Playboy.
Captain Kendall E. Carlson, The Swede.
Vic France and Don Blakeslee.
Ralph Hofer (The Kid) and ‘Duke’.
Captain Benjamin (intelligence officer) debriefing Millikan.
Ruby, ‘Millie’ and Patsy.
Captain Phillip (Pappy) Dunn, from Portland, Oregon.
Left to right: Godfrey, Gentile, Lehman, Goodson and Millikan.
Godfrey, Gentile and Goodson.
Major Willard Millikan just landed after a mission. Left to right: Millikan, K. Peterson, Goodson (back to camera), Benjamin, L. Norley, MacCarteney.
336 Squadron dispersal hut with Goodson in the background, and Gentile leaning on the table.
Johnny Godfrey and ‘Lucky’.
Captain Kenneth Peterson (Black Snake) from Arizona.
(Above) Six leading aces: (clockwise) Lieutenant-Colonel Duane Beeson, Captain ‘Cowboy’ Megura, Major John Godfrey, Major James Goodson, Major Don Gentile. (Right) Captain Nicholas Megura (The Cowboy), Ansonia, Connecticut.
A flight of 335 Squadron P-51s.
Blakeslee briefing: front row left to right: Clark, Magrattan, Goodson.
Lieutenant-Colonel James Clark, Long Island, N.Y.
Lieutenant Aubrey Stanhope, a Frenchman.
Jim Clark.
Lieutenant Steve Pissanos (The Greek), Plainfield, N.J.
General Auton decorates Fred Glover.
Lieutenant-Colonel Duane W. Beeson, from Boise, Idaho.
Louis ‘Red Dog’ Norley.
Captain Allen Bunte from Eustis, Florida.
Major Hank Mills from Leonia, N.J.
Lieutenant Ray Clotfelter.
Major Leon Blanding from Sumter, South Carolina.
Preparations for D-Day. Lieutenant-Colonel Oscar Coen (left, facing camera), Major-General Kepner, Lieutenant-Colonel Jim Clark, Mr Banks (standing), General Eisenhower, Colonel Blakeslee, General Spaatz, Major Gentile, Brigadier-General Auton, Captain Joe Lang, Colonel Fallows (left, nearest camera), Brigadier-General Curtis, Major Goodson, Lieutenant-General Doolittle, Captain Bob Johnson, Commander Harry Butcher, Captain Alfred Markel, Lieutenant Rowles.
Major Hank Mills.
Lieutenant-Colonel Claiborne Kinnard from Franklin, Tennessee, who succeeded Blakeslee as CO of the Fourth.
Pierce McKennon and George Green after ‘Mac’ was picked up from a field in Germany.
Major Pierce W. McKennon (Mac) from Arkansas.
Major James A. Goodson, ‘King of Strafers’.
Major ‘Bud’ Care from Angola, Indiana.
Fred Glover, from Asheville, North Carolina, who succeeded Goodson as CO of 336 Squadron.
VF-B, the P-51D in which Goodson was shot down.
Appendix
ACES OF THE FOURTH FIGHTER GROUP
The official US Air Force definition of an ‘Ace’, is a pilot who has destroyed a minimum of five enemy aircraft.
There are conflicting lists of top-scoring aces. Some take into consideration planes claimed on the last mission which were not confirmed by cine camera film or independent eye witnesses; others list only aerial victories. We have simply taken the list that is officially confirmed by the War Department.
Maj John T. Godfrey 36
Maj James A. Goodson 32
Maj Don S. Gentile 30
1st Lt Ralph K. Hofer 27
Maj Duane W. Beeson 25
Maj Fred W. Glover 24
Lt Col Claiborne H. Kinnard 20
Capt Nicholas Megura 19
Maj Pierce W. McKennon 19
Maj George Carpenter 18
Capt Charles F. Anderson 18
Col Donald J.M. Blakeslee 17
Maj Gerald E. Montgomery 17
Lt Col James A. Clark 16
Maj Louis L. Norley 16
Capt Willard W. Millikan 15
Maj Howard (Deacon) Hively 15
Capt Albert L. Schlegel 15
1st Lt H. Thomas Biel 13
Capt Joseph L. Lang 12
Lt Col Sidney S. Woods 12
1st Lt Paul S. Riley 11
Capt Kendall E. Carlson 11
Capt Shelton W. Monroe 11
Col Everett W. Stewart 10
Capt Frank C. Jones 10
Capt Ted E. Lines 10
Capt Victor J. France 10
Capt Donald R. Emerson 10
Maj James R. Happel 10
Capt Joseph H. Bennett 9
Capt Bernard L. McGrattan 9
Lt Vermont Garrison 9
Capt David W. Howe 9
Lt Col Jack Oberhansley 9
1st Lt Grover C. Siems 9
1st Lt Van E. Chandler 9
Capt William B. Smith 9
1st Lt James W. Ayers 8
Capt Carl R. Alfred 8
1st Lt Joe H. Joiner 7
Col Chesley G. Peterson 7
Capt Raymond C. Care 7
1st Lt William O. Antonides 7
Maj Henry L. Mills 6
Capt Kenneth G. Smith 6
Maj Winslow M. Sobanski 6
Maj Michael G.H. McPharlin 6
1st Lt Clemens A. Fiedler 6
Capt Archie W. Chatterly 6
1st Lt Robert F. Nelson 6
1st Lt Frank E. Speer 6
1st Lt Douglas P. Pederson 6
1st Lt Arthur R. Bowers 6
Capt Carl G. Payne 5
1st Lt Gilert L. Kesler 5
Capt Thomas P. Bell 5
1st Lt Loton D. Jennings 5
Lt Col Roy W. Evans 5
1st Lt Spiros N. Pissanos 5
Maj Gerald C. Brown 5
1st Lt Alex Rafalovich 5
Capt Vasseure H. Wynn 5
1st Lt Jack D. McFaddan 5
Capt Robert D. Hobert 5
Capt Nelson M. Dickey 5
1st Lt Kenneth G. Helfrecht 5
1st Lt Gordon A. Denson 5
F/O Donald P. Baugh 5
Pilots of the Eagle Squadrons at the time of transfer to the Fourth Fighter Group, of the Eighth Air Force in September, 1942.
71st EAGLE SQUADRON
Maj Gus Daymond, commander, Burbank, Calif.
Capt Oscar H. Coen, Carbondale, Ill.
Capt R.S. Sprague, San Diego, Calif.
Lt M.G. McPharlin, Hastings, Mich.
Capt S.A. Maureillo, Astoria, N.Y.
Lt T.J. Andrews, Costa Mesa, Calif.
Lt W.T. O’Regan, Los Angeles, Calif.
Lt H.H. Strickland, Washington, D.C.
Lt R.D. McMinn, Salt Lake City, Utah
Lt W.J. Hollander, Raleigh, N.C.
Lt H.L. Stewart, Raleigh, N.C.
Lt James A. Clark, Jr., Westbury, L.I.
Lt W.C. Brite, Evansville, Ind.
Lt G.C. Ross, Albuquerque, N.M.
Lt. A.H. (Hoppy)
Hopson, Dallas, Tex.
Lt Robert (Junior)
Priser, Tuc
son, Ariz.
Lt G.H. Witlow, Denver, Colo.
Lt J.F. Lutz, Fulton, Mo.
Lt Howard (Deacon)
Hively, Athens, O.
Lt S.M. Anderson, Indianapolis, Ind.
Lt M.S. Vosberg, Azusa, Calif.
Lt H.L. (Hank) Mills, Leonia, N.J.
Lt Duane W. Beeson, Boise, Idaho.
Lt R.C. (Bud) Care, Angola, Ind.
Lt R.A. Boock, Springfield, Ill.
Lt J.C. Harrington, Buffalo, N.Y.
Lt A.J. Seaman, Greenville, N.C.
Lt Victor J. France, Oklahoma City, Okla.
Lt Vernon A. Boehle, Indianapolis, Ind.
Lt W.B. Morgan, Honolulu, T.H.
121st EAGLE SQUADRON
Maj W.J. Daley, commander, Amarillo, Tex.
Capt Selden R. Edner, San Jose, Calif.
Lt Gilbert (Gunner)
Halsey, Chickasha, Okla.
Lt G.B. Fetrow Upland, Calif.
Lt Frank R. Boyles, Mt. Vernon, N.Y.
Lt E.D. Beattie, Albany, Ga.
Lt F.O. Smith, Foard City, Tex.
Lt A.D. Young, Buffalo, Kan.
Lt B.A. Taylor, Salem, Ore.
Lt J.M. Osborne, Washington, D.C.
Lt Cadman V. Padgett, Bethseda, Md.
Lt Frank M. Fink, Philadelphia, Penn.
Lt D.K. Willis, Leavenworth, Ind.
Lt R.G. Patterson, Los Angeles, Calif.
Lt K.G. Smith, Boise, Idaho.
Lt J.G. Matthews, Wallington, N.J.
Lt C.A. Hardin, Harrodsbury, Ky.
Lt George Carpenter, Oil City, Pa.
Lt Paul M. Ellington, Tulsa, Okla.
Lt Leon M. Blanding, Sumter, S.C.
Lt R.J. Fox, Larchmont, N.Y.
Lt Jimmie Happel, Paulsboro, N.J.
Lt Roy Evans, San Bernardino, Calif.
Lt W.P. Kelly, Saratoga, N.Y.
Lt J.M. Saunders, Nashville, Tenn.
Lt J.T. Slater, Waverly, N.Y.
Lt Thomas Wallace, Pasadena, Calif.
133rd EAGLE SQUADRON
Maj C.W. McColpin, commander, Buffalo, N.Y.
Capt M.E. Jackson,
Corpus Christi, Tex.
Capt C.A. Cook, Jr., Alhambra, Calif.
Lt W.H. Baker, Temple, Tex.
Lt G.B. Sperry, Alhambra, Calif.
Lt R.M. Beaty, Rye, N.Y.
Lt L.T. Ryerson, Whitinsville, Mass.
Lt Don S. Gentile, Piqua, O.
Lt D.D. Smith, Orlando, Fla.
Lt G.G. Wright, Wilkes Barre, Pa.
Lt G.H. Middletown, Visilia, Calif.
Lt E.L. Miller, Oakland, Calif.
Lt R.E. Smith, Washington, D.C.
Lt G.P. Neville,
Oklahoma City, Okla.
Lt Leroy Gover, San Carlos, Calif.
Lt D.E. Lambert, Exeter, Calif.
Lt Carl H. Miley, Toledo, O.
Lt Don D. Nee, Long Beach, Calif.
Lt G.J. Smart, Solan, Kans.
Lt H.L. Ayres, Indianapolis, Ind.
Lt R.L. Alexander, Aylmer, Ontario
Lt W.C. Slade, Jr., Brama, Okla.
Lt C.H. Patterson, Fort Worth, Tex.
Lt Joe L. Bennett, Tusumcari, N.M.
Lt J. Mitchelweis, Jr., Rockford, Ill.
Lt J. Goodson, New York, N.Y.
Lt Raymond Fuchs, St. Louis, Mo.
Top Scorers of other Eighth
Air Force Fighter Groups
(20 and above)
Aces of the 55th Fighter Group
Lt Col Elwyn G. Righetti 33
Aces of the 56th Fighter Group
Capt Fred J. Christenson 21
Lt Col Francis S. Gabreski* 33
Capt Robert S. Johnson 28
Col Dave C. Schilling 32
Col Hobert Zemke 28
* Lt Col Gabreski scored 6 more victories in the Korean war
Aces of the 78th Fighter Group
Col John D. Landers 28
Aces of the 339th Fighter Group
Lt Col Joseph L. Thury 28
Aces of the 352nd Fighter Group
Capt Edwin L. Heller 22
Capt Raymond H. Littge 23
Lt Col John C. Meyer 37
Maj George E. Preddy 30
Aces of the 353rd Fighter Group
Col Glenn E. Duncan 26
Aces of the 355th Fighter Group
Capt Henry W. Brown 31
Lt William J. Cullerton 27
Lt Col John L. Elder 21
Col Claiborne H. Kinnard 25
Aces of the 357th Fighter Group
Maj Leonard K. Carson 22
Maj Robert W. Foy 20
Lt Col John D. Landers 28
Aces of the 359th Fighter Group
Maj Ray S. Wetmore 24
Aces of the 479th Fighter Group
Maj Robin Olds 23
*
NB: Wing Commander W. Urban-owitz, Polish but now an American citizen, scored 20 victories, of which 17 were with the RAF in Europe and 3 with the USAAF.
Acknowledgements
I would like to express my sincere thanks to all my friends who have given help and encouragement in the preparation of this book; and particularly to Danny Morris, author of Aces and Wingmen, Roger Freeman, author of The Mighty Eighth and to Leroy Nitschke, of the Association of the Fourth Fighter Group for putting their photographic collections at my disposal; to Colonel Richard Uppstrom and his staff at the Air Force Museum, Wright Field, and particularly to Charles Worman of the Research Division; to William Hess of the American Fighter Aces Association, Barrett Tillman of the Champlin Fighter Museum in Mesa, Arizona; Garry Fry, Keith Braybrooke, Harry Holmes, Thomas Foxworth, Len Morgan and Ann Tilbury, for their help with research and photographs; and to Sandra Scotford for all her hard work in the manuscript preparation. And, of course, to Pete Grover Hall, for his careful record of the life and times of the Fourth Fighter Group.
Above all, my thanks to Brian Harpur, author and ‘happy warrior’ in his own right, without whose friendship and inspiration this book would never have been produced.
And finally, to Gwen and Jamie, thanks for everything.
J.A.G.
THE BEGINNING
Let the conversation begin...
Follow the Penguin Twitter.com@penguinukbooks
Keep up-to-date with all our stories YouTube.com/penguinbooks
Pin ‘Penguin Books’ to your Pinterest
Like ‘Penguin Books’ on Facebook.com/penguinbooks
Listen to Penguin at SoundCloud.com/penguin-books
Find out more about the author and
discover more stories like this at Penguin.co.uk
PENGUIN BOOKS
Published by the Penguin Group
Penguin Books Ltd, 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England
Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA
Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4P 2Y3 (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.)
Penguin Ireland, 25 St Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2, Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd)
Penguin Group (Australia), 707 Collins Street, Melbourne, Victoria 3008, Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd)
Penguin Books India Pvt Ltd, 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi – 110 017, India
Penguin Group (NZ), 67 Apollo Drive, Rosedale, Auckland 0632, New Zealand (a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd)
Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd, Block D, Rosebank Office Park, 181 Jan Smuts Avenue, Parktown North, Gauteng 2193, South Africa
Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England
www.penguin.com
First published by William Kilber & Co. Ltd 1983
Published by Arrow 1986
Published in Penguin Books 2003
Reissued in this edition 2009
Copyright © James A. Goodson 1983
Cover design: Estuary English
Cover image © Corbis / iStock
All rights reserved
The moral right of the author has been asserted
ISBN: 978-1-405-92552-5
* The First and The Last, Methuen, 1955. Translated by Mervyn Savill.