World War II United States Army Air Force Fighter Ace. As a member of the 336th Fighter Squadron, 4th Fighter Group, Eighth Air Force deployed in Europe during World War II, he shot down sixteen enemy aircraft in air combat. Flying first in a P-47 Thunderbolt, then a P-51 Mustang, he teamed with fellow squadron member Major Don Gentile, who shot down twenty German aircraft, to form a lethal combination against the Luftwaffe. In August 1944 he was actually shot down over Germany, and spent the balance of the war in German prison camp. Discharged as a Major in 1945, in 1958, just after his death from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, "The Look of Eagles," written together with Thomas D. White, was published about his war experiences.
World War II United States Army Air Force Fighter Ace. As a member of the 336th Fighter Squadron, 4th Fighter Group, Eighth Air Force deployed in Europe during World War II, he shot down sixteen enemy aircraft in air combat. Flying first in a P-47 Thunderbolt, then a P-51 Mustang, he teamed with fellow squadron member Major Don Gentile, who shot down twenty German aircraft, to form a lethal combination against the Luftwaffe. In August 1944 he was actually shot down over Germany, and spent the balance of the war in German prison camp. Discharged as a Major in 1945, in 1958, just after his death from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, "The Look of Eagles," written together with Thomas D. White, was published about his war experiences.
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