John J Pesch

Military
media-30266.jpeg UPL 30266

Object Number - UPL 30266

B-17G #42-38157 'Four Freedoms' was severely damaged by fighters on a mission to Brunswick, GR on 23 Mar 1944 and after falling out of formation was attacked again on the return. Eight crewman baled out over Holland, but the pilot and co-pilot returned and crash landed near Ashford, Kent. RTD.



Gen. Pesch led the Air National Guard from 1974 to 1977, when he retired

from the military after a 35-year career. He continued to work as a

consultant to General Electric and Northrop until 1987.



Gen. Pesch was a native of Maspeth, N.Y. He joined the Army Air Forces in

1942, flying a single-engine dive bomber and then B-17s over Europe during

World War II. Most of his missions were deep penetrations into Germany. He

led his squadron on the first shuttle raid from England to Poltava, Russia.

He had flown 31 combat missions by the end of the war.



He left the military in 1946, joining the Maine Air National Guard while

attending the University of Maine. He was recalled to active duty in 1950

and sent to Landsberg, Germany. He later served at the Pentagon in Air Force

operations, at the headquarters of the Air Defense Command in Colorado

Springs and at the National Guard Bureau in the Pentagon. In 1974, he

received his final assignment: leader of the Air National Guard.



Among his military awards were the Distinguished Service Medal, the Legion

of Merit, two awards of the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Meritorious

Service Medal and five awards of the Air Medal.

Connections

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Units served with

The insignia of the 452nd Bomb Group.
  • Unit Hierarchy: Group
  • Air Force: Eighth Air Force
  • Type Category: Bombardment

Aircraft

  • Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
  • Nicknames: Four Freedoms
  • Unit: 452nd Bomb Group

Places

Events

Event Location Date Description

Died

10 January 2010

Revisions

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Bio

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Wiki

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Photographs of Bomb Group L. B-17G 42-38157 “Four Freedoms”. 1944 March 24 Image number 5WS-5-125-PB1 through 5WS-5-125-PB6, Box 5, Folder 125, William E. Shuttles Collection, 1907-1994, The University of Texas Dallas, Eugene McDermott Library

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Missing Air Crew Report

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Ancestry.com

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USAF and family records

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1999 Unit Roster, MACR 3550, Losses of the 8th & 9th Air Forces / Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia

John J Pesch: Gallery (23 items)