Richard Peyton Woodson III
MilitaryCorrected aircraft serial number.
'We were hit by flak on the bomb run and lost an engine. A second engine was giving trouble and would not keep up with the formation. We suddenly felt very alone in the skies over Germany. Called the fighter channel on the radio and miraculously a lovely P-51 showed up on our wing in a surprisingly short time. We knew his wing man was above flying cover so we began to relax. A waist gunner had a 35mm camera with color film- a WWII rarity. We coaxed the P-51 closer and closer and [associated media] is the picture that resulted. It still brings a lump to my throat when I look at it.'
Assigned Sep 1944
Received the National Order of the Legion of Honor from France in Charlotte, NC 6/15/2016
Connections
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Units served with
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
Events
Event | Location | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Born |
Albuquerque, NM, USA | 1 March 1923 | born to: Richard Peyton Woodson Jr. and Katherine McMillen Woodson |
Enlisted |
Newark, NJ, USA | 29 October 1942 | |
Died |
Raleigh, NC, USA | 5 January 2017 | Springmoor Health Center |
Revisions
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / Mighty Eighth Air Force Heritage Museum Membership List, July 2000; Snetterton Falcons, pg 194