George Ross Bickell
Military
Object Number - UPL 17004 - Colonel George R Bickell, [ Nutley, NJ ], 28 year-old Commanding Officer of the 354th fighter group of the 9th AF. A veteran of fighting in the...
Assigned to 355FS, 354FG, 9AF USAAF. C/O 355FS Nov-42 to Apr-44. C/O 354FG Apr-44 to May-45. Credited with 3.5 destroyed.
"Lt George R Bickell had his plane shot out from under him 7th December as the Japanese attacked Oahu, landed in the ocean, swam ashore, and took off again in another plane to resume the fight, according to his wife, Mrs. Peggy Bickell, who arrived in the United States Christmas Day from Hawaii. The two, married last June, were eating breakfast when the first wave of Japanese planes came over Oahu, she said. She and others were machine-gunned by Japanese planes as they sought safety. "If you think you can go through an air raid without being scared, you're crazy," Mrs. Bickell said."
Awards: SS, DFC (2OLC), AM (12OLC), BSM, Croix de Guerre (French), Croix de Guerre (Belgian), WWII Victory, AP, EAME (6OLC), American Campaign and Defence Medals, OCC, AF Commendation, National Defense, Air Force Longevity Service Award (5OLC).
Connections
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Units served with
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Ninth Air Force
- Type Category: Fighter
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Ninth Air Force
- Type Category: Fighter
People
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 354th Fighter Group 355th Fighter Squadron
- Highest Rank: Master Sergeant
- Role/Job: Crew Chief
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 354th Fighter Group Headquarters (354th Fighter Group)
- Service Numbers: O-354270
- Highest Rank: Lieutenant Colonel
- Role/Job: Fighter Pilot/Deputy Group Commander
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: P-51 Mustang
- Nicknames: Peg O My Heart
- Unit: 354th Fighter Group 356th Fighter Group 496th Fighter Training Group 355th Fighter Squadron 359th Fighter Squadron 555th Fighter Training Squadron
- Aircraft Type: P-51 Mustang
- Nicknames: Too Bad Killer
- Unit: 354th Fighter Group Base Air Depot 2 355th Fighter Squadron
Places
- Site type: Airfield
- Known as: Headcorn
Events
| Event | Location | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Born |
Passaic, NJ | 1 July 1916 | |
|
Other Commander 355th FS |
16 November 1942 - 6 April 1944 | 355th FS, 16th Nov 1942 to 6th April, 1944. | |
|
Died |
Brewster, MA | 4 October 1987 | GEORGE R. BICKELL SR., 71, a retired Air Force colonel who had been a fighter pilot in Europe during World War II and later a faculty member at the National War College in Washington and a NATO staff officer in Italy, died of cancer Oct. 4 at his home in Brewster, Mass. Col. Bickell was born in Passaic, N.J. He attended Drew University and New York University. He joined the Army Air Corps in 1939 and was assigned at Wheeler Field in Hawaii on Dec. 7, 1941, when it was attacked by Japanese planes during the raid on Pearl Harbor. Later in the war, he was a fighter pilot and group commander, and he escorted U.S. bombers on raids over Germany. After the war, he was a fighter wing commander in West Germany, a student and later a faculty member at the National War College in Washington, a NATO officer in Italy, vice commander of the Air Defense Command at Hancock Field in Syracuse, N.Y., and director of a reserve unit at Andrews Air Force Base. Col. Bickell retired from the Air Force in 1969. He moved to this area in 1963, and lived in Alexandria and Fairfax before he moved to Brewster in 1986. Survivors include his wife, Nancy, two sons, two daughters, a sister and four grandchildren. |
|
Other Flight commander |
Hickam Field, HI | Flight commander 18th Pursuit Grp Hickam Field. |
Revisions
JCook Photo Collectioin & Archives
http://www.354thpmfg.com/355thfs_part1.html Biography Detail.
![Squadron Commanders of the 354th Fighter Group, Major James H Howard, Major George R Bickell and Major Owen M Seaman, with a P-51 Mustang. Image stamped on reverse: 'Associated Press.' [stamp], 'Passed for publication 13 Jan 1944.' [stamp] and '296905.' [Censor no.] Printed caption on reverse: 'THE P-51B- WORLD'S FASTEST FIGHTER PLANE. Associated Press photo shows: The three Squadron Commanders of the group. Left to right: Major James H Howard, aged 30, of 30 Crestwood Drive, St Louis, MO; Major George R](https://assets.americanairmuseum.com/s3fs-public/styles/teaser_thumb_x2/public/freeman/media-377102.jpg.webp?itok=xbze-KyQ)
![Executives of the 354th Fighter Group, Major George R Bickell, Lieutenant Colonel Wallace P Mace and Major Owen M Seaman, with a P-51 Mustang. Image stamped on reverse: 'Associated Press.' [stamp], 'Passed for publication 13 Jan 1944.' [stamp] and '296917.' [Censor no.] Printed caption on reverse: 'THE P-51B- WORLD'S FASTEST FIGHTER PLANE. Associated Press photo shows: Three executives of the new P-51B Fighter Group who were at Pearl Harbour the day the Japs attacked. Left to Right, Major George R Bickell](https://assets.americanairmuseum.com/s3fs-public/styles/teaser_thumb_x2/public/freeman/media-377118.jpg.webp?itok=aAXMyEfy)
