John F Pugh
Military
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Object Number - UPL 25056 - 1Lt John Pugh 357th FG
Ace with 6 aerial victories
P-51B s/n 42-106473 G4+N "Geronimo"
Connections
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Units served with
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Fighter
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Fighter
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: P-51 Mustang
- Nicknames: Geronimo
- Unit: 357th Fighter Group 362nd Fighter Squadron
Events
| Event | Location | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Born End Tour of Duty (ETD) |
Ontario, OR | 16 October 1922 | |
|
Other Aerial Victory |
In the vicinity of Brunswick, Germany | 8 April 1944 | 1 - Bf 109 |
|
Other Aerial Victory |
Paris, France | 25 July 1944 | 1 - Bf 109 |
|
Other Aerial Victory |
Krakow, Poland | 7 August 1944 | 1 - FW 190 This was is 6th and final victory |
|
Died Promoted |
Ontario, OR | 3 January 2000 | JOHN F. PUGH John F. Pugh, 77, of Brogan, died Monday, Jan. 3, 2000 in an Ontario hospital. Graveside services will be held Jan 6, 2000 at 10 a.m. at the Dell Cemetery in Jamieson, Ore. John Pugh was born in Ontario, Ore. on Oct. 16, 1922, attended grade school in Brogan and graduated from Caldwell High School. After two years at Oregon State University as a member of Beta Theta Pi fraternity, John enlisted in the Army Air Corps and underwent pilot's training. Upon completion of pilot training he gained fighter experience in P-39s and P-40s before going to England with the 362nd Fighter Squadron of the 357th Fighter Group in December 1943. Distinctive by its red-and-yellow checkerboard noses, the 357th was only the second P-51B group to become operational and was the first in the Eighth Air Force. Most of John's combat missions were long-range, high-altitude bomber escorts. His first victory occurred on one such mission, a B-24 escort to Brunswick on April 8, 1944. Some 50 Mustangs set out, of which 43 reached the target area and engaged scattered formation of German interceptors. The net result of the four-hour mission was five Me-109s shot down (one by John) for no losses. By the end of May, John had added two more kills to his total. He flew two mission on D-Day before returning to the established routine of bomber escorts. His fourth victim fell during a mission to Leipzig on June 29, and four weeks later, he became the 357th's 21st Ace. The 357th participated in the Eighth Air Force's second Russian shuttle mission in August. Three missions were flown from Russian bases, and he bagged his sixth and last German, a Focke-Wulf 190 near Cracow, Poland on August 7. At the end of his tour, John had logged some 300 combat hours. He was discharged January 10, 1947 and retired from the Air Force Reserve as a Lieutenant Colonel, with a tally record of six aerial victories-four Me-109s and two FW-190s. After the war ended, John married Violet H. Bureau of Manchester, N.H. on February 19, 1946 and returned to Brogan where he entered the cattle business with his father, Asbury Pugh. He retired from ranching in 1996. John is survived by one son, Johnny Pugh of Brogan; three daughters, Peggy Breeze of Plano, Texas, Jackie Kogan of Glendale, Calif., and Diane Kaser of Corvallis, Ore.; eight grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death in 1998 by his wife, Violet. Memorial contributions may be made to the Oregon Air and Space Museum, c/o Lienkaemper Chapel, PO Box 970, Ontario, Ore. 97914. |
|
Buried |
Jamieson, OR | 7 January 2000 | Dell Cemetery Jamieson, Malheur County, Oregon, USA |
Revisions
Contributor466thHistorian
Changes
Sources
"To War With the Yoxford Boys" - Merle Olmsted, pages 30,58-60,100
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/55045877/john-forrest-pugh
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/55045877/john-forrest-pugh
ContributorAAM
Changes
Sources
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / Ted Damick, VIII Fighter Command pilots list / group history
