George Wilford Anthony
MilitaryHe enlisted at Sacramento, California, as a private in the Air Corps, Serial # 19 149 983, on 12 October 1942. He had one year of college, and his civilian occupation was listed as "Skilled construction occupations, n.e.c.". According to his separation papers he was a bulldozer operator. He was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant on 07 January 1944.
He went to Greenville, S.C. for Aviation Cadet and Glider Training and was in Class 44-A at Lubbock Army Airfield and Goodfellow Field in San Angelo, Texas.
As an Army/Air Corps pilot, he flew missions across Europe and Africa, often supplying fuel to Patton’s troops. He remembered pulling gliders that were lined with flack jackets and carrying eleven men and a jeep and landing planes in muddy fields at night with few lights to guide him. He flew in the Northern France, Southern France, Ardennes, Rhineland and Central Europe campaigns and the Holland and Rhine invasions.
George Anthony remained in the Air Force following WWII working in Security Service and he continued to fly Military Air Transport missions for the Air Force during the Korean and Vietnam wars, and by the time he retired as a Lieutenant Colonel in 1967, he was an aircraft commander and had flown almost every airplane the military had to offer. This led him to a second career with United Airlines, which lasted for 22 years, during which he was both a flight instructor and a flight engineer.
Connections
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Units served with
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Ninth Air Force
- Type Category: Troop Carrier
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Ninth Air Force
- Type Category: Troop Carrier
Places
- Site type: Airfield
- Site type: Airfield
Events
Event | Location | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Born |
12 October 1922 | ||
Enlisted |
28 September 2008 |