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Military
Assigned to 83FS, 78FG, 8AF USAAF. Credited 1 x aerial victory. Transferred to 56FG, 8AF USAAF.
Awards: DFC (OLC), AM (3OLC), WWII Victory, EAME.
Post War: Remained in USAF served 31 years as a fighter interceptor pilot and a squadron leader, rising to the rank of Colonel.
Group
Flying P-47 Thunderbolts throughout their time stationed in England, the Group, known as "the Wolfpack", had more ace pilots than any other Eighth Air Force Fighter Group. The 56th Fighter Group also destroyed more enemy aircraft in air combat than any...
Group
The 78th Fighter Group was initially based at Goxhill but moved to Duxford in April 1943 and stayed there until October 1945. The 78th FG flew each of the three US built principal fighters of the AAF in the ETO. In their Thundetbolts, the 78th FG ...
Squadron
Military site : airfield
Boxted was built for heavy bombers and became operational from May 1943. In the few months B-26 Marauders of the 386th Bomb Group were stationed there, there were two night attacks by the Luftwaffe. On 17 August 1943, one man was killed when bombs...
Military site : airfield
RAF Duxford, now a museum and still a working airfield, was operated by the USAAF from 1943 to 1945. The base was briefly the home of the 350th Fighter Group in late 1942, but it was not until April 1943 that it became a fully American station when the...
| Event | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Born | Iowa, USA | 26 January 1921 |
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Son of Nels Smason and Belle [Jenkins] Askelson. |
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| Enlisted | Boone, IA 50036, USA | 10 February 1941 |
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Boone, Iowa |
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| Promotion | Duxford, Cambridge CB22, UK | 1943 |
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Promoted to 2nd Lieutenant. |
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| Promotion | Duxford, Cambridge CB22, UK | 1943 |
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Promoted to 1st Lieutenant. |
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| Assigned | Duxford, Cambridge CB22, UK | 16 February 1943 – 4 March 1944 |
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Assigned to 83FS, 78FG, 8AF USAAF. |
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| E/A Destroyed | Paris, France | 26 November 1943 |
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Me109 destroyed Paris Area 26-Nov-43. |
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| Promotion | Duxford, Cambridge CB22, UK | 1944 |
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Promoted to Captain. |
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| Transferred | Boxted, Colchester, UK | 4 March 1944 |
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Transferred to 56FG, 8AF USAAF. |
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| Mid Air Collision | Wright-Patterson AFB, OH, USA | 5 August 1955 |
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Mid Air Collision over Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. Cat 1 damage, pilot Capt Howard S Askelson, 5-Aug-55. F-86D 53-565 - 97FU. |
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| Died | Rochester Hills, MI, USA | 7 December 2012 |
| Buried | White Chapel Memorial Park Cemetery Troy Oakland County MI | 12 December 2012 |
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White Chapel Memorial Park Cemetery |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 29 May 2021 19:08:26 | Al_Skiff | Changes to service number, biography, awards, events and unit associations |
| Sources | ||
https://www.fold3.com/image/312801788 |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 21 September 2016 10:11:19 | general ira snapsorter | Changes to events |
| Sources | ||
Merged with duplicate entry to include details from: |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 29 July 2016 10:20:00 | Al_Skiff | Changes to middlename, service number, highest rank, role, biography, awards, events, unit associations and place associations |
| Sources | ||
Ted Damick, VIII Fighter Command pilots list |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:13:19 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Ted Damick, VIII Fighter Command pilots list |
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