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| John Colizzi at right blister station, 1945 |
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| Recent Address: |
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Hamilton Court Apts. #C-1, Somerdale, NJ 08083 |
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| Email: |
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| Family Information: |
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Parents: Quintino and Philomena; Siblings: Rose, Mary, Angela, Carlo, Clement. |
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| Hometown: |
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Norristown, PA |
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| Date Entered Service: |
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February 12, 1944 |
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| Service Number: |
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13201196 |
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| Bomb Group: |
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444th |
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| Squadron: |
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678th |
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| Location of Unit: |
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West Field, Tinian (June, 1945) |
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| Missions Flown: |
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13 Total / 11 from Tinian / 2 from Iwo Jima (temporary duty) |
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| Hump Missions Flown: |
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| Targets: |
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Kure, Takamatsu, Chiba, Sendai, Utsonomiya, Namazu, Fukui, Osaka, Tsu, Hachiogi, Yawata, Nagoya, Tokyo |
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| Awards/Decorations: |
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Air Medal w/Numeral 2, Good Conduct Medal, Presidential Unit Emblem,
American Campaign, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, Air Offensive Japan, WWII Victory Medal, Honorable Service Lapel Button WWII, Sharp Shooter Badge w/ Carbine Bar, Military Service Medal (County of Camden, NJ)
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| Service Schools Attended: |
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Aerial Gunnery, Tyndall Field, Panama City, FL March 27-May 30, 1944; Airborne Radar Equipment Operator, Great Bend, KS Sept. 1944 - Jan. 1945 |
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| Military Specialty(ies): |
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MOS 611-Aerial Gunner, Airborne Radar Operator |
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| Rank Upon Discharge: |
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Sgt |
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| Crew Type: |
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Flight crew |
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| Airplane Serial No.& Name: |
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42-24899 Agitator II, 42-63548 Maiden USA, 42-24584 Lucky Lady,
42-63559 Princess Eileen III, 42-6215 Deacon's Disciples, Big Dick (32), 540 (?), Journey For Margaret
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| Were you a POW? |
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No |
| If so, where? |
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| Were you interned? |
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No |
| If so, where? |
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| Date Transferred from the 58th: |
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October 27, 1945 |
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| Date Discharged from the 58th: |
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May 14, 1946 |
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| Post-WWII Service: |
| We left Tinian Island, October 27, 1945, and arrived at Pier 45 in San Francisco on November 10, 1945, and transferred to Camp Stoneman, Pittsburgh, California. After a five-day stay, we were then sent to Indiantown Gap Military Reservation, PA/ After a sixty-day temporary duty assignment at home, we returned to the Gap on January 21, 1946, to prepare for my required stay at Castle A.F. Base (home base of the 444th Bomb Group). Merced, California. I was separated from the military at Camp Beale, Marysville, California. Served in the United States Army Reserves from 1949-1953. |
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| Post-WWII Civilian Occupation(s): |
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*Engineering Department, Philco Corporation, Lansdale, Pennsylvania, 1953-1959 -- Pre-production/development of vacuum tubes for commercial and military applications.
*Mathematics Department Supervisor, Triton Regional High School, Runnemede, NJ, 1959-1993.
*Lecturer -- College Mathematics, College of Allied Health Services, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1979-1980.
*Member , Board of Education, Norristown Area School District, Norristown, PA 1966-1972
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| Thoughts on the 58th Bomb Wing: |
| I enlisted in the Army Air Corp on December 31, 1943, two days before my 18th birthday. I entered active service February 12, 1944. After a long period of training I became a member of a flight combat crew of the 58th Bomb Wing.
As a crew flying on combat missions were relied on each other implicitly.
My service in the 58th Bomb Wing proved to be the ultimate experience in friendship and caring. These thoughts and memories are carried with me to the present time.
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| Comments: |
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| John Colizzi in Scotland Sept. 11, 2001 |
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