George Purnell Birdsong Jr
MilitaryNARA Ref 342-FH-3A10603-C62755AC.
Flew 25 missions as pilot on 'Delta Rebel No2'.
Birdsong had been at college when he enlisted into the Air Corps in April 1942. He went on to pilot 'Delta Rebel' probably the first B-17 to complete 25 missions. He later served as Operations Officer of an air photo unit in Operation Crossroads and went on to fly B-29's in SAC. In 1953 he set a transatlantic record of five hours from Maine to the British Isles in a B-47 and was then the first SAC pilot to check out in the B-52. In 1968 he commanded the 633rd Operations Wing at Pleiku Air Base in South Vietnam flying 189 missions. After retiring from the Air Force in 1970 with the rank of Colonel he flew for two years as a charter pilot from Monterrey Peninsula Airport.
Connections
See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.
Units served with
People
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 91st Bomb Group 323rd Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 12038010
- Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant
- Role/Job: Ball Turret Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 91st Bomb Group 323rd Bomb Squadron
- Highest Rank: Sergeant
- Role/Job: waist gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 450th Bomb Group 91st Bomb Group 323rd Bomb Squadron 720th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 33065971
- Role/Job: Flight Engineer; Top Turret Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 91st Bomb Group 323rd Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 18053006 / O-661869
- Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Co-Pilot
Aircraft
Places
Events
Event | Location | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Born |
Clarksdale, Mississippi | 12 October 1919 | Son of George Purnell Birdsong Sr. |
Enlisted |
Jackson, MS | 4 September 1941 | Jackson, Mississippi |
Other Discharged USAF |
31 October 1970 | Honourable discharge. | |
Died |
Pleasanton, California, USA | 9 July 2004 | (aged 84) |
Buried |
4 October 2004 | Arlington National Cemetery Arlington, Virginia Section 66 Site 2614 |
Revisions
Added Died and Buried events per Find-a-grave Memorial ID 30594062.
NARA files verified DFC w/1 oak leaf cluster and AM w/3 oak leaf clusters.
Biography completed by historian Helen Millgate. Information sourced from newsletters of the 91st Bomb Group related to the service of George Birdsong.
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia