John Barnes
Military | Staff Sergeant | Enlisted Man | 56th Fighter Group
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Military
Walker Mahurin joined the 56th Fighter Group in July 1942 and arrived in the UK in January 1943. He was later promoted to Captain and Flight Leader of the 63rd Fighter Squadron. He claimed his first victories during the Schweinfurt-Regensburg mission, when he shot down two FW 190s, one flown by Luftwaffe Ace, Major Wilhelm Galland. By November 1943 Mahurin had become the first American "Double Ace. Mahurin would claim 20 kills in the European Theatre of Operations. His final kill in the ETO (shared with 3 other pilots) on 27 March 1944 was a Do-17, which he shot down over France, on a Bomber escort mission. On that same day, his P-47 #42-8487 sustained heavy battle damage from enemy fighters and Mahurin was forced to bail out. He described the experience: "The next thing I know, I'm in the French countryside at high noon with 35 of my fellow fighter pilots circling around me like a beehive... I ran like hell." After hiding in a haystack, Mahurin was picked up by the French Resistance and successfully evaded capture for five weeks. He was evacuated on 6 May 1944 from a field 1km NW of Outarville, near Pithiviers, France by an RAF 161 Squadron Lysander aircraft (pilot F/Lt Alexander) along with 2 French secret agents returning to Great Britain. Like other Allied airmen who had been downed in German-occupied countries, Mahurin did not fly any more missions, for fear that his knowledge of the French Resistance and Helpers could put these people in jeopardy in case he was shot down again. After returning to his Unit, he was sent back to the US. In October 1944, Mahurin was shipped to the Pacific Theatre of Operations to command the 3rd Fighter Squadron. He claimed two more kills flying Mustangs from the Philippines. He finished the war as Lieutenant-Colonel with a promotion to Commander of the 3rd Air Commando Group. Following the War Mahurin stayed with the US Air Force. During the Korean War he commanded the 1st Fighter Group, training in F-86s Sabre; he then served as assistant to his old 56th Fighter Group comrade, Colonel Francis S. Gabreski, with the 51st Fighter-Interceptor Wing, before leading the 4th Fighter-Interceptor Wing in combat. Flying F-86 Sabres, Mahurin claimed another kill, becoming the only American pilot to score victories in the European and Pacific Theatres and the Korean War.
Mahurin's F-86 Sabre was shot down on 13 May 1952 by North Korean ground fire while strafing a truck and he had to bail out. He was taken Prisoner of War in North Korea, enduring psychological torture, intense questioning and solitary confinement whilst imprisoned before making a false confession that he undertook germ warfare tactics. He was released on 31 August 1953 and later promoted to Colonel after working to develop courses on interrogation survival. Walker Mahurin retired from the US Air Force Reserve in December 1978. He had published the book "Honest John: The Autobiography of Walker M. Mahurin" in 1962.
Military | Staff Sergeant | Enlisted Man | 56th Fighter Group
Military | First Lieutenant | Fighter Pilot | 507th Fighter Group
1st Lt Walter R. Frederick 8th AF 56th FG 63rd.
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Military | Colonel | Fighter Pilot | 56th Fighter Group
American Fight Ace, Joined the Army Air Corp in April of 1941. Member of the famed 56FG, "Zemke's Wolf Pack", 62nd PS Dog Patch B Flight Leader. Awarded Silver Star, 3 Distinguished Flying Crosses, and Four Air Medals. During 20 years of service...
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...
Squadron
P-47 Thunderbolt
Shot down by enemy fighters on the Bomber escort mission 27 March 1944.
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17 August 1943
This operation was conducted in two elements to provide fighter escort for the B-17 formations attacking at Schweinfurt/Regensberg. A composite force of 240 P-47s from: 4FG; 56FG; 78FG; and 353FG are despatched to escort the penetration by the B-17s of...
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
Halesworth was constructed in 1942-1943. Initially planned as a bomber airfield, its location close to the Suffolk coast meant that it was in an ideal position to operate escort fighters, where range was a critical factor. Consequently, the 56th...
Military site : airfield
Horsham St Faith was an RAF Bomber Command Station opened in June 1940. It was home to Bristol Blenheim medium-bombers, and was for a time occupied by fighters, including those of No. 19 Squadron and No. 264 Squadron. From September 1942 the airfield...
Event | Location | Date |
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Born | Benton Harbor, MI, USA | 5 December 1918 |
Lived in | 1941 | |
Fort Wayne, Allen County, Michigan |
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Enlisted | 29 September 1941 | |
Fort Benjamin Harrison, Indiana |
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Bailed out | 27 March 1944 | |
of his P-47 #42-8487, near Chartres, France |
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Evaded (EVD) | 27 March 1944 – 7 May 1944 | |
Evaded capture with the help of French citizens and members of the Résistance. Back in the UK on 7 May 1944. Escape & Evasion Report E&E 617 at https://catalog.archives.gov/id/5555257 |
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Prisoner of War (POW) | 13 May 1952 – 31 August 1953 | |
His F-86 Sabre was shot down by North Korean ground fire while strafing a truck |
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Buried | Arlington National Cemetery | 2010 |
Walker Mahurin rests at Arlington |
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Died | 11 May 2010 | |
Newport Beach, California, United States |
Date | Contributor | Update |
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03 March 2020 15:52:39 | ED-BB | Changes to media associations |
Sources | ||
Associated media UPL 41814 |
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Date | Contributor | Update |
03 March 2020 15:51:04 | ED-BB | Changes to media associations |
Sources | ||
Added media : press clippings from his Escape & Evasion Report E&E 617 at https://catalog.archives.gov/id/5555257 |
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Date | Contributor | Update |
03 March 2020 15:45:34 | ED-BB | Changes to service number, biography and events |
Sources | ||
WWII Draft Card |
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Date | Contributor | Update |
09 October 2017 20:31:12 | fugari | Changes to highest rank, role, biography, awards, events and place associations |
Sources | ||
JCook Photo Collection & Archives |
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Date | Contributor | Update |
18 March 2015 14:41:07 | general ira snapsorter | Changes to service number, biography, events and aircraft associations |
Sources | ||
Aircraft Connection : Birth and death details corrected : POW details added : Original data: Korean War Data File of American Prisoners of War [Archival Database]; Records of American Prisoners of War During the Korean War, 1950-1953; Records of the Army Staff, Record Group 319; National Archives at College Park, College Park, MD. Repatriated Korean Conflict Prisoners of War, 7/5/1950-10/6/1954 [Archival Database]; Records of Repatriated Korean War Prisoners of War, 1978-1980; Records of the Veterans Administration, Record Group 15; National Archives at College Park, College Park, MD. |
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Date | Contributor | Update |
24 February 2015 10:42:28 | Emily | Changes to media associations |
Sources | ||
Associated media from new Freeman Collection images & selected Key image |
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Date | Contributor | Update |
02 October 2014 16:05:39 | Emily | Changes to middlename, nickname, highest rank, biography, awards, events, place associations, mission associations and media associations |
Sources | ||
Freeman, The Mighty Eighth, p. 276. |
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Date | Contributor | Update |
27 September 2014 18:26:41 | AAM | AAM ingest |
Sources | ||
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 3440 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database / www.56thfightergroup.co.uk/personnel.htm |