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Major General John R. Alison - Air Force Ace and Father of the Air Force Special Forces
John Alison was born on November 21, 1912, in Micanopy, near Gainesville, Florida. An engineer by training, he joined the Army Air Corps in 1936. He first served at Kelly Field and then served as secretary to the military attaché in Britain. There he helped train British pilots in P-40s. In turn, he gained valuable combat experience from RAF pilots. In October 1941 he was posted to Moscow, where he arranged for the delivery of these machines to the USSR. He also participated in the training of Soviet pilots on P-40, A-20 and B-25 machines.
In June 1942 he was sent to the Far East, where he became deputy commander of the 75th Fighter Squadron. On July 30, he scored his first (night) kill. Early the following year he managed to take off at the time of an attack on his airfield and probably shot down one zero. He subsequently directed reinforcements to the enemy group, succeeding in shooting down another machine in aerial combat. He ended his time on this theater as commander of the 75th Fighter Squadron (75th Fighter Squadron) and a fighter ace with seven confirmed and several unconfirmed kills.
He returned to the US in May 1943, but was soon sent back. This time as co-commander of the 5318th Provisional Air Unit (renamed the 1st Air Assault Group in March 1944 - 1st Air Commando Group). This was a mixed unit which was to support the Chindits operating in Burma using new tactical elements. Alison personally piloted a glider during the night action, although he had no experience, and returned to base in a C-47 he had never flown before. In the meantime, he had experienced combat with the enemy. After the success of the Thursday operation, he was called to Washington and given the task of forming other similar groups. Two more were formed and Alison took command of the 3rd Air Assault Group and participated with it in the invasion of the Philippines and air operations in Okinawa. He retired from the Air Force in 1946 at the rank of colonel.
When the Korean War broke out in 1950, he returned to duty. He retired from the Air Force again in 1955 as a major general in the Air Force Reserve. Prior to the Korean conflict, he served as Secretary of Commerce, President of the Air Force Association, and Vice President of Northrop Corporation, among other positions. He was inducted into the U.S. Air Force Hall of Fame in 1994 and the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 2005.
John Alison had two sons with his wife Kathleen. He died on June 6, 2011.
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