Herschel \"Herky\" Green signed card. US WWII Ace. 325th FG. 18 kills. for Sale

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Herschel \"Herky\" Green signed card. US WWII Ace. 325th FG. 18 kills. For Sale

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Herschel \"Herky\" Green signed card. US WWII Ace. 325th FG. 18 kills.:
$12.95

Nice, signed 3x5 unlined index card, by Herschel \"Herky\" Green.

From Highironillustrations.com............. Col. Herschel H. Green was born on July 3, 1920, in Mayfield, Kentucky. He was introduced to flying at the young age of five after receiving a ride in a barnstormerÍs bi-plane. While attending Vanderbilt University, he enrolled in the Civilian Pilots Training Program, and earned his private pilot license in 1940. In September, 1941, he enlisted in the United States Army Air Force as an aviation cadet, and was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant at Foster Field, Texas. He was assigned to the 57th Fighter Group at BostonÍs Bradley Field, training in the P-40 (specifications). In September, 1942, he was transferred to the 317th Fighter Squadron, 325th Fighter Group, later nicknamed the ñCheckertail Clanî, at Hargrove, Rhode Island.

The 325th FG was moved from Rhode Island to Langley Field, Virginia, in January, 1943, where the Group began training for Navy aircraft carrier takeoffs in the P-40. On January 8, 1943, the 325th FG set sail for North Africa aboard the USS Ranger (CV-4), and after taking off from the carrier, arrived at Cazes Aerodrome in Casablanca on January 19, 1943. Herschel Green flew his first combat mission on May 19, 1943, off the Italian coast, and shot down a BF-109. He was flying P-40 ñnumber 13î, which was badly damaged, and the plane was later hauled away for scrap and spare parts. He was assigned to P-40 ñnumber 11î, a number he kept and transferred to his P-47 (specifications) and P-51 (specifications). A few days after his first combat mission on May 19, he was promoted to Captain. While flying the P-40, he shot down a total of three enemy aircraft.

In September, 1943, Captain Green transitioned to the P-47 Thunderbolt, and downed ten enemy fighters, including six on January 30, 1944. He was flying a P-47 that was assigned to Captain Bunn Hearn, Jr., as his P-47 number 11 was down for maintenance. Unaware that Captain HearnÍs P-47 was carrying 800 rounds of ammunition per gun instead of the standard 400 rounds the Group used, Captain Green broke off his attack after he began to see tracers from the guns, which normally signaled that each machine gun had 50 rounds remaining. Had he continued to fight with the remaining 3,200 plus rounds in the guns, his total enemy aircraft destroyed on the mission could have been much higher. On March 25, 1944, he became the Commanding Officer of the 317th Fighter Squadron, and in May, 1944, his squadron transitioned from the P-47 Thunderbolt to the P-51 Mustang. While flying the P-51, he shot down five enemy aircraft, and became an Ace in both the P-47 and P-51. 100 Missions When he left the 325th FG, he was assigned to the 15th Air Force Headquarters as a Lt. Colonel, and he was the leading Ace in the Mediterranean Theatre of Operation, having flown 100 combat missions, and destroying eighteen enemy aircraft in air-to-air combat, plus ten more on the ground. After the war, he was the Deputy Commander of the 4th Fighter Group, flying the new Lockheed F-80 Shooting Star. After only eight years in the service, he was promoted to Colonel at the young age of 30. <P>

He retired from the United States Air Force on April 1, 1964, and went to work for Hughes Aircraft Company, until he retired in 1982. In 1996, he wrote his autobiographical book, Herky, the Memoirs of a Checkertail Ace. For his distinguished service to his country, Colonel Green received the Distinguished Service Cross, the Silver Star, two Distinguished Flying Crosses, Air medal with 25 oak leaf clusters, the Purple Heart, and the French Croix de Guerre with Palm. Air to Air Victories 05/19/1943 – one ME-109 – Flying the P-40 05/28/1943 – two ME-109s – Flying the P-40 01/30/1944 – four JU-52, one MA-202, one DO-217 – Flying the P-47 03/11/1944 – one ME-109 – Flying the P-47 03/18/1944 – one ME-109 – Flying the P-47 03/29/1944 – one FW-190 – Flying the P-47 04/07/1944 – one ME-110 – Flying the P-47 06/13/1944 – one MA-202 – Flying the P-51 06/23/1944 – one ME-109 – Flying the P-51 07/09/1944 – one ME-109 – Flying the P-51 07/14/1944 – one ME-109 – Flying the P-51 08/23/1944 – one FW-190 – Flying the P-51 Triple Ace over Ploesti (From Co.l Herschel Green’s book “Herky! The Memoirs of a Checkertail Ace”. Used with permission) “Our next oil raid with the heavies was on the 23rd of June to Ploesti where we always expected a fight from the Germans who were fighting desperately to protect their dwindling oil supply. We were not disappointed. Approximately 35 enemy aircraft met us in the target area. I saw three Me-109s below me turning to attack the bombers. I pushed my nose down and started after them. I came down on the tail of the last plane and fired a long burst into it. I could see hits along the fuselage and engine. The 109 burst into flames and started spinning toward the ground out of control. A minute and a half later I saw an aircraft fire on the ground directly below my attack.

Lt. Gille witnessed the combat and confirmed the victory, my fifteenth. In the confusion of the fight, I got a snap shot at a passing FW-190 and observed some hits on it, but I couldn’t continue the attack and don’t know what happened to him… I was always awed by the flak put up over Ploesti, and I said a prayer for the bombers which flew through it. Once the bombers were committed to the run, they had to fly straight and level for the bombardier to hit the target. The surviving crews knew that they would have to go back again to Ploesti’s oilfields hoping that their number of missions would add up to fifty and a one-way trip home before they died.

Nice bold original sig/info ! UACC Reg Dealer #200. Buyer pays 4.95 shipping. Insurance for loss IS included,

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