Foil: 5 Panel: 2 Column: 2 Line: 105

Wall of Honor Level:
Air and Space Friend

Honored by:
Ms. Karen L. Fedorov

John Raymond Lindahl was born Mar 24, 1923 to Swedish immigrant parents in New Britain, CT. He was 9 when his father died. He went into the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) as a teen and finished high school in that program.

He joined the Army in 1942 and, while training at Wright-Patterson Army Airfield in Dayton, OH, he met and married Janice Dever. As a Second Lieutenant in the Army Air Corps, he was sent overseas to England in 1944. He flew in a number of planes, but when his Army days were over he was a First Lieutenant and had finally become a B-17 bomber pilot. Years later, his granddaughter gave him her old computer and his email name was B17JON.

On visits to the District of Columbia he always came to the National Mall. His favorite place was the Air and Space Museum. On a visit to the Garber Facility when the Enola Gay was being restored, the docents eagerly questioned him about his experiences.

He died in February, 1999. He would have been 77 that year. He would have loved the new Air and Space annex near Dulles International Airport and having his name on the Wall of Honor is a very fitting tribute to his memory.

We, his daughter and son, are pleased to be able to do this for him.