John Francis Fogarty (1921-1989) served as a Staff Sergeant in the United States Army’s 390th Fighter Squadron from 1942-1945 and as a Technical Sergeant in the United States Air Force’s 44th Periodic Maintenance Squadron from 1951-1952.
During his time with the 390th Fighter Squadron, John was the ground crew chief of the P-47 Thunderbolt fighter-bomber, “The Chief”, which flew 102 consecutive dive-bombing and strafing missions over France, Belgium, and Germany in close tactical support to U.S ground forces. The included photo shows John immediately to the right of The Chief’s ace pilot, Lt. Col. Clure E. Smith Jr. The Chief suffered probably as much damage as any plane in the European theatre of operations but, thanks to its ground crew, was always ready to fly and never had a mechanical failure that caused it to return to base before the completion of a mission. Records show that seven engines, one complete wing, and at least three horizontal stabilizers were replaced on the ship. Despite being behind enemy lines, life on the airbases was not without risk. A member of The Chiefs ground crew lost a leg after being wounded by machine gun fire from a strafing Luftwaffe airplane.
John arrived in Normandy soon after D-Day to aid in operating one of the first American airstrips in France. He was involved with the Normandy, Northern France, Rhineland, Ardennes and Central Europe campaigns. And received the European African Middle Eastern Theater Campaign Ribbon, The Belgian Fourragere (1940) and the Bronze Star Medal. The Bronze Star citations states “for meritorious service in connection with military operations in the European Theater of Operations as Crew Chief of a P-47 type aircraft from 14 March 1944 to 21 October 1944. Despite minimum maintenance facilities and heavy operational demands, his aircraft was kept in such a superior condition as to inspire the confidence of the pilot and contribute materially to the operational efficiency of his unit”.
During the Korean War John was called back to service and he was assigned to the 44th Periodic Maintenance Squadron at Lake Charles AFB in Louisiana. At Lake Charles the 44th Bombardment Wing served as operational training unit for B-29 aircrews and maintenance personnel for Far East Air Forces.
After leaving the service, John had a long career at Lockheed's Missile and Space Division in Sunnyvale