Fidler, John William

Item

Title
Fidler, John William
Performer
John William Fidler
Interviewer
Joyce Williams
Description
John Fidler was born in Jay County, Indiana, in 1921. In October 1942, since he was mechanically inclined, he enlisted in the Air Force, so that he could work on airplanes. During World War II, the Air Force sent him to aircraft mechanic school in Lincoln, Nebraska. After six months of training, John was sent to Norfolk, Virginia, where pilots were learning to fly and fight with P-47s. He was made crew chief and became completely responsible for maintenance on one of the P-47s, and airplane he was intimately familiar with, and learned to love. During that time, the training outfit only lost two pilots. He was honorably discharged in 1946, having achieved the rank of Staff Sergeant. Fidler flew on the Pride and Honor Flight in 2009.
Date Span
1942-1946
Dates of Service
Subject
Enlisted; United States Army Air Forces/Corps; 443rd Fighter Squadron; World War, 1939-1945; United States; Staff Sargeant
Publisher
Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress
Center for Oral History Research at Eastern Michigan University
Collection Location
2/8
https://memory.loc.gov/diglib/vhp/bib/loc.natlib.afc2001001.72827
Spatial Coverage
United States