John R. Alison

Infobox Military Person
name= John R. Alison
born= Birth date and age|1912|11|21
died=
placeofbirth= Gainesville, Florida
placeofdeath=
placeofburial=


caption= John R. Alison Gathering of Eagles 2004 Lithograph
nickname= Johnny
allegiance=flag|United States of America
branch= air force|United States
serviceyears= 1936 - 1955
rank= Major General
current position=
commands= 75th Fighter Squadron 1st Air Commando Group
unit=
battles=World War II Korean War
awards= Distinguished Service Cross Silver Star
relations=
laterwork= Assistant Secretary of Commerce Senior Vice President, Northrop

John "Johnny" R. Alison (born November 21, 1912), a highly decorated combat ace of World War II and veteran of the Korean War, is the father of Air Force Special Operations.

Early Years

Born near Gainesville, Florida in 1912, Alison graduated from the University of Florida School of Engineering and joined the US Army Air Corps in 1936. [Boltz, "Images of Apollo's Warriors", pages 41-44] He earned his wings and was commissioned at Kelly Field in 1937. Prior to Americas entry into World War II, he served as Assistant Military Attache in England and helped British pilots transition into the P-40. In October 1941, Alison traveled to Moscow to administer the sensitive US-Soviet P-40 Lend-Lease program. He trained Russian pilots in the P-40, A-20, and B-25 Mitchell aircraft. In his autobiography, Jimmy Doolittle wrote:

Combat

After ten months and repeated requests for reassignment to combat, Alison got his wish. In June 1942 he reported to the China-Burma-India (CBI) Theater to fly for Major General Claire Chennault's newly formed 75th Fighter Squadron of the 23rd Fighter Group, previously known as the Flying Tigers. On 30 July 1942, Alison was credited with the first night kills in the theater. For his experimental night interception, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. [ [http://www.homeofheroes.com/valor/1_Citations/03_wwii-dsc/aaf_a.html John Alison DSC Citation] Home of Heroes (September 12, 1942); retrieved January 30, 2008] In early 1943, Alison demonstrated his aggressiveness when he took off during an attack on his own airfield. Alison engaged three Zeros and scored one probable kill. He then vectored arriving reinforcements to the battle, after which he made a stern attack on another enemy fighter at close range, shooting it down. His gallantry and fighting spirit earned him the Silver Star. Ending his tour as commander of the 75th Fighter Squadron, Alison left as an ace with seven confirmed victories and several probable kills. His former commanding officer, David Lee "Tex" Hill, had high praise for Alison:

Air Commando

Later Years

After the war, he served as an Assistant Secretary of Commerce, President of the Air Force Association, and as a major general in the Air Force Reserve. He retired as vice president of the Northrop Corporation in 1984 and is a 1994 inductee into the Air Commando Hall of Fame. [http://home.earthlink.net/~aircommando1/acahofs7.htm Air Commando Hall of Fame] retrieved January 26, 2008] In 1985 and 2004, Alison was inducted into the Air University's Gathering of Eagles program.cite web
url = http://www.maxwell.af.mil/au/goe/eagle_bios/2004/alison_2004.asp
title = John Alison Biography
accessmonthday = January 30 | accessyear = 2008
author =
year = 2004
work = Gathering of Eagles Program
publisher = Air Command and Staff College] In 2005, he was enshrined in the National Aviation Hall of Fame. [cite web
url = http://nationalaviation.blade6.donet.com/components/content_manager_v02/view_nahf/htdocs/menu_ps.asp?NodeID=435340907&group_ID=1134656385&Parent_ID=-1
title = John Alison in the National Aviation Hall of Fame
accessmonthday = January 14 | accessyear = 2008
author = | last = | first =
authorlink =
coauthors =
date = | year = 2005 | month =
work = | publisher =
pages = | format = | language = | quote =
archiveurl = | archivedate = ]

Notes

References

*cite paper
first = Richard W.
last = Boltz
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Phil Cochran and John Alison: Images of Apollo's Warriors
version =
publisher =
date = 2001
url = http://stinet.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA407756&Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf
format = PDF
id =
accessdate = 2008-01-26
*cite book
last=Doolittle
first=James H.
authorlink=Jimmy Doolittle
coauthors=Glines, Carroll V.
title=I Could Never Be So Lucky Again
publisher=Bantam Books
year=1991
isbn=0-553-07807-0
*cite book
last=Hill
first=David Lee
authorlink=David_Lee_%22Tex%22_Hill
coauthors=Schaupp, R.
title="Tex Hill": Flying Tiger
publisher=Honoribus Press
year=2003
isbn=1-885354-15-0

External links

* [http://www.afa.org/magazine/march2000/0300alison.asp Air Force Magazine] "The All-American Airman", Walter J. Boyne, March 2000
* [http://www.trumanlibrary.org/hstpaper/alison.htm Harry S. Truman Library] "John R. Alison Papers", 1945-1957