Cascade Warbirds Biography #3 images courtesy of John Misterly and John Clark

John Misterly enlisted in the US Army at age 17 and attained the rank of Staff Sergeant. He then applied for and was accepted into the USAAF Aviation Cadet program. He graduated as a Second Lieutenant and was assigned to navigator school.  

 
 

Upon completion there, he was assigned to the first organized B-29 Bomb Group and flew countless missions to Japan. Shot down on one mission, he spent eight days in a one-man life raft in the South Pacific until rescued by an American submarine. Because the sub was on a classified mission, John was not repatriated to his squadron, but was dragooned into sub service for many weeks. John next transitioned to pilot training and finished WWII as a B-29 pilot. .

 

Shortly after the war, John was assigned to fly C-54 Skymasters along the Berlin Corridor during the Airlift. He was credited with his first “kill” when a daredevil Yak 9 pilot failed to navigate away from a game of “aerial chicken” and crashed into John’s wing. The Skymaster brought John home safely from that sortie.
 

In Korea, John’s first tour was flying the A-26 Invader; his second tour was flying the F-86 Sabre. After Korea, John applied for and was accepted into the USAF-USN officer exchange program. John shipped out aboard the USS Kitty Hawk and became the first USAF officer to become “carrier-qualified” with the Navy. John next went to war in Viet Nam flying the F-4 Phantom and finished his service to his country with more decorations than can be counted and 35 years of service. 

 

John’s two books, Over And Under and Thunderheads can be obtained by visiting John’s website at www.war-flyer.com

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