George Sullivan was born in 1934, raised in Newport and graduated from Rogers High School in 1952. In 1954 he was drafted and assigned to the Army’s rotary aircraft maintenance school at Fort Rucker, AL. His ensuing duty tour took him to Korea where he serviced the Sikorsky H-19 and the Bell H-13 “Sioux.” He […]
Major Elliot Summer, US Army Air Corps, a Providence native and WWII ace with ten kills to his credit, flew P-38s in the Pacific with the 432nd Fighter Squadron – which he ended up commanding by the end of the war. His many awards included the Silver Star, 2 Distinguished Flying Crosses, and 9 Air […]
Governor Bruce Sundlun (1920-2011) led a long and successful life in business, politics, and the practice of law. Back in 1941, he was a senior at Williams College when the Japanese bombed Pearl harbor. He and most of his classmates volunteered for the service, and since Bruce already had a private pilot’s license he went […]
Lieutenant Robert Thorpe, US Army Air Corps, a Providence native and Cranston High School grad, was captured and beheaded by the Japanese in 1944. His remains have never been recovered, even though evidence suggests that US authorities have known where he was buried since 1947. “We are honoring the memory of Lt. Thorpe on behalf […]
Dewey Turilli (1923- ) On February 23, 2023, former Army Air Forces radio operator Turilli celebrated his 100th birthday. He was on Iwo Jima in 1945 with the 457th Fighter Squadron. A talented woodcarver, he took over the family furniture business, and has been very involved with the Providence Vet Center Art Program in recent […]
So far we can document 15 Tuskegee Airmen from this state, three of whom died during their service: 2/LT William E. Hill of Narragansett Flight Officer William P. Armstrong of Providence 2/LT Walter S. Gladding of Providence The first black pilot from Rhode Island to graduate from the Tuskegee program was 2/LT William E. Hill […]
Chester Wachowicz (1923-2014) was born in Central Falls, RI. He left Cumberland High School in his junior year to help support his family. He joined the Civilian Conservation Corps, and when the war started he wanted to volunteer. After getting his father’s permission, he enlisted in the Army Air Corps and graduated from Aircraft Electrical […]
Edward Yatsko was a native of New Jersey who settled in Warwick after WWII. When CWO4 Yatsko was retired (forcibly due to age) from the RI Army National Guard at age 62 in 1986 he was believed to be the last World War II combat aviator on active duty flight status and the oldest combat […]
Captain (Retired) Peter Young USA (1937-2021) A Navy, Army and commercial pilot, Young joined the Army as a mechanic and switched to the Navy to go to flight school. After a tour as a Navy helo pilot, he resigned in 1946 to fly commercially with TWA. He rose to the rank of Captain, flying wide […]