Signature: Brooks, John

John Brooks graduated from the US Military Academy at West Point in June 1941 and began a distinguished military career that lasted for 29 years. He completed pilot training in August 1941 and was assigned to the 389th Bomb Group where he trained in the B-24 Liberator bomber. One of his first missions was as a Group Deputy Commander on the famous 1st August 1943 low level raid on the Ploesti, Rumania oil fields. John went on to fly 25 combat missions out of England for the Mighty 8th Air Force. Soon after, he was selected to command the 2nd Scouting Force, leading the entire 8th Air Force bomber fleet, day after day, through the terrible weather of central Europe. Though aerial combat was not the primary mission, on 9th February 1945, John and his wingman attacked over 100 German fighters and John shot down 2 while completely stopping the German attack on the bomber fleet, saving hundreds of bomber crew lives. For his leadership and heroic action he was awarded the nations second highest military medal, the Distinguished Service Cross. In addition to the DSC, John's awards include 3 Distinguished Flying Crosses, The Silver Star, 6 Air medals, the 3 Legions of Merit and many other citations. His crew Destroyed 2 Me109s SE of Magdeburg on 9th February 1945. Brigadier General John Brooks died in September 2001.