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Joseph A Poshefko | Joseph A Poshefko Joe Poshefko was born in 1915 in Emmaus, Pennsylvania. He entered the U.S. Army Air Corps in 1937 and was assigned to the 57th Fighter Group. When he joined the AVG, Joe was assigned to the Hells Angels as Armorer. During the famous first day of AVG combat in late 41, he found himself helping civilians to safety during the bombardment of their city of Rangoon. He recalls an April day, Loiwing, China in 1942: 'Japanese fighter planes strafed our field at 6:05 A.M. They did some minor damage to some P-40s. In the afternoon about 10 more planes came to complete the job. We had our planes in the air when they arrived and it was one of the finest fighter-to-fighter shows we ever witnessed; none of our planes were shot down, with the Japanese losing 7 out of their 10 planes. After the war, we found out they had lost 2 of their best pilots. They didnt figure that wed be waiting for them. This was a Chennault tactic.' After the AVG, Joe and four fellow Tigers built and tested U.S. Navy Fighters in New Jersey. He became Chief of Ordnance and had final inspection responsibility before delivery to the Navy. He was Safety Director with GM until retiring in 1974 in Massachusetts. |
