World War II Honoree

Norman Dixon Gould

Branch of Service

U.S. Army Air Force

Hometown

Erie, Pennsylvania

Honored By

Michael Gould

Relationship

Son

He enlisted in the Army in 1942 and served as a waist gunner on a B-17 Flying Fortress in the Pacific theater of operations. He was selected for pilot training and began his training program in 1943 at Goodfellow Field in San Angelo, Texas. He went on to Advanced training at Foster Field in Victoria, Texas. He received his wings and his commission as a 2nd Lieutenant in March, 1944. He was then assigned to fly P-47 fighters. After his P-47 training stateside, he was assigned to the 8th Air Force’s 56th Fighter Group in Boxted, England. While there, he flew combat missions of two types: escorting B-17 and B-24 heavy bombers striking targets in Germany; and interdiction missions in France, Belgium, and Luxembourg in support of advancing U.S. ground forces. He was credited with 5.5 aerial victories, including a jet bomber, the Arado Ar 234, which he shot down while it was attempting to bomb the Bridge at Remagen, Germany. He was also credited with destruction of two planes on the ground. He was awarded the Purple Heart, the Distinguished Flying Cross with two oak leaf clusters, and the Air Medal with nine oak leaf clusters. He was also awarded the Croix de Guerre from the French government. He returned to the U.S. in October 1945. He returned to active duty after WWII.