World War II Honoree

John William Mitchell

Branch of Service

U.S. Army Air Force

Hometown

Enid, Mississippi

Honored By

Pearl Thomas

He was a flying ace destroying a total of 11 enemy aircraft in aerial combat and the leader of Operation Vengeance, the mission to shoot down Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, the commander-in-chief of the Japanese Navy and architect of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Served with the 339th Fighter Squadron of 347th Fighter Group at Guadalcanal. On April 14, 1943, American code-breakers intercepted a message detailing Yamamoto's itinerary. On the morning of August 18, 1943, 18 P-38 aircraft left Kukum Field to intercept Yamamoto's plane. They flew at 30 ft and maintained radio silence for 600 miles. Admiral Yamamoto was in a G4M Betty bomber headed for Bougainville. The plane was shot down over Bougainville with no survivors. He was then assigned to the 412th Fighter Group and later the 15th Fighter Group based in Iwo Jima, where he served from July to October 1945.