World War II Honoree

Joseph G. Azat

Branch of Service

U.S. Army Air Force

Hometown

Kingston, Pennsylvania

Honored By

Pearl Thomas

He enlisted in the US Army with an altered birth certificate in 1943 and was later accepted into the pilot cadet program at the age of 15. After basic training, he was assigned to the 190th Air Force, 58th Fighter Squadron, 33rd Fighter Group in the Pacific Theater, at age 17, the youngest pilot in the U.S. military. On October 5, 1944, at 17 he took off from Assam, India, with a flight of four P-47D aircraft for a patrol over Burma. He was lost sight of and his wreckage and body were not recovered.