World War II Honoree
World War II Veteran
Jean K. Woodyard
Branch of Service
U.S. Army Air Force
Hometown
Newark, Ohio
Honored By
Jean K. Woodyard
SERVED FROM NOVEMBER 1943 THROUGH NOVEMBER 1944. 1ST LIEUTENANT, EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS. 265TH FIGHTER SQUADRON, ENGLAND AND FRANCE, FIGHTER PILOT. FLEW 'DANGEROUS DOTTY', NAMED AFTER DOROTHY R. BARKER FROM NEW JERSEY, A GIRLFRIEND OF LIEUTENANT WOODYARD. OVER THE PERIOD NOVEMBER 1943 TO NOVEMBER 1944, THE GERMAN ANTI-AIRCRAFT GUNNERS CAUSED SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE TO P-47S. BECAUSE THE AIRCRAFT COULD SUSTAIN MAJOR DAMAGE AND STILL SURVIVE, THERE WERE FOUR P-4'7S NAMED 'DANGEROUS DOTTY' THAT FLEW BACK TO FRIENDLY AREAS AND CRASH LANDED. ONE OF THE AIRCRAFT WAS DAMAGED BY GUNFIRE TO THE EXTENT THAT WOODYARD, THE PILOT, BAILED OUT ON JULY 28, 1944 AND WAS LATER RECOVERED BY FRIENDLY FORCES. PROMOTED TO CAPTAIN JUNE 1, 1944. FLEW 105 COMBAT MISSIONS.