| Original caption: Sharing credit for negro fighter pilots’ victory over Nazis are mechanics George Johnson…and James C. Howard…Their outfit, the 99th Fighter Squadron, bagged 12 Nazi fighter planes in 2 days.” Staff Sergeant George D. Johnson (February 14, 1920 – April 14, 1981) and James C. Howard (February 21, 1923 – December 16, 2002), and an unidentified mechanic, are servicing a Curtiss P-40 Warhawk of the 99th Fighter Squadron, 33nd fighter Group, 15th Air Force. Howard, a resident of Darlington County, South Carolina, enlisted on January 9, 1943, at Fort Jackson in Columbia, South Carolina. After serving overseas, he was assigned to Laughlin Air Force Base, Texas in February 1945. A resident of Atlantic City, New Jersey, Johnson graduated from high school there in 1940. He enlisted in the United States Army on February 24, 1942, at Fort Dix, New Jersey. He was discharged on August 25, 1945. | |
| Image Filename | wwii2187.jpg |
| Image Size | 710.82 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 2908 x 2300 |
| Photographer | |
| Photographer Title | Office of War Information |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | February 1, 1944 |
| Location | |
| City | Ramatelli |
| State or Province | Campobasso |
| Country | Itally |
| Archive | National Archives and Records Administration |
| Record Number | NWDNS-208-AA-49E-1-1 |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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