2nd Lt. R.C. Coryell

78th Fighter Squadron, 15th Fighter Group

1st Lt. R. C. Coryell began flying with the 78th Fighter Squadron in March 1944 in Hawaii.  Beginning with some time in P-40’s, the 78th moved to their operating base to Bellows Field, where he spent the next seven months flying P-47’s.  His first flight in a P-51 came mid-November of 1944. After leaving Hawaii at the beginning of February, Coryell flew Saipan to Iwo Jima on March 8, 1945 with the first of the 78th FS P-51’s.  Only 8 days later, he flew on his first official combat mission, a dive-bombing sortie to Chi-Chi Jima.  Interestingly enough, after only another mission and some training he was sent back to Oahu, Hawaii for R&R for all of April.  Arriving back, he completed his first VLR mission on May 25th, shooting down a Japanese Zero.  Coryell would be credited with another Zero destroyed in the air on July 8, 1945.  In addition, he was also credited with 1 destroyed and 4 damaged Japanese aircraft on the ground. By wars end, Coryell flew a total of 10 VLR missions, 20 total missions spanning 139 combat hours, and was awarded a Distinguished Flying Cross and an Air Medal with 5 Oak Leaf Clusters.  He left Iwo Jima to head back to the US mid-September, 1945.

Included below are various original documents pertaining to his service time, his AAF pilot ID, and pages from his flight logbook.