More detail on this person: Paul served in the US Army Air Corps 1943-1945 and the US Air Force 1945-1970. Paul married Phyllis. They are the parents of Mike, Becky & Amy. ~ Paul Michael Reagan was born in Nazareth, Pennsylvania to William A. and Gertrude Reagan. After graduating from Nazareth High School in 1942, he enlisted in the US Army Air Corps, and was called to active duty on Feb. 3rd, 1943. He completed basic training in Miami Beach, then trained as an Aviation cadet. His solo flight was at the controls of a PT-23 trainer, on Nov. 27th, 1943. Flight training continued until Aug. 1944, when he emerged as a Flight Officer and trained as a B-17 co-pilot. Final crew training was in Gulfport, MS. He and his crew departed for Europe from Newport News, VA, aboard the troop ship "Sea Quail". Paul and his crew arrived in Naples, Italy on Dec. 24th, 1944. After a short stay in Caserta, he traveled by rail boxcar to Foggia, where he and his crew were assigned to the 414th Bomb squadron, 97th Bomb Group, 15th Army Air Force. Their base would be Amendola. From January 1945 until the end of WW-2 in May, Paul flew 17 combat missions, attacking Nazi targets in Italy, Germany, Austria, Hungary, and Yugoslavia. By the war's end, Paul had been promoted to 1st Lt., and remained in Italy several more months, until he was sent home aboard the troop ship "Wakefield", and was mustered out of the Army on Dec. 29th, 1945. After WW-2, Paul attended Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY to study art, until his finances ran short, and he returned to Pennsylvania. He worked as a ferry pilot for the Piper Aircraft Company, flew a C-47 for a gold mining company in British Columbia, and worked for the Martin Guitar Company in Nazareth. On Jan.17th, 1953, Paul was recalled to service, now with the fledgling US Air Force. He would remain in the Air Fore as a Pilot for nearly 20 years. Assigned to the Strategic Air Command, Paul would fly a wide variety of aircraft, including the C-47, the B-47E with the 307th Bomb Wing, the KC-97G with the 98th Refueling Squadron (both assignments at Lincoln AFB, NE), and the 551st Strategic Missile Squadron, serving on Atlas-F missile crews and flying DeHavilland U-6A's.
This information was last updated 07/31/2023
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Date posted on this site: 03/10/2024
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