Aces of the 474th FG

[Kocab Zdenek]

Does anyone know the exact date of promotion of the following pilots

Joseph E. Miller, Jr. to Capt and also Maj
Robert C. Milliken

Any help is appreciated.

[Eagle0025]

Hello Kocab,

Bob Milliken is alive and well and a very good friend of mine. According to the 429th FS official history "The Retail Gang", Bob was promoted to 1st Lt. on 18 September 1944. Bob would go on to fly 70 combat missions and then onto a tour in Belgium as a tactical controller. To my knowledge, Bob mustered out of the AAC after the war as a 1st Lt.

As for Joseph Miller, I only know that he transferred into the 429thFS/474th FG as a Captain in early 1945. He had previously scored 4 kills with the 48FS/14FG in Italy and scored an Fw190 kill on 13 March 1945 making him the last Lightning ace in Europe. The 429th FS history does not indicate when Miller was promoted to Major. It shows Miller was still a Captain at the end of hostilities. If he was promoted to Major, it had to be after that.

Cheers, Gary Koch (474th FG Association Historian)

[Kocab Zdenek]

Hello Gary,

Thank you

[Kocab Zdenek]

Can someone provide me info about the date of promotion of Lawrence P. Liebers to 1st Lt? On May 26, 1945 he joined the 428th FS, 474th FG. Thank you in advance.

[Eagle0025]

Liebers arrived at the 428FS/474FG as a 1Lt. The 428th FS history "The Geyser Gang" states that "Liebers was a seasoned combat veteran, having become an ace in North Africa flying P-38s." This leads me to believe his first tour was with the 82nd FG. Check with an 82nd FG source. Unfortunately I do not know any.

Cheers, Gary

[Andy Fletcher]

Liebers served with the 96FS/82FG May43-Sep43 before returning to the US.

Best Regards

Andy Fletcher

[JACK COOK]

Hi Gary,
Do you have anything o my friend Jim Byers? He and his brother Bill were pretty famous in the 430th FS. They each had 2-3 kills and Bill received the SS while Jim was awarded one in Korea. Both flew in Korea and both flew A-26 Invader firebombers in the 50s-60s in Oregon.

[Eagle0025]

Hello Jack,

What kind of information are you looking for? I have done some research on all of the 474th FG claims/confirmed kills and here is what I have on the Byers brothers:

12 Oct 44 Bill Byers shot down 1 Bf109 near Aachen around 1500 hours.
13 Oct 44 Bill shot down an Fw190 near Dambreich, Germany (4 miles E Bonn) around 1415 hours. The Fw190 was likely from I./JG2. JG2 lost four ships that day, all pilots KIA.
17 Dec 44 Jim Byers shot down a Bf109 North of Trier around 1045. The Bf109 was likely a II./JG2 ship.
18 Dec 44 Jim Byers shot down a Bf109 8 miles West of Euskirchen around 1340. The Bf109 was also likely a II./JG2 ship.

I am still researching to see if I can clarify their opponents better. I also believe I have a couple of photos of them somewhere. Let me know what else you are looking for. Is Jim Byers still alive? I know Bill passed away in March 1978.

Cheers, Gary