John J. Voll

John James Voll (May 3, 1922 – September 12, 1987) was an American career officer in the United States Air Force and a World War II flying ace. He flew P-51 Mustangs with the 308th Fighter Squadron of the 31st Fighter Group. He was the third highest scoring P-51 Mustang ace of the war, and the top USAAF ace of the Mediterranean Theater of Operations and Fifteenth Air Force, with 21 aerial victories.

Early life Voll was born on May 3, 1922, in Cincinnati, Ohio, the oldest of five children. John later moved to Goshen, where he and his siblings all attended school and graduated from high school in 1940. In 1943, Voll entered Miami University. The 1943 edition of the Miami Recensio includes pictures of Voll on the Miami freshman football team.

Military career Voll enlisted in the Air Corps Reserve on August 5, 1942, and finally began Aviation Cadet training on March 8, 1943. He graduated from pilot training on January 7, 1944.

World War II After completing P-47 Thunderbolt training, he joined the 308th Fighter Squadron of 31st Fighter Group in May 1944. His first mission was a bomber escort over Italy.

Voll's first kill was a Focke-Wulf Fw 190 on June 23 on a mission over Ploiești. On August 17, 1944, over Romania, while escorting B-24s on a bombing mission against the Ploiești oil refineries, a squadron mate of then Lieutenant Voll was forced to bail out near the Danube River. After covering his friend until he safely reached the ground, Voll pulled away from the crash site and spotted three Bf 109s. In the fierce air battle that ensued, Voll tallied two enemy fighters destroyed and one probable. In preparation for a transfer to the 66th Fighter Interceptor Squadron at Elmendorf Air Force Base, he took three weeks of jet engine training at the Allison Division of General Motors in Indianapolis.

Voll served with the 66th Fighter Interceptor Squadron until October 1951, and then was assigned to the 1002nd Inspector General Group at Norton Air Force Base, where he served as a Power Plant Specialist and Inspector until August 1954, when he attended Air Command and Staff College, graduating in June 1955. Voll then served with Air Defense Command at Hamilton Air Force Base from July 1955 to November 1958 – at one point being called away to open the Sicily–Rome American Cemetery and Memorial in Italy. Later he was assigned to the Air Force Advisory Group at Kimpo Air Base, where he served until November 1960.

From November 1960 to October 1961, Voll served with the 27th Tactical Fighter Wing at Cannon Air Force Base. He then served as the Commander of the 522nd Tactical Fighter Squadron, also at Cannon Air Force Base, from October 1961 to July 1962, when he was assigned as an Operations Staff Officer for the 832nd Air Division at Cannon Air Force Base. Voll's next assignment was with Headquarters Tactical Air Command at Langley Air Force Base, where he served from October 1962 to August 1964. He then attended Naval Warfare School, graduating in June 1965. From July 1965 to June 1966, he went through air Attache training and then was assigned as Air Attache to Singapore from June 1966 to July 1968. Voll's final assignment was as commander of the 77th Aeronautical Systems Wing at McClellan Air Force Base from October 1973 until his retirement from the Air Force on July 31, 1974.