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1st Lt. Joe Peterburs flew the
P-51 Mustang "Josephine" (44-15078) when he was assigned
to the 55th Fighter Squadron, 20th Fighter Group, 8th USAAF in
Europe. On April 10, 1945, while escorting B-17s to targets in
the Oranienberg, Germany area, he shot down a Me 262 Luftwaffe
jet flown by legendary fighter ace
Walter Schuck. Later that same day, his P-51 was damaged while
strafing a German airfield, and after bailing out, he was captured
and became a POW.
Walter Schuck was able to bail
out of his Me 262 jet, and 60 years after that eventful day in
the skies above Germany, Joe Peterburs and Walter Schuck met
for the first time in Oceanside, California. Joseph Peterburs
flew 49 combat missions in World War II, destroyed 5 enemy planes
on the ground, and one in the air. He received the Legion of
Merit, the Distinguished Flying Cross with 1 Oak Leaf cluster,
the Bronze Star with 1 Oak Leaf cluster, the Air Medal with 7
Oak Leaf clusters, the Purple Heart with 1 Oak Leaf clusters,
the Prisoner of War Medal, and 32 other medals and decorations.
He retired after 36 years of active duty in the US Air Force.
Each print is signed by Joe Peterburs |