Maj. Madison Putnam
Army Air Corps
1942-1956
On 2 May, 1917, Harry Putnam and Melvina Wymore were blessed with a son, Madison A. Putnam. After graduating from High School he had dreams of glory. He wanted to go to College, was drafted by a major league baseball team, but being a son he was needed on the farm and his parents won’t let him leave. Madison “Put” and his father became partners and purchased a farm near Oakdale on July 1, 1941. He continued farming but also was able to play baseball with the inmates that were housed at Oakdale.
When the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor in 1941, Put wasn’t eligible for the draft, being the only son of a farmer. A lot of people in the area gave him a hard time because he didn’t have to go to war. Unbeknownst to everyone, he went all the way to Keokuk, Iowa the following April to enlist in the Army Air Corps. The day before he was to leave, he told his parents he was going to war! Out of 150 young men that were sent to Des Moines to take a written test to become pilots, only 75 passed. The 75 were then required to take a very difficult physical. Only about half passed. In the end, of the original 150 only 2 or 3 were sent to flight school. Put was one of them.
He was a graduate of 43-E and then was hand-picked by Colonel Joseph Laughlin to join the 379th Fighter Squad. (Only the best and most experienced stayed.) He quickly became a member of the “Oldies” in his squadron – the elite among pilots. Only the finest and best pilots were allowed to join.) On one mission a bullet broke through his canopy and embedded itself in the collar of his flight jacket. Put did have a sense of humor while flying. During one mission he was jumped by a large group of Focke-Wulfs, he got on the radio to get some support, “Hey you guys, I have about twenty of them cornered up here. Do you want to come up and give me some help?”
He always got his plane back to a base (because he couldn’t swim), but rarely in one piece. His call name was “SKEECH” which is the sound a plane makes when it’s heavily damaged. By the time he was sent home on his first leave, he had flown 87 combat missions and 255 combat hours in a P-47. He served in the Northern France, European Air Offense, Normandy, Southern France and Southern Germany campaigns. (On D-Day he and the other pilots with the 379th were shipped over to France on small boats. Put got seasick. He flew 36 hours with no sleep and stopped only to cross the channel to refuel.)
It didn’t matter if you were a Pilot or an Enlisted man, Put treated everyone equally. He even volunteered to take a detail of enlisted men to their new base at Rennes. During his first 30 day leave he returned to Iowa, got married and was preparing to go to Japan when he returned, but the war ended and he was reassigned to Las Vegas where he flew experimental airplanes (with no ejection seats).
In 1949 Put was honorably discharged from the Air Corps and returned to Iowa to raise his family. He continued in the Reserves until September 28, 1956 when he received another honorable discharge.
Put was the first temporary Commander of the Coralville American Legion and was a Post Chaplain. He was also a Coralville Firefighter and would help the Coralville Town Marshal whenever someone needed to be arrested. Put died on May 18, 1962 at the age of 45.
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