Catasauqua Airman Becomes Battle Ace
Item
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Title
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Catasauqua Airman Becomes Battle Ace
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Date Created
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1943-01-02
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Creator
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The Bethlehem globe-times. (Bethlehem, Pa.) 1925-1977
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Identifier
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ww2-7943
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Description
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Clipping extracted from The Bethlehem globe-times pertaining to WWII military personnel from the Lehigh Valley, part of the BAPL WWII Newspaper Clipping Collection.
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Digital Format
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application/pdf
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Clipping
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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Bethlehem Area Public Library
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Contributor
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Entries added in 2013 funded in part with Federal Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) funds from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, administered by the Office of Commonwealth Libraries.
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Date Submitted
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2013-04-01
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Type
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Text
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content
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January 02, 1943
Catasauqua Airman Becomes Battle Ace
Captain Thomas J. Lynch, 26-year-old Catasauqua Army flier became an ace as he celebrated the end of 1942, in glorious style by shooting down two Jap planes in a 20-minute scramble over the Puna area Thursday.
It brought Lynch’s score to four Jap Zero planes in two flights in less than a week, and he was credited officially with six planes since he shot down two Japs last May when flying a P-39.
A flier becomes an ace after shooting down five for more enemy planes.
The flier who had already been decorated with a silver star for his previous flights against the Japs had a flight into battle twice with war correspondents in the New Guinea zone hailing the feat as “virtually shooting the enemy from the skies in a series of savage sweeps.”
The Catasauqua flier’s parents had received information on Thursday of the earlier flight this week. They are Mr. and Mrs. Lynch, 426 Walnut Street, of that borough.
