Communities Celebrating PJ’s 100th Birthday in Style!
McDill AFB Wing Commander, Adam Bingham and many others come together to celebrate PJ’s 100th birthday and share what his legendary service means to them.
Fox 13 News Honors World War Two Veteran, P-38 Ace, Col. Perry Dahl on his 100th Birthday.
Send PJ a Birthday Greeting!
Send PJ birthday greetings and wish him well on his next 100!
475th board member, naval aviator and patriot, Mark Engleman’s reflections on Col. Dahl’s 100th Birthday.
You did your duty sir. You held the line.
Based on his profound impact to me, I simply had to travel to Tampa Florida to be with and to honor my friend Colonel PJ Dahl as he crossed the threshold of beginning his 100th year.
In recent decades, forces crippling liberty and civil society virtues have been all about and worsening. Those materially involved in the counterforce to this eternal struggle are greatly inspired by the giants that came before them.
PJ Dahl’s courage and steely resolve to stare down those evil forces in the mid-1940s has inspired me for over a decade and has definitely strengthened my backbone to be a part of the pushback to the dire and insidious threats the American people, culture, constitution face in our time, and I know many others that feel exactly the same way.
You did your duty sir. You held the line, and 80 years later you continue to fight by clearly representing time-tested virtues and in turn helping inspire current citizens to increase their resolve to be part of the counterforce for good.
God bless you sir.
Mark Engleman
Washington State Feb. 23, 2023
Mark Engleman and Col. PJ Dahl at PJ's 100th Birthday Celebration!
Put another candle on PJ’s birthday cake!
Feb. 18 marked his Centennial year. Our beloved ‘energizer bunny’ eagerly greeted this special day his 100th birthday (or week) as the community, military, local politicians, friends and family helped PJ celebrate in style.
Wing-team, Roxane and Gene Jordan are never far from PJ’s side and this year was no exception. Better friends simply don’t exist. Board Member Mark Engleman made the trek from the Great Northwest (as he has in past) along with “Arizona Joe” Angichiodo as PJ calls him. Joe, like Mark, has been a generous contributor to the 475th and Vets everywhere.
McDill AFB got in the act as well as Wing Commander, Adam Bingham honored PJ for his service and most of all for setting the bar high for all airmen and women he inspired to fly and serve our Country.
Brad Ball
President, the 475th Fighter Group Historical Foundation
Wing Team (from left): Joe Angichiodo, Gene Jordan, Mark Engleman, PJ Dahl and Roxane Jordan.
Visit the 475th!
The Planes of Fame Air Museum
14998 Cal Aero Dr
Chino, CA 91710-9056
(909) 597-3722
Hours of operation: 10 am – 4pm. Closed Mondays & Tuesdays. Closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s Day and occasional special events. Phone: 909-597-3722. Website: www.planesoffame.org.
At a secure, climate controlled facility near the Planes of Fame, memorabilia not used for display is housed and is undergoing identification by 475th veterans and family members.
Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum
Historic Ford Island
319 Lexington Boulevard
Honolulu, Hawaii 96818
(808) 441-1000
This WWII-focused museum presents historical aircraft, exhibits & even a simulated flight experience. Since first opening its doors to the public in December of 2006, Pacific Aviation Museum Pearl Harbor has grown steadily, adding aircraft and exhibits, now occupying two WWII hangars. And in 2010, it was ranked among the top 10 aviation-related attractions in the country by TripAdvisor®.
Another venue that houses 475th FGHF memorabilia is at the Museum of Flight, located in Seattle, Washington. The Museum of Flight is a private, non-profit air and space museum at the King County International Airport, just south of Seattle.
The Museum of Flight
9404 E. Marginal Way South
Seattle, WA 98108-4097
(206) 764-5700
The museum was founded in 1965 and the exhibit there includes a mockup of the P-38 Lightning and other memorabilia associated with the 475th. Interactive screens and other items of interest have been provided to enhance the exhibit for the public.
475th Historical Foundation Museum
The 475th Fighter Group Historical Foundation museum is located at the Planes of Fame Air Museum at the Chino Airport in Chino, California. The stories and memorabilia of this highly decorated group, which flew the P-38 in combat, are permanently housed in this display hangar constructed entirely by the members of the 475th. The 475th Fighter Group hangar was donated to Planes of Fame Air Museum in October, 2009, and is the home of the Museum’s Lockheed P-38 Lightning. If you haven’t been to Planes of Fame Air Museum in Chino, CA recently, make sure you stop by soon!
475th Fighter Group History
The 475th’s first scheduled mission, an escort of transports to Tsili Tsili on 12 August, was canceled because of bad weather. On the following day, however, the weather cleared sufficiently to allow the unit to escort transports to Bena Bene. The mission was without incident. On 15 August, while the unit was flying patrol, its pilots spotted Japanese planes over Lasanga Island but could not make contact. On the following day, the 431st Squadron, while escorting transports to Tsili Tsili, encountered approximately 25 Japanese bombers and fighters. In the ensuing engagement the squadrons pilots accounted for twelve of the enemy aircraft, while only losing two of their own.