First Lieutenant John A. Cohn was a proud member of the 431st Hades Fighter Squadron.
A number of pilots transferred directly from the 15th FG to the 475th in July 1943, including 1Lts John Cohn, John Knox and Paul Morriss, who went into the 431st, 1Lts Billy Gresham and Howard Hedrick, who joined the 432nd, and 1Lts Ralph Cleague and Robert Tomberg who were assigned to the 433rd. These pilots were not given any details about their new assignment, but the tacit promise of action appealed to them more than the scant opportunities to fight the enemy in the quiet sector of the middle Pacific.