Bill Greenwood wrote:
I don't remember any Jewish guys in my AF training or Guard duty; but then I probably would not have identified them as seperate. However I would not be to quick to dismiss that part of Kohn's story....
I honestly don't know what happened on the ground, although other accounts from other squadrons ranging from Europe to the Pacific never mention the depth of anti-Semetism Kohn/Arnold claims. But, even assuming that it was there on the ground, the thought that pilots would take personal feelings into the air and allow a fellow pilot to be shot down based on those feelings is absurd. From what I've read about fighter-to-fighter combat, things move pretty quickly. How one pilot could identify one P-38 from another in a split second, realize that was a guy he didn't like, and then overcome the basic fighter pilot's instinct to clear a squadron mate's tail is simply beyond any kind of logic.
While it's not an apples-to-apples comparison, a good contrast to this story is in Tom Blackburn's "The Jolly Rogers". Blackburn readily admits that when he first met Lem Cooke, he didn't like him personally and assigned him to wing slots. However, Blackburn quickly came to recognize Cooke's flying and leadership skills. While they were never close on the ground, in the air they worked as a team.
...and Jack, thank you for the information on the rebuttal.
It is a shame that he had to exaggerate the record, because his service was honorable. Whether one got one kill, no kills or 20 kills, history has recognized that all those who served honorably were heroes.