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Retired Brig. Gen. Joseph Myers, 82, WWII pilot
By GREG WILLIAMS © St. Petersburg Times, published January 5, 2001 ST. PETERSBURG -- Retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Joseph Myers, who was an ace fighter pilot during World War II, died Thursday (Jan. 4, 2001) at Edward White Hospital. He was 82. Mr. Myers was credited with shooting down seven German airplanes and helping to down an eighth while serving three tours of duty with the 8th Air Force in England. Among the enemy aircraft Mr. Myers destroyed was an Me 262 Stormbird, the world's first operational jet fighter. Mr. Myers liked to tell his war stories, said his Snell Isle neighbors. "His whole life was in the service," said Duane Henderson. "Almost any subject we talked about, he referred back to "I was stationed at this base and at this base.' He flew a lot of missions." During his tours of duty, Mr. Myers escorted bombers and strafed German railroads in the P-38 Lightning, P-47 Thunderbolt and the P-51 Mustang. After the war, Mr. Myers flew nearly every type of jet aircraft in the Air Force's arsenal until he retired in 1970. In 1958 he took command of the 4751st Air Defense Wing at Hurlburt Field in Fort Walton Beach, and in July 1966 he was promoted to the rank of brigadier general. Among his decorations were the Distinguished Service Cross, Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal, the French Croix de Guerre, the Czechoslovakian War Cross, the Legion of Merit and the Air Force Medal. Mr. Myers was born in Hazard, Ky., and entered the Army Air Forces after graduating from Ohio State University in 1941. He came here after finishing a nearly 29-year military career. In his retirement, he enjoyed golfing, working in his yard and cars, especially fast ones. "Anything that had a lot of power, he enjoyed," Henderson said. Survivors include Mr. Myers' wife, Margaret "Margo"; a nephew, Larry Myers, Chesterfield, Mo.; and a niece, Linda Myers Naylor, Sacramento, Calif. A funeral service is 11 a.m. Tuesday at Northeast Presbyterian Church. Anderson-McQueen Funeral Homes & Cremation Tribute Center-Ninth Street Chapel, St. Petersburg, is in charge.
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