Gerald Johnson became the first of the five aces to see combat. Flying the quirky Bell P-39 Airacobra on missions against Japanese-held Kiska island, he detailed in his diary shooting down two Japanese aircraft. While he was awarded a medal for one of those kills, they were never officially confirmed, the paperwork being lost. Here, one of the squadron’s P-39s undergoes repairs at Adak Island in September 1942. USAF