PROFILE OF SPIROS "STEVE" PISANOS
Contributed by Jeff Pisanos 


Born in Athens, Greece, in the suburb of Kolonos, on 10 November 1919, Spiros Nicholas "Steve" Pisanos, the son of a subway motorman, came to America in April 1938, as a crew member on a Greek Merchant ship. Arriving in Baltimore, Maryland and unable to speak English, Steve found his way to New York City, where he worked in bakeries and restaurants. As he earned money he started flying lessons at Floyd Bennett Field. In August 1940, he setled i Plainfield, New Jersey, his adopted home town, and continued flying lessons at Westfield Airport. He earned a private pilot's license and, although still a Greek national, in October 1941 he joined the British Royal Air Force sponsored by the Clayton Knight Committee in New York City.

Steve began his military flight training at Polaris Flight Academy in Glendale, California. Upon graduation, Pilot Officer Pisanos was transferred to England where he completed RAF Officers Training School at Cosford, England and OTU (Operational Training Unit) at Old Sarum Aerodrome in Salisbury. Pilot Officer Pisanos was posted to the 268 Fighter Squadron at Snailwell Aerodrome in Newmarket flying P-51A's. He later transferred to the 71 Eagle Squadron, one of the three Eagle squadrons in the RAF, comprised of American volunteers flyin Spitfires at Debden RAF Aerodrome.

When the USAAF 4th Fighter Group absorbed the American members of the Eagle Squadrons in September and October 1942, Pilot Officer Pisanos was commissioned a lieutenant in the U.S. Army Air Forces. On 3 May 1943, Lt. Pisanos was naturalized as an American citizen in London, England, becoming the first individual in American history to be naturalized outside the Continental United States.

Flying his first mission in his P-47 "Miss Plainfield" out of Debden Aerodrome with the 334th Fighter Squadron, 4th Fighter Group, Lt. Pisanos, "The Flying Greek," scored his first victory on 21 May 1943, when he downed a German FW-190 over Ghent, Belgium. by 1 January 1944 he had become an ace with five confirmed victories. On 5 March 1944, he obtained his 10th victory and while returning from that B-17 escort mission to Limoges and Bordeaux, France, Steve experienced engine failure in his P-51B and crash-landed south of Le Havre. For six months he evaded the Germans and worked with the French Resistance and the American OSS sabotaging the German war machine in occupied France. Lt. Pisanos returned to England on 2 September 1944, following the liberation of Paris.

Upon returning to the United States, Captain Pisanos was assigned to the Flight Test Division at Wright Field, Ohio. He attended the USAF Test Pilot School and subsequently served as a test pilot at Wright Field and Muroc Lake, California, testing the YP-80 jet aircraft. During his career in the USAF, Steve graduated from the University of Maryland, attended the Air Command and Staff College and the Air War College. In December 1973, after a distinguished thirty years of service in the United States Air Force, he retired with the rank of Colonel.


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DECORATIONS
LEGION OF MERIT, with two oak leaf clusters 
DISTINGUISHED FLYING CROSS, with four oak leaf clusters 
PURPLE HEART 
MERITORIOUS SERVICE MEDAL 
AIR FORCE COMMENDATION MEDAL 
ARMY COMMENDATION MEDAL 
PRESIDENTIAL CITATION, with five oak leaf clusters 
AIRFORCE OUTSTANDING UNIT AWARD 
AMERICAN DEFENSE SERVICE MEDAL 
AMERICAN CAMPAIGN MEDAL 
EUROPEAN THEATRE OF OPERATIONS, with two stars 
EUROPEAN AFRICAN MIDDLE EASTERN CAMPAIGN MEDAL, with four battle stars 
WORLD WAR II VICTORY MEDAL 
NATIONAL DEFENSE SERVICE MEDAL 
AIR FORCE LONGEVITY SERVICE MEDAL, with three oak leaf clusters 
BRITISH WORLD WAR II VICTORY MEDAL 
BRITISH 1939-1945 STAR 
BRITISH AIR CREW EUROPE STAR 
BRITISH DEFENSE MEDAL 
FRENCH DISTINGUISHED UNIT CITATION 
FRENCH CROIX DE GUERRE, with silver star 
ROYAL AIR FORCE MEDALLION 
VIETNAMESE MEDAL OF HONOR, first class 
REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM CAMPAIGN MEDAL 
REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM SERVICE AWARD RIBBON, with three oak leaf clusters 

  Date       Enemy A/C  Air/Ground       Place          Number
-----------------------------------------------------------------  
  5/21/43  FW-190        Air         Burges, Belg.             1  
  8/12/43  Me-109         Air        Walcheeren Island     1  
  8/12/43  FW-190        Air         Walcheeren Island    1  
  10/8/43  Me-109         Air        Amsterdam, Neth.      1  
  1/29/44  Me-109         Air        near Aachen, Ger.      2  
  3/5/44    Me-109           Air        Bordeaux area, Fr.    4  

