John Louis Jerstad graduated from Luke Field in Class 42-B. He went to Europe as a B-24 pilot with the 93rd Bombardment Group. In May 1943, Major Jerstad was reassigned to Headquarters 2nd Bombardment Wing. Although he completed all of his required missions for his tour, he volunteered for a risky mission. That mission was the first major bombing raid on the Axis oil refineries at Ploesti, Romania, on August 1, 1943. Due to his actions that day, he was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor posthumously. Part of the citation reads, “Three miles from the target his airplane was hit, badly damaged, and set on fire. Ignoring the fact that he was flying over a field suitable for a forced landing, he kept on course. After the bombs were released on the target, the fire in his ship became so intense as to make further progress impossible and he crashed into the target area. By his voluntary acceptance of a mission he knew was extremely hazardous, and his acceptance of an intrepid course of action at the risk of life over and above the call of duty, Major. Jerstad set an example of heroism which will be an inspiration to the Armed Forces of the United States.” (U.S. Air Force photo)

In 1942, Orvon Grover “Gene” Autry was in the middle of an extremely successful radio, recording, and movie career. The fact that he held a private pilot’s certificate along with the war effort caused him to decide to enlist. On July 26, 1942, Autry enlisted in the Army Air Corps for the duration of the war as a Technical Sergeant. Part of his enlistment agreement required him to continue his weekly radio show, Gene Autry’s Melody Ranch, for one year. During his service, he changed the shows name to Sergeant Gene Autry. After basic, he first served at Luke Field, Thunderbird Field, and then Phoenix Airport, all in the Phoenix area. During that time, he used various facilities on Luke Field to do his radio show. One of those locations is now known as the Chapel on the Mall. Sergeant Autry finally got to go to pilot training and became a Flight Officer and flew various types of military cargo aircraft for the rest of the war. Later, he bought the Anaheim Angels. (Photo courtesy The Autry Foundation and Autry Qualified Interest Trust)

If General Whitehead was the father of Luke Field, Col. John Kraybill Nissley was the face of Luke Field during World War II. All told, he commanded Luke Field for 19 1/2 months, longer than any other World War II commander.
Colonel Nissley was the fourth and sixth commanding officer of Luke Field. Born in Abilene, Kansas, on January 17, 1894. He graduated from Guthrie High School in Guthrie, Oklahoma. After the US entered World War I, he joined the Army on July 2, 1917. On September 22, 1917, he graduated from Army aviation ground-school at the University of Texas. Between January and June 1918, he took primary aviation training at Foggia, Italy. His commander was Capt. Fiorello LaGuardia. LaGuardia later became the long-time mayor of New York City. Unfortunately, Foggia’s aircraft were so different from those used on the Western Front, few graduates saw action. After training, Nissley was assigned to the Staff Squadron, 3rd Aviation Instruction Center at Issoudon, France. By the end of the war, Issoudon was the largest pilot training base in the world with 13 fields in operation. One of its main uses was to train US pilots by transitioning them into the planes used in the frontline units and on current combat tactics. On May 26, 1919, he received his discharge.
At an unknown date, he rejoined the Army. In October 1922, Nissley commanded the 513th Observation Squadron in Los Angeles, California. On January 30, 1923, the unit moved to Stockton, California. He left the squadron about that time. In 1925, he was stationed at Mitchel Field, Long Island, New York. On July 25, 1925, he survived the crash of his Martin NBS-1 at Camp Vail, New Jersey. His last known pre-World War II service was between May 24 and August 25, 1931. During that time, he commanded the 76th Service Squadron in the 20th Pursuit Group at Rockwell Field, California. Between April 15, 1942 and March 1943, Col Nissley commanded the Chico Army Flying School at Chico Army Air Field in California.
On March 19, 1943, he took command at Luke Field for the first time. On July 28, 1944, he left and in September was the post commander for the Overseas Replacement Depot in Greensboro, North Carolina. On October 5, 1944, he returned to Luke Field. He departed for the last time on 9 January 1945. Between March and July 1945, he served at the commander of Langley Field, Virginia. He then commanded the Big Spring Bombardier School in Big Spring, Texas. In 1946, he retired from the service. On February 4, 1956, Col Nissley died at the Luke AFB Hospital and is buried in the Greenwood Memory Lawn Cemetery in Phoenix, Arizona. (Luke Field Photographic Section)

As Luke Field continued to grow in size, it began to receive United Service Organizations (USO) shows. Captured in the Class Book for Class 43-B was one of those shows. Without a doubt, the headliners were entertainers Bing Crosby (center) and Bob Hope (right). I have yet to identify the pilot. The two were in the middle of their highly successful Road picture series, having done one a year for the past three years. Hope came up through vaudeville as a dancer and later a comedian. He did Broadway productions, radio, and movies. Crosby was a singer who did radio, recordings, and later movies. Both were well established by the time they visited Luke Field. They both continued to have long careers, in movies and television. Hope was known for going on 57 USO tours to entertain the troops, most of those trips were over the Christmas holidays. (Luke Field Photographic Section)