John’s father had been a WWI Army soldier, enlisting March 24, 1918. He was honorably discharged May 29, 1919. In 1921, his parents were married. In the 1940 census, taken on April 5, 1940, Alma, John’s mother was living at and working, 48 hours per week, as an attendant at the Hamilton County Tuberculosis Hospital, later called Dunham Hospital. The Goshen 1940 census was taken on May 2, 1940 and it reveals that John James, age 18, Richard, 16, Dorothy, 13 and Elvira, 11 all lived as lodgers on Goshen-Newtonsville Road, at the home of Richard and Nonnie Irwin, farmers. It is uncertain why or when they moved in with the Irwin family. On September 11, 1940, John’s father died and is buried in the Vine Street Hill Cemetery in Cincinnati, Ohio.

         John, like most of the other Miami males was greatly affected by the war efforts. He enlisted in the Air Corps Reserve on August 5, 1942, and finally began Aviation Cadet training on March 8, 1943. It is not clear if he dropped out of classes at Miami at that time or not. After training, he was commissioned a 2^nd lieutenant in the Army Air Forces and awarded his pilot wings on January 7, 1944.  January 1944, he was assigned to the 31st Fighter Group (FG). After completing P-47 Thunderbolt training, he was assigned to the 308th Fighter Squadron of the 31st Fighter Group in the Mediterranean Theater, where he started flying combat missions in May 1944. As Lieutenant Voll arrived in Italy, in the spring of 1944, the veteran pilots of the 31 FG were skeptically transitioning from their beloved British Spitfires to the North American P-51B. John, a 21-year-old rookie, combined his skills with the capabilities of the P-51 to convince the veterans that the new Mustang was a superior fighter.

          Captain Voll was credited with destroying 21 enemy aircraft in aerial combat between June and November 1944. Flying a P-51D named "American Beauty," his final victories occurred during a spectacular, individual effort. While leading an escort mission to Munich on November 16, 1944, Captain Voll experienced electrical problems and left the formation. As he returned alone, he spotted a single Ju-88 over Udine, Italy. Chasing the German aircraft as it attempted to return to its base, Voll was suddenly jumped by twelve Me-109s and FW-190s. He quickly dispatched the Ju-88 and turned into the enemy fighters.

            In a swirling, 5-minute battle, John destroyed two FW-190s, one Me-109, had two probables, and two damaged. This was such an impressive feat of courage and stamina, but John’s commander feared that time was against him and decided that this would be his last combat mission. So John was sent to China as a headquarters staff officer in the China-American Composite Wing. He was the third highest scoring Mustang ace of the war, and the top U.S.A.A.F. ace of the Mediterranean Theatre of Operations, with 21 victories.

            On January 8, 1949, John married, Joan Marguerite Koch, from Blanchester, Ohio. Joan was born January 3, 1933 in Lynchburg, Ohio. John served with the 3525th Pilot Training Wing at Williams AFB, Arizona, until October 1949. He was then transferred to the 66th Fighter Interceptor Squadron at Elmendorf AFB, Alaska.

            He served with the 66th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, until October 1951, and then he was assigned to the 1002nd Inspector General Group at Norton AFB, California, where he served as a Power Plant Specialist and Inspector until August 1954. While there he attended Air Command and Staff College, graduating in June 1955. Voll then served with Air Defense Command at Hamilton AFB, California, from July 1955 to November 1958. He received an undergraduate degree from San Francisco State College in 1957. A new assignment took him to the Air Force Advisory Group at Kimpo AB, South Korea, where he remained until November 1960. From November 1960 to October 1961, Voll served with the 27^th Tactical Fighter Wing at Cannon AFB, New Mexico. He then served as the Commander of the 522nd Tactical Fighter Squadron, also at Cannon, from October 1961 to July 1962, and then he was assigned as an Operations Staff Officer for the 832nd Air Division at Cannon.

         His next assignment was with Headquarters Tactical Air Command at Langley AFB, Virginia, where he served from October 1962 to August 1964. He received a master’s in management from George Washington University in 1964.

    John Voll’s valor earned him the Distinguished Service Cross…

.    "The President of the United States takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross to John J. Voll (0-705511), Captain (Air Corps), U.S. Army Air Forces, for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an armed enemy while serving as Pilot of a P-51 Fighter Airplane in the 308th Fighter Squadron, 31st Fighter Group, FIFTEENTH Air Force, in aerial combat against enemy forces on 16 November 1944, in the European Theater of Operations. After destroying a JU 88 in the Udine area, Captain Voll was jumped by a dozen enemy fighters. Despite being heavily outnumbered, he remained in the fight, shooting down four more enemy to become an ace in a day. Captain Voll's unquestionable valor in aerial combat is in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflects great credit upon himself, the 15th Air Force, and the United States Army Air Forces."
Headquarters: European Theater of Operations, U.S. Army, General Orders No. 61 (1944)
Home Town: Goshen, Ohio