George Preddy

In 1968, Business Interstate 85, through Greensboro, North Carolina was given the street name Preddy Boulevard, in memory of both Preddy brothers.

Preddy's brother William, a P-51 pilot with the 503rd Fighter Squadron, 339th Fighter Group, was later buried alongside George at the Lorraine American Cemetery, Saint-Avold, France. William died in what is today's Czech Republic on April 17, 1945, from wounds he sustained when he was shot down by enemy AA fire, while strafing České Budějovice airfield.

George Preddy was killed on the morning of December 25, 1944, by friendly fire. As commanding officer of the 328th Fighter Squadron, 352nd FG, he was leading a formation of 10 P-51s. After patrolling for about three hours, they were directed to assist in a dogfight already in progress. Preddy destroyed two Messerschmitt Bf 109s before being vectored to intercept a lone Focke-Wulf Fw 190 strafing Allied ground forces southeast of Liège, Belgium. As he pursued the Fw 190, Preddy's aircraft as well as two other P-51s passed over the Allied front line at treetop height. A US Army anti-aircraft (AA) battery (believed to be part of the 430th AA Battalion, XIX Corps) fired at the Fw 190 but missed and, instead, hit Preddy's P-51. Preddy managed to release his canopy but was unable to bail out before his aircraft hit the ground at high speed. Although the shallow angle of impact meant the crash was potentially survivable, his wounds from .50-caliber machine gun fire were mortal.

Preddy was assigned as a P-40 Warhawk pilot with the 9th Pursuit Squadron of the 49th Pursuit Group, which provided air defense against Japanese aircraft attacking Darwin, Australia. Preddy claimed two Japanese aircraft damaged over Darwin. He was hospitalized after a midair collision with another P-40, in which the other pilot, 2nd Lt. John Sauber, was killed. After his recovery, he arrived at Hamilton Field in California, looking for an assignment and in December 1942, he was sent to Mitchel Field in New York and later to Westover Field in Massachusetts where he was assigned to the 487th Fighter Squadron of the 352nd Fighter Group, flying P-47 Thunderbolts. In July 1943, the 352nd FG boarded the troopship RMS Queen Elizabeth in June 1943. The group landed in the United Kingdom, and was assigned to RAF Bodney in Watton, Norfolk, under the operational control of the 67th Fighter Wing, VIII Fighter Command.

On September 1940, he enlisted in the North Carolina National Guard and served with the 252nd Coast Artillery Regiment. Preddy attempted to become a naval aviator in the U.S. Navy, but was rejected thrice. As a result, he entered the Aviation Cadet Program of the U.S. Army Air Corps on April 29, 1941. He was commissioned a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army Air Forces and was awarded his pilot wings at Craig Field in Alabama, on December 12, 1941, just five days after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

Major George Earl Preddy Jr. (February 5, 1919 – December 25, 1944) was a United States Army Air Forces officer during World War II and an American ace credited with 26.83 enemy air-to-air kills (a number that includes shared one-half- and one-third-victory credits), ranking him as the top P-51 Mustang ace of World War II and eighth on the list of all-time highest scoring American aces. Preddy was born and grew up in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Preddy was born on 1919 in Greensboro, North Carolina, the second of four children born to George Earl Sr. and Clara Noah Preddy. He attended Aycock School and Greensboro High School. Following graduation, he worked at a cotton mill and attended Guilford College for two years, before becoming a barnstormer pilot.