John Billings was a U.S. Army Air Forces veteran of World War II who flew Allied spies behind enemy lines for the Office of Strategic Services (OSS).Billings took his first flight on his third birthday and discovered a lifelong passion.
He learned to fly as a teen, before enlisting in the U.S. Army in 1942 and undergoing aviation training. Once in the Army, Billings was recruited for Operation Greenup by the OSS, the precursor to the CIA.
Billings’ part in the mission involved flying three Allied spies into the Austrian Alps, where they would gain important information about Nazi activities.
It was a dangerous mission, one that other pilots refused to undertake, but Billings was up for it and successfully completed the flight.
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