Billings, John M.: - JOHN M. BILLINGS took his first plane ride in 1926, began taking piloting lessons in 1938, and carried on flying ever since. Having joined the US Army Air Forces in July 1942, he was assigned to fly the Consolidated B-24 Liberator bomber. He completed fifty-three missions during the war, thirty-nine of which were for the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), the wartime predecessor to the CIA, and the US Special Operations Command. After the war John was an airline pilot with TWA and Eastern Airlines. John is also rightfully proud of having flown 300-plus 'Angel Flight' airlift missions which involve the specialized aerial transportation of critically ill medical patients.