World War II Hero

Isham O. Teasley, Jr., Milton High School class of 1934, is a WWII hero. He was inducted into the Milton HS Hall of Fame in 2019. Mr. Teasley was born in Alpharetta in 1917. Post graduation he enrolled in North Georgia College where he participated in the ROTC program.

After leaving North Georgia, he began taking flying lessons on the weekends. In two years he received his pilot’s license. He enlisted in the U.S. Army as a private in January 1941, eleven months before Pearl Harbor. Soon after the U.S. entered WWII, Teasley was selected for aviation training. By November 1943, 1st Lt. Teasley was attached to the 15th Air Force, 5th Bombardment Wing, based in Italy. He piloted the B-17 Flying Fortress bomber with bombing targets in Germany. Initially, once flight crews had flown 25 missions, they were removed from combat flight service. However, as the war progressed, the limit was pushed to 35, then 45, missions.

On August 15, 1944, at the age of 27, 1st Lt. Teasley was killed in action—he, his plane, and crew failing to return from their 47th mission. Lt. Teasley’s remains were returned to Alpharetta in 1949. Following the funeral, a full military service was held at Alpharetta’s Resthaven Cemetery, with an escort of fighter planes from the Marietta Army Air Force Base.

Mr. Teasley had been a much loved and highly respected member of the Alpharetta community and the turnout for his funeral was massive. Lt. Teasley was awarded two Distinguished Flying Crosses and the Air Medal with three oak leaf clusters.