Today is Veterans Day, which I think should be spelled with a after the s in Veterans. This is the day we give thanks to those who serve and those who served before them. It is their sacrifice that earned and protects even our most basic freedoms, and for that I am very grateful. This is also one of the two days each year that I share my grandfathers story. WWII made heroes out of many, and he was one of them. He volunteered before Pearl Harbor because he knew war with the Nazis was near. He trained to be a pursuit pilot (aka, fighter pilot), excelling enough to be tapped for a new accelerated training program for B17 pilots. He was told that the B17 was the plane that would win the war, and as much as he hated giving up his seat in a fast plane, he learned to love the four engines of the Boeing Flying Fortress for making the return trip across the English Channel. He flew many harrowing missions, inluding one on the day my mother was born that is truly straight out of Hollywood. He landed that plane only feet off the coast of England with one functioning engine, and the plane broke in half at the radio room before coming to a stop. After being only the 7th pilot to complete a B17 tour of duty, he returned to the States where he trained new B17 crews. Towards the end of the war, he was selected by General Doolittle to be one of a handful of bomber scouts, flying the fastest P51Ds to roll off the lines ahead of bombing missions to determine which target (usually out of 3) was most bombable. He would meet the bomber group and report target conditions on super-short range radio as only a successful bomber pilot could do. He was one of less than a dozen men to fly combat tours in a B17 and a P51 in WWII. The amazing part is that I have all of the now-declassified mission and AARs, detailing amazingly specific elements of his experience in combat. Most of what I learned in making the video linked below I did not know until I read the many handwritten and typed navigator logs and post-mission intelligence reports written about his crew. It is with tears in my eyes that I sit here thankful that my grandfather was in my life until passing from old age, knowing that there are many grandsons who arent so luck and many more grandson that never were. Thank you, veterans, and may you have a very happy Veterans Day. https://youtube/watch?v=y9hvH3pZE14
Posted on: Tue, 11 Nov 2014 16:41:02 +0000
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