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5/31/2010
It was an honor to serve
The old codger sat nursing his hot java and the morning paper at the end of the diner counter. Because I saw his VFW hat, I quietly said “thank you sir, for serving.” “It was an honor ma’am,” said the man in the hat.
Soon a 55-ish couple strolled in to the quiet diner and offered greetings. “How are you today sir?” they said to the man in the hat. Our grizzled Veteran replied quickly and sincerely “Well, I’m just fine folks – but how are you? I worry about young people today…”
After the man took his leave, we learned from a stranger that he’d fought his way across Europe, surviving the Battle of the Bulge along the way.
I was blessed yesterday, to have crossed this gentle man’s path.
I’m blessed too, that over the past several years, my dad put together a record of his war service for us kids.
At age 18, Dad qualified for pre-flight school. Flight school included flying Stearman bi-planes, or PT 17s.
The PT 17s had a habit of ground looping which washed out several primary school students. The reason for ground looping was a new, narrow landing gear. As an aside, the airplane was an open cockpit bi-plane which made it great to fly. The PT 17 would do any acrobatic maneuver that its power would allow it to do. My instructor at Thunderbird was a grizzled middle-age civilian pilot. Very gruff, he instilled in me the necessity of staying alert regarding other aircraft in the sky. At Thunderbird I soloed, which in itself was a thrill and a once in a lifetime experience.
From the PT 17s, Dad went on to fly the BT-13, or “Vultee Vibrator,” a fixed landing gear airplane.Then it was the AT-6, the first retractable landing gear aircraft he flew.
On recollection, the AT-6 had a top speed of about 250-300 mph and was capable of doing more involved acrobatics which made it a great aircraft to fly.
Here at Williams Field we were introduced to night flying and instrument flying – or flying blind, as in a cloud. We lost many pilots to weather, or who tried to fly instruments in a cloud. It was best to go under or over a cloud, not through it. We had gyro compasses that most of the time weren’t even operative because we’d do acrobatics – and would cage the gyro so it wouldn’t move while we were doing loops and flying upside down. But, if the gyro’s not working , you just don’t go in the cloud.
It was at Williams Field that I received my 2nd Lieutenant commission, or gold bars and flying wings. I can remember that day; many cadets had their parents and girlfriends in the audience.
A proud air corps man – and just 19.
Then on to the Bell Air Cobra, or P-39. Finally, in the “sleepy little town” of Santa Maria, California, Dad completed P-38 training and shipped out to join the 13th Fighter Command in the South Pacific.
I’m blessed to be an American and unspeakably blessed that hundreds of thousands of American servicemen have given their lives for my freedom. Unspeakably blessed. Unspeakably thankful.
Jo Egelhoff FoxPolitics.net
COMMENTS
Thanks for sharing.
David (Mon May 31 08:17:21 2010)
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