My father piloted a B24 Liberator on 45 combat missions in the Pacific Theater of WWII. He survived the war and passed away some years ago and I still think of him most days. 13 months ago I went to an air show in San Antonio and paid to take a ride on the Collings Foundation "Witchcraft", the only fully operable B24 left in the world. Before the flight, under the nose of the plane I began to talk to a guy about my age and discovered his dad was a B24 pilot as well. He did not know the details of his Dad's unit but he knew that he had flown a mission out of Noomfoers, Dutch E. Indies. My father had flown out of there as well, on the first raid (09/30/44) bombing the farthest oil refinery from Japan located in Balikpapan, Borneo. I asked did he know if that was the mission his dad flew as well and he confirmed it was and it was where his dad was shot down and killed. Later I looked at pictures of his dad and his crew and it struck me what a poorer nation we are to have lost them but that without them and so many others being lost we would not still be a nation. Remember the fallen today.
Topic: Lest we forget ... (Read 738 times)
