He Flew The Last Mission in WWII

I saw that on FB earlier this week. Pretty impressive. I liked why he said he was there, too. Can't be easy packing up and heading out on a trip like that at 91. But he knew he was there for someone who's family had it far harder.
 
Another really interesting pilot from WW2......robert Rosenthal or as he was know, " Rosie" . Flew over fifty missions in three B17s as AC. Shot down, forced down, etc. Went on to work at the nurenberg trials as he was a Lawyer. He died in 2007. The last few missions were dropping food out of a B17 to war survivors.
 
Wonderful example for our spoiled, lazy, generation of takers.
 
Thanks for posting!
 
Cpt_Kirk said:
You mean the Baby Boomers who started the trend?
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Nope. Nice diversion to avoid responsibility, but if you take off the blinders and LOOK AROUND, you wouldn't need stupid, inane, idiotic, bull**** to avoid the truth. The generation of participation trophies and sports without keeping score is self convicting.
 
Florida Cracker said:
Nope. Nice diversion to avoid responsibility, but if you take off the blinders and LOOK AROUND, you wouldn't need stupid, inane, idiotic, bull**** to avoid the truth. The generation of participation trophies and sports without keeping score is self convicting.
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The free love weed smoking hippies are now running the country and and taking WAAY more than the folks you're bitching about.
 
Thanks for posting this, Art. (Say Hi to Jerry!). Excellent video. The National WWII Museum in New Orleans has an audio/video archive of thousands of these stories. Well worth checking out. When you see the look of wonder on the faces of the kids there, it will restore hope for the future.
 
Good vid. Thanks for posting.
 
I'm not sure what's more amazing - being 91 and able to travel halfway around the globe or having 60 hours and flying a P40 in combat. I could barely land a 172 with 60 hours. I'm such a *****.
 
I noted he said he had 10 hours in the P-40 when they shipped him West. Good lord.
 
Most WW2 combat pilots went into combat with less than 200 hours total and far less weather info or knowledge etc. It was do or die. This is apparent when you read " Flying Fortress" by Ed Jablonsky. 19-22 year olds flying B17s, etc. And the history of the " bloody 100th " and it's pilots. Amazing stuff. This book is available again on Amazon.
 
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Jimmy cooper said:
Most WW2 combat pilots went into combat with less than 200 hours total and far less weather info or knowledge etc. It was do or die. This is apparent when you read " Flying Fortress" by Ed Jablonsky. 19-22 year olds flying B17s, etc. And the history of the " bloody 100th " and it's pilots. Amazing stuff. This book is available again on Amazon.
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Excellent book! I've lost my copy. I'll have to look it up...
 
Thank you for posting about the new availability of that book. I've been looking for a copy for years (first read it in high school when it was new). I just ordered a copy of the new corrected edition.
 
Cpt_Kirk said:
You mean the Baby Boomers who started the trend?
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From personal experience, all generations have their share of "entitled" folk (for whatever that buzz word has come to mean). It is a personality trait, not a generational "problem" regardless of how much people want it to be. And some percentage of every generation has that defect. When it comes to the elderly, yeah there are definitely those characters, but 1) they know exactly what they are doing regardless of how much they pretend not to, and 2) they have been doing it all their lives and are probably not representative of their generation. Just my opinion. They don't think it be like it is, but it do.
 
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Nice video!

When I see people like Capt. Yellin, I try to imagine what he's seen in his life. At 91 and a WWII survivor and combat pilot, the stories he could tell...Wow!
 
35 AoA said:
From personal experience, all generations have their share of "entitled" folk (for whatever that buzz word has come to mean). It is a personality trait, not a generational "problem" regardless of how much people want it to be. And some percentage of every generation has that defect. When it comes to the elderly, yeah there are definitely those characters, but 1) they know exactly what they are doing regardless of how much they pretend not to, and 2) they have been doing it all their lives and are probably not representative of their generation. Just my opinion. They don't think it be like it is, but it do.
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I agree. Many many men who enlisted during WW2 may have been the greatest generation but many many were broke, no job and no future. It was their first decent set of clothes, shoes , food was plentiful, clean place to live etc. My uncle, shot down on his 25th mission which was polesti, was a poor, high school grad who volunteered for nav. Bombardier school as he was frightened to death of the trenches when he read about WW1. Shot down in a B24,( he and pilot were the only survivors. ) He was put in a German POW camp, eventually was freed, went on to fly in RB50s, B47s then B52s. Raised 5 kids, put most of them thru college by buying a liquor store after he retired from 33 years in the Air Force which he and his wife ran. VERY reluctant to discuss the war simply said." I did what was required of me. "Retired as a lt. Col. Died last year. Great person. Great family man.
 
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