Veterans Day Perspective 2011

I love to fly and I love freedom. A long time ago I fought a war that no one will look back on with any nostalgia. Our war was "cold". We flew every day and the power and capabilities we demonstrated right up against the Iron Curtain were directly responsible for that curtain coming down. Never fired a shot.

Several decades later on a bright, sunny South Texas Saturday afternoon I was basking in some of that freedom roaring around the Texas skies in my new toy. A tiny RV-4 emblazoned in the livery honoring much higher horsepowered steeds that helped free the same European continent that I saddled up every day to defend back in the 1980s. Just like in my childhood fantasies, my mount wore blue and white "Stars and Bars" on the fuselage and the stark black and white "Invasion Stripes" that denoted Allied aircraft in the chaos that filled the skies leading up to and following the D-Day Invasion at Normandy. Exhausted from my demanding morning missions, I put down at a field well behind the lines of the national war for the best BBQ in the world, the Llano airport.

That's when I met him.

Nothing will jolt you from your fog of playing fighter pilot for the day (even if you really used to be one) or humble you quite as much as sticking your hand out (not only the trait of a true Texan, but also of any true fighter pilot) and shaking hands unknowingly with a true WWII fighter pilot hero. I was introduced to Joe Randerson, a 90 year old P-51 pilot who was interested in my mock Mustang gleaming in the sun on the Llano tarmac. He is 90, stands straight as a post oak, can remember bases, towns and flying units from his tours in the Mediterranean Theater. We started talking about flying fighters. I only said enough to bait him into starting another story. It was gold, every word of it.

Take some time this week as we head into the "official" Veterans Day and read Joe's story. He's the veteran I am thinking most about this year. Without Joe and all the other fighter pilots that fought that "Hot" war in the same squadrons that I later fought the cold one in, I would not have had the opportunity to serve my country in the air nor be free to blast around the Texas skies as freely as I do today.

http://texas-hill-country.com/issue/texas-hill-country1/article/one-of-the-greatest

Thanks to you both

I thank you for your service Chris, both "over there" and here, by sharing Joe's story. I got to play around over there for a few years, as a business man, not a service man. I had a blast, but my work was ultimately meaningless. I appreciate everything you, and Joe, and other jocks like you have done for us all. Thanks, guys.

Stephen

Thanks for the link, Chris. Fascinating article. A tip of my hat to you, Joe, and all those who gave so much that we may still enjoy the blessings of liberty today. I need to nclude my maternal Uncle, Stacy Pearson, who was a P-51 mechanic in Italy at that time, and his brother Joe M. Pearson, who served in the US Navy.

To all those whom we owe so much, may we never forget, nor dishonor the legacy they left in our care.

He makes me VERY proud

Chris, it really makes me proud when I read about my Uncle Joe. I've been listening in awe to his stories for many years and I'm always amazed at his great attitude. He is indeed an inspiration. He's still riding his motorcycle daily at 90 years young.

What's more, when the family gathers for holidays and other important events, his older brother, Luther Randerson (94 and still playing golf) and he get to talking and their stories are absolutely amazing. Uncle Luther was also a fighter pilot in WWII. He was a group commander when he left the service after the war, a Lt.Col. and he flew every single engine fighter in the Army Air Corp inventory and many of the transports and bombers. I laugh at the way they talk about getting checked out in a new airplane. He tells one story where a General walked into his office one time and said he needed a ride to another base. Uncle Luther told him that the only available plane was a B25 and he had never flown one. The General looked at him and said "You're a pilot aren't you?", so off they went.

We need to remember and appreciate these hero's who were just boys when they went to war. Gone for over 3 years before winning the war and being released from service.

I'm so very fortunate to be able to talk and listen to these men, and I'm extremely proud of both of them.

I've taken Uncle Joe flying with me and he still has the hands and feet of a young fighter pilot. Absolutely amazing.

Thanks for asking us all to remember our veterans and hero's.

I love sitting down at the local airport restaurant with guys like these. Like you said, I talk only enough to get another story out of them. These men make me proud to live in this country and keep the fire burning that makes me want to fly in the USAF one day. Flying with them is an absolute treat. Im in their plane of course but it is still an absolute ball flying with them.

If you have served, or are still serving; THANK YOU! You keep us all free.

Simply a wonderful story. Thank you for sharing.

br,
dr

Never have so many...

Hey, I know that guy

Great story Chris, glad you like the four, I like it too!

Last summer at OSH I was in the Warbird area and a friend suggested I go get one of the free "Oshkosh salutes veterans" hats (hey they're free)So we walked over to the counter.
I stood in line and when my turn came I showed my ID. The older gentleman behind the counter asked "what branch?" I said "USAF", "what conflict?" I said "OIF". He said "which one is that?" I said "the current one, Operation Iraqi Freedom". "Thanks, here's your hat".
He and several other men in line turned around and smiled at me. Behind me was a Vietnam era US Marine who had miraculously survived Khe Sahn, and behind him a Korean War Navy Pilot. The 80+year-old man who had just been issued a hat stopped and looked at me and in a gruff voice said "thanks for your service kid". Turns out he had survived the melee' on Normandy beach sixty-seven years ago. He was the sole survivor of his platoon and doesn't live one single second without thinking of them. The first 20 minutes of Saving Private Ryan were dedicated to his men.

I proudly accepted my hat and put it on wondering how many stories were out there walking around the OSH grounds wearing the hat.
Winston Churchill after the Battle of Britain quoted that "Never in the field of human conflict has so much been owed by so many to so few".

I'll second that.

Smokey

PS:
In World War II, 11.2% of the nation served in four years.
In Vietnam, 4.3% served in 12 years.
Since 2001, only 0.45% of our population has served in the Global War on Terror.

My salute to my ancestors who served

One relative was at Saratoga in the Revolutionary War
Several (on both sides) during the Civil War
3 of my paternal grandfather's brothers served in WWI; two fought at the Battle of Argonne Forest, one later died of wounds received in the battle
My father served in the Army in WWII, at a B-29 base on Guam
Mother served in the Army in WWII, clerical help in Australia, the Phillipines and New Guinea
Her brother (my uncle) served on the USS Chicago during WWII including shelling of Japan.
My Godfather landed at Anzio
My uncle served in the Army in WWII and fought in the Aleutians
My oldest sister retired from the USAF 20 years ago
My oldest son's Godfather served 1 tour in Korea and 2 in Viet Nam; the Nam time in River Patrol Boats
One cousin 4 years in USMC
One cousin USN aviation mechanic for 4 years
One son USN aviation mechanic 5 years including 6 mos in Iraq during Iraqi Freedom
I served 6 years USN, 2 on a nuke submarine (hence "Bubblehead" screen name)

And my most highly esteemed and very best friend, USMC, helped build and defend Khe San, injured in a amo dump blast at another outpost, and now battling lung cancer and other ailments possibly from service in Viet Nam and exposure to Agent Orange.

I list them all not to brag or bring any positive reflection on me, but to tell everyone how blessed I am to have had these people in my life, to have them as roll models, and how much I appreciate every one of their sacrifices.

It's a hand shake that gives the feeling of being connected to those days and those who survived it. I've had the privilege of doing so at OSH with a few of them including Bob Hoover and Gunther Rall.

Its easy to forget or not even be aware of the sacrifice everyone in the country made during the WWII years. It was a time unlike anything so intense since the American civil war.

What the future holds is unknown, we may well face such challenges again but from which quarter we don't know. The world certainly is a place of uncertainty today.

A friend sent the following WWII info a few days ago. I edited it considerably but the gist of it is there. WWII was a fascinating time, as a kid I was disappointed I missed it (born 1939) but have since come to appreciate what a blessing that was. War is terrible and always has been.

Amazing WWII Aircraft Facts*

276,000 aircraft manufactured in the* US .
43,000 planes lost overseas, including 23,000 in combat.*
14,000 lost in the continental* U.S.*
**
THE PRICE OF VICTORY (in WWII dollars)
B-17****** $204,370.****
B-24****** $215,516.**** .
B-25****** $142,194.****
B-26****** $192,426.****
B-29****** $605,360.****
P-38******** $97,147.****
P-40****** $44,892.
P-47****** $85,578
P-51****** $51,572.
C-47****** $88,574.
PT-17**** $15,052.

**
WWII MOST-PRODUCED COMBAT AIRCRAFT

Ilyushin IL-2 Sturmovik********************************* 36,183*
Yakolev Yak-1,-3,-7, -9****************************** 31,000+
Messerschmitt Bf-109********************************* 30,480
Focke-Wulf Fw-190************************************* 29,001
Supermarine Spitfire/Seafire*********************** 20,351
Convair B-24/PB4Y Liberator/Privateer****** 18,482
Republic P-47 Thunderbolt************************* 15,686
North American P-51 Mustang******************** 15,875*
Junkers Ju-88********************************************* 15,000*
Hawker Hurricane*************************************** 14,533*
Curtiss P-40 Warhawk******************************** 13,738*
Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress************************ 12,731*
Vought F4U Corsair************************************* 12,571*
Grumman F6F Hellcat********************************* 12,275*
Petlyakov Pe-2******************************************** 11,400*
Lockheed P-38 Lightning***************************** 10,037
Mitsubishi A6M Zero*********************************** 10,449
North American B-25 Mitchell*********************** 9,984*
Lavochkin LaGG-5**************************************** 9,920* *
Grumman TBM Avenger******************************* 9,837*
Bell P-39 Airacobra*************************************** 9,584*
Nakajima Ki-43 Oscar*********************************** 5,919*
DeHavilland Mosquito********************************** 7,780*
Avro Lancaster********************************************* 7,377*
Heinkel He-111********************************************* 6,508*
Handley-Page* Halifax************************************* 6,176
Messerschmitt Bf-110*********************************** 6,150*
Lavochkin LaGG-7**************************************** 5,753
Boeing B-29 Superfortress*************************** 3,970*
Short* Stirling*************************************************** 2,383
*
*Accidents inside the continental United States*
(December 1941- August 1945), the USArmy Air Forces lost 14,903 pilots, aircrew and assorted personnel plus 13,873 airplanes ---.* They were the result of 52,651 aircraft accidents (6,039 involving fatalities).

Almost 1,000 Army planes disappeared en route from the* US** to foreign climes.*

Losses in combat zones.

43,581 aircraft were lost overseas including 22,948 on combat missions.
40,000 airmen were killed in combat theatres and another 18,000 wounded.* Some 12,000 missing men were declared dead.* More than 41,000 were captured, half of the 5,400 held by the Japanese died in captivity, compared with one-tenth in German hands.** Total combat casualties were pegged at 121,867.

Experience Level:
Some fighter pilots entered combat in 1942 with less than 1 hour in their assigned aircraft. The 357th Fighter Group went to* England in late 1943 having trained on P-39s, the group had 51s in England and never saw a Mustang until shortly before its first combat mission.*
A high-time P-51 pilot had 30 hours in type.* Many had fewer than five hours.* Some had one hour. Many combat units transitioned in combat.* The attitude was, "They all have a stick and a throttle.* Go fly `em."
Group commander, Col. Donald Blakeslee, said, "You can learn to fly `51s on the way to the target."*

Cadet To Colonel:
It was possible for a flying cadet at the time of* Pearl Harbor to finish the war with eagles on his shoulders.* That was the record of John D. Landers, a 21-year-old Texan, who was commissioned a second lieutenant on December 12, 1941.* He joined his combat squadron with 209 hours total flight time, including 2� in P-40s.* He finished the war as a full colonel, commanding an 8th Air Force Group --- at age 24.

Edward E. Gilley, LM937
Veterans Of* Underage Military Service
Army Air Corps Enlisted Pilots Association
Veterans Of Foreign Wars
American Legion
Air Force Association

*
*
*

Veteran's Day Perspective

I just sent my stepson off to Lewis-McChord on his way to Afghanistan. He's not flying, but he's getting trained to coordinate air/ground comm.

It's a **** of a lot easier to go to war yourself than send your children.

I will second that

Mark12A said:

I just sent my stepson off to Lewis-McChord on his way to Afghanistan. He's not flying, but he's getting trained to coordinate air/ground comm.

It's a **** of a lot easier to go to war yourself than send your children.

Click to expand...

Deployed now, but this is easier than watching my son (AF Captain) go again. We had a chance meeting in '09 when the C-17 I was riding on broke and we landing short of our destination. My son had just finished his mission in his C-130. We meet at the airfield at 2:00 AM, sweating and telling stories. Someone took a picture of us, I will keep that picture forever.