The people we meet.

jasc15

jasc15

Pre-takeoff checklist
Joined
Apr 21, 2009
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New Jersey
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Joe
Today I took a ride from KFRG to KMJX with my college physics professor who I managed to keep in touch with after I graduated. I got to the airport before him and he said to look out for an old grizzly 86-year-old guy who should already be there. I found him and introduced myself. I asked if he was also a pilot, and he says "for 66 years" and points to his hat which had a picture of a B-24 on it.

It was great to converse with this guy, and to see that he was still very much an active pilot, flying 2 to 3 times a week, he says. I got a brief history of his service, including his individual sentiments about August 6. He flew his 40th and final mission from Okinawa to bomb a city about 10 miles from Hiroshima on August 5, 1945. They were told not to take an opportunity run on Hiroshima under any circumstances, and he found out why the following day.

I've met vets before, and some in my family, but never anyone who was that close to history. Not to diminish their service in any way, but most were mechanics, medics, etc. (still light years beyond anything I have done). He was 19 at the time, and returned home after the war at only 20.

What struck me most is how he managed to keep doing what he loved the rest of his life. He later became manager of the FAA flight test branch in the Eastern US and collected 24 type ratings as well as logging 13,500 hours. He is still a ATP/CFI/CFII and said that he never charges for his time. He was very gracious and humble, and offered his time to me if I needed.

It's nice to still have some first hand folks from that time.
 
I've always wondered why so many military aviators returned home and never flew again.
 
My dad flew birddogs in Vietnam and hasn't flown since.
 
Ya I don't know. He has no problem flying with me but he has no interest in being PIC. I think the only reason he signed up to fly during the war was because the pay was better. I guess if I spent my time in the air getting shot at I wouldn't have much interest in flying either!!
 
gkainz said:
I've always wondered why so many military aviators returned home and never flew again.
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I think the reason has a lot to do with the question I brought up in the "what would you do if you couldn't fly anymore" thread. I've noticed that quite a number of pilots I know quit/retire, etc and never fly again. Greg brought up the point that most of them who do this never flew recreationally and only see it as a job. When the job is over the flying is too.
 
My Uncle Art was a P-38 pilot in the Pacific theater, WWII. Never talked much about the war.

Came home, started a family and a business. Owned a J-3 and a Stinson voyager, took me for my first airplane ride, got me hooked. Died way too young from a melanoma.

Flying, to him, seemed to just be a part of his life, something that just "was", a given. It wasn't who he was but it was what he did.
 
Swampfox201 said:
Ya I don't know. He has no problem flying with me but he has no interest in being PIC. I think the only reason he signed up to fly during the war was because the pay was better. I guess if I spent my time in the air getting shot at I wouldn't have much interest in flying either!!
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True, but here's another thought:

I think for some of these pilots, and even some commercial pilots, there's just the effect of too many flights made when they really didn't feel like it, but had to go. Or just too many experiences with fatigue, poor weather, lousy equipment, not being home much, etc. They eventually come to the point where flying is associated with more negatives than positives; if they ever did have fun while flying, they've forgotten what that feels like.
 
My dad was a commissioned officer and B29 flight engineerin WWII. He was part of the first group that flew missions from India and China then eventually from Tinian. He was offered a promotion and a job at Wright Patterson after the war but chose to leave the military when the war was over. Thirty years later he bought a 172 and got his PPL. He flew for several years before a heart condition caused him to lose his medical. I don't know if the long hiatus restored his interest in flying or if he always wanted to fly.
 
jasc15 said:
I've met vets before, and some in my family, but never anyone who was that close to history. .
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I know what you mean.

I have met two that were close to history. The first was my 6th grade social studies teacher. I remember him bringing in Nazi memorabilia that he had gotten at the Eagle's Nest during The War. Big deal I thought, my dad was in The War too and has souvenirs. It was only years later that I realized, when Band of Brothers was on TV, just what unit he was in.

The other guy was a little more interesting.

When I left active duty I entered the active reserves. There I met an older women in the personal office that helped me to process into my reserve billet. Her name was Lorraine Kuryla. She was one of the oldest reservists I had met, had to be in her 60's. A couple of years later when Desert Storm had heated up she deployed and was called Grand-bo by the media.

A couple of years later I was District Commander for the VFW and was at the Oak Park, IL Post meeting. There I met a man named Mike Kuryla. I mentioned that I had known someone with that same last name, Lorriane, turns out that is his wife. Mike and I chatted some more at the bar and he was telling me of how he is working with a memorial group to construct a memorial in Indianapolis for veterans. I asked why there instead of Oak Park, IL and he replies that the name of the ship he served on was the Indianapolis.

WOW! The ship that brought the bomb, THE BOMB, to Tinnian island. I asked if he was on it when it sank and he said 'yes'. He is one of the survivors!!! He told me the whole story that night and I have seen him several times on TV. He even was on the show about them trying to find the ship.
 
IGISMO my dad was a radar operator in B29 in the same area as your dad. He was the only survivor when thier plane went down. He always wanted to fly. But because he was color blind he was not allowed to be a pilot. He earned his PPL in the mid 60's and partially owned 3 different planes. He gave me the flying bug at a young age. Wish he had been alive when I earned my PPL.
 
I was crew on the E-2 Hawkeye; flew recreational before and after (however, never was shot at).

A friend of mine was a bird dog pilot in Viet Nam - received lots of fire and had the holes in the airplane to verify. He's now a corporate pilot and loves flying.

My best man was a Navy E-2/C-2 pilot, after he retired, he has no interest in flying whatsoever - Harleys have replaced airplanes for him.

Another friend was an Air Force KC-135 Navigator - we talk about flying but when I invite him to go flying, he always has something else to do ... ?

A Hawkeye pilot from my squadron that i occasionally stay in touch with retired and now flies for FedEx - he still flies GA as well.

So, I guess it's more a personal thing than a broad brush assertion.
 
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