Over 80 years ago the clouds of war gathered during the most destructive event in human history. Airplanes like this served as trainers for aviators who faced terror and triumph in cold skies throughout the world. Many were lost but others returned, and would sometimes reluctantly share the barest shadows of the of the horrors they faced.
As these two WW II trainers flew over yesterday, I was reminded of a former navy veteran who I met in the 1970’s. He mentioned that he had flown Bearcats off of carriers in the Pacific during the war. Being young and ignorant, I marveled how scary it must have been to takeoff and land on carriers in the middle of the ocean.
“It wasn’t nearly as scary as what we had to do between takeoff and landing,” was his dry response.
I will be eternally grateful for the courage of those aviators and all the others who sacrificed so dearly to preserve our freedom during those dark days.
#warbirds #WWII #airplanes #aviators
Eskildoodle Photos and Feelings 