Sounds interesting… I’ve heard of tail squatters on the ground but…[:O] wow.
Swanny
What an honour & a privelege to share the company of a person like this. I dips my lid…
Now that I think of it, here in Australia we are especially indebted to pilots like this fine gentleman. If it weren’t for him & his mates, & the RAAFies, we’d all be speaking English as an option.
Very sweet pics. One that caught my eye in particular (besides the ones with the girls) was ‘Overshot Too’. The pilot, or whoever inspired the nose art, must have been from Philadelphia since Broad and Chestnut are two major streets that cross each other. Thanks!
Something happened to me yeasterday I just have to share. I had just started getting my chemo treatment when two “Snowbird” couples came in. Their wives were there for treatment The only available recliners was on each side of me. With the poison flowing into my systyem, I was half in and out of “LA LA Land”. I heard the man to my left comment that his first visit to Okinawa was in '44. The man to my right said his was in early '45. Now I was wide awake. I thought if history was correct, we didn’t invade the island until April '45.
I asked if they would mind if I asked them a few questions and they said it would be fine. I asked the man (John) to my left, how did he visit in '44. He said, “From the pilots seat of a B-29”. The man to my right (Carl), “From the bombardear position in a B-29”. At that time I realized I had a wealth of information setting on each side of me.
We continued to talk until John’s wife was through with her treatment. Then Carl’s wife was through with hers and I was left there alone. I am taking the max treatment so my treatments last around three and a half hours. They will be there every Tuesday and we agreed to share more information.
It is funny, but both agree, that they thought Gen. LeMay was off his rocker when he ordered the bombers stripped and started the low level raids. But both said it was a lot more effective.
More to follow, I hope.
Wow Berny! and of all places to have such an encounter![:O][:)] I can only imagine how that felt being inbetween a Pilot & the Bombadier from a B-29. Sure bet it gives you something to look foreward to when you go in for the chemo treatments[tup]
Swanny, thanks for sharing! The loss of our vets is one of the reasons I’m considering going back to university for a Masters and possibly PhD in Military History, with a focus on WWII. Someone has to teach the current and future generations about what really happened, and that it’s not like in the movies.
It’s not an ALPS but I do have a HP Laser printer and Adobe Photoshop. My step son is the master of Photoshop so I will ask him if he can do the artwork. Swanny are you going to post the images on your already awesome website? We might need to get better scans than the ones here. Maybe we can post the edited images for some of the pros on this forum to make suggestions for changes. Adding color is going to be hit and miss.
If someone else wants to handle the charity end of the project I would be glad to print the decals.
We’ve found somebody who is getting an ALPS, but if we can lean on your stepson to do the art that would be cool!
Bill
it would be really cool if guys like Mr Mahl would or could present lectures(if you will) at local libraries or vet halls for the public or even schools, kids would want to learn more after listening to guys like him
DURR, It would be cool for our WWII vets to do this & it is possible that some have done this already. There are a number of Vietnam vets who are “Speakers” and present lectures. Capt. Jerry Coffee USN ret. is one of them.
I was going thru a box of stuff today and was reminded of an old friend of mine who served in the Navy during the attack on Pearl Harbor. He was out with the carriers at the time. I loved talking to him.
Great stuff Swanny,
I love the WWII nose art, can’t get enough of it. I have a B-25 on the shelf too, and would like to see some of this nose art on decal sheets. Seems one of the favorites is Blue Diamond, mine too.
Thanks for posting.
When I was in cardiac rehab there was a guy there who drove Shermans during the battle of the bulge – he had some wild stories to tell. That is one bright spot to doing time in the hospital – you can find some of these guys there and make a connection. I was at a safety congress meeting in Cleveland a few years ago and starting talking to an old black security gaurd – turned out he worked mine sweepers off Omaha Beach. Never disregard old folk.
These stories remind me of the ones my Grandmother was telling me about my Grampa when he was in WWII. She sat and told me all about her as a kid in the Great Depression to the 60’s! Good times, I almost wish I could have been born back then, then again…
My father was a USAAF mechanic in India during the war, and an amateur photographer. He still has his photo album, with a number of nose art photos like this. Some time I’m going to have to scan them. One of the stories he told me: In September 1945 a shipload of brand new P-51D fighters were delivered to a port in India. He and several other mechanics were sent down to unload them and prepare them for flight. They were flown inland to their main base, lined up wingtip-to-wingtip, and bulldozed into scrap. They weren’t worth sending home, nor were they considered saleable as surplus in India. He has the photos of the pile of aircraft. It’s almost heartbreaking.
Dan H.
Almost!? That’s about $50,000,000 gone! Yes, I agree about teaching kids my age about WWII. Everyone seems to just follow the movies. On Pearl Harbor Day, no one knew what was special about December 7th!
Well it was my turn this time an elder man came into the office today lookin to buy a motorhome and when the boss steped out i started to talk to come to find out he in the pacific theater on halftracks eith the big mortor on it hes said the only reason he was alive was due to the second bomb that was droped on japan he mentioned the guys on D-Day and said they had it alot whorse as he left i told him thank you.
Swanny,
Your B-25s will be some of the most anticipated builds you will have done in my mind… no pressure [;)].
What designation are they a J and C? 2 Js? Solid nose?
Must admit “Hilee Pystov” was my fav… something that brought a smile to my face and would definately make my nephew crack up. His mother would probably be more appreciative too given it’s not your standard racy WWII nose art.
I knew through my mother that my uncle (her brother) had served as a Marine in WWII. I would sometimes ask him about his experiences whenever we visited the bay area, but he was very reluctant to talk about them. Being the only other Marine in the family since his time, I made it a point to visit him while on boot leave. It was then that he sat me down in his den, poured me a drink and related to me what he had experienced with the 51st Defense (AA) battalion and later a Monfort Point D.I. I learned much during the ensuing 3 or so hours as before that, I wasn’t aware that the USMC didnt accept black enlistees prior to 1943. Those 3 hours were very poignant for me, as I was given a history lesson I had never before heard from 1 of the actual participants. We must not let this most precious resource go untapped or unappreciated. Thank you for posting this thread, and Thank you Capt. Mahl for your service & sharing your experience with us.
The B-25s that will be focused on are Js and Hs. Capt Mahl was back last weekend with his wife and we did some additional research that was very productive. He is meeting with the aircraft engineer’s daughter in March and she has boxes and boxes of old records from the squadron and those should fill the last holes. Oddly enough I got an email this morning from Col. Curtis Smart who I build a model for a few years ago. He was thanking me once again for building his plane but in truth the honor was mine to be able to do it. These guys are national treasures and it will be a sad day indeed when they are gone. Just thinking about it makes me get a little moist in the eye.
This is Col. Smart’s plane as I modeled it …
