today was truely a good day i met the wife of a P47 pilot from the 8th AF he flew with the 353rd fighter group in the 350th fighter squadron he is still alive and is in the hospital but he is due to come home in a few days his plate was a give away when i went to tow his car i noticed it right away and after i started to talk to his wife she let me into their home and showed me his office. so much history i was just lost in all of it while i stood there with my jaw on the floor she hands me her telephone and said it was for me first i thought it was my boss asking me what was taking me so long but it was her husband to make this story short he invited me over on my next weekend off and said he would be happy to tell me about his experince in WWII as a pilot and a pow this is the part of modeling that i love it is one thing to read it but to hear it from the source is the best i promise i will tape our conversation and put it on line for everyone or anyone that is interested and yes i already asked him for his consent to do this it made him feel good to know that so many people are interested
Hey FW, That is cool, We have a vet here, (I’m at work and can’t tell you units and stuff) That flew 47s, never made ace but busted up a lot of trains! His name is Buddy Rogers and flew about everything from the late 30’s to the late 50’s. Good Huntring G.W.
Books can only go so far, the experiences that happen to fighting men shape the rest of their lives, they are living history that have the true story of events not the “writen in stone” documentry of the victorious country. Unfortunately these sources are disappearing all to quickly and their stories are lost, and more effort I feel should be made to record them. I don`t wish to glorify war, and I think that if more of the true nature of war was revealed people would be less likely to start them.
My wife’s grandmother’s boyfriend…whew that’s alot to type…was in WW2 as a groundpounder. He was in the battle of the bulge and every year we go camping. We sit around the campfire and i get him to talk a little bit more about his experiences. Some are hard for him but i feel we need to have 1st hand accounts to pass on before all the WW2 vets are gone. He told me he was wounded by schrapnel from a bomb and when he was being taken to the aid staion he was hit by a sniper. I am planning on tape recording these stories and might write a book about him.
That is indeed a great opportunity. You must come back and tell us what happened at your visit. Please let the gentleman know that there are many of us who are thankful for the their sacrifices so that we may enjoy the freedom we do today.
hello i am going over to his house on the 29 of this month i just talked to him a few hours ago and promise to share the conversation with anyone that wants it his name is Lt Chauncey Rowan he flew with the 353rd fighter group 350th fighter squadron he was hit by flak on may 21 1944 he broke his back in the wheels up landing and spent the rest of the war as a POW he was flying a P 47D #42-76280 the plane was named Jenny and had a yellow checkerboard pattern on the cowling fill you in on the rest later thanks
350 Fighter Squadron