OT: I just saw the most amazing WW2 related story on (of course)the History channel. If you've had the misfortune of reading any of my feeble scribbling you'll know immediately at the end why this one appeals to me.
I picked up the still warm remote lying there on the couch where Wifey had conveniently left it and well-practiced reflexes instantly punched the right buttons that would dissolve the all too feminine Lifetime Channel and replace it with the infinitely more appealing History Channel.
A program was already in progress. As I watched I was quickly drawn in to the story of two men, one black, one white. One man was a thankful B-17 driver who survived some of the most dangerous missions flown in the war. They showed much fottage of B-17s being shot at by fighters and showered with flack.
The other gentleman was a member of the famous black fighter group called the Tuskeegie Airmen who flew bomber escort with such distinction. These men flew P51s with that distinctive Red tail. In the two years that they flew escort missions they NEVER lost a bomber. WOW. They showed gun camera footage of writhing German planes and lots of film of the red tailed Mustangs doing their thing. Exciting stuff.
It seems that one day the grateful old bomber pilot sees that there is to be a reunion of the Red Tail boys in his town of Pittsburgh, Pa. He is overjoyed and so overwhelmed with feelings of gratitude toward these men that he invites himself to their reunion and attends the meeting.
He goes there hoping to find and to thank at least one pilot who actually safely escorted his bomber. At the reunion he did find one fellow who had done so on a particularly nasty mission against a German oil refinery on Christmas Day 1944.
These two men, strangers to one another until now, began reminiscing. Turns out they were from the same home town. That's not all. They discover that they attended the same grammar school. Next, they figure out they were actually in the same grade together.
Here is the cherry on the cake. They found an old school picture that clearly shows them actually standing side by side! I find that so ironic and incredible.
A local paper got hold of the story and they became quite an item in Pittsburgh. Today, they are close friends and are in great demand going about speaking to school and civic groups.
A great story with a "twist" at the end. I wish I'd made that one up so I could take credit for writing it.
------------------ "Blessed are they who expect nothing. For they will not be disappointed." - Edmund Qwenn, "The Trouble with Harry"
[This message has been edited by Jolly Roger Too (edited 01-07-2002).]
