Ancient Aviators

[trof]

I belong to a group called Ancient Aviators of South Alabama. We meet monthly at a local airport to swap tales and do a little "hangar flying" ("There I was at twenty thousand feet..."). Many are WWII veterans. At 62, I am one of the youngest members.

Yesterday we had a guest speaker. He was a navy pilot (EXCUSE ME - a "Naval Aviator" - jeez those guys can be a pain in the butt to us air force types ;-)) who was the 42nd pilot to be shot down over North Viet Nam. He was 23, the same age I was when I graduated from USAF pilot training. He was a POW for over 7 years. We are the same age. He was warm and friendly and outgoing; not bitter at all. Needless to say, his presentation was riveting. Too much to go into here, but it made me think. Next time I start to complain about some petty thing that's gone wrong for me, or some little inconvenience, I'll think of this guy and what he went through. It's all relative.

[JHB]

1. Oh, thank goodness!

I don't mean about his ordeal or any of the things you guys went through, it's just that I read your subject line and was expecting some "Chariots of the Gods"-type crap. :wtf:

[trof]

3. Well we do refer to ourselves as "Sky Gods".

hee
A few years ago, when I was in my late 50s, a neighbor asked if I'd like to go to a meeting with him. "Except", he said,"I don't know if you're old enough." For the first several months I was the youngest guy there.

Since I retired from flying I don't miss it. I found I DID miss talking about it, telling my tales, listening to others'. I really enjoy this bunch. We have no dues, no officers, no board of directors, no rules. One of the prime movers in organizing it (if you can call it "organized") serves as moderator. We usually have a speaker, but sometimes just get up and tell a "war story" as the spirit moves. Kind of like a Quaker Meeting? ;-)

The stories the World War II pilots tell are fascinating. We have bomber pilots, fighter pilots, transport pilots, Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, and strictly civilian pilots. There are no qualifications for membership. We even have aviation groupies and wannabes. A year ago I took a close friend who is a retired physician. I introduced him as "This is my friend Arthur. He isn't a pilot, he's a physician. It occurred to me that we don't have a Flight Surgeon, so I propose Arthur for that position. Although he was a gynecologist and may not be quite up to speed on aviation medicine, what he lacks in ability he more than makes up for in enthusiasm." Arthur is now our Honorary Flight Surgeon. What a lot of fun.

[oneighty]

8. I been to

some a them Quaker meetings. DU is a lot like a

Quaker meeting. There I stood, said my piece.

Nice story Trof. Sounds like fun.

Ed

[mmm]

2. good morning and good post

[trof]

4. Mornin'

and thanks.
A belated welcome to DU.
:hi:

[Don_G]

5. Sounds Like My Kind Of Group

Friendly, willing to share information without rancor and trading stories over a beer.

I know an ex Jar-Head aviator like that; wouldn't mind a a gynecologist Flight Suregon recognizing his experience and knowledge and sharing the same common goal to get back home in one piece.

They save the one-liners for the Officer's Club.

[MaineDem]

6. Sounds like fun!

My husband was air crew on a Navy patrol plane. I love his stories.

Now the big question... would you all be able to talk if you couldn't use your hands? :D

[trof]

7. absolutely not

Just like Italians.
If we lost our hands we'd go mute.
;-)