+ Reply to Thread
Page 2 of 3 FirstFirst 1 2 3 LastLast
Results 11 to 20 of 21

Thread: National Geo "Spitfire"

Click here to increase the font size Click here to reduce the font size
  1. #11
    Contributing Member Gil Boyd's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2013
    Last On
    02-28-2024 @ 11:09 AM
    Location
    Home of The Parachute Regiment & 16 Air Assault Brigade
    Posts
    4,772
    Real Name
    Gil Boyd
    Local Date
    03-28-2024
    Local Time
    03:55 PM
    Spent some time in India, and my daughter got married there, sadly the Cast system is something that will never die, and was so prevalent in WW1 and WW1.
    That sadly is the bigger racism issue in the world when the same nations can't even get along with themselves.
    I can't remember the film I watched on a black American fighter Squadron who went through the same thing and weren't acccepted until they saved B17's from being shot down in WW2 a true story.
    It saddens me greatly, afterall................... is their blood when spilt a different colour?
    Last edited by Gil Boyd; 12-10-2018 at 03:26 AM.
    'Tonight my men and I have been through hell and back again, but the look on your faces when we let you out of the hall - we'd do it all again tomorrow.' Major Chris Keeble's words to Goose Green villagers on 29th May 1982 - 2 PARA

  2. Thank You to Gil Boyd For This Useful Post:


  3. # ADS
    Friends and Sponsors
    Join Date
    October 2006
    Location
    Milsurps.Com
    Posts
    All Threads
    A Collector's View - The SMLE Short Magazine Lee Enfield 1903-1989. It is 300 8.5x11 inch pages with 1,000+ photo’s, most in color, and each book is serial-numbered.  Covering the SMLE from 1903 to the end of production in India in 1989 it looks at how each model differs and manufacturer differences from a collecting point of view along with the major accessories that could be attached to the rifle. For the record this is not a moneymaker, I hope just to break even, eventually, at $80/book plus shipping.  In the USA shipping is $5.00 for media mail.  I will accept PayPal, Zelle, MO and good old checks (and cash if you want to stop by for a tour!).  CLICK BANNER to send me a PM for International pricing and shipping. Manufacturer of various vintage rifle scopes for the 1903 such as our M73G4 (reproduction of the Weaver 330C) and Malcolm 8X Gen II (Unertl reproduction). Several of our scopes are used in the CMP Vintage Sniper competition on top of 1903 rifles. Brian Dick ... BDL Ltd. - Specializing in British and Commonwealth weapons Specializing in premium ammunition and reloading components. Your source for the finest in High Power Competition Gear. Here at T-bones Shipwrighting we specialise in vintage service rifle: re-barrelling, bedding, repairs, modifications and accurizing. We also provide importation services for firearms, parts and weapons, for both private or commercial businesses.
     

  4. #12
    Contributing Member CINDERS's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2009
    Last On
    03-25-2024 @ 11:01 AM
    Location
    South West Western Australia
    Posts
    7,734
    Real Name
    CINDERS
    Local Date
    03-28-2024
    Local Time
    11:55 PM
    Thread Starter
    Tuskegee airmen they were the Red Tails and the B-17 crews they saved on the day refused to fly with any other escorts unless it was them, it was thought of the blacks that they were of inferior interlect and would never make good fighter pilots let alone a pilot!

  5. Thank You to CINDERS For This Useful Post:


  6. Avoid Ads - Become a Contributing Member - Click HERE
  7. #13
    Contributing Member Gil Boyd's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2013
    Last On
    02-28-2024 @ 11:09 AM
    Location
    Home of The Parachute Regiment & 16 Air Assault Brigade
    Posts
    4,772
    Real Name
    Gil Boyd
    Local Date
    03-28-2024
    Local Time
    03:55 PM
    Well that showed the world!!!!
    'Tonight my men and I have been through hell and back again, but the look on your faces when we let you out of the hall - we'd do it all again tomorrow.' Major Chris Keeble's words to Goose Green villagers on 29th May 1982 - 2 PARA

  8. #14
    Moderator
    (M1 Garand/M14/M1A Rifles)
    Bob Womack's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Last On
    Today @ 06:15 AM
    Location
    Somewhere Between Clever and Stupid
    Posts
    3,396
    Real Name
    Bob Womack
    Local Date
    03-28-2024
    Local Time
    11:55 AM
    Quote Originally Posted by Gil Boyd View Post
    Bob,
    Looks like he came up through the ranks the hard way like my dad. How did he finish up?
    He ended up as a sergeant pilot. The pic above is from his time with OTU 57 at Hawarden. He literally ran across the border between the U.S. and Canadaicon. As such, he knew no-one and had no pull. It also made him a pariah to the U.S. government because the U.S. was maintaining its neutrality. We visited Harry's grave in 1996. Interestingly enough, it was decorated with a poppy, and was the only one decorated so. A girlfriend? We'll never know.



    I'm on the right in red, my late father (U.S.iconN. WWII) is behind me. While we were standing in front of the grave my dad just sort of froze up. That evening at the hotel he began talking. He lost his father and brother Harry that year within six months and had to become the man of the house at fifteen years old. He gave away his older sisters at their weddings and took care of his mom until he joined the Navy in '44. He'd compartmentalized his grief in order to cope and the finality of his brother's death hadn't occurred to him until he stood there at the grave with us in 1996.

    Harry wrote home from Hawarden shortly before his death:
    ‘I’m certainly enjoying flying the Spitfires. They are wonderful little airplanes, and Germanyicon is going to have to go strong to make anything better. I have just finished making application for admittance to the American Eagle Squadron here. I’ll certainly be glad to get with some American fellows…

    ‘Everyone here still says that Englandicon is sure to win, and I was always inclined to be an optimist, so I heartily agree with them. If you folks at home keep the airplanes and ships and guns and food rolling this way, I’m sure Germany can’t win.’
    Interestingly, the taint of pariah still lingered over Harry through 1999 when a group decided to create an East Tennessee Veteran's Memorial to all of her sons who had died in wars. As the project progressed, my father inquired into Harry's inclusion. He was told that since Harry had joined a foreign service at a time when the U.S. was neutral, the association wasn't interested in including him on the memorial. Being the gentleman that he was, my father wasn't interested in pressing the matter and left it at that.



    Right around that time my father was contacted by a retired U.S. Air Force officer who was undertaking making sure that all East Tennessee airmen from WWII were recognized and memorialized in various places around the country. Somehow this gentleman had come across a wartime obituary for Harry. From his research it appeared that Harry was the first wartime casualty from East Tennessee. When he heard that Harry was to be excluded he got hacked off and spearheaded an effort that succeeded in getting Harry's name included on the memorial. Hilariously, the association got the last laugh, in a manner of speaking. When you look for East Tennessee's first casualty, the honor is given to a man who died six months later at Pearl Harbor. Son or not, they just couldn't stand to hand that off to a Canadian Air Force pilot!


    Bob
    "It is said, 'Go not to the elves for counsel for they will say both no and yes.' "

    Frodo Baggins to Gildor Inglorion, The Fellowship of the Ring

  9. The Following 2 Members Say Thank You to Bob Womack For This Useful Post:


  10. #15
    Contributing Member CINDERS's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2009
    Last On
    03-25-2024 @ 11:01 AM
    Location
    South West Western Australia
    Posts
    7,734
    Real Name
    CINDERS
    Local Date
    03-28-2024
    Local Time
    11:55 PM
    Thread Starter
    Ahh good to see bias is alive and well.
    Great story Bob and great family history something to cherish and pass on to the future Womack generations, just on thing the invisible pic of you all where it is!

  11. #16
    Moderator
    (M1 Garand/M14/M1A Rifles)
    Bob Womack's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Last On
    Today @ 06:15 AM
    Location
    Somewhere Between Clever and Stupid
    Posts
    3,396
    Real Name
    Bob Womack
    Local Date
    03-28-2024
    Local Time
    11:55 AM
    Sorry about that. The edit function isn't working so I'll include it here:




    Bob
    "It is said, 'Go not to the elves for counsel for they will say both no and yes.' "

    Frodo Baggins to Gildor Inglorion, The Fellowship of the Ring

  12. #17
    Contributing Member CINDERS's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2009
    Last On
    03-25-2024 @ 11:01 AM
    Location
    South West Western Australia
    Posts
    7,734
    Real Name
    CINDERS
    Local Date
    03-28-2024
    Local Time
    11:55 PM
    Thread Starter

  13. Thank You to CINDERS For This Useful Post:


  14. #18
    Legacy Member jond41403's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2018
    Last On
    @
    Location
    Tn
    Posts
    511
    Real Name
    Jon dale
    Local Date
    03-28-2024
    Local Time
    11:55 AM
    Thanks for that story about your Uncle, Bob. That makes me even prouder to be where I'm from, Kingsport, just 10 minutes away from Johnson City.do you still have relatives that live here?
    "good night Chesty, Wherever You Are"

  15. #19
    Moderator
    (M1 Garand/M14/M1A Rifles)
    Bob Womack's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Last On
    Today @ 06:15 AM
    Location
    Somewhere Between Clever and Stupid
    Posts
    3,396
    Real Name
    Bob Womack
    Local Date
    03-28-2024
    Local Time
    11:55 AM
    Quote Originally Posted by jond41403 View Post
    Thanks for that story about your Uncle, Bob. That makes me even prouder to be where I'm from, Kingsport, just 10 minutes away from Johnson City.do you still have relatives that live here?
    No, but family lives in Knoxville and Sevierville. I grew up in Knoxville.



    Bob
    "It is said, 'Go not to the elves for counsel for they will say both no and yes.' "

    Frodo Baggins to Gildor Inglorion, The Fellowship of the Ring

  16. #20
    Legacy Member jond41403's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2018
    Last On
    @
    Location
    Tn
    Posts
    511
    Real Name
    Jon dale
    Local Date
    03-28-2024
    Local Time
    11:55 AM
    I didn't realize that we had that many veteran pilots from this area until I read this thread. I knew Bush 41 lived in Kingsport for about 6 months before he enlisted in World War II I believe it was(or maybe it was his parents that lived here I can't remember). When he was shot down and picked up by a submarine, one of the crew of the submarine was from Johnson City but I can't remember his name. And I have a first cousin that flew Mohawks in Vietnam that is still missing in action, his name is Charles Alva Dale and was born in Church Hill which is 5 minutes away from Kingsport and he's been missing since 65. I didn't realize East Tennessee contributed alot pilot wise
    Last edited by jond41403; 12-11-2018 at 11:45 PM.
    "good night Chesty, Wherever You Are"

+ Reply to Thread
Page 2 of 3 FirstFirst 1 2 3 LastLast

Similar Threads

  1. Bought a complete National Match set up "Everything" Rare
    By Rick B in forum M1 Garand/M14/M1A Rifles
    Replies: 22
    Last Post: 05-18-2014, 08:05 PM
  2. WWI "human pictures" FROM THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES
    By HOOKED ON HISTORY in forum The Watering Hole OT (Off Topic) Forum
    Replies: 0
    Last Post: 04-25-2013, 02:34 PM
  3. National Geographic Special on IMA : "Family Guns"
    By Richardwv in forum Martini Henry Rifles
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 08-31-2012, 02:23 AM
  4. Garand "National Match" edition
    By blackcat_attilio in forum M1 Garand/M14/M1A Rifles
    Replies: 5
    Last Post: 09-07-2011, 04:32 PM
  5. M1 Carbine - National Postal Meter - Rare "U" code?
    By rokwell in forum M1/M2 Carbine
    Replies: 22
    Last Post: 06-24-2010, 10:44 AM

Tags for this Thread

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
Raven Rocks