Lest we forget.

[Old Henry]

Hope you remembered, especially today.

A very moving video to help remember: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Omd9_FJnerY

A recording of Hymn to the Fallen, by John Williams, that I sang in with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir in 2007: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpf7HLAtRks

 

[TonyM]

I used to rent a garage from a woman named Helen Borberly and she had a brother in the Army Air Forces, SSgt. Steve Sopp, who was killed in an airplane accident in the continental United States during WWII. Steve Borberly, named for the dead flyer, was a classmate of my parents. I promised Helen I would remember Steve for her after she was gone. RIP Steve.



9-28-42. Plant City, Florida. At 1058, a Martin B-26B (41-17719) on a practice bombing and gunnery mission suffered a catastrophic structural failure of the tail section and the port wing, crashing six miles northeast of Plant City, Florida, killing the crew of six. Witnesses on the ground observed the aircraft flying northeast at an altitude of about 2,500 feet when it entered a small bank of dark clouds. As the B-26 emerged from the clouds, numerous pieces of the tail section were seen separating and trailing behind the aircraft. The aircraft then entered a rolling dive, causing the failure of the port wing due to extreme loading. The rolling dive also caused the bomb doors and other pieces to separate from the aircraft prior to impact. The aircraft then stopped its rolling motion and entered a 45-degree dive toward the ground. The aircraft continued in a dive, striking a tree before slamming into the ground and exploding violently into flames. Wreckage was scattered over a wide area. Investigation revealed that the copilot's escape hatch had separated from the aircraft and struck the vertical fin, causing it to separate. The resultant vibration facilitated the progressive destruction of the remaining tail surfaces. The co-pilot's escape hatch and the vertical fin were never located or recovered. Weather was not considered a contributing factor in the accident. This is one of several fatal B-26 accidents that occurred in the United States and overseas in which one or both of the pilot's escape hatches separate in flight and strike the tail section, causing its progressive failure. Killed in the crash were: 2Lt. Francis Hallen, Flushing, Long Island, New York, pilot; 2Lt. Joseph W. O'Brien, Detroit, Michigan, co-pilot; 2Lt. Robert W. Carr, Homer, Indiana, bombardier; SSgt. Steve Sopp, Hammond, Indiana, radio operator; Pvt. Richard A. Griffith, Stony Creek Mills, Pennsylvania, engineer; Pvt. Chester H. Guzicki, South Bend, Indiana, gunner.
Copyright 2006 Anthony J. Mireles;
FATAL ARMY AIR FORCES AVIATION ACCIDENTS IN THE UNITED STATES, 1941-1945.


Pictured below is SSgt. Steve Sopp of Hammond, Indiana.

 

[Old Henry]

TonyM, thanks for sharing that story. Here's mine:

My uncle driving some year of Ford?

And his plane, Grumman F6F-5 Hellcat:

Shot down strafing an air field in Japan.

Received the Silver Star posthumously:

 

[BillM]

In memory of my uncle William G. Rayner; you can read about his last mission here: http://myplace.frontier.com/~wgmumaw/Flight 648/Flight 648.html

 

[VeryTangled]

Hi Everyone, Now this is what Memorial Day is for. Remembering. Recognizing.

 

[Talkwrench]

Amazing letters...
not to be forgotten .. never forgotten.

 

[Steve Staysko]

Your Uncles Ford is a 1934 Ford Cabriolet RIP….

 

[larry/Texas]

Thank You Old Henry, For Your Posting this Remembrance that needs to be passed on to the younger generations that Freedom Is Not Free. The Cemeteries still look as well maintained as they did when I served in Europe in '67 - '68.

 

[Fibber Mcgee]

Just caught this thread today. I have "adopted " a WWII soldier over the last several years. I had purchased some WWII memorabilia and included was a letter written by a mother to her son and marked on the cover "return to sender, deceased ". I did some research and found there are no direct descendants of the family living. So every year on Memorial day I post a picture of the letter and a short story on Facebook asking others to remember this Hero as there is no one else left to do so. I have never even seen a picture of him but his name is Cpl. Jim Shaw and he died September 7 1944. So if you don't mind please take a moment to thank him yourself, I believe this man and All like him deserve our remembrance.

 

[tamnalan]

My dad's brother. He was a P-38 pilot with the 9th FS, 49th FG. My uncle was Capt Dick Bong's wingman when he went MIA. Bong went on to become the #1 US fighter ace in WWII, receiving the Medal of Honor for his successes. My uncle was the second to die in less than a week while flying wingman to Bong. The other unfortunate fellow was a George Haniotis, who died two days before my uncle. Bong was so despondent that he returned to the US for several months to clear his head. He was already pretty famous by this point.

 

[tamnalan]

I was a career USAF officer. I was fortunate enough to spend 3 years of my active duty time teaching mathematics to cadets at West Point. My son's best friend there was a young fellow named Wyatt. I got to know his dad, Brian Allgood, and became his friend. I screwed up once and forgot to give Wyatt a ride home from a soccer game. Brian was not happy with me that day. Brian commanded the Keller Medical Center at West Point.

Brian was killed in Iraq in 2007, when his helicopter was shot down.

http://www.west-point.org/users/usma1982/39050/

 

[tamnalan]

A final story: my own childhood best friend is a guy named Stan Lefever. Stan's stepson Rory Dunn was badly wounded in Iraq in 2004. Here's a pic of Rory, his mother Cynthia, and my friend Stan.

 

[ford38v8]

I am thankful that I have no such personal loss from modern wars. My wife lost an uncle in WWII, and my father lost his brother in WWI. Our freedoms today are at the price of our loved ones gone before. May all the brave warriors rest in peace.

 

[50fordcoupeman]

I too salute all of the veterans. I am a Vietnam vet but more importantly my dad and all five uncles served. My father in law was a F6F Hellcat pilot with 6 kills but only 4 witnessed and 23 missions, shot down twice. This country needs men like these. God bless them!!