The Down Range Forum
Member Section => Down Range Cafe => Topic started by: rojawe on January 23, 2012, 02:26:43 PM
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agwnwqCdwl8 ;D :D
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Very Cool.
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Pretty amazing story!
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Blasted sinus' are acting up again. That is an amazing story.
Pecos
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Certainly Brothers Of A Different Mother. But Brothers regardless.
Thanks for sharing that.
http://vato21stcentury.blogspot.com/2012/01/tuskegee-airmen-buried-with-honors.html
Late Tuskegee Airman Gets Arlington Honors As 'Red Tails' Film Opens
January 20, 2012 - A member of the famed Tuskegee Airmen was buried in Arlington National Cemetery this morning, the same day that Red Tails, a film dramatizing the pilots' heroic feats, was released in U.S. theaters.
During World War II, Luke Weathers Jr. "shot down two German fighter planes while escorting a damaged bomber to its base," the AP reports.
Weathers' widow, Jacqueline Weathers, his children, and others attended Friday's funeral. Many attendees wore red ties and scarves to honor the veteran. As is the case for many funerals in Arlington, the ceremony took place some months after the veteran's death. Weathers died on Oct. 15 in Arizona, where he had moved several years ago.
A recipient of the Congressional Gold Medal, Weathers also earned a Distinguished Flying Cross. In the Red Tails squadron, the native of Memphis, Tenn., flew P-51 and P-39 fighters — he named his plane "The Spirit of Beale Street."
In the Air Force, Weathers rose to the rank of a lieutenant colonel; after the war, he became the first black air traffic controller in Memphis, according to WMC 5 News.
True combat pilots, worthy of every accolade and honor.
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Great story!!!!
As a side note, I believe it was a Redtail that shot down the first Me-262 (German jet) in combat.
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Great story!!!!
As a side note, I believe it was a Redtail that shot down the first Me-262 (German jet) in combat.
Yes
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Who_shot_down_the_first_jet_fighter
The first Jet fighters (Messerschmitt Me 262) were shot down by P-51 Mustangs Piloted by the legendary Tuskegee Airmen (Google RedTails) toward the end of WWII.
"In the final months of the war, the 332nd was based at Ramitelli, Italy. On the 24th of March, Davis, with 72 of his planes, escorted a formation of the Fifteenth Air Force's bombers on a 1,600 mile round-trip attack on Berlin. The 332nd was supposed to turn back short of the target after being relieved by another fighter group. But when they arrived over the city's outskirts, no other fighters appeared. Davis ordered his men to press on.
Minutes later, the formation was set upon by jet-powered Messerschmitt 262 fighters and a vicious dogfight ensued: The 332nd, its Mustangs now dangerously low on fuel, fought off the attackers, shooting down three of the German jets and losing two of their own planes, including that of the commander of the 301st Squadron, Captain Armour G. McDaniels (picture). For its valiant action that day, the group was awarded a Distinguished Unit Citation".
Read more: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Who_shot_down_the_first_jet_fighter#ixzz1kPHZpXyH
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Incredible. Thanks for sharing.