I remember a story of a American pilot who I had to shoot down a DC-4 or some kind of transport plane like that... Ended up saving the gal he was seeing from them landing on a Jap air strip that his group just got done attacking.. I want to say they got hitched.. But if you can, that would be a amazing guy for you all to get to talk to....

@@jonathanbair523 The first sentenced makes no sense and it goes from there... who is going to try to find this mythical person for you and interview him ?

​@@jonathanbair523¹moll¹1❤

unfortunately he died August 10th 2022

RIP. Sir, say hello to Duguid for me and make him tell the story.

May u fly high...much respect to him🇺🇲🙏🇺🇲

Wow. Impressive longevity for the gentleman. Goes to show you God has all different stuff in store for each of us. From Qld Australia

Blue skies and tailwinds commander.

Yes I concur 🤜🏻🤛🏻🇺🇸

These are old guys now. Maybe they don’t want to or can’t speak as long as you’d like

@@andrewmountford3608 The point of his comment was let them speak until THEY are ready to stop. Be it 30 minutes or 30 hours. I understand these guys' ages and all that...but let them decide and not the interviewer. (Which to be honest. I don't think these guys rudely cut anything short or cut them off. They probably book a 1 hour interview or 2 hours etc. It would just be nice to "do things the old way". Back in the 90s I would go around town with a VHS recorder and ask if anybody knew any veterans who would want to share their story. I've had guys talk for 10 minutes and some where I spent 2 months coming back for more)

Amen brother when they're gone that's it

@@willyhearrell9060 Hi. I know this is an old comment but have you ever considered sharing that information you collected in the 90’s? I agree that every story needs to be saved and shared for future generations.

That was my thought too... so much to cover. I am also struck by how vivid every detail remains of each air combat after 75 years. This gentleman had incredible vision, observational skill and ability to optimize his situation. After nearly a century, he still had a great sense of humor too!

i met Richard Shindler who had 143 missions in WW2 he was an ace many many times. i dont think any man ever stayed alive in that many fights. i know for sure he aced 5 times. but the actual number he said he didn't care. He told me about breaking the sound barrier long before someone took the claim. They flew p38 and p51. He said the plane could take anything you gave it. it was built so strong. And fast. dives till plane was shuddering which mean speed of sound and beyond. This was in 2002-2003. He was i think 98. Still had his pilot jacket on when i met him. Incredible man, just like this humble Ace pilot here.

Yes would've been great to hear the rest 3 war veteran that's amazing he kept answering the call just like many others of his generation

@@rikji I think you would be hard pressed to get a p51 past Mach 1. It would need to effectively double its maximum airspeed.

​@@rikjicompressiblity

Ty i was Was wondering if you still alive

@@Peter-od7op Lived to 101. RIP Sir.

RIP to Cmdr. Laird. He was in the elite group of men who served in those three conflicts. Robinson Risner was another notable figure from the USAF.

The interviewer only mis-spoke at the end, it was meant to say the only NAVY Ace to have kills in both theaters, Howard was USAAC during WWII

Yeah this channel does AMERICAN vets

Couldn’t agree more

@Grady Milan yea, have been using Flixzone for since december myself :)

He isn't living - he died a month ago at 101 years

Yeah Carumbus’ talent is wasted in this format. Anyone really. A podcast is far superior. No time constraints. This is produced for radio I believe. Who the hell listens to the radio anymore anyway 😂

@@primeministerofredneckistan love your screen name!

He is the only U.S. NAVY pilot to have shot down enemy aircraft in both the European and Pacific theatres. Incidentally there are quite a few Allied pilots who made kills in both theatres.

But the presenter states Laird was the only American to have kills in both theatres of war. Why did he state only Laird and leave Howard out? Even Laird did not correct him, and he must have heard of Howard.

But Howard was not a USN ace fighter pilot. Big difference there.

My guess, too (came to see if anyone else said so before commenting, lol)

A lot of aircraft were faster than the F4F at low level, although I wonder which aircraft this might have been. The He115 had a top speed of about 200 mph (170 knots), so I guess hie numbers might have been off a bit. Seems like the most likely candidate, with a crew of three. Poor buggers.

With the drag created by a shreded pontoon!

Right, this huge quasi-misrepresentation at the beginning of the interview -- "the only U.S. Navy "ace" pilot to have shot down enemy aircraft in both the European and Pacific Theaters -- is atrocious. Add John D. Landers, a USAAF Pilot, to the list of American aces in both theaters.

Glorify the kill part? Yeah that's what the job is why shouldn't it be glorified can't take the heat get out the kitchen bud these men ain't ashamed of it and they shouldn't be

You are talking out of your arse - I don't know any ex-military who endlessly talk about PTSD & I know some severe cases who will never recover & lead normal lives & it's important for you to realise that stress characterised as PTSD is present also in the non-military who have never been to war - it's a syndrome caused by a range of varying factors. Going back to the military: during their deployment in Iraq and Afghanistan, approximately 380,000 U.S. troops, about 19% of those deployed, were estimated to have sustained brain injuries from explosive weapons and devices. A DARPA study revealed that, while the brain remains initially intact immediately after low level blast effects, the chronic inflammation afterwards is what ultimately leads to many cases of shell shock and PTSD. This was well known [in a non-clinical way] right back to WWI & in fact the Brits had sixteen hospitals dedicated to the care & treatment of shell shock victims from WWI some of which remained active into the 1960s. My neighbour was in a Japanese POW camp & I could hear him waking up screaming most nights until he died in 1983 - he was twisted by the incessant brutality & sadism of his captors & witnessed many executions by sword for minor or imagined infractions of the rules. Countless civilians never recovered from their WWII experiences & lived like shadows for decades never speaking of it. To not speak of such things is normal & generally bad - it's the ignorance of the effects of physical & mental trauma that allowed Patton to strike a sick soldier - easy for Patton who while being a generally fine combat commander was not blessed with much [if any] emotional intelligence. WWII vets are NOT a different breed, they are essentially no different to contemporary vets - the wise, compassionate commander has always quietly arranged for personnel who had gone off the rails to be transferred to other duties without shame - this happened to a few very well known & courageous WWII PTSD sufferers who were [for example] promoted away from the front lines or transferred to training establishments for a year or so until their symptoms died down. There are plenty of modern vets who joined out of a sense of duty following disturbing events in their own regions - the Twin Towers is just one example & the Ukraine is another - for you to paint modern vets as joining for the perks tells me you're a cvnt with an opinion who has never served anyone but himself.

I agree cut from a separate cloth.. kills embraced...the same mentality in our warriors are out there still just not inside everyone but there are some guys I've seen speak who served in Iraq and Afghanistan that are just natural born warriors and they love it not everyone is cut out for it but alot do join for benefits and when ur in ur in but either way respect to them all but u are correct we may never see another generation of Americans from this same cloth sadly.

And our high school was the home of The Golden Eagles. I just noticed Mr. Laird's hat! Wonder if that's the origin of our teams' name.

you have a vol control ffs

only American NAVAL aviator. There were quite a few in the USAAC that achieved that status also but not in the navy.

​@@marthavaughan4660 yeah pretty sure the channel covers AMERICAN vets

Idk at first I thought he was gonna tell us he opened up on them 😂 I wouldn't have judged as it would've been a factor that could've save lives later on down the line..these men are a different breed so just what I expected lol

Do "victories" sound less violent than "kills"? Just wondering why.

You are obvious not a military aviator. It is a nasty business where people die in air combat - all the participants know the deal before they join. A kill is a very accurate term. If you lack the toughness of character to think in these terms, this is not the game for you.

another fkn snowflake

Yeah I don't get why people get into this but can't take the reality of it

Big County That's a great area!

@@motorcop505 absolutely is

@@motorcop505 home of the Seabees!!

???

@@stephenanderle5422 On the Carriers, a guy will volunteer to go for snacks or smokes, or soda's or what ever if the other guy will buy for both hence you Buy, I'll Fly...

At Dennis. So the government pays the bill.3 hours to nearest toot n tote, 500 gal. Fuel! Got to stay in practice!

Proficiency.