George Beurling Interview - A Troubled Young Man

Fri Oct 02, 2009 1:56 am

I'm probably going to get hung for saying this, being a Canadian, but I tripped across this article and I can't help but feel for the young man being interviewed. I don't remember alot from my University psych classes (I was there to hustle women) but this sure sounds like a cry for help from a troubled young man.

http://www.acesofww2.com/Canada/aces/be ... r_hire.htm

Fri Oct 02, 2009 2:43 am

Good find! Fascinating stuff, as well as the other page.

Beurling - no doubt a very square peg at the least.

Great interview with him here:
http://archives.cbc.ca/war_conflict/sec ... clips/990/

Fri Oct 02, 2009 5:35 am

Great find Dan! A fascinating article.

Wikipedia claims that a mere five days after the article was published, Brueling died: the plane he was ferrying to Israel crashed and burned. Wikipedia mentions that there was talk of sabotage. What a shame. One can only imagine the chapters that were left unwritten in the life of this fascinating young man. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Beurling

Thanks again for posting that article!

Fri Oct 02, 2009 5:42 am

colorful chap, patriotic, he might have gotten in line for his ego dose a few times more than others, but i think his heart & soul was in the air. great article, & very indepth. as for you dan, i think you may want to :hide:

.........

!!!!

Sat Oct 03, 2009 2:57 am

Fascinating but somewhat sad story. I just got a set of decals for Buerling's Spit IX..interesting to read about the man. Unfortunately, sometimes the best combat soldiers just can't adjust to civilian life.

SN

Sat Oct 03, 2009 3:18 am

I don't see any problem with him. He was spoiled by the thrill in combat, and then back to the boring life. A guy like this should become a soldier of fortune, or do guerilla warfare in the Congo.

It's not really his problem, just that he was too good for everybody else and expected a lot out of life. While most everybody else expects little and accomplishes little.

A military historian noted that fighter pilots are most useful during war, and then when it's over they're back to hitting the bars and raising heck.

That's this guy in my opinion.

Sat Oct 03, 2009 8:09 am

Thanks for posting; I have never read this article before. My dad grew up in Verdun but was a few years younger then Beurling. The article seems very consistent with information I have read about Beurling. Being from Verdun my father always talked about Beurling so I knew who he was from a young age but found most people did not know who Canada’s top scoring ace of WWII was.

When I found his name on the Century Hornet this year I have to say I was actually surprised as I know he was a rebel in the RCAF. It was nice to see him recognized as one of the top 100 Canadians in Canada’s aviation history.

Eric

Sat Oct 03, 2009 8:37 am

Remember, we are reading this article from a "revisionist history" point of view. Too bad we didn't have a few more as talented as him.

Sat Oct 03, 2009 10:26 am

From what I've read his biggest problem in the air force was that he was a loner who didn't have much use for teamwork - not an admirable trait in a daytime fighter pilot, and something that made him an outcast with his fellow pilots. He probably would have made a terrific nightime intruder pilot with a Mosquito. One can only wonder what kind of a name he would have made for himself in Israel had he gotten there and been turned loose with a Spitfire again...

Sat Oct 03, 2009 4:12 pm

Dan Jones wrote:

From what I've read his biggest problem in the air force was that he was a loner who didn't have much use for teamwork - not an admirable trait in a daytime fighter pilot, and something that made him an outcast with his fellow pilots. He probably would have made a terrific nightime intruder pilot with a Mosquito. One can only wonder what kind of a name he would have made for himself in Israel had he gotten there and been turned loose with a Spitfire again...

After having read several books about WW2, the best fighter pilots took the most risks and had an aggressive attitude in the air. This guy has "the attitude" for success in combat. Where he possibly could have failed was not having the tact to get along. Keep these people in mind. Boyington, Killer Caldwell, Bong, McGuire and others. The best pilots, were also the most likely to get in trouble on the ground.

McGuire was known as a "loud mouth".

Boyington drank and flew-flew better that way.

Bong did loops around bridges

Caldwell started a "mutiny" on Morotai.

There is a trend with these guys.

Sat Oct 03, 2009 6:04 pm

You can add Robin Olds to the list.