I cried a bit today

[oscardeuce]

I had the honor of helping the FACs with there reunion by giving O2 rides. to FACs and family. Today I strapped in a woman and her daughter. I gave them the preflight briefing, and we took off for a 1/2 hour flight. We landed, and when I looked back they were both in tears. Well, my landing wasn't that bad. It turns out they were the wife and daughter of an O2 FAC who was KIA while flying an O2-A. She had never really seen what her husband had done in Viet Nam. She had never flown in and O2.

My next flight was a bit rough on take off, I was a bit shaken myself.

What an honor to help her bring closure.

God Speed.

[tom d. friedman]

hi doc, very cool & nice gesture. your o-2 is tops & 1st class!!! i'm sure they got a nice feel & appreciation for what their loved 1 did. my boys & i enjoyed our jaunt in it a few years ago. & for my boys it was their 1st warbird ride. best to you, tom

[AIRIC]

That is one of the reasons why I love helping out a local guy with barnstorming rides in a Harvard. The stories you hear and the people you get to meet. For me that is what it is all about. Awesome story.

Eric

[N3Njeff]

That is awsome, it is such a feeling. I attend some of the reunions for Vietnam era truck drivers. many have sat in the cab of my truck, gives you such a feeling, words are hard to discribe.

[T33driver]

I had the same experience with a gentleman at Oshkosh in 2004 who flew T-33s in pilot training and went on to win a DFC and many other awards as a combat search and rescue helicopter pilot in Vietnam. I didn't have any idea of his war record till he sent me copy of his personal autobiography after our flight. All I knew up to our first flight was that he flew helos, got out of the Air Force and went to work for IBM. Every year at Oshkosh we meet up again go flying. I am honored to be his friend.

http://www.area51hangars.com/logbook/veteransVoices/JoeConnell/JoeConnell.html

[K5DH]

Good on you! What a feeling of satisfaction you must have!

It's similarly rewarding for me (on a much smaller scale!) to give tours in the B-17 both at air shows and at home at the Museum. I meet WW2 vets who've come aboard to relive their wartime experiences; for a big percentage of them, it's the first time they've been inside a B-17 since they came home from the war! I meet many people whose fathers, uncles, or big brothers flew aboard '17s. Many of them are showing their kids what kind of airplane their grandpa or uncle flew. I've met a few folks whose mothers worked long, hard hours as Rosie the Riveter in some long-gone airplane factory. As long as the line isn't too long, I'm all ears as they stop and tell me their stories. I could listen to them all day! And the expressions in their eyes and on their faces... amazing! And I'll have to say that on plenty of occasions, I've had to choke back tears when these fine folks leave my station and move on to the next one!

I am proud, honored, and humbled to be a part of all of this, and it's an experience I'll never forget, no matter how many years I'm offered the privilege of doing it!

Cheers!

[tom d. friedman]

k5dh i can only imagine what you experience!!! my dad, now 90 years young wasn't a flyer, but a rifle company commander in the infantry in the pacific during ww 2. it's amazing the old geezers can still manuever their way through the plane, i have enough trouble doing it at 45!!! i guess tom brokaw said it best in his book the greatest generation. you can be proud of the service & good deeds that you do!!!