SaxMan wrote:
flightsimer wrote:
He is indeed ALIVE!
Just got off the phone with him, though he didn't seem too happy. I got his address though and he wants me to send him a letter to discuss the plane. I'm not sure if he thinks I was joking or what. But hopefully he will help us.
I am going to try and still get in contact with his daughter though.
That is not an uncommon reaction in my experience. Sometimes folks just don't like people dropping in "out of the blue" to start prying into their past, no matter how noble the cause. I have sent letters beforehand, explaining who I am, what I am doing, why I am doing this and, if possible, a reference of someone they may know that could vouch for me. It seemed a bit less invasive than the phone. The down side is, you don't know if they will read your letter or just send it into the junk pile. When I do get a response, it is usually positive, though. I have received one negative reaction...the person had family health issues and aviation was the last thing on her mind and I should "go Google it". Sometimes trying to do the right thing and preserve first hand accounts of history can be a most thankless task.
Ya, I was sort of expecting it, but was hoping it wouldn't be the case. I know my own grandpa who served the PTO on board a minesweep never liked talking about it when he was still alive.
At first when I asked who I was speaking to he said you have the wrong number, which I knew I didnt because I had called earlier in the day but got his answering machine that had his name, but I was able to keep him on the phone and he asked why I was calling and I explained to him why. He said to send him a letter, but I didnt have his address and he gave it to me as soon as I said I didnt have it, so hopefully that is a sign he is actually interested and wants to help.
It took me 3 months of just trying to even find a phone number. I only got it through a loophole in one of the sites I clicked on that showed it as it was doing a secondary search. Though I was pretty close to getting a number for his daughter as well and still will as I feel she might be able to help us just as much.
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