Warbird Information Exchange

Maybe Luke is a poor comparison has John wasn't a brooding loner hellbent on his own personal destruction. He's was also no Hofer has he was a great wingman, element leader and flight leader. He was a pro in the air and a well respected combat pilot. But, outside of combat the was a free spirit. Wild and crazy, always pushing the limits with a sly grin and a head of blonde hair that always was on the verge of being out of control. How'd he get away with that crazy stuff, I'm not sure...maybe because it was war and you could always count on him in a fight!

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Don't touch my junk!!

Sounds like Pappy to me.

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http://www.disrudstudios.com

The sad thing about Boyington is that a lot of people suffered because of the things he did. I would be nice to know what really happened to George Ashman but the one person who knew is gone

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Don't touch my junk!!

Here's grin I was talking about

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Don't touch my junk!!

I'm usually a lurker on here for the mere fact you guys know WAY more about warbirds than I do but I just gotta say.........Good Grief Cook, who crapped in your cornflakes this morning????? Your one of the main reasons I don't post on here. I love the pics you post, I've done a boatload of right click save. The guy just made a simple comment and you shot his a** down in flames. Well guess what? Boyington is a hero of mine too, as are ALL the others!

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Pain heals, chicks dig scars, Glory lasts forever!

Right click save a little less and get your own stuff then

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Don't touch my junk!!

Jack Cook said

[url]Maybe Luke is a poor comparison as John wasn't a brooding loner hellbent on his own personal destruction.[/url]

As Wade mentioned above, there has been some new research on Frank Luke. Actually, two books have been recently published on the subject, adding a lot of information on Frank's life, love and death. It turns out that there has been a lot of myth about each of these.

Luke had a fairly normal upbringing, with friends. He also had a fiancee. While brave, his letters (especially to his mother) show no evidence of being hellbent towards personal destruction. He did have something of the young warrior's sense of personal invincibility, but he was not seeking death. Indeed, he had plans for a post-war life.

His skills as a pilot were exceptional: almost none of his kills were shared with other pilots (Rickenbacker had all but eight of his kills shared with others). He also of course took on exceptionally dangerous targets.

The myth of his death was that he shot down three balloons plus perhaps two airplanes, was wounded, then shot up a group of infantry while looking for a landing place, then shot it out on the ground.

In actuality, he shot down two balloons (the third was shot down, but by another pilot who was coincidently nearby and was then shot down himself so that he could not register the claim until after the war).

He was badly wounded by a larger caliber round, landed quickly, and died before German infantry could reach him. No shots were exchanged, but Luke did apparently have his gun out of the holster and in his hand; he may have fired a shot but at nothing in particular. The Germans fired no shots in return.

The infantry were indeed strafed, but by another pilot earlier in the day. Villager eyewitnesses later compressed the two events and associated the strafing with Luke.

None of this reduces Luke's bravery, but it serves as another reminder that history as sometimes written by the politicians and the newspapermen is different from what actually occured. No doubt that is true for a lot of what we think we know.

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Kevin McCartney