Events Calendar
In This Section
Can DNA tests free ex-Akron captain?
Zips' Porter creates culture of success
Health reform passes hurdle in Senate
Lawyers compare four cases to Prade's
Visiting new Navy ship brings back memories for Doylestown man serves on USS New York in 1930s
Green High senior goes extra mile for those who walk and jog the park trails
Most Read Stories
Police accuse bank robbery suspect of gobbling up note (with dashcam video)
Victim of beating in Kent last week is declared dead at Akron hospital
Dad accused of forcing son into field, killing him
Man found dead in North Akron home is identified
Can DNA tests free ex-Akron captain?
Browns' roster nearly devoid of consistent players
Coventry man killed in crash at I-77 ramp
Does it work? Test team returns to try out new products advertised on television
Blogs:
Pets:
Cat-loving chihuahua suckles seven abandoned kittens
The Heldenfiles:
Friday Night Notebook
Patrick McManamon:
Browns vs. Lions live …
Akron Zips:
Akron trounces Howard to reach .500
Tribe Matters:
Seven players added to Tribe’s 40-man roster
Cleveland Browns:
Robiskie, Harrison inactive
Kent State Sports:
Kent State blown out in second half, loses to Temple 47-13
Cleveland Cavaliers:
Gameblog: Cavs vs. Philadelphia 76ers
Buckeye Blogging:
OSU – Michigan college football rivals meet in Baghdad
Varsity Letters:
Four area football teams play tonight
All Da King's Men:
The Sunday Sanity Challenge
Blog of Mass Destruction:
Will Health Care Reform Pass?
Akron Law Café:
Health Care Financing Reform: (69) The Brookings Institute Study on "Bending the Curve" – Four General Strategies
See Jane Style:
Vintage Chic
Car Chase:
TIME TO GET YOUR COLLECTOR CARS WINTERIZED
Let's Talk Real Estate:
Silverdome Potentially SOLD!
Ohio Travels with Betty:
George is looking for a Thanksgiving buffet in Akron.
Sound Check:
Steely Dan Plays "The Royal Scam" at E.J. Thomas Hall
HRLite House:
A Random Rant on Testing
Akron Gamer:
Nintendo's Mario endures even as games come and go
World War II pilots act as escorts to air museum
By Bill Lilley
Beacon Journal staff writer
Published on Saturday, Aug 16, 2008
Although Ralph Lynn was only a passenger in the B-24 Liberator Friday afternoon, the memories of piloting it were fresh.
The plane had hummed along at 160 mph as it made its way from Bolton Field in Grove City to the MAPS Air Museum at Akron-Canton Airport.
The B-24, a B-17 Flying Fortress and a P-51C Mustang fighter, all from the Collings Foundation's collection, are on display and available for touring and rides today, Sunday and Monday during the foundation's Wings of Freedom Tour.
The pilot offered 88-year-old Lynn the chance to take the helm as the plane made its way to the Green museum. He declined.
Memories are best savored.
Not relived.
''The pilot was struggling a little bit with some winds,''' said Lynn, who reached the rank of first lieutenant. ''And in my dreams, I know I could still fly it.
''But I came to my senses and knew I had to back away and get back to reality. I'm going to be 89 in October.''
The mind is sharp, the former pilot said, but the eyes and hearing aren't what they used to be.
''This was definitely one of the greatest moments of my life,'' he said.
He was a co-pilot of a B-24 in the Army Air Corps' Eighth Air Force stationed in England. A veteran of 32 bombing missions over Nazi-occupied France and Germany from late 1943 until July 17, 1944, he returned to the States to be a flight instructor in California.
After his stint in the military, Lynn earned a doctorate in English at Northwestern and sold textbooks to high schools for 34 years.
He and two other veterans who were invited by the museum to escort the aircraft to Akron-Canton all earned the Distinguished Flying Cross and Air Medal with clusters in World War II.
Former B-24 pilot Clair Alexander, 84, of Copley Township, was based in Italy and led 36 missions over northern Italy and southern Germany.
Former B-26 pilot Don Block, 84, rode to Akron-Canton in the B-17. The Jackson Township man completed 65 missions and became an engineer for Goodyear Aerospace.
The three veterans had plenty of time to relive the sights and sounds of the past during the 40-minute flight.
''When they turned the four engines on, it was a wonderfully familiar sound,'' Lynn said. ''The noise was deafening, but I didn't mind it because I knew right then I really was living my dream.''
A surprise for Lynn was how small the cockpit seems now.
''Of course, I'm a little bigger and I don't move quite as well as I did 64 years ago,'' Lynn admitted.
Bill Lilley can be reached at 330-996-3811 or blilley@thebeaconjournal.com.
Get the full article here.
Comments
Click here to post your comments
