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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.
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