Sometimes Shot Up, Never Shot Down

Writer Harrison Smith of the Washington Post has crafted an excellent obituary for an 100-year-old World War II ace, Edward Feightner. I recommend you read it all.

“By the time he graduated in 1941, he had compiled some 250 hours in the cockpit and wanted only to keep flying. The Army seemed a good opportunity but had a long wait list for aviators. And while hanging around the airport one day with his future still undecided, Adm. Feightner watched a Navy pilot land his plane, stride through the hangar in a gleaming white uniform and step inside a yellow convertible, where he gave a ‘big smooch’ to the blonde behind the wheel and sped off down the road.

“Adm. Feightner flew to a Navy recruiting station in Michigan and enlisted that same day.”

“He was a very aggressive fighter pilot, and he was still driving that way at 93.”

“Adm. Feightner often attributed his survival in World War II to luck, noting that while he was sometimes shot up he was never shot down.”