Well Erin go braghless! Haven't visited Eire yet but plan to in a couple years. Cool that your grandpa was stationed there...Army Air Corps? Did he fly? If so, what plane? My dad flew thunderbolts back then. On getting back to NC...probably be a few degrees warmer and a lot drier ehh?
PS: we have the same exact vehicle down to the color; take care and thanks
Ermm yea he was in the 8th Army Air Corps but didn't actually end up flying fighters/bombers during the war. He got his pilots license at 16, joined the air corps (actually about 2 days after he was drafted into the army, they just back-dated his air corps enrollment form
:icon_thumby
and went to basic flight training where he solo'd in 3 hours. According to a letter he recieved from his flight instructor years after the war ended, that was the fastest he'd seen anyone solo throughout WWII.
So for whatever reason he didn't end up flying during WWII, but he was put in charge of that air base which as far as I know was kinda like a depot for all the new airplanes? From what I heard, they would be flown over from America, parked at that air base, and then when planes were shot down in combat, he would send them out wherever they needed to go.
So yea, he never saw combat, but that pretty much sparked a whole career in aviation. Due to his career path, he became good friends with Eddie Rickenbacker, Frank Borman, and Bill France to name a couple, so there were certainly always interesting storys to be told! He died there in late January very unexpectedly after he fell in his house, but he was doing pretty well before that, at least for a man of almost 87.
So where was your dad stationed then? I'm sure he's told you some interesting stories as well! haha!
And yea, I'm really looking forward to getting back to North Carolina. The weather here has been HORRIBLE lately, which really gets annoying after a while.
And as far as the Bronco II's go... Too bad you don't live closer, woulda been cool to have two identical ones side by side for a photo shoot! :icon_thumby:
Get some pictures up!!