WWII fighter pilot who flew THROUGH the Eiffel Tower to take down a German plane dies in Virginia

The Daily Mail ^ | UPDATED: 20:45 EST, 3 January 2014

[cynwoody]

Robert Moriarty flies a Bonanza through the Eiffel Tower, "Just for fun", 31 March 1984:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_txdqnVP3-c

His story. "I made only one mistake. Instead of doing the flight on the 31st of March, I should have waited one more day."

And here's some flight simulator fun, flying a bigger plane through a bigger arch:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ro3EEPawrKo

[sternup]

My father, as a US Naval aviator, flew one of those out of North Africa.....Navy pilot you say?....yep... VCS 8 pilot off of the USS Brooklyn...

[sternup]

and Rest In Peace Mr. Overstreet...from one Virginia native to another...

[LeoWindhorse]

awesome story !

My dad was USAAF ETO

[rlmorel]

I don’t get it...what does it mean?

[a fool in paradise]

Internet saying “Pics or it didn’t happen” < /sarcastically >

[rlmorel]

Ah!

Okay, I get it now...:)

[Gay State Conservative]

The WWII generation will soon be gone...and the Korean War vets aren't far behind.Thinking about their amazing courage and sacrifice I often think back to that quote by a Navy Admiral or Marine General who,commenting on a Pacific battle that had just been won...at huge cost (can't recall which one)...said "uncommon courage was a common commodity".

IMO that sums up everyone who fought then...Army,Army Air Corps,Navy and Marines

[ApplegateRanch]

When I was training for my license in ‘80 spins had been a requirement before but because so many students had frozen at the controls taking themselves and their instructor spinning into the ground the requirement had been lifted.

I took ground classes at our (then) local JC. (No license; eyes flunked me out of the physical; same result when I tried for a CDL.) One of my instructors was the 5'-4" wife of my high school principal. During a bull session, we asked her what she thought was her most necessary piece of safety equipment while doing flight instruction. She quickly answer,"my fire extinguisher."

Thinking that was odd, we asked why; were there really that many cockpit fires?!?

She told us that no, she had never experienced a cockpit fire, and proceeded to explain. The extinguisher was attached to the back of the student pilot's seat; and, because of her size, she had to use it to hit a 'frozen' student over the head with it, so she could take control back during their first stall & spin! She added that in those cases, it was almost always their last trip up.

[Perseverando]

Vintage aircraft offer salute as World War II hero is laid to rest in Roanoke

Bill Overstreet was a decorated combat veteran who flew more than 100 missions over Europe

Joe Dashiell, jdashiell@wdbj7.com
POSTED: 05:03 PM EST Jan 04, 2014 UPDATED: 05:05 PM EST Jan 04, 2014

ROANOKE, Va. - Two P-51 Mustangs flew overhead Saturday afternoon as family and friends of Bill Overstreet gathered for his memorial service in Roanoke.

Saturday afternoon, two P-51 Mustangs made a wide pass near Roanoke's Second Presbyterian Church, where Overstreet's memorial service was held. And then the two planes flew over Evergreen Burial Park, where Overstreet was buried earlier in the day.

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Sorry I was not there to see it. It must have been a beautiful sight!

[Windflier]

Damn, that thing is beautiful. I love all the old war birds of WW II.

[Windflier]

Internet saying “Pics or it didn’t happen”

The comma is missing after the word, "pics", which makes it difficult to understand. I didn't get it either, until you explained it.

[tanknetter]

This is also the first time I have seen whitewall tires on a P51 or any airplane for that matter.

It wasn't a consistent practice, and was pretty rare. Even within the 357th FG (Overstreet's unit) some, like Berlin Express and Bud Anderson's "Old Crow" did (at one point or another) but Chuck Yeager's "Glamorous Glen III" did not.

[Perseverando]

I attended a very moving memorial service for Captain Overstreet this afternoon.

I was able to talk to one of his longtime neighbors and met Bernard Marie who lives in Roanoke since 2000. Mr Marie is on the D-Day Memorial board of directors. It was his father who was in the French Resistance.

Also I met an old gentleman from Georgia whose brother, Bill Mooney, served with Captain Overstreet, but was shot down during WWII and killed by the Germans on the ground after surviving the parachute landing.

Learned several interesting facts as a result of attending the service:

- Captain Overstreet was a very humble man who did not speak of his exploits.
- He received 2 Silver Stars.
- He flew over 200 missions.
- He married his hometown sweetheart who was Miss Virginia 1940.
- He stated to a former military chaplain who spoke at the service that he could “feel his mother’s prayers” as he was flying.
- He was a man of great faith.

We salute you Captain Overstreet and honor your memory.

[afraidfortherepublic]

Thank you for the meaningful, first person addition to this article.

[Perseverando]

I was able to talk to one of his longtime neighbors and met Bernard Marie who lives in Roanoke since 2000. Mr Marie is on the D-Day Memorial board of directors. It was his father who was in the French Resistance.

One last thought. Mr. Marie told me that the reason his father and the French Resistance were so excited by Captain Overstreet's flight under the Eiffel Tower was because it made them really believe that the Allies were on the way to liberate France and were getting close. (That's not a direct quote, but the best I could do to paraphrase what he told me.)