Posted on 01/04/2014 9:03:39 AM PST by afraidfortherepublic
A World War II fighter pilot who gained fame for dramatically flying beneath the Eiffel Tower's arches to take down a German aircraft has died aged 92. William Overstreet Jr. died on Sunday at a hospital in Roanoke, Virginia, according to his obituary, but there was no indication of the cause of his death.
Overstreet's famously flew his P-51C 'Berlin Express' beneath the Eiffel Tower in Nazi-occupied Paris in 1944, which has been credited with lifting the spirits of French Resistance troops on the ground.
For his valiant service, the French ambassador to the United States presented Overstreet with France's Legion of Honor at the National D-Day Memorial in Bedford in 2009.
Before the ceremony, Overstreet had previously said that, if he lived long enough to receive the Legion of Honor, he would be accepting it in memory of his fallen brothers.
In particular, he wanted to pay tribute to a friend, Eddy Simpson, who died fighting the Nazis on the ground so his comrades, including Overstreet, could escape.
After the award was pinned to his lapel, Overstreet said: 'If I said, "Thank you," it wouldnt be enough,' before adding: 'What more than "thank you" do you need?'
Overstreet was also awarded hundreds of other medals for his service in the 357th squadron of the U.S. Army Air Forces, his obituary said.
He was born in Clifton Forge, Virginia in 1921 and after Pearl Harbor, he enlisted in the Air Corps as a fighter pilot.
By February 1942, he was a private and sent to California for flight training; here, his instructors prepared him for the unexpected mid-flight by cutting the engine as he landed.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
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:
and Rest In Peace Mr. Overstreet...from one Virginia native to another...
awesome story !
My dad was USAAF ETO
I don’t get it...what does it mean?
Internet saying “Pics or it didn’t happen” < /sarcastically >
Ah!
Okay, I get it now...:)
IMO that sums up everyone who fought then...Army,Army Air Corps,Navy and Marines
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.
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!
Damn, that thing is beautiful. I love all the old war birds of WW II.
The comma is missing after the word, "pics", which makes it difficult to understand. I didn't get it either, until you explained it.
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.
Thank you for the meaningful, first person addition to this article.
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.)
This topic was posted , thanks afraidfortherepublic.
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