They made it a special day.
Praying for you and your family in this difficult time. Stand back and savor all the good times and memories. God bless.
As they did for my PBY Dad three years ago. He trained PBY pilots in Jacksonville, FL before the war, then proceeded to the SW Pacific in the Solomans. His VP-11 flight logbook is on the web.
Imagine Clarence Coon's PBY flying a professional photographer over another rescuing PBY which was rescuing a ditched B-24's crew in the Pacific. Shortly afterwards, then filming the crash of the rescuing PBY—having to rescue two crews, and heavily loaded—taking off in the same rough seas that claimed the first PBY.
Open-seas rescue is a serious business. ≡≡8-O