Free Republic

Frank Royal's Air Force took off at 1:38 p.m. A vintage aircraft clawed through the air followed by two chase planes, one carrying the 101-year-old pilot. The last plane in the formation brought a tear to Royal's eye. Its sleek lines still raise his pulse. He can hear the thrum of its twin engines without his hearing aids - World War II ingrained the 24-cylinder symphony permanently in his mind. He has good reason to remember the details. That very plane, a fully restored P-38 Lightning named White-33, was Royal's first love. And he flew over Colorado Springs to tell...

Fred Hargesheimer, a World War II Army pilot whose rescue by Pacific islanders led to a life of giving back as a builder of schools and teacher of children, died Thursday morning. He was 94. Richard Hargesheimer said his father had been suffering from poor health and passed away in Lincoln. On June 5, 1943, Hargesheimer, a P-38 pilot with the 8th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron, was shot down by a Japanese fighter while on a mission over the Japanese-held island of New Britain in the southwest Pacific. He parachuted into the trackless jungle, where he barely survived for 31 days...

The journey on which the world’s most famous fighter airplane [was recovered from beneath 268 feet of ice on Greenland's ice cap]. Great Britain was holding off Nazi Germany and the United States was rushing warplanes to British airfields. In 1942, Glacier Girl was a brand new Lockheed P-38F, one of hundreds of airplanes sent as part of U.S. Army Air Force had its pilots base-hop across the North Atlantic from Maine to Scotland. Not all squadrons made it across, and this particular one was forced down by weather to an emergency landing on an ice cap in Greenland. For...

In his McKinney living room, Paul Yeager received today a medal he earned more than six decades ago in the skies over the western Pacific. Yeager, who flew 50 fighter missions in New Guinea in 1943, received the Distinguished Flying Cross, which is awarded to those who show heroism or great achievement while flying.

On July 15, 1942, a flight of six P-38s and two B-17 bombers, with a total of 25 crew members on board, took off from Presque Isle Air Base in Maine headed for the U.K. What followed was a harrowing and life-threatening landing of the entire squadron on a remote ice cap in Greenland. (See photo of downed P-38 from the "Lost Squadron.") Miraculously, none of the crew was lost and they were all rescued and returned safely home after spending several days on the desolate ice.

For 65 years, this Second World War fighter had lain hidden under the surface of a beach where it crash-landed. Just a short distance above it, holidaying families have built sandcastles, strolled and swum, all unaware of its existence. But now the P-38 Lightning has re-emerged after freak weather conditions caused the sands to shift and expose its rusting frame. The U.S. aircraft - with its distinctive "twinboom" design - was discovered on the North Wales coast, but the location is being kept secret in case it is targeted by looters. Its remains were spotted by a family in July,...

NEW YORK - Sixty-five years after an American P-38 fighter plane ran out of gas and crash-landed on a beach in Wales, the long-forgotten World War II relic has emerged from the surf and sand where it lay buried. Beach strollers, sunbathers and swimmers often frolicked within a few yards of the aircraft, unaware of its existence until last summer, when unusual weather caused the sand to shift and erode. The revelation of the Lockheed "Lightning" fighter, with its distinctive twin-boom design, has stirred interest in British aviation circles and among officials of the country's aircraft museums, ready to reclaim...

The F-22 Raptor’s first flight in the Heritage program was a photo shoot at Tyndall AFB in Florida. Flying with the Raptor was a Mustang, Sabre, P-38, F-15, and Phantom. The Raptor will be flying in the Heritage Flight in the 2007 air show season.

At least 25 bombers being escorted by the Tuskegee Airmen over Europe during World War II were shot down by enemy aircraft, according to a new Air Force report. The report contradicts the legend that the famed black aviators never lost a plane to fire from enemy aircraft...

Lord, Keep our Troops forever in Your care Give them victory over the enemy... Grant them a safe and swift return... Bless those who mourn the lost. . FReepers from the Foxhole join in prayer for all those serving their country at this time. ...................................................................................... ........................................... U.S. Military History, Current Events and Veterans Issues Where Duty, Honor and Countryare acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated. Our Mission: The FReeper Foxhole is dedicated to Veterans of our Nation's military forces and to others who are affected in their relationships with Veterans. Welcome to "Warrior Wednesday" Where the Freeper Foxhole introduces a different...

Lord, Keep our Troops forever in Your care Give them victory over the enemy... Grant them a safe and swift return... Bless those who mourn the lost. . FReepers from the Foxhole join in prayer for all those serving their country at this time. ...................................................................................... ........................................... U.S. Military History, Current Events and Veterans Issues Where Duty, Honor and Countryare acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated. Our Mission: The FReeper Foxhole is dedicated to Veterans of our Nation's military forces and to others who are affected in their relationships with Veterans. Welcome to "Warrior Wednesday" Where the Freeper Foxhole introduces a different...

From early astronomy and Leonardo Da Vinci's flying contraptions to World War II planes and Mars rovers, the City of Lancaster Musuem/Art Gallery's newest exhibition, "Cosmic Adventures - Space, Science and Technology," is a comprehensive look at the history of flight as well as Antelope Valley's own aviation and aerospace history. Opening with a reception from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday , the exhibit will continue through Jan. 11. Made possible by a grant from The Boeing Co. and the Boeing Employees Community Fund, the exhibit will feature displays from Boeing, the World War II 475th Fighter Group, Air Museum...