Free Republic

Many photos at link. Ford’s latest Mustang is a tribute to one of the originals. Not a car, but an airplane and the man who flew it. The modified Mustang GT was built by Roush Performance for a charity auction benefiting the education programs of the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA). It features a paint scheme designed after the one on a World War II P-51 Mustang fighter known as “Old Crow” that was piloted by one of the most honored American airmen in history, C.E. Bud Anderson. Anderson became a triple ace during the war with 16 ¼ victories in...

Besby Frank Holmes, a decorated combat ace who helped kill the Japanese admiral who planned and coordinated the attack on Pearl Harbor, died Sunday at Marin General Hospital. He was 88. --snip-- Mr. Holmes was an avid flier and career officer, but the high point in his career came in 1943 when he was a 25-year-old pilot flying P-38 Lightnings from an airfield on the island of Guadalcanal. The Army and Marines were battling the Japanese for control of the South Pacific. U.S. forces intercepted a message indicating that Adm. Isoruko Yamamoto would be flying to Bougainville island for an...