The news sometimes is so bad that one wonders if the world is just evil, Some things seem remote, some seem to matter. This death of the young man who was held in N Korea hit me hard, even though I dont have any ties to him or Korea. Maybe it is because my Son likes to travel to remote places I dont consider safe.
I thought of friend and former EAA member John Reynolds. At 19 years old he was a Navy Lt, ensign?, flying a Skyraider off the carrier Bon Homme Richard, for low level bombimg supporting ROK troops, I think this might have been 1953, not sure. His wingman was shot down, and John made it back to the carrier with a very rough engine and after landing found out why, as the lower cylinder of the radial was completely shot off. Ive seen the photo of him on the deck standing in front of the plane. John survived the war and later worked for the FAA, proving at least some FAA guys are ok. One of his jobs was to fly a C-47 loaded with instruments at airports in Hawaii to check com and nav faculties and he liked that duty. He moved here after retirement, owned an SNJ which he let me fly . Once we landed on a 19 ft wide runway, really a dirt road near Col Springs and when I complimented him, he said, "And Im not doing it again." I put a small plaque for him there at EAA, compass hill.
Another Korean vet I met on an English aviation tour was Norm from Yankee Air Museum at Willow Run, who may have been a Marine back then, and at Chosin reservoir. Nice guy and Yanks flies a B17. I was once at an airshow riding the elevator with "Boots Blesse" Korean F-86 pilot, and when I asked what floor he needed, he joked he couldn't, recall that getting old sucked. He didnt look that old. I dont know much about the Korean War, like I do WWII or Vietnam, maybe they didnt teach much in school or I was just a kid then. I assume we were in the right, and we got a tie, both of them unlike Vietnam, and we have been hostile for years even after peace, not like former enemies Japan or Germanyor even China.
This arrest and death of Otto Warmbier is extra sad as it seems so unnecessary,just cruel. How does N Korea benefit from targeting a defenseless visitor? Imagine his parents spending the nights in prayer and the days calling officials desperate for help? What does Unh want or what are they trying to gain, and how does the rest of the world try deal with them diplomatically or economically? We are nor perfect, but better than that.
