WWII Veterans Panel discussion at the EAA AirVenture Museum, Sat. Oct. 1

In case you missed it in the Hangar Talk forum, the EAA AirVenture Museum is is hosting a special World War Two veterans panel on Saturday October 1 from 2pm to 4pm in conjunction with our static model contest and show that day. Among the confirmed panelists include:

• William Bergner, who was a B-17 Flying Fortress radar operator and technician with the 327th Bomb Squadron of the 92nd Bomb Group, 8th Air Force. Grounded by the squadron flight surgeon while in England, Bergner spent the duration of his overseas tour installing and repairing radar sets in B-17s.
http://i730.photobucket.com/albums/w...illBergner.jpg


• William Hartshorn, who was a P-47 Thunderbolt fighter pilot assigned to the 61st Fighter Squadron of the 56th Fighter Group, 8th Air Force. He was shot down on his 26th mission on Sept. 18, 1944, while flying in support of Operation Market Garden.
http://i730.photobucket.com/albums/w...lHartshorn.jpg


• William Meier, who was a B-17 Flying Fortress bombardier assigned to the 413th Bomb Squadron of the 96th Bomb Group, 8th Air Force.
http://i730.photobucket.com/albums/w...rBillMeier.jpg

We hope you will join us for this fun-filled weekend of the smaller side of aviation and stories from a few of the men that inspired us to build models in the first place!


Zack

We just had a fourth veteran confirm his attendance! Vic Bast was P-47 pilot during WWII. In fact, he was a squadron mate of Bill Hartshorn, who is also participating in the panel discussion. They both flew with the 61st Fighter Squadron of the 56th Fighter Group. They haven't seen each other in 30+ years, so this should make for a pretty wonderful reunion. I hope some of you can make it to be a part of it!

Zack

Vic Bast, center.
http://i730.photobucket.com/albums/w...an/VicBast.jpg

I had three more veterans confirm their attendance for Saturday bringing the total to seven WWII veterans participating in the panel discussion! The three newest confirmations are: Chet Gardeski, who was a B-17 flight engineer with the 422nd Bomb Squadron of the 305th Bomb Group; John Gibbons, who was a B-17 pilot with the 350th Bomb Squadron of the "Bloody Hundredth" 100th Bomb Group; and John Rosenberg, who was a B-24 tail gunner with the 526th Bomb Squadron of the 392nd Bomb Group. It will be a fantastic event and I hope some of you can come.

Zack

Just stopped in on the discussions. Fascinating to listen to such great living history. Thank you, Zack :)

Thanks for the kind words Janet. The panel was a lot of fun with some very good stories. Speaking of which, if you missed the panel or would like to see it again, just watch here:

http://www.eaavideo.org/video.aspx?v=1200157115001

Enjoy!