TIGHAR
Chatterbox => Extraneous exchanges => Topic started by: Brad Beeching on April 22, 2012, 04:39:03 PM
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Is the Greg Board involved with Earhart at Lae the same Greg Board who flew Buffalo (http://www.warbirdforum.com/buffsing.htm) fighters with the RAF in the defense of the Malay Penninsula in December of 1941? If so, the man had led a storied life for sure!
Brad
ps.
I have read a few books that mention Greg Board; "Everything but the Flak" (http://www.amazon.com/Everything-but-flak-Martin-Caidin/dp/B0007F5AY4), "Ragged, Rugged Warriors" (http://www.amazon.com/Ragged-Rugged-Warriors-Martin-Caidin/dp/0525188053) by Martin Caidin (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Caidin). He is also mentioned in several histories of the B-17s in the Pacific. Is this the same guy?
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Love this quote from your first link: "... had his Buffalo thrown into a spin from which he couldn't recover. He jumped out, but found himself tied to the falling aircraft by his oxygen tube. So he got back into the spinning plane! "Somehow it managed to come out of the spin and I was able to pull it back to an even keel and return to base."
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It is truly amazing what some folks had the gonads to do back then! If it were me, Im sure the family would have received a telegram... "We regret to inform you"....
In reading "Ragged, Rugged Warriors", Martin Caidin wrote that Boards Buffalo was shot to ribbons, caught fire and went down. Board was able to get out before it crashed. What kind of courage that was! We would all do to have a little of that these days!
Brad
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Actually, simular instances happened all through the war. I've read about situations where the pilot stood on the wing, reached back into the cockpit and removed oxygen hoses, communication plugs, family pictures. I was privilaged to help set up Col. Robert Morgan (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_K._Morgan)at a couple of gunshows in the early 90's in Dallas, and he told me stories of what he saw in the sky over Europe. For instance, he told me about seeing aircrew holding on to a B-17 waist gun while he buckled on his chute with one hand. Charlie Bond (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Bond_(pilot))explained to me once what it was like getting shot down in a burning P-40 over China. Years ago I had the privilege of meeting George Gay (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_H._Gay,_Jr.) at an airshow and he spoke of some of the other pilots in Torpedo 8 at Midway. John Waldron (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_C._Waldron) standing up in the cockpit as the plane hit the water. Yeah, I'd say amazing things happened all the time during that war. What did they say about the Marines on Iwo Jima? "Uncommon valor was a common virtue" Thank God for men such as these...
Brad.