70 years ago today. 1st LT Michael Rebo, shot down over North Korea. MIA for many years, and a childhood friend of my Dad
This article is part of a series:
- MiG Group Build : 1/48 Tamiya MiG-15 bis, Captain Pavel Milauszkin, 176 IAP / 324th IAD, Korea 1952.
- MiG Group Build, Tamiya 1/48 MiG-15 bis, Major Nicolay Shkodin, 147th GIAP, 5 victories Korea July 1953
- MiG Group Build, Tamiya 1/48 MiG-15 bis, People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) Korean War
- 70 years ago today. 1st LT Michael Rebo, shot down over North Korea. MIA for many years, and a childhood friend of my Dad
This is one of those things that you want to do... no, scratch that. This is something that I just HAD to do once I heard about the events that unfolded on this day over North Korea. I owe a sincere thank you to Jim Burke, who operates the Mount Zion Historical Society. Much of the personal information I found on his website. Thanks Jim !
This event happened on November 10th, 1951 approximately 30 miles Southwest of Pyongyang, North Korea shortly after noon time. I recently checked the area out using Google Maps. It still looks like a remote area, and it's not too far from the Yellow Sea on the West Coast of North Korea. The closest city is now called Nampo.
Many of you know that my Dad was a US Army Korean War combat veteran. Dad served in Armor and also as an Infantry "grunt". He held a dual M.O.S. (Military Occupational Specialty). He was trained as an Armor Crewman, and he was also classified as "Heavy Weapons, Infantry". Back then this was often the case.
My Dad would occasionally joke with me about just how "heavy" these weapons became when you had to carry them...for miles on end, up and over the mountains of Korea. However, even though he had to carry everything he owned as an Infantryman, he liked serving in the Infantry better than he did while serving as a "tanker". So I asked him why: His answer was simple... "They didn't shoot at you quite as much !" ...to quote dear old Dad, word for word.
Dad never really opened up to me about any of his experiences over there in Korea, until the last two weeks of his life. Then what Dad told me was the stuff that nightmares are made of. Only then, did I finally realize why he didn't want me to play the trumpet as a musical instrument as a child... or why whistles were not allowed in our house when we were growing up. It turns out the Chinese soldiers would often blow bugles and blow whistles to signal mass "human wave" attacks at night or in the early dawn hours before sunrise. These attacks were very similar to the "Banzai" charges the Japanese did in the Pacific Theater, earlier during World War Two.
This is the story about one of my Dad's childhood friends. His name was Michael Rebo. Mike Rebo and my Dad grew up together in a tiny little Pennsylvania coal mining town named Weedville during the Great Depression. This little town makes up part of an area that is commonly called "Bennett's Valley".
Mike Rebo was 4 years older than my Dad, and Mike had served in the US Navy during WW2. Mike also had 4 brothers that were also serving our Country during it's time of need during WW2.
After the War was over, Mike went to college at Penn State University using the new "GI Bill". Once Mike earned his college degree, he enlisted again. However this time it was in the US Air Force, and he completed pilot training, following in his older brother Joe's footsteps. (Mike had an older brother who flew B-17's from England during WW2). This is a picture of Lt. Mike Rebo standing in front of an AT-6. I'm not sure if this is a picture that was taken during his flight school training, or if he flew the T-6 as a target spotter for the other aircraft in his unit.
Mike was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant upon earning his college degree. . Upon completion of his flight training, soon thereafter Mike was flying F-80's and then later F-84's in Korea.
Mike flew with 9th Fighter Bomber Squadron, 49th Fighter Bomber Wing stationed first in Japan, and then they moved to South Korea once the Pusan perimeter was pushed back and the Inchon landing had occurred.
By now Second Lieutenant Rebo had been promoted to the rank of 1st Lieutenant, and he had flown numerous combat missions in Korea.
The 49th initially flew Lockheed F-80's when they first arrived in Korea, out of a place called Taegu.
The unit converted from the F-80's to the Republic F-84E during the summer of 1951. The F-84 aircraft from this unit were frequently tasked with ground support missions, and they were also routinely flying "up north" with a pair of 1,000 pound GP bombs hung under the wing racks. These bombs were used to cut the rail lines in an effort to hamper the supply lines of the North Koreans and the Chinese. Just as fast as the rail lines were cut during the day, they would be repaired overnight... due to the huge number of workers that were used for such purposes. Because of this, the 49th often flew repeat missions to the same locations. Later on in the war, they flew nightly missions and dropped bombs with proximity fuses set to detonate 100 feet above the ground. This seriously hampered the railroad repairs and slowed the delivery of men and supplies to the front.
Mike and his family were of Russian descent. Dad told me that Mike could speak Russian fluently. Dad also said that it was rumored Mike would taunt the MiG-15 pilots over the radio... who were actually Russian pilots during this point in the War. Not many people realize this, but Russian pilots were using "MiG Alley" as a training ground during the Korean War. Occasionally when aerial combat became heated, our intelligence units would intercept enemy radio conversations. It was determined the pilots flying the MiG's were reverting back to what they knew best. They were speaking their native language when highly stressed. Rumors about Russian pilots were mentioned among the UN troops. Dad told me about this many years ago.
Only years later was this found out to be true...and not just a rumor as had been reported. The American leadership during this era wisely wanted to avoid World War 3, and they kept this bit of information under wraps for years after the Korean War cease fire was signed.
This is another bit of information that most people don't realize... Technically, a state of war still exists to this very day in Korea. The only thing keeping peace in the region is a strong showing of military force, a little common sense, and the fact the cease fire that was signed on 27 July of 1953 is still being honored by both sides.
On November 10, 1951, while on a combat mission, his flight of 12 F-84Es was attacked by an enemy flight of 24 to 30 MIG-15s 30 miles southwest of Pyongyang, North Korea. When the MiG's were sighted, they were thousands of feet above the F-84's. When the MiG's started diving down towards the flight of F-84's, the pilots flying the Thunderjets jettisoned their bomb ordnance.
The American pilots didn't stand a chance as the MiG's sliced through them like a knife goes through hot butter. The F-84's were armed with ordnance for a bombing mission, which was quickly dropped to help them maneuver against the MiG's in a swirling dogfight where they were outnumbered at least two to one... in the MiG's favor. From what I have read, the F-84 was more agile than the MiG 15 at slower speeds, and lower altitudes. It could turn inside a MiG under these conditions. But when loaded with ordnance, at altitude, and at high speeds, this was not the case.
The last radio traffic from Mike was that he was wounded and was going down. He and his airplane were never found... at that time, or so it seemed. A Search and Rescue (SAR) mission was made shortly afterwards, but it was not successful.
He was initially listed as Missing in Action, and his family was notified.
The whole "Bennett's Valley" community rallied around Mike's Russian immigrant parents, while they were awaiting word from the Air Force. It was later on December 31, 1953, that Mike was officially presumed dead, with his official death date listed as November 10, 1951.
70 years ago today... Rest in peace Lt. Rebo. Thank you for your service and your sacrifice.
On 10 November 1951, Lt Rebo was shot down and killed, ironically by a Russian pilot, named Captain Pavel Milauszkin... flying a MiG-15 from the 176 GIAP, wearing North Korean markings... I previously built a model of the MiG-15 that shot down Lt. Rebo several years ago. It was part of the MiG Group Build. Here is a picture of the model. Sadly, Lt. Rebo is represented by one of the 10 small red stars you see under the sliding canopy on the Mig. Captain Milauszkin was a Russian Ace, and he was credited with 10 victories over various United Nations aircraft during his tour in Korea .
Mike's wife, Mona J. Woodring Rebo, of Medix Run, Pennsylvania, posthumously received the Air Medal and Purple Heart for his meritorious action in battle from General Rogers at Luke AFB, Arizona. Lt. Rebo was also awarded the Korean Service Medal, the United Nations Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, and the Korean War Service Medal, plus his flight unit was awarded the Distinguished Unit Citation.
Lt Michael Rebo's name is inscribed and honored in the courts (the “Tablets of The Missing”) representing American servicemen missing from the Korean War at the Honolulu Memorial, Hawaii. A memorial marker also has been placed in the Morningside Cemetery in DuBois, Pennsylvania.
Mike's partial remains were only recently repatriated several years ago from North Korea, when they were handed over at the DMZ that runs between the border of North and South Korea today. "DMZ" is an abbreviation for De-Militarized Zone. The present day "DMZ" follows the lines of the front after the war had stabilized, which began to resemble the trench warfare that was fought during the First World War. It is currently a hot spot... with land mines, barbed wire, observation towers and foot patrols. Occasionally a few rounds have been known to cross the border, and there have been several infiltration attempts made.
After DNA samples were obtained from his surviving relatives, and a positive match was made by the Department of Defense, Mike was finally returned to his family. My understanding is that Lt. Michael Rebo received a military burial with full honors once he finally made it back home.
Lt. Rebo is also listed in the Korean War Project, as Key No. 24556
This now completes the story, and checks another item off my bucket list. I have always wanted to tell Mike's story, and do it by building models of the aircraft involved.
1st LT. Michael Gordon Rebo
9TH Fighter Bomber Squadron
Aircraft Type: F-84E
Aircraft Serial Number: 51-549
Freedom isn't free. Here's proof.
The model itself is a 1/48 scale Revell F-84E Thunderjet. I have a build journal started as part of our Korean War group build, that is still underway, and will end on the same date as the cease fire was signed... July 27th, 2023...(only 70 years later) You can follow the build process here.
The F-84 model is not quite done. If you look very closely at it, you will notice there are some of the smaller clear parts missing. Landing and navigation lights. I wanted to get this in the headlines section today... on the 70th anniversary of Lt Rebo's disappearance. I'll add them now the article has been posted. I just didn't have enough time to do so...
The model itself went together very nicely. No filler was needed anywhere. It was covered using various shades of bare metal foil. On the compound curves, like the wing tanks, these areas were sprayed using Model Master "Metallizer" paint, then buffed to a high shine.
Usually, I don't install pilots into my models, simply because I am not very good at painting them. This time I wanted to add the pilot. I did my best, but it still could use a better looking pilot in my opinion.
I also have the canopy slid back, and the flaps are down, as if the plane is taxiing out for it's last mission. The RATO (rocket assisted take off) bottles were not installed, because I didn't have time to do so. I might just leave them off and use them on the F-84G kit I have underway. I have a lot of pictures of F-84's in Korea, and the RATO units were not always used on takeoff.
It's very possible the jet could have looked just like this (or very similar) that day back in 1951. Armed with a pair of 1,000 GP bombs. These larger bombs were used to cut the rail lines, because they made a larger crater, and therefore made it harder to fix...
I have done a lot of research on the F-84's that were used in Korea, and dug into the history of the 49th. On some of the planes from the unit, they have wing tip refueling probes, while in other pictures from the time when Lt Rebo disappeared, they did not. Also, this plane likely had the newer style canopy installed on it. This is the same type that was used on the later F-84G. It used fiberglass reinforcement strips that were applied inside the canopy. These newer style improved canopies with the fiberglass reinforcements were often retro fitted to older aircraft, as they became available.
This was done because they found out during combat, a single hit from a MiG striking the canopy would shatter it, and likely cause the loss of the plane. This bit of information came directly from our fellow Imodeler Rodney Williams, who installed these strips into similar aircraft canopies on the assembly line during the Korean War.
I don't have a picture of the F-84E jet that Lt Rebo died in. So I left it "as is" without any nose art or name. The nose number and vertical fin serial numbers are the same as the plane he died in. There is a small chance the fuselage number could have had a capital "A", "B", or "C" following it, as have been seen on other F-84's in Korea.
The F-84's typically carried a mix of various types of ordnance. They could be seen carrying rockets under the outer wings, with smaller 250 or 500 pound bombs carried on the inboard shackles. Sometimes they would carry napalm or even extra fuel tanks. They carried on the traditional ground support roles just as their predecessors did, another Republic plane, the P-47. The F-84 was also a rugged plane, and it would regularly return home with serious damage inflicted, just as the Thunderbolts would years before.
I installed bombs from another 1/48 model. These represent 1,000 pound General Purpose bombs, and are typical of what would have been carried on that day. The bombs that were provided in the kit were much smaller. I'm guessing they represent a 500 or possibly even a 250 pounder.
The base the model was photographed on is something I recently made. It doesn't have a PSP surface, like the airfields in Korea had.
As always, comments are encouraged. Should you be interested in reading more about Lt. Rebo, and the other veterans from the Bennett's Valley area, please feel free to check it out, by following this link.
http://mtzionhistoricalsociety.org/veterans-list/michael-g-rebo/
Once there, you can search for other veterans. My Dad is listed under the "G" section under the numerous Gardner names. Our family had 4 brothers serving in the US Army as Infantry in the ETO during WW2. Two were killed and the other two were wounded in 108 days. This sounds a lot like the movie Saving Private Ryan doesn't it ? Three of the Gardner brothers participated in the Normandy invasion, with one jumping in with the 101st Airborne Division. He was later seriously wounded at Bastogne and once he was evacuated to England, he spent the rest of the War recuperating from his multiple injuries in a hospital. He was wounded during a mortar attack and then he was shot twice by a German sniper. Once night fell, and it was dark enough to move and not be seen, somehow he managed to crawl back to the rest of the men in his platoon.
War is hell. Freedom is not free. If you don't believe it, I suggest you take a little tour of any VA center, or take a stroll through any of the numerous American Military cemeteries that are located throughout the world.
Thank you for reading the article. This is something I have wanted to do for years, and it finally happened.
Take care and stay safe.
A great posting, Louis, I know how much this means to you, and I think you’ve more than done justice to the story and history of your Dad’s friend. You’ve also brought the best of this Revell kit, the metal finish is superb, and your base sets it off beautifully. Definitely liked.
George, @chinesegeorge
First off, I want to say thank you for the kind words. I do sincerely appreciate this. This F-84 tribute is a build that I have been wanting to do for a long, LONG time now... and I was finally able to complete it. Well almost complete it, as it still needs a few more finishing touches done like the clear lights... but you know what I mean. I had a time table that I didn't want to miss, so I hurried it into the headlines section and got it posted in just the nick of time. Technically it should have been posted yesterday since Korea is 15 hours ahead of us time zone wise, but I'm happy as it is..
This Revell kit was an awesome model to build. I didn't need to use much filler, other than some on the tail pipe and nose intake. But otherwise it was spot on. It has some nice detail right out of the box. I still have to complete the other model that was started at the same time, the F-84G version. So please be on the look out for it to show up one of these days.
As far as the new base, I built it to display a huge 1/32 scale Revell He-219 Uhu model that I have almost completed. Part of me wants to construct a hangar to go along with the base, something that is big enough to house a very large model. That way, I can park the hangar next to the base for a more realistic setting... This is another project planned for later on down the road.
I enjoy working with foil. It's so hard for me to get a realistic looking bare metal finish by just using paint. There are some people who can do it, and do it well... I'm not one of those builders, so I rely on the foil, and occasionally mix in paint for accents.
Thanks again for the compliments, and for checking the like box too. Take care and stay safe my friend.
This is a great build to keep those memories alive, Louis @lgardner.
An amazing result as a remembrance to your dad and his friend.
Hello John, @johnb
Thank you. I have wanted to tell this story for many years now. I was finally able to get it done, and I wanted to do this on the anniversary date of his disappearance. My only regret is that my Dad didn't get to see this one. He got me interested into building models when I was a little boy. It's a passion I never lost.
Take care, and thank you once more.
Nice model, interesting story. It is always exciting for the historian to read or hear such a story, but for those who lived through it it was a disaster.
Hans, @messerschmitt
Your comments are right on the mark. I couldn't have said that any better myself. Thank you.
This is an amazing result, Louis! A great tribute to your Father's friend!
I loved a lot your BMF work on this, the model looks spectacular.
Loved the accompanying historical text, as well.
Freedom is not free. Lest we forget.
Spiros, @fiveten
Yes Sir, you said it my friend... Freedom is not free. I thank you very much for the compliments. Covering a model using foil can be tedious at times, but in the end, I think the results are worth it. I am happy to hear that you enjoyed reading the article. This is a story that I have been wanting to tell for many years, and this is another item I can check off my bucket list. My only regret is that my Dad is not here to see this.
Take care my friend. It was very nice to hear from you. I have noticed that you have yet another model in the headlines at M2. You are a busy man... Please tell QC1 and QC2 that we said hello.
Excellent job Louis.
Thanks Paul ! @ramair67
Great touching story and beautiful model. I admire that you also made the Soviet sign ... Long ago I promised myself that I would never move any Soviet aviation construction in the workshop and I will stick to it for now.
Lis, @lis
Thank you for the compliment. I build models from many different Nations. I wanted to include the model of the MiG-15, to show the jet that was credited with shooting Lt. Rebo down. Ironically it was flown by a Russian pilot, and Lt. Rebo was from a Russian family. In order to completely tell the story, I wanted to include that part too. I have been watching your builds, and they are coming along very nice. Take care.
Well done, Louis, on the write up and the build. Looks amazing!
Gary, @gwskat
Thank you for the kind words, and compliments. I sincerely appreciate them.
It’s always far more appealing to build a model with a purpose, a real knowledge of who flew it and everything that comes along with it.
A great story of loss and bravery in a much forgot war. Nice metal foil use, as usual from your expert technique my friend. Thumbs up Louis! @lgardner
Your build truly does shine Louis, a great tribute indeed to 1st LT Michael Rebo and to other who have served.
Nicely done, a great looking model and a great write up posted on the anniversary date.
Louis, that is a great tribute to Lt. Rebo and a marvelous model as well! Well done indeed on both counts sir.?
Thanks for honouring this story in your model and write up Louis.
November 11 was supposed to be the day to end all wars.
War is hell and we keep on doing it.
Thanks Louis for sharing a story well told. Not only honoring a fallen airman but also appropriately on Veterans Day that this can be a story that bears in mind of those who served and lost their lives in doing so. The model is excellent. You can see how well the model is presented of the F-84. The care and passion that went into the build. Nothing better than a veteran telling and building a veterans aircraft. Veterans Day 11 November 2021.
Fly Navy Liked
Nice step by step historical building, Louis! Thanks for sharing a wider picture of your very realistic work
The best models are the ones that have personal stories behind them, and you did this one from the heart. Great job, my friend!
Great Job Louis!, @lgardner, and excellent historical backround story to go along. How much this build meant to you shows in just how nice it turned out.
Well done, Louis, very, very well done.
An AWESOME build Louis! It is a GREAT tribute to a pilot that made the ultimate sacrifice on the altar of freedom! Well done!
Beautiful result Louis. All of us got a real kick out of watching this progress. Your ability with bare metal foil is really remarkable. I wouldn't even think of attempting this, and it really looks good - looks real.
Here's a couple of "expansions" about the history you have (Korea being the "forgotten war" they forgot to actually study the event, so a lot of 70 year old wartime propaganda managed to fossilize into "information-like material," aka coprolites, aka the stuff you watch you don't step in).
First, I can well imagine your nightmares from your father telling you what happened. The fate of "Task Force Faith" at Chosin is truly horrific; their sacrifice is what allowed the Marines at Yudam-ni to survive the attacks on them and organize to get out, and the survivors of your dad's unit who managed to hook up with the Marines continued to give outstanding "above and beyond" service in the escape to the sea. Your dad and his fellows really paid in blood for every step they took.
Second, the fight on November 10, 1951, in which your dad's friend was lost, was the first time the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) entered combat (albeit as the Chinese People's Volunteer Air Force). It's likely from your description that you found that the victor of the fight was Wang Hai, his first of 9, which made him the PLAAF Ace of Aces for the war. He was later the first airman to become the commander of the PLAAF after he was "rehabilitated" from the Cultural Revolution. There's a MiG-15 on display in Beijing that is allegedly the one he flew in Korea. The amazing thing about that fight was that the PLAAF only came into existence about 14 months before then. They started from "less than zero" and had guys with 150 hours flying MiG-15s - eight of them became aces.
And the sad thing about all the missions all those guys flew, and all the losses they took, was that nothing was accomplished. As Admiral JJ "Jocko" Clark put it, "The interdiction campaign didn't interdict." The Chinese and North Koreans got so good about making repairs that were simple to further repair after later bombings, that they were actually delivering a higher amount of supplies to the front line troops in 1953 than they were in 1951. It was like the attacks on the Ho Chi Minh Trail (which was aided when the Chinese and North Korean veterans of the repair army came to Vietnam and taught the North Vietnamese how to do it).
There's a lot that could have been learned from the Korean War, that would have been useful, but Americans never want to pay attention to anything but "success" (despite the fact it's the losses that lead to the learning that result in success). The only thing a generation of politicians and generals learned was "don't provoke China" which led to most of the failure of another war ten years later, when there was no chance China could intervene, and they wouldn't because their relationship with Vietnam was the opposite of their relationship with Korea, but who needs to know all that history of "furriners" anyway.
Anyway, a really nice memorial to a sacrifice to the stupidity of politicians and generals, something the people on the pointed end get used to, but never like. I hate being the guy who probably knows more about the Korean War than any American leader then or now, and all I had to do was research and write three books.
Tom, @tcinla
Thanks for the compliments on the model, and for the background story of how and when China entered the air war in Korea. Your reply prompted me to do some more digging into his disappearance. As best as I can tell, Lt. Rebo was in fact shot down by Captain Milauszkin, and not Wang Hai. You are very close however with the time table. The Chinese pilot Wang Hai scored his first victory on 18 November, 1951. By this time Lt. Rebo had been dead for a little over a week. The Russian pilots claimed 3 kills on the day that Rebo disappeared. The US records actually indicated only one American plane loss on this day. This "over claiming" of kills has been going on ever since we started shooting each other down in WW1.
I still have two more MiG-15's to build. One is the Tamiya kit which I never finished completely during the MiG Group build we had a few years ago, and the other one is a Trumpeter kit, both are 1/48 scale. Now I know what one of these planes will be marked as... Wang Hai,
as long as I can get the proper decals. I was able to locate several pictures of him and his MiG, along with approximately 9 other Chinese "Aces".
It was an incredible achievement to become so successful in such a short time. Thanks again.
@lgardner - thanks for that info. Just checked my material here, rather than depend on the old swiss cheese memory, and that's correct.
A study was once done, and overclaiming in air combat is actually a matter of a factor of 300% usually. It's not hard to see how - and no aspersion on the pilots making claims - twisting and turning, get a shot but you can't stick with it or you'll be shot. Many RAF and USAAF pilots claimed Bf-109s shot down because they saw the big puff of smoke emitted by the engine when the pilot bunted over into a negative-G dive entry, something they didn't know anything about.
"Confirmed victories" are more for morale than anything else. The force fighting over its own territory will be more accurate, since they can go find the crash sites. It's like Air Marshal Dowding said in the Battle of Britain, when asked if he could confirm the claims of 185 shot down on September 15: "If we're right, they won't be back and if we're wrong they'll be in London in a week." The outcome is the only thing one can be certain of, and sometimes not even that.
Awesome post.My respects.
Marcus, @mvtb
Thank you for the kind words. I sincerely appreciate them.
Great build and post, Louis - thanks for taking the time to do it right!
Great job on the build and story!
Thanks Dale @dtravis
I appreciate the compliments.
Very nice job with bare metal foil (I've tried, but I have no patience for it.)
During the dark days (late 1950) of the Korean War, my father and my grandfather were part of a group of farmers/landowners taken at gunpoint by NKA troops and used them and their oxen to help transport artillery shells and various supplies. They were targeted by silver jets (probably F-80s but not sure as dad wasn't all that concerned about airplane identification when they were attacked.) My dad says he narrowly missed getting hit by a stream of .50 caliber bullets. He survived along with my grandfather and fled after the airstrike on the convoy they were a part of.
The irony is my dad is a staunch anti-communist to this day but he didn't enjoy being a target of the 'silver' jets (who would?) and loathes the NKA troops who put him in that situation.
Dan, @dbdlee
Thank you for the reply. I can only imagine how your Grandfather and Father must have felt. That had to be horrible, being placed into a position to where they became a military target. I have been shot at myself, and I will tell you it is not any fun... the craziest thing is how time seems to slow down, and I have never felt more alive as strange as this sounds. All of your senses go into overdrive, at least mine did. You see things, feel emotions such as anger and fear (at the same time), you smell things, and hear things that you wouldn't normally. Thankfully your family survived. Many did not.
My Dad told me that his unit would often employ Korean civilians to assist with some things when they were in base camp, such as cleaning chores and such. He told me that he felt so bad for these persons, because their homes had been destroyed, and often they had family members killed. Dad told me that he would often give these persons additional food if he had any to spare. He also told me about a time when his unit found Korean civilians that had been bound and shot by the NKPA as they were retreating from Seoul ? (I think that was the city's name, I'm not 100 percent sure of the location, just the events). This happened in the early days you described, I'm guessing it was just after the Inchon landing.
Thank you again.
A beautiful build, Louis! Thanks for sharing the story and the personal part of it!
Hey Robert ! @roofrat
Thanks for the kind words. This story is something I have been wanting to do for many years now. It just fit in perfectly with our Korean War group. I have a few more stories like this that I want to eventually share. I think that our models have much more meaning, and they seem to be easier to work on when you have a personal connection with the item you are building. You and your Phantom builds are a prime example. Thanks again brother, and I hope you had a good Veteran's Day. Never Forget !
Well done, Louis.
Thanks John ! @j-healy
Hi Mike, thank you for the oportunity to read such engaging and moving article. You can see that you have dealt with this topic really carefully and that it is you heartt's business. It is great that you are worshiping the memory of your father and other remarkable people. By accompanying your article with photographs of model with which he flew, as well as the model of his conquror, your work is historically illustrative and a great example of the benefits of plastic modeling worlvide, which can reveal the possiblites of choosing a profession for emering repesentatives generation.
I congratulate and wish you every succes in this godly activity.
May is bring a time when young potential people willnot have to die for foreign intersts.
Jirka.
Hi Mike, thank you for the opportunity to read such and moving article. You can see that you have dealt with this topic really carefully and that it is you heartt's business. It is great that you are worshiping the memory of your father and other remarkable people. By accompanying your article with photographs of model with which he flew, as well as the model of his conquror, your work is historically llustrative and a great example of the benefits of plastic modeling worlvide, which can reveal the possiblites of choosing a profession for emering repesentatives generation. I congratulate and wish you every succes in this godly activity.
Sorry Louis, i write via compiler.
Well done @lgardner. Thoughtfully written in conjunction with your builds. Really enjoyed your tribute to Mike on Veterans Day. Thanks for the post.
Well done buddy, and a nice tribute to your dad's friend on a holiday that's very special to many of us.
Tom, @tom-bebout
Thank you for the kind words. Like you with your family's military history, our family also shares a lot of the same things. Veterans Day is more than just a "day off" for us. Our family has had members serving in the US Military every since 1776, and sadly we have lost family in every conflict up to the Korean War. That's where my Dad broke the "curse".
One of my ancestors actually raised his own militia and fought against the Brits in Massachusetts. Google the name Colonel Thomas Gardner. You will see the Infantry Unit he started is still active in the US Army today. He was mortally injured at the Battle of Breed's Hill, near Bunker Hill. A man by the name of George Washington attended his funeral...
Please stay tuned, as I eventually want to build a 1/48 Monogram C-47, as a tribute to one of the Gardner Brothers that jumped into Normandy on June 6th with the 101st, just like your Dad did. Later he was seriously injured when he was hit by mortar fragments at Bastogne. As he laid there wounded, a German sniper shot him twice more. After darkness fell, he somehow crawled back to safety. Eventually he was sent back to England where he spent the rest of his "war days" recuperating in a hospital. This is a basic training picture of John Gardner. He was promoted to the rank of Sergeant, and was wounded three times in Bastogne on January 10th, 1945.
We both know that Freedom is not free. Stay safe brother, and it was great to hear from you.