Thu, Jul 08, 2010
One Pilot's Story Began when He Was 19 Years Old
For many of the honored guests, The Last Time will bring
together pilots of Douglas C-47s that flew in World War II--and
several haven’t flown the airplane since they brought them
back safely to the United States following the war.
Reunions for pilots and veterans of World War II just
don’t happen that often anymore. What was once a regular
occasion--to get together and reminisce about their shared
experience--is now a rare occurrence. Visitors to The Last Time
event at Whiteside County Airport, in Rock Falls, Illinois, on July
23-26, will have a chance to share this moving reunion with pilots
like Jack Jackson, who commanded a C-47 during three missions
towing American and British gliders during the D-Day invasion of
Europe, and in the countless supply and evacuation missions that
followed. Jackson will be flying to the reunion in order to share
his experiences with fellow vets, and to once again fly in the
airplane that he flew during the war.
File Photo
Jackson was 19 years old when he graduated from single-engine
pilot training in April 1943. “I wanted to be a fighter
pilot, so at the time, I was disappointed. In a short time, though,
I was delighted with the assignment, the people I flew with and
served with,” Jackson recalls. “The mission required
precision flight--you had to drop the troops or the gliders
precisely. It was a very demanding duty.” Jackson was
assigned to the 72nd Troop Carrier Squadron; his unit stopped
holding reunions almost 10 years ago, making The Last Time event a
very special time indeed.
The year 2010 marks the 75th anniversary of the first flight of
the iconic Douglas DC-3 and what is likely to be last time for a
large reunion of aluminum and engines with the people that saw it
all. The Last Time’s four-day reunion activities are free and
open to the public, and general aviation aircraft parking and
camping are available as well. All DC-3 aircraft will be parked
together, and events include aircraft tours, public rides, free
media rides, demonstrations, entertainment and music, extensive
hangar flying and storytelling by all those invited to share the
DC-3 experience—and a mass formation fly-by sure to be a
record-setting event. The mass formation flight will launch from
Whiteside County Airport on the afternoon of Monday, July 26.
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