Lester is 95 years old. He soloed before WWII and when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, this found Lester working as a flying instructor in San Antonio Texas.
As a 2nd lieutenant in September 1942, Lester was delivering B-24’s around the country for the Army Air Corps. In October 1944 he went overseas and served in the China, Burma, India (CBI) Theater as an air transport pilot based in India at Imphal.
Lester flew 79 missions “Over the Hump” flying in very hazardous conditions. Not only did he have to worry about Japanese fighters, the weather and mountains were extremely challenging and dangerous. Lester transported men and material to China as well as other areas flying C-87’s, and a B-24 variant, which the pilots called “1 Oh Boom,” since it was a tanker and had a tendency to blow up on occasion!
Sadly Lester lost many friends due to fighters, weather, and accidents. So many planes and pilots were lost “Flying the Hump,” that the route into China was called the “Aluminum Trail.”
He also left behind in India, one of his most prized possessions, his leather flight jacket! He has regretted that for years!
Lester had a distinguished career with Frontier Airlines after the war, retiring in 1976. Lester has flown over 32,000 hours in all types of aircraft which he is justifiably proud of. He belongs to the Hump Pilots Association, Airline Pilots Association, and Aviation Pioneers.
Going to the WWII Memorial, according to Lester would bring back so many sad, and some of the great memories of those times, flying over the “Aluminum Trail,”
No comments:
Post a Comment