American hero

Fat Dragon Games · Post by **Fat Dragon Games** » Mon Oct 15, 2007 4:44 pm

Last Thursday this country lost a true hero. David Lee "Tex" Hill died of health complications at age 92. Tex was a member of the 2nd Pursuit Squadron, AVG (Flying Tigers) in China in 1941. I had the honor of being friends with him for about the last ten years, and I can honestly say that his friendship was one of the highlights of my personal and professional life. Over the last decade and a half I have worked with many vets for my other business as a military historian, but Tex truly stood out as a rare individual. Never afraid to speak his mind, he hated any kind of PC bullsh!t and wasn't worried about stepping on toes if it meant doing the right thing. I'm glad my son got to meet him and knows what a real hero is, unlike most kids in this country today.
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Treebore · Post by **Treebore** » Mon Oct 15, 2007 8:34 pm

My Grandfather, a WW2 Navy (Pacific theatre) Vet, died last October 3rd of 2006.

I know how you feel. Plus he was my Grand Father.
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Post by **Breakdaddy** » Mon Oct 15, 2007 9:53 pm

RIP to both gentlemen mentioned. I was honored to have had the chance to speak with Bull Randleman briefly several years ago and am very happy to have been able to have done so. These kinds of heroes are rare and should be honored accordingly.

Dyne · Post by **Dyne** » Mon Oct 15, 2007 11:43 pm

May they rest in peace with honor.

Barrataria · Post by **Barrataria** » Tue Oct 16, 2007 2:55 am

I hope Steve and Davis see this thread, as I think I remember learning that they are related to Claire Chennault. Which is maybe why you posted this here anyway, but if not I thought I'd mention it.

BB

Ghul · Post by **Ghul** » Tue Oct 16, 2007 10:50 am

Hear, hear, gentlemen, and you have my condolences. My gramps served as well. He passed away in 1994, but he told me all the stories of the Big One so many times, they are forever part of me, and I'll share them with my kids. He was an opinionated one, my grandfather, and he wasn't shy about it AT ALL. Greatest generation, I do concur.

Omote · Post by **Omote** » Tue Oct 16, 2007 4:37 pm

Condolences and a salute to a hero. The Greatest Generation earned that title with every utterance of the label.

I was lucky enough to get to talk to my grandfather about his time in WWII. I always remember his stories and the way he looked when he was telling those stories. A great, great man.

My grandfather, Raymond M Grimm, was part of the 8th Air Force attack on Schweinfurt, Germany on October 14, 1943, a day that would go down in history as "Black Thursday." Raymond Grimm was a Flight Engineer and a B-17 flying the mission that day. 291 B-17s left England, 60 bombers were lost. My Grandfather's B-17 was recorded as one of the first planes hit in the bombing runs that day, however his plane was one of the last to go down.

Raymond Grimm was lucky enough to parachute out of his burning aircraft, where he landed hard on a rocky formation fracturing his sturnum. Raymond Grimm and other parachuting pilots were captured by the Nazi's the same day and sent to one of the Stalag prison camps where he was a POW for almost 2 years. He was rescued by the US Army.

The greatest of generations.

.................................................Omote

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gideon_thorne · Post by **gideon_thorne** » Tue Oct 16, 2007 4:47 pm

Barrataria wrote:
I hope Steve and Davis see this thread, as I think I remember learning that they are related to Claire Chennault. Which is maybe why you posted this here anyway, but if not I thought I'd mention it.

BB

Yes, they are related to the Chenault military family who were involved in the Flying Tigers.

I met "Pappy" Boyington once upon a time when doing a WWII reenactor thing in El Centro.

Course, another fellow we knew for a number of years locally was a Doctor Wilson, one of the last living members of the original Buffalo Soliders, which were officially disbanded in 1946 or so.
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Fat Dragon Games · Post by **Fat Dragon Games** » Tue Oct 16, 2007 4:49 pm

Omote wrote:
Condolences and a salute to a hero. The Greatest Generation earned that title with every utterance of the label.

I was lucky enough to get to talk to my grandfather about his time in WWII. I always remember his stories and the way he looked when he was telling those stories. A great, great man.

My grandfather, Raymond M Grimm, was part of the 8th Air Force attack on Schweinfurt, Germany on October 14, 1943, a day that would go down in history as "Black Thursday." Raymond Grimm was a Flight Engineer and a B-17 flying the mission that day. 291 B-17s left England, 60 bombers were lost. My Grandfather's B-17 was recorded as one of the first planes hit in the bombing runs that day, however his plane was one of the last to go down.

Raymond Grimm was lucky enough to parachute out of his burning aircraft, where he landed hard on a rocky formation fracturing his sturnum. Raymond Grimm and other parachuting pilots were captured by the Nazi's the same day and sent to one of the Stalag prison camps where he was a POW for almost 2 years. He was rescued by the US Army.

The greatest of generations.

.................................................Omote

FPQ

I am currently involved with a book project about Schweinfurt. If you can provide me with a serial number or the name of the B-17 he was on I'll be happy to look through the material and send you copies of any photos I have of it.
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Fat Dragon Games
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Castles & Crusades...more D&D than D&D.

Fat Dragon Games · Post by **Fat Dragon Games** » Tue Oct 16, 2007 4:52 pm

Barrataria wrote:
I hope Steve and Davis see this thread, as I think I remember learning that they are related to Claire Chennault. Which is maybe why you posted this here anyway, but if not I thought I'd mention it.

BB

Nope, wasn't aware of that. I posted it mainly because I've spent my entire adult life working with these incredible individuals and most people I run into don't have a clue what these guys went through and did for this country. I just hate the idea of what they did being forgotten-I volunteer at my son's school a few times a month and none of these kids have a clue about this country's history.
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Fat Dragon Games
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Castles & Crusades...more D&D than D&D.

Ghul · Post by **Ghul** » Tue Oct 16, 2007 4:53 pm

Great story, Omote, thanks for sharing.

gideon_thorne · Post by **gideon_thorne** » Tue Oct 16, 2007 5:03 pm

While I grew up with a lot of soldiers from a variety of different theatere's, the stories that impact the most are the ones from my own family who grew up in england during the war. Its a whole different perspective getting accounts from a 'child's' view.

There's a movie out there called Hope and Glory, for anyone who wants to see a solid representation of what my parents childhood was like growing up in that situation.

Course, the look on my folks faces when we went to see Chronicles of Narnia, and the not exaggerated (according to them) view of bomber planes overhead tells a lot.

I had an uncle or two who were soldiers during WWII. But the rest of the family was either old enough to remember WWI and live through that, or too young to serve in WWII.
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Treebore · Post by **Treebore** » Tue Oct 16, 2007 5:59 pm

One thing that always blew me away about my Grandfather. He was one of the guys who went in and "prepped" the beaches, and then drove the "landing vehicle", bringing in Marines again and again.

I know what the fatality rate on those drivers for the landing vehicles were, I also had not known he preppted the beaches before the landings took place.

Yet he always insisted he wasn't a hero. The other guys were.
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johns · Post by **johns** » Tue Oct 16, 2007 6:07 pm

My grandfather served in a MASH unit in occupied Japan. He was a radiologist who helped take care of the Hiroshima survivors. Lots of interesting stories.

CharlieRock · Post by **CharlieRock** » Tue Oct 16, 2007 6:28 pm

You'll never notice a hero's presence more then when it is not there.
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Prince of Happiness · Post by **Prince of Happiness** » Tue Oct 16, 2007 6:51 pm

I remember when I was stationed in Keesler, MS, I worked in the eye clinic, and being the regional medical center, we'd see a lot of vets come in (when we could, when they weren't getting the shaft when...better stop), and working on a fella who was in the Flying Tigers. I think I met a Flying Sergeant as well. Another fella was a Marine at "Frozen Chosun" and such force of presence, I was pretty sure, he could have snapped my neck like a twig.

What I recall most is that these guys carried themselves with verve and pep through ordeals that should and did wound many deep in their hearts.

Grandpa on my dad's side was a B-17 tail gunner in the war, then was in Korea and 'Nam. Grandma on my dad's side was in the Royal Canadian Air Force. When they met, she outranked him because the Canucks were in since '39. :p

Troll Lord · Post by **Troll Lord** » Thu Oct 18, 2007 6:56 pm

I'm not sure of my exact relationship to Gen. Claire Chennault. He is of the Texas branch of SHEnalts and some type of 4th cousin or some such. Can't remember, I would have to ask my father as he knew that at one time or the other.

My hats off to the passing of another vet!

Steve
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Aladar · Post by **Aladar** » Thu Oct 18, 2007 7:15 pm

My hat is off as well to our honored soldiers who have passed on.

We have lost a lot of the greatest generation lately. My greatest highlight was when I was a young troop in 1979, I got to meet Gen. Omar Bradley before he died. Even though he was wheel-chair bound, he still had a commanding presence.

I had a neighbor when I was growing up who was like a second grandfather to me, who fought in WWI, WWII, and was an advisor during the Korean War. He had a lot of stories.