July 27, 201213 yr I saw this on the NBC show "Rock Center" the other night and had never heard of this man. It was the story of Billy Fiske. He was an Olympic Gold Medalist in 1932 (Olympian in 1928) who also carried the flag in the opening ceremonies of the '32 games. He faked Canadian citizenship to fight for the RAF and was the first American born citizen to be killed in World War 2. Link to a short version of the story: https://video.msnbc.m...310493#48310493 Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia....iki/Billy_Fiske
July 28, 201213 yr Good stuff! If you haven't read Unbroken, I highly recommend it. A book about Louis Zamperini, who was an olympian, that went on to be a Navigator. It tells an awesome survival story after going down in the Pacific. https://www.amazon.com/Unbroken-World-Survival-Resilience-Redemption/dp/1400064163/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1343484985&sr=8-1&keywords=unbroken
July 30, 201213 yr I saw this on the NBC show "Rock Center" the other night and had never heard of this man. It was the story of Billy Fiske. He was an Olympic Gold Medalist in 1932 (Olympian in 1928) who also carried the flag in the opening ceremonies of the '32 games. He faked Canadian citizenship to fight for the RAF and was the first American born citizen to be killed in World War 2. Link to a short version of the story: https://video.msnbc.m...310493#48310493 Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia....iki/Billy_Fiske I saw that report! Pretty cool.
July 30, 201213 yr He faked Canadian citizenship to fight for the RAF and was the first American born citizen to be killed in World War 2. I forgot to mention, here is a good book about a guy who fought for the RAF, even before the Eagle squadrons. It has everything we all love...flying, fucking and drinking. It's really eye opening to see the loses those dudes experienced. Spitfires, Thunderbolts and Warm Beer: An American Fighter Pilot over Europe. https://www.amazon.co...by+Philip+Caine
July 31, 201213 yr A little more info on Fiske and the others that headed off to the RAF. Cover story for the Nov. Dec. 2010 issue of World War II mag. (flogging my own pub here). Anyone that hates reading too much stuff online, I'll send you a copy, just send me the info. Happy to do it. https://www.historynet.com/a-few-americans-in-the-battle-of-britain.htm
July 31, 201213 yr You should also read "The Few" by Alex Kershaw. He writes about Billy Fiske and other Americans that went to England to fight in the Battle of Britain.
July 31, 201213 yr You should also read "The Few" by Alex Kershaw. He writes about Billy Fiske and other Americans that went to England to fight in the Battle of Britain. Excellent recommendation. A guy in our squadron is related to Fiske, and passed on this book to me. Good story.
August 1, 201213 yr You should also read "The Few" by Alex Kershaw. He writes about Billy Fiske and other Americans that went to England to fight in the Battle of Britain. Agreed.
August 1, 201213 yr You should also read "The Few" by Alex Kershaw. He writes about Billy Fiske and other Americans that went to England to fight in the Battle of Britain. Great read. That's why we had Alex write the piece for the magazine.
February 20, 201411 yr Thread bump: Unbroken is coming out as movie around Christmas, this year. Trailer: https://www.runnersworld.com/general-interest/watch-trailer-for-unbroken-released?cm_mmc=Facebook-_-RunnersWorld-_-Content-News-_-UnbrokenRelease
February 20, 201411 yr Talk about a step back! What else could he do? He knew how to read, do math and who his parents really were.
July 3, 201411 yr Louis Zamperini has died at 97. LOS ANGELES -- Louis Zamperini, an Olympic distance runner and World War II veteran who survived 47 days on a raft in the Pacific after his bomber crashed, then endured two years in Japanese prison camps, has died. He was 97. Zamperini's death was confirmed by Universal Pictures studio spokesman Michael Moses. A family statement released early Thursday said Zamperini had been suffering from pneumonia. https://espn.go.com/olympics/story/_/id/11171984/war-hero-olympian-louis-zamperini-dies-97
July 14, 201411 yr When a chaplain recommended "Unbroken" to me, I was pretty skeptical. I felt like I just didn't need to hear any more about all the brutality of WW2, and the whole notion of the book seemed like a snooze. Wow was I wrong. Please read this book if you get the chance. You can tell I feel strongly about it, as I have sacrificed my vaunted "69 posts" status in order to recommend it. Edited July 15, 201411 yr by DUNBAR
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