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Pacific Historian
Gordon Gayle dies at 95; received Navy Cross for attack on Peleliu
By Tony Perry, Los Angeles Times
May 19, 2013, 5:56 p.m.
Retired Marine Brig. Gen. Gordon Gayle, who received the Navy Cross for leadership and bravery during the assault on Peleliu, one of the bloodiest and most complex and controversial battles fought by Marines during World War II, has died. He was 95.
Gayle died April 21 at an assisted-living facility in Farnham, Va., after suffering a stroke, according to the U.S. Marine Corps.
As an officer with the 1st Marine Division, Gayle led troops in five key battles in World War II, starting with Guadalcanal in 1942, where Marines, after weeks of fierce jungle fighting, stopped the advance of Japanese troops toward Australia.
By the time Marines were ordered to assault Peleliu in the Palau islands in September 1944, Gayle had been promoted to major and was commanding officer of the 2nd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment. The Marines faced rugged island terrain, stifling heat and a smart, resilient enemy.
The "Two-Five," as the unit was known, was given the task of seizing a heavily defended area near an airfield, a key objective of the assault.
"Immediately after repulsing a strong Japanese counterattack, Maj. Gayle skillfully seized the critical moment to cross the Peleliu airdrome, personally leading his battalion in the assault over 1,400 yards of open ground in the face of intense hostile mortar, artillery and machine-gun fire," according to the citation for the Navy Cross bestowed on Gayle.
Although wounded, Gayle refused to be evacuated. His bravery "contributed materially to the success with which his battalion seized and held the major portion of the airfield," according to the citation.
Promoted to lieutenant colonel in November 1944, he was an instructor at the command and staff school at Quantico, Va. After World War II, he had several assignments, including as assistant director of the Marine Corps history division.
Assigned to Korea in September 1951, he was executive officer of the 7th Marine Regiment during the height of the fighting. He received a Navy Commendation Ribbon.
After returning from Korea, Gayle had assignments involving recruiting, long-range planning, Marine history, and as deputy assistant chief of staff for Marine forces in Japan. He retired in 1968.
Gayle's account of Peleliu, "Bloody Beaches: The Marines at Peleliu," provides a detailed, dispassionate look at the hardships and horrors of an assault against a well-fortified enemy redoubt. Gayle mentions his own role only in passing.
"1st Division Marines," Gayle wrote, "peering over the gunwales of their landing craft saw an awesome scene of blasting and churning earth along the shore. Smoke, dust and the geysers caused by exploding bombs and large-caliber naval shells gave optimists some hope that the defenders would become casualties from such preparatory fires...."
That optimism, Gayle wrote, was soon shown to be misplaced, and the Marines were forced to fight yard by yard. An attack that was predicted to be complete in days instead took two months.
While praising the Marines, Gayle shows respect for the Japanese tactics and determination. "Rather than depending upon spiritual superiority, they would combine the devilish terrain with the stubborn, disciplined Japanese soldiers to relinquish Peleliu at the highest cost to the invaders."
Although hardly a debunking account, Gayle notes that the assault was hampered by supply problems, disagreements among top officers, "friendly fire" casualties and "confusion and delay."
"Every advance opened the advancing Marines to new fire from heretofore hidden positions on flanks, in rear, in caves above or below nearly won ground," he wrote. After four days, "the 1st Marines was a regiment in name only, having suffered 1,500 casualties."
Eight Marines received the Medal of Honor for their actions on Peleliu, five of them posthumously. Gayle was among 69 Marines who received the Navy Cross, the second-highest award for combat heroism.
The battle at Peleliu remains controversial, with some historians saying it was not worth the sacrifices and that military brass knew at the time that the island was of minimal strategic value and could be bypassed.
In the final portion of "Bloody Beaches," Gayle acknowledges the lingering dispute but does not dwell on it. Taking Peleliu away from the Japanese, he wrote, "was a convenience but not a necessity." He notes that it was a Navy plane working out of Peleliu that spotted survivors of the Indianapolis, which had been sunk by a Japanese submarine after delivering the atomic bomb to Tinian in preparation for the attack on Hiroshima.
Gordon Donald Gayle was born in Tulsa, Okla., on Sept. 13, 1917. His father was in the oil business, and Gayle grew up in Louisiana, Texas and Oklahoma.
After briefly attending Southern Methodist University in Dallas, he transferred to the U.S. Naval Academy. He graduated in 1939 and received a commission in the Marine Corps.
In one of his last assignments, Gayle was part of a study group that called for better training and better integration of infantry and air power. Many of that study's recommendations remain integral to Marine doctrine for what is called the air-ground task force approach to warfare that was used in Iraq and Afghanistan.
After retiring, Gayle spent three years at the Center for Strategic and International Studies at Georgetown University and taught mathematics at a prep school.
Gayle's wife, Katherine Frank Gayle, died in 2004. He is survived by a daughter, two sons, eight grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. A third son died in 1971.
[email protected]
By Tony Perry, Los Angeles Times
May 19, 2013, 5:56 p.m.
Retired Marine Brig. Gen. Gordon Gayle, who received the Navy Cross for leadership and bravery during the assault on Peleliu, one of the bloodiest and most complex and controversial battles fought by Marines during World War II, has died. He was 95.
Gayle died April 21 at an assisted-living facility in Farnham, Va., after suffering a stroke, according to the U.S. Marine Corps.
As an officer with the 1st Marine Division, Gayle led troops in five key battles in World War II, starting with Guadalcanal in 1942, where Marines, after weeks of fierce jungle fighting, stopped the advance of Japanese troops toward Australia.
By the time Marines were ordered to assault Peleliu in the Palau islands in September 1944, Gayle had been promoted to major and was commanding officer of the 2nd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment. The Marines faced rugged island terrain, stifling heat and a smart, resilient enemy.
The "Two-Five," as the unit was known, was given the task of seizing a heavily defended area near an airfield, a key objective of the assault.
"Immediately after repulsing a strong Japanese counterattack, Maj. Gayle skillfully seized the critical moment to cross the Peleliu airdrome, personally leading his battalion in the assault over 1,400 yards of open ground in the face of intense hostile mortar, artillery and machine-gun fire," according to the citation for the Navy Cross bestowed on Gayle.
Although wounded, Gayle refused to be evacuated. His bravery "contributed materially to the success with which his battalion seized and held the major portion of the airfield," according to the citation.
Promoted to lieutenant colonel in November 1944, he was an instructor at the command and staff school at Quantico, Va. After World War II, he had several assignments, including as assistant director of the Marine Corps history division.
Assigned to Korea in September 1951, he was executive officer of the 7th Marine Regiment during the height of the fighting. He received a Navy Commendation Ribbon.
After returning from Korea, Gayle had assignments involving recruiting, long-range planning, Marine history, and as deputy assistant chief of staff for Marine forces in Japan. He retired in 1968.
Gayle's account of Peleliu, "Bloody Beaches: The Marines at Peleliu," provides a detailed, dispassionate look at the hardships and horrors of an assault against a well-fortified enemy redoubt. Gayle mentions his own role only in passing.
"1st Division Marines," Gayle wrote, "peering over the gunwales of their landing craft saw an awesome scene of blasting and churning earth along the shore. Smoke, dust and the geysers caused by exploding bombs and large-caliber naval shells gave optimists some hope that the defenders would become casualties from such preparatory fires...."
That optimism, Gayle wrote, was soon shown to be misplaced, and the Marines were forced to fight yard by yard. An attack that was predicted to be complete in days instead took two months.
While praising the Marines, Gayle shows respect for the Japanese tactics and determination. "Rather than depending upon spiritual superiority, they would combine the devilish terrain with the stubborn, disciplined Japanese soldiers to relinquish Peleliu at the highest cost to the invaders."
Although hardly a debunking account, Gayle notes that the assault was hampered by supply problems, disagreements among top officers, "friendly fire" casualties and "confusion and delay."
"Every advance opened the advancing Marines to new fire from heretofore hidden positions on flanks, in rear, in caves above or below nearly won ground," he wrote. After four days, "the 1st Marines was a regiment in name only, having suffered 1,500 casualties."
Eight Marines received the Medal of Honor for their actions on Peleliu, five of them posthumously. Gayle was among 69 Marines who received the Navy Cross, the second-highest award for combat heroism.
The battle at Peleliu remains controversial, with some historians saying it was not worth the sacrifices and that military brass knew at the time that the island was of minimal strategic value and could be bypassed.
In the final portion of "Bloody Beaches," Gayle acknowledges the lingering dispute but does not dwell on it. Taking Peleliu away from the Japanese, he wrote, "was a convenience but not a necessity." He notes that it was a Navy plane working out of Peleliu that spotted survivors of the Indianapolis, which had been sunk by a Japanese submarine after delivering the atomic bomb to Tinian in preparation for the attack on Hiroshima.
Gordon Donald Gayle was born in Tulsa, Okla., on Sept. 13, 1917. His father was in the oil business, and Gayle grew up in Louisiana, Texas and Oklahoma.
After briefly attending Southern Methodist University in Dallas, he transferred to the U.S. Naval Academy. He graduated in 1939 and received a commission in the Marine Corps.
In one of his last assignments, Gayle was part of a study group that called for better training and better integration of infantry and air power. Many of that study's recommendations remain integral to Marine doctrine for what is called the air-ground task force approach to warfare that was used in Iraq and Afghanistan.
After retiring, Gayle spent three years at the Center for Strategic and International Studies at Georgetown University and taught mathematics at a prep school.
Gayle's wife, Katherine Frank Gayle, died in 2004. He is survived by a daughter, two sons, eight grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. A third son died in 1971.
[email protected]
Vassili Zaitzev
Master Sergeant
Wildcat
Major
S/L "Tony"Gaze sadly passed away on the 29th.
Squadron Leader Tony Gaze OAM DFC** (WWII Ace Grand Prix driver)
Squadron Leader Tony Gaze OAM DFC** (WWII Ace Grand Prix driver)
vikingBerserker
Lieutenant General
Flight Lieutenant Tony Snell
Flight Lieutenant Tony Snell, who has died aged 91, was shot down in his Spitfire over Sicily and escaped from a German firing squad. Recaptured, he leapt from a train and finally escaped over the Alps into neutral Switzerland.
On July 10 1943 Snell was patrolling over the beachhead after the Sicily landings when a force of Messerschmitt fighters attacked him. His Spitfire was hit and he had to make a forced landing on enemy territory. He managed to avoid capture and tried to return to the beachhead after dark, managing to convince a group of Italian soldiers that he was a Vichy Frenchman. Later he was challenged by a German patrol that ordered him to put his hands up. Without warning they rolled a hand grenade towards him but he managed to jump clear and run off, followed by more grenades.
He hid in scrub and realised that he was in a minefield, out of which he picked his way towards a track. There he blundered into a German airfield very near the battle area, and was captured. The Germans decided to execute him as a spy, marched him to an open space and ordered him to kneel down. Realising that he was about to be shot, he leapt up and ran off as the Germans fired. He was badly wounded, his right shoulder being smashed, but he managed to escape.
He tried to make the Allied lines but, owing to extreme weakness, his attempt failed. Re-captured at dawn he was again threatened with execution but managed to prove his identity. He was taken to hospital and later transferred by ship to Lucca in Tuscany, where he remained for two months being treated for his wounds.
The Germans decided to transfer him to Germany by train. Although not fully recovered, he made plans to escape en-route. In company with another officer, he jumped from the train as it slowed at a junction and the two headed south. For the next week they had several narrow escapes before joining up with Italian partisans. With their help they reached Modena, where families sheltered them for several months. When they were fit, the two decided that they should head for the Swiss border.
They made a long and risky train journey, accompanied by their Italian friends, to a small village near the frontier where they were introduced to two guides. After a very long and steep climb over the mountains, they crossed the frontier into Switzerland. They were interned until October 1944 when the American advance from the south of France reached the Swiss border. Snell was awarded the DSO, one of very few awarded exclusively for escaping from the enemy.
Anthony Noel Snell was born in Tunbridge Wells on March 19 1922 and educated at Cheltenham College. He joined the RAF in November 1940 and trained in the United States as a pilot under the US/UK bilateral "Arnold" Scheme. In July 1942 he joined No 242 Squadron flying Spitfires. Three months later he headed for North Africa, where the squadron covered the landings of Operation Torch. Over the next few months the squadron provided support for the First British Army as it headed eastwards to Tunis. Snell flew air interception sorties and convoy patrols. With German air activity reducing, bomber escort and ground attack strafing operations predominated until the final Axis collapse on that front in May 1943.
The squadron moved to Malta to prepare for the invasion of Sicily. As the Allies launched their amphibious and airborne landings on July 10, Snell took off to provide cover over the beachhead.
On his return to Britain, Snell spent time in hospital before returning to flying duties. He converted to the Meteor jet fighter and flew with No 504 Squadron (later re-numbered No 245), which moved to Germany just after the war finished. Snell remained with the squadron until August 1946, and was discharged from the RAF shortly after.
For 20 years afterwards Snell was an actor and songwriter. He toured a one-man show around Africa and, with his wife Jackie, travelled the United States and Mexico in a Volkswagen bus. In New York he recorded an album of his songs, Englishman Abroad, half of which were written by him, with the others by his friend, Donald Cotton, the author of early Doctor Who scripts.
In 1966 he returned to England, bought a catamaran, sailed it with his wife to Spain, and set up a business giving day charters out of Ibiza. Three years later he moved to the British Virgin Islands (BVI) and established Virgin Voyages with three boats; but this was not a success and he and his wife opened a restaurant, The Last Resort, on Jost van Dyke. After a year the restaurant was burnt down and they returned to Ibiza to sell their catamaran before heading back to BVI to reopen The Last Resort on Bellamy Cay, a tiny island in Trellis Bay, Tortola. While living on a houseboat, they built the restaurant from scratch on the ruins of a derelict building.
Snell co-owned the restaurant and bar and provided most of the entertainment, playing the guitar, the piano and the chromatic harmonica, singing songs (many of his own composition) and never fully grasping the meaning of political correctness; Jackie was chief cook.
The restaurant was just one product of a buccaneering business spirit. During their three decades in the Caribbean they also bought a large derelict hotel in New Hampshire that now houses 12 apartments, travelled to Bali to buy furniture for the hotel, bought a cottage in Sussex and an investment property in Brighton.
Although his family eventually took over The Last Resort, Tony Snell – relentlessly energetic – was still entertaining there until just a few weeks before his death.
His wife predeceased him in 2001, and he is survived by their son and a daughter.
Tony Snell, born March 19 1922, died August 4 2013.
source: The Telegraph
Flight Lieutenant Tony Snell, who has died aged 91, was shot down in his Spitfire over Sicily and escaped from a German firing squad. Recaptured, he leapt from a train and finally escaped over the Alps into neutral Switzerland.
On July 10 1943 Snell was patrolling over the beachhead after the Sicily landings when a force of Messerschmitt fighters attacked him. His Spitfire was hit and he had to make a forced landing on enemy territory. He managed to avoid capture and tried to return to the beachhead after dark, managing to convince a group of Italian soldiers that he was a Vichy Frenchman. Later he was challenged by a German patrol that ordered him to put his hands up. Without warning they rolled a hand grenade towards him but he managed to jump clear and run off, followed by more grenades.
He hid in scrub and realised that he was in a minefield, out of which he picked his way towards a track. There he blundered into a German airfield very near the battle area, and was captured. The Germans decided to execute him as a spy, marched him to an open space and ordered him to kneel down. Realising that he was about to be shot, he leapt up and ran off as the Germans fired. He was badly wounded, his right shoulder being smashed, but he managed to escape.
He tried to make the Allied lines but, owing to extreme weakness, his attempt failed. Re-captured at dawn he was again threatened with execution but managed to prove his identity. He was taken to hospital and later transferred by ship to Lucca in Tuscany, where he remained for two months being treated for his wounds.
The Germans decided to transfer him to Germany by train. Although not fully recovered, he made plans to escape en-route. In company with another officer, he jumped from the train as it slowed at a junction and the two headed south. For the next week they had several narrow escapes before joining up with Italian partisans. With their help they reached Modena, where families sheltered them for several months. When they were fit, the two decided that they should head for the Swiss border.
They made a long and risky train journey, accompanied by their Italian friends, to a small village near the frontier where they were introduced to two guides. After a very long and steep climb over the mountains, they crossed the frontier into Switzerland. They were interned until October 1944 when the American advance from the south of France reached the Swiss border. Snell was awarded the DSO, one of very few awarded exclusively for escaping from the enemy.
Anthony Noel Snell was born in Tunbridge Wells on March 19 1922 and educated at Cheltenham College. He joined the RAF in November 1940 and trained in the United States as a pilot under the US/UK bilateral "Arnold" Scheme. In July 1942 he joined No 242 Squadron flying Spitfires. Three months later he headed for North Africa, where the squadron covered the landings of Operation Torch. Over the next few months the squadron provided support for the First British Army as it headed eastwards to Tunis. Snell flew air interception sorties and convoy patrols. With German air activity reducing, bomber escort and ground attack strafing operations predominated until the final Axis collapse on that front in May 1943.
The squadron moved to Malta to prepare for the invasion of Sicily. As the Allies launched their amphibious and airborne landings on July 10, Snell took off to provide cover over the beachhead.
On his return to Britain, Snell spent time in hospital before returning to flying duties. He converted to the Meteor jet fighter and flew with No 504 Squadron (later re-numbered No 245), which moved to Germany just after the war finished. Snell remained with the squadron until August 1946, and was discharged from the RAF shortly after.
For 20 years afterwards Snell was an actor and songwriter. He toured a one-man show around Africa and, with his wife Jackie, travelled the United States and Mexico in a Volkswagen bus. In New York he recorded an album of his songs, Englishman Abroad, half of which were written by him, with the others by his friend, Donald Cotton, the author of early Doctor Who scripts.
In 1966 he returned to England, bought a catamaran, sailed it with his wife to Spain, and set up a business giving day charters out of Ibiza. Three years later he moved to the British Virgin Islands (BVI) and established Virgin Voyages with three boats; but this was not a success and he and his wife opened a restaurant, The Last Resort, on Jost van Dyke. After a year the restaurant was burnt down and they returned to Ibiza to sell their catamaran before heading back to BVI to reopen The Last Resort on Bellamy Cay, a tiny island in Trellis Bay, Tortola. While living on a houseboat, they built the restaurant from scratch on the ruins of a derelict building.
Snell co-owned the restaurant and bar and provided most of the entertainment, playing the guitar, the piano and the chromatic harmonica, singing songs (many of his own composition) and never fully grasping the meaning of political correctness; Jackie was chief cook.
The restaurant was just one product of a buccaneering business spirit. During their three decades in the Caribbean they also bought a large derelict hotel in New Hampshire that now houses 12 apartments, travelled to Bali to buy furniture for the hotel, bought a cottage in Sussex and an investment property in Brighton.
Although his family eventually took over The Last Resort, Tony Snell – relentlessly energetic – was still entertaining there until just a few weeks before his death.
His wife predeceased him in 2001, and he is survived by their son and a daughter.
Tony Snell, born March 19 1922, died August 4 2013.
source: The Telegraph
michaelmaltby
Colonel
A life well and fully lived. 
Alex .
Airman 1st Class
RIP sir!
Soldier
Airman
VERN HENRY HANSER (sgt. 209th FA) Aleutian Islands
Vern Henry Hanser, long time resident of Olathe, Kansas was called to his heavenly home September 28, 2012. A Celebration of Life service will be held on Tuesday, October 2, 2012 at 10:00 am at Community Bible Church, 1304 N. Parker, Olathe, Kansas, with burial to follow at the Pleasant Valley Cemetery in Stanley. Visitation will be held from 6:00 to 8:00pm, October 1, 2012, at Penwell-Gabel Funeral Home, Olathe. In lieu of flowers memorial contributions may be made to Community Bible Church TRUST BIG building fund, or Olathe Medical Center Hospice House.
Vern was born May 10, 1921 at Merwin, Missouri to August John and Lizzie Mae (Ellis) Hanser. He served our country in the Army in the Aleutian Islands and Fort Meade, Maryland during WWII. He was married to Geneva Hiatt in 1947 and together they raised 3 children. He was a fireman with the Federal Government serving as Assistant Fire Chief at the Olathe Naval Air Station and as Crew Chief at Richard Gebaur Air Force Base until his retirement in 1986. He owned his own painting business in Olathe for many years finally retiring at the age of 80. He was a member of Masonic Lodge 19 and Abdullah Shrine and a member of the American Legion Post 153 and had attended Community Bible Church since 1997.
Vern Henry Hanser, long time resident of Olathe, Kansas was called to his heavenly home September 28, 2012. A Celebration of Life service will be held on Tuesday, October 2, 2012 at 10:00 am at Community Bible Church, 1304 N. Parker, Olathe, Kansas, with burial to follow at the Pleasant Valley Cemetery in Stanley. Visitation will be held from 6:00 to 8:00pm, October 1, 2012, at Penwell-Gabel Funeral Home, Olathe. In lieu of flowers memorial contributions may be made to Community Bible Church TRUST BIG building fund, or Olathe Medical Center Hospice House.
Vern was born May 10, 1921 at Merwin, Missouri to August John and Lizzie Mae (Ellis) Hanser. He served our country in the Army in the Aleutian Islands and Fort Meade, Maryland during WWII. He was married to Geneva Hiatt in 1947 and together they raised 3 children. He was a fireman with the Federal Government serving as Assistant Fire Chief at the Olathe Naval Air Station and as Crew Chief at Richard Gebaur Air Force Base until his retirement in 1986. He owned his own painting business in Olathe for many years finally retiring at the age of 80. He was a member of Masonic Lodge 19 and Abdullah Shrine and a member of the American Legion Post 153 and had attended Community Bible Church since 1997.
Hey, I just read that famed aviation author Bill Gunston has passed. RIP
I am saddened to announce the sudden passing of mjr Antoni Tomiczek age 98 surrounded by his loving friends and family. Antoni passed away on Tuesday, November 19th.
He was the last surviving pilot who flew with supplies for the Warsaw Uprising. He made five flights over occupied Poland during the period August-December 1944. He was awarded Cross of Valour with bar.
Have a Blue Sky, Major...
He was the last surviving pilot who flew with supplies for the Warsaw Uprising. He made five flights over occupied Poland during the period August-December 1944. He was awarded Cross of Valour with bar.
Have a Blue Sky, Major...
Attachments
fubar57
General
michaelmaltby
Colonel
Capt. William Overstreet Jr. passed away at a hospital in Roanoke.
He famously flew his plane beneath the Eiffel Tower in Nazi-occupied Paris in 1944, lifting the spirits of French troops on the ground.
In 2009, he was presented France's Legion of Honor.
A World War II fighter pilot who gained fame for dramatically flying beneath the Eiffel Tower's arches to take down a German aircraft has died aged 92.
William Overstreet Jr. died on Sunday at a hospital in Roanoke, Virginia, according to his obituary, but there was no indication of the cause of his death.
Overstreet's famously flew his P-51C 'Berlin Express' beneath the Eiffel Tower in Nazi-occupied Paris in 1944, which has been credited with lifting the spirits of French Resistance troops on the ground.
Before the ceremony, Overstreet had previously said that, if he lived long enough to receive the Legion of Honor, he would be accepting it in memory of his fallen brothers.
In particular, he wanted to pay tribute to a friend, Eddy Simpson, who died fighting the Nazis on the ground so his comrades, including Overstreet, could escape.
After the award was pinned to his lapel, Overstreet said: 'If I said, "Thank you," it wouldn't be enough,' before adding: 'What more than "thank you" do you need?'
For his valiant service, the French ambassador to the United States presented Overstreet with France's Legion of Honor at the National D-Day Memorial in Bedford in 2009.
Overstreet was also awarded hundreds of other medals for his service in the 357th squadron of the U.S. Army Air Forces, his obituary said.
He was born in Clifton Forge, Virginia in 1921 and after Pearl Harbor, he enlisted in the Air Corps as a fighter pilot.
By February 1942, he was a private and sent to California for flight training; here, his instructors prepared him for the unexpected mid-flight by cutting the engine as he landed. During training in 1943, he suffered a near-death crash when his plane, a Bell P-39 Airacobra, began spinning as he practiced maneuvers, and he was unable to control it.
He eventually forced his way out through the doors and found himself standing amid the wreckage.
When he flew in World War II, he suffered another freak accident when his oxygen line cut out as he flew 25,000 feet over France.
He passed out but snapped awake and controlled the plane and dodged trees in front of him to figure out where he was and land safely. Newspapers at the time reported that he could not remember a whole 90 minutes of the flight.
In the spring of 1944, he was following a German aircraft over Paris, with the two planes firing at each other. Overstreet eventually hit the other pilot's engine.
As the German pilot desperately sought to out-maneuver Overstreet, he flew beneath the Eiffel Tower - but the brave American flew directly beneath it and continued to fire.
The German plane crashed and Overstreet was able to escape the city.
The astounding show of skill and bravery lifted the spirits of the French, french dignitary, Bernard Marie, told the Roanoke Times.
He said he only fully understood the importance of Overstreet's feat when he spoke with his father about it.
'My father began shouting out me - "I have to meet this man",' Marie said. 'This guy has done even more than what people are thinking. He lifted the spirit of the French.'
After flying further missions, including a top secret escort mission, his tour of duty ended in October 1944 and he returned to the U.S. He went on to teach at a gunnery school in Pinellas, Florida and when he was released from active duty, he remained on the Reserves.
He went on to work as General Manager of Charleston Aviation in West Virginia before moving to Roanoke in 1950, where he worked as an accountant until he was 65.
Before his death, he also worked with numerous charities and veterans groups, appearing at air shows and gatherings with fellow veterans. He was preceded in death by his wife, Nita.
Anne Mason Keller, Overstreet's niece, said of her uncle: 'He was a fighter, he was always a perfect gentleman. He was concise, focused with a delightful sense of humor and a twinkle in his eyes.
'He was always humble. Whenever the press interviewed him, he said, "I didn't do anything, we were a team".'
His family has asked that those attending his memorial service on Saturday those wear something either or both red and yellow, his squadron's colors.
source: Mail Online
He famously flew his plane beneath the Eiffel Tower in Nazi-occupied Paris in 1944, lifting the spirits of French troops on the ground.
In 2009, he was presented France's Legion of Honor.
A World War II fighter pilot who gained fame for dramatically flying beneath the Eiffel Tower's arches to take down a German aircraft has died aged 92.
William Overstreet Jr. died on Sunday at a hospital in Roanoke, Virginia, according to his obituary, but there was no indication of the cause of his death.
Overstreet's famously flew his P-51C 'Berlin Express' beneath the Eiffel Tower in Nazi-occupied Paris in 1944, which has been credited with lifting the spirits of French Resistance troops on the ground.
Before the ceremony, Overstreet had previously said that, if he lived long enough to receive the Legion of Honor, he would be accepting it in memory of his fallen brothers.
In particular, he wanted to pay tribute to a friend, Eddy Simpson, who died fighting the Nazis on the ground so his comrades, including Overstreet, could escape.
After the award was pinned to his lapel, Overstreet said: 'If I said, "Thank you," it wouldn't be enough,' before adding: 'What more than "thank you" do you need?'
For his valiant service, the French ambassador to the United States presented Overstreet with France's Legion of Honor at the National D-Day Memorial in Bedford in 2009.
Overstreet was also awarded hundreds of other medals for his service in the 357th squadron of the U.S. Army Air Forces, his obituary said.
He was born in Clifton Forge, Virginia in 1921 and after Pearl Harbor, he enlisted in the Air Corps as a fighter pilot.
By February 1942, he was a private and sent to California for flight training; here, his instructors prepared him for the unexpected mid-flight by cutting the engine as he landed. During training in 1943, he suffered a near-death crash when his plane, a Bell P-39 Airacobra, began spinning as he practiced maneuvers, and he was unable to control it.
He eventually forced his way out through the doors and found himself standing amid the wreckage.
When he flew in World War II, he suffered another freak accident when his oxygen line cut out as he flew 25,000 feet over France.
He passed out but snapped awake and controlled the plane and dodged trees in front of him to figure out where he was and land safely. Newspapers at the time reported that he could not remember a whole 90 minutes of the flight.
In the spring of 1944, he was following a German aircraft over Paris, with the two planes firing at each other. Overstreet eventually hit the other pilot's engine.
As the German pilot desperately sought to out-maneuver Overstreet, he flew beneath the Eiffel Tower - but the brave American flew directly beneath it and continued to fire.
The German plane crashed and Overstreet was able to escape the city.
The astounding show of skill and bravery lifted the spirits of the French, french dignitary, Bernard Marie, told the Roanoke Times.
He said he only fully understood the importance of Overstreet's feat when he spoke with his father about it.
'My father began shouting out me - "I have to meet this man",' Marie said. 'This guy has done even more than what people are thinking. He lifted the spirit of the French.'
After flying further missions, including a top secret escort mission, his tour of duty ended in October 1944 and he returned to the U.S. He went on to teach at a gunnery school in Pinellas, Florida and when he was released from active duty, he remained on the Reserves.
He went on to work as General Manager of Charleston Aviation in West Virginia before moving to Roanoke in 1950, where he worked as an accountant until he was 65.
Before his death, he also worked with numerous charities and veterans groups, appearing at air shows and gatherings with fellow veterans. He was preceded in death by his wife, Nita.
Anne Mason Keller, Overstreet's niece, said of her uncle: 'He was a fighter, he was always a perfect gentleman. He was concise, focused with a delightful sense of humor and a twinkle in his eyes.
'He was always humble. Whenever the press interviewed him, he said, "I didn't do anything, we were a team".'
His family has asked that those attending his memorial service on Saturday those wear something either or both red and yellow, his squadron's colors.
source: Mail Online
