On the first day at my job many years ago, I met an RAF pilot, who commented
on my "Spitfire". What the hell was an RAF pilot doing in my small town in
Michigan?, I wondered. Turns out, as a 17 year old American kid, of French
decent, he couldn't wait to fight, but mostly wanted to fly. So he made his
way to Canada and lied about his age, and probably a few other things, and
volunteered for the Canadian service. At some point he was mustered out to
England as a pilot. His name was Orlo Schatte. He was probably in his late
50's at the time. He would sit in his office, smoking his cigarette,
telling me stories of action and adventure, while the ash on the ciggy grew
long and added to the tension by making me wonder when it would finally fall
off. Now... I can spot Bullshit a mile away. This guy was legit. Most of
his stories were about his (and his mates') errors and stupid moves, not
about how many kills they made. Things like victory rolls over the
airfield, flying under bridges, and other acts of bravado that they usually
paid some kind of price for. Oh, he would explain technically how the guns
worked, what maneuvers you would make in combat, etc. A great guy...and I
met him because I drove a Triumph Spitfire.
> ----------
> From: Vic Whitmore[SMTP:vicwhit@home.com]
> Reply To: Vic Whitmore
> Sent: Tuesday, February 15, 2000 9:45 AM
> To: Mark Gardner
> Cc: Zach; spitfires@autox.team.net
> Subject: Re: Only slightly off topic
>
>
> The museum is at Hendon. It is very very good. I visited it over ten years
> ago
> and really enjoyed it. But if you are not a flying buff, it may not
> interest
> you.
>
> Vic Whitmore
> 76 Spitfire
> Thornhill, Ontario
>
> Mark Gardner wrote:
> >
> > Zach wrote:
> > >
> > > Greetings fellow pre-NASC members,
> > >
> > > I was just wondering if the boundless knowledge could be of use yet
> again.
> > > You see, I'm traveling to England, well, London to be precise, next
> week
> > snip
> >
> > Zach - If you have the time and the transportation go to the RAF Museum
> > just north of London - can't remember the name of the city - starts with
> > a B I think - can anybody from the home team help Zach out?
> >
> > Regards,
> >
> > Mark Gardner
>
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