Stamatakos' bravery saved their plane, the Mis-Behavin', and their lives, Rainoldi said.

Every thing about this story is awesome.

Impressed.

/for 27 years people have been trying to kill me!
//people who know how!

So many of the people we call heroes don't feel like they did anything that anyone else wouldn't do. This in no way diminishes the act. Hero tag indeed.

R.A.Danny: So many of the people we call heroes don't feel like they did anything that anyone else wouldn't do. This in no way diminishes the act. Hero tag indeed.

This, in fact, defines the word Hero. A word that in my opinion is thrown about so casually these days that the meaning of the word is almost zero.

I wonder if this was the same plane: Nose Art from 'Mis Behavin' (NSFW!)

R.A.Danny: So many of the people we call heroes don't feel like they did anything that anyone else wouldn't do. This in no way diminishes the act. Hero tag indeed.

Agreed. This man is a badass and a hero in every sense of the word.

/inb4 "soldiers aren't heroes" trolls

Thanks Subby, enforces that compared to these guys, i'm a douche.

slim pickens approves

Kyosuke: I wonder if this was the same plane: Nose Art from 'Mis Behavin' (NSFW!)

That kicks ass.

Unimpressed.

/Well, I've been to one world fair, a picnic, and a rodeo, and that's the stupidest thing I ever heard come over a set of earphones.

Straddling an open bomb bay at 20,000 feet

Hey? Where's Major Kong?

/obligatory

Wow. I'm all hot and bothered now!

Dammit.

Done in by a comment and a quote.

Amazing. The hero tag often gets misused, but this guy is the real deal.

capturedforlife

Thanks Subby, enforces that compared to these guys, i'm a douche.


Must... avoid... obvious... response...

:-)

Got 41 minutes to kill?

TheShavingofOccam123: Dammit.

Done in by a comment and a quote.

Oh, that's OK. You've just given the thread its inevitable "Hey, did anybody post a pic of Slim Pickens riding the bomb yet?" opening.

That said, I'm glad this guy got recognized. I've seen too many people overlooked for recognition and this makes up for it a little bit.

And they gave him a silver star for it. I don't know how many farkers know how high an honor that is, even if it is 60+ years late.

My hat is off to you, sir.

Balls of steel, indeed. I would have shat my pants before I even picked up the axe.

This guy is a hero indeed. Even his name, Stamatakos of Okemos, sounds vaguely mythological...in a Clash of the Titans way.

FTFA:

"The rushing air had spun a small propeller on the bomb's nose, arming the device"

I was going to post something saying that it wasn't as dangerous as all that, since the little propeller thingy's hadn't spun and armed the bomb. holy shiat, that guy had big ones to wack a bomb. wow.

You remember what you were doing when you were 19?
Jesus hell... when I hear about the kinds of things these kids done over there it makes me feel like such a friggin pansy.

You crazy bastard, thanks.

"He survived 31 missions with the 8th Air Force, flying out of England."

Wow, that is a feat that not many accomplished.

I have had the pleasure of meeting quite a few of these heros at airshows. My most memorable meeting was when I got to talk to Col. Robert Morgan, the pilot of the Mephis Belle. What an incredible and humble person.
I have been lucky enought to fly in various WWII aircraft, a P-51, B-17 and B-24 to name a few. During flight, I wondered to myself if I would have had the steel ones to be in combat and endure some of the things these men went through. I wondered if I would have been a sniviling ball of tears curled up in the fetal position. It really is impossible to comprehend the sacrafice that these brave men gave. The losses in the Air Corps was higher than any other branch. The prospects of completing a tour of duty wasn't very good, especially in the begining prior to the avent of the long rang fighter escort.
If you haven't yet, I suggest that you go to the bookstore and read some of the first hand accounts of what these guys experienced. I really don't think that we will ever see that kind of courage again. Today's technology has removed the kind of danger that they faced. Yes, you can still get killed, but in a much much different way than they did. Simply awsome.

"Hey, somebody get The Greek!"



"Whaddya want?"

/would love to read that memoir

Get off my plane!

These blockbusters only go off if you hit them juuuust right.

/hot like WWII Nose Art

FTFA: He survived 31 missions with the 8th Air Force

That in and of itself is impressive. I don't gamble, but if I had survived 31 bombing raids over occupied Europe, I'd be hitting Vegas or AC as soon as I got back to the States.

Guys don't have big balls like that anymore.

Manhigh: These blockbusters only go off if you hit them juuuust right.

/hot like WWII Nose Art

You Sir, Are a magnificient bastard.

/I was just thinking of that cartoon while scrolling down.

"My wife and I came home, and there was a letter from the Department of the Army. I wondered what they wanted with me -- I'm 84 years old," Stamatakos said.

You're lucky they didn't retroactively stop-loss your ass.

Old_Chief_Scott: TheShavingofOccam123: Dammit.

Done in by a comment and a quote.

Oh, that's OK. You've just given the thread its inevitable "Hey, did anybody post a pic of Slim Pickens riding the bomb yet?" opening.

That said, I'm glad this guy got recognized. I've seen too many people overlooked for recognition and this makes up for it a little bit.

I really thought it was classy of Clinton to go back and find Medal of Honor winners who were denied the medal due to their race. Pretty neat.

My Grandfather was a B-17 pilot (he flew Gus's Pup with the 487th bomb group out of Lavenham) told me of doing the same thing with a screwdriver.

Another time his aircraft lost hydraulics and was going to land with no brakes. He took off his parachute and had the tail gunner strap it to something toss it out the tail hatch when they touched down - it was enough to stop them just past the end of the runway.

Grandad had all kinds of cool stories (bro).

Joy25: Guys don't have big balls like that anymore.

I'm sure plenty would be willing to show you otherwise.

Brave and very lucky. For every medal won for bravery in combat there are hundreds if not thousands of deserving individuals whose untold story was not witnessed, reported or remembered...

dreadprophet: R.A.Danny: So many of the people we call heroes don't feel like they did anything that anyone else wouldn't do. This in no way diminishes the act. Hero tag indeed.

Agreed. This man is a badass and a hero in every sense of the word.

/inb4 "soldiers aren't heroes" trolls

A soldier isn't a hero for being a soldier, but i think it's pretty hard to argue this guy isn't a hero, balls of steel indeed!

The same thing happened to my uncle. He was a turret gunner on a B-17. They had a bomb stuck in the bomb bay. He crawled down there and released it. I believe he was awarded the DFC for that.
My uncles and father never spoke about the war much. Lots of good stories are buried with them.

After several swings, the shackle released the armed bomb. It hit a small island in the middle of a river.
"We couldn't have hit that with a bombsight," he said.

Priceless...

Dancin_In_Anson: Got 41 minutes to kill?

I don't right now, but this is totally a bookmark.

Molavian: Joy25: Guys don't have big balls like that anymore.

I'm sure plenty would be willing to show you otherwise.

Off topic. Didn't AC/DC have a song about big balls? I remember my uncle listening to that. My ten year old brain had questions about that song.

Joy25: Guys don't have big balls like that anymore.

You say this^^ and yet your profile says:

25 year old recent college graduate who just discovered Fark. I have lots of time at work to waste here. Go easy on me guys.

I'm a proud Texas girl who occasionally wears a cowboy hat. I'm pretty middle of the road politically and socially.

Can you smell the bullshiat you're cooking?

Dancin_In_Anson: Got 41 minutes to kill?

Got a long afternoon?

Stories from the 91st

/Had to drop the bombs today. Toggleer went nuts.

devine: And they gave him a silver star for it. I don't know how many farkers know how high an honor that is, even if it is 60+ years late.

My hat is off to you, sir.

pfffft, what, he couldn't do enough for the Gold Star?

Greatest Generation, indeed. Your country salutes you, sir.

Molavian: "My wife and I came home, and there was a letter from the Department of the Army. I wondered what they wanted with me -- I'm 84 years old," Stamatakos said.

You're lucky they didn't retroactively stop-loss your ass.

Stop loss what farking stop loss. You were in for the duration of the war back then.

Snarky Acronym: My uncles and father never spoke about the war much. Lots of good stories are buried with them.

My grandfather was the same way. He had a few amusing tales about non-combat situations, but he never talked about the fighting. As kids, we knew that he disliked 4th of July fireworks because of bad memories, but that was it.

But at some point, as he got into his 70's, he typed out a long memior of his time in Italy, and gave copies to his two kids. No explanation, no conversation about the stories in there; just what was written. I have my own copy now.

Wow. Just wow.

KhamanV: I don't right now, but this is totally a bookmark.

Produced in 1943. Taken on "the last mission of the Memphis Belle"...That's a little inaccurate as the last mission was a "milk run" over Lorient, France. #24 was a raid on Wilhelmshaven. Regardless, the footage was all taken during combat and some of the scenes are chilling.

Something I also found interesting was the mission plan discussed around 15:30 into the film.

I have met many a veteran and as I sit in awe of them, they all say that they just had a job to do and did it to the best of their ability.