I met a 3 war veteran.

[skosh69]

On my return trip from Tucson, I struck up a conversation with the guy seated on my right. It turns out USAF Col (Ret) William "Bill" Bellamy was a veteran of 3 wars and most of his children and some grandchildren followed his footsteps and joined the Air Force also.

Some of the stories he told me were that:

1) He survived WWII as a B-24 tailgunner.
2) He was a F-86 Sabre pilot during the Korean War.
3) Lastly, he was a F-4 Phantom pilot during the Vietnam War, where he survived being shot down and was rescued by a Marine Recon Patrol. He said he was 44 yrs old when he flew his last mission. I saw a tear roll down his cheek when he was telling stories about his friends that were KIA during Vietnam.

He told me stories about how he got his pilots license while flying a Curtiss bi-plane. How he got to Fly the infamous P-51 Mustang. How he trained to fly the B-36, B-47 and B-52's.

He went on to be an engineer at McDonnell-las as well as Hughes Aviation.

I wish our flight was longer as an hour was not enough time getting to know Mr. Bellamy.

I tell you this story so that the next time you're on a flight, train or even standing in line and you see an "ol timer", strike up a conversation with them, you might be surprised who you end up talking with!!!