When I painted my own RV in the colors of the 357th FG I did it SPECIFICALLY to honor the 90 plus men who died flying under those colors and because when I fly to any airport, people will ask what it means, this paint? Therefore giving me a chance to highlight and explain the sacrifices made by not only those men, but all those who fought for this nation. I will never make apologies for this nor give a second thought to anyone who has a problem with it. Either do it, or do not do it; Choice. It?s what makes us a free people. Those of us lucky enough to have known WWII vets, and especially pilots, have a perspective slowing dying away in the modern world. Many of those men never told their families of their trials. They did however, occasionally, tell friends, younger guys at the local airports. In moments of reflection as if they wanted to get something off their chests before they passed away. Those lucky few, we not only will remember those tales, but we want to pass them on so they will at least, on a small scale, not be forgotten.
So as far as painted a non-warbird like a fighter?wouldn?t I give a rat?s patootie if someone finds it offensive. Too bad for them. Get a life and change the channel as it were. I?ve known too many vets whose stories have gone untold to care that someone might misunderstand. This even goes for the ?bad guys? who fought for their own nations. Pilots, the world over, fought hard, died hard, and most were forgotten. Other than the few really famous ones, most of their names were totally forgotten, days, if not weeks after their death. They are not even a foot note in the history they died to create. We all know the Chuck Yeager?s and the Bud Anderson?s. But few of us know the names of 1000s of men who flew once, maybe twice, and never came home. They are lost to history.
Too many people tie all this stuff up in the politics behind it. Then men in the field, they were not fighting for Roosevelt or Hitler or Eisenhower. They were fighting for their buddy in the bunk next store, their friends, their families and their homes. And their sacrifices should be views in that light.