Edit: OP selected RIP flare. They’ve since changed it.
The RTE notification really had me in the first half. But he’s happily celebrating his birthday which was nice.
What a life. Say he’s lots of stories
You’d love to sit and have a pint with a man like that and hear all their old war stories and to think what all he has seen in his 105 years. I use to love listening to my grannies stories about the Belfast Blitz and rationing. Fascinating.
So impressive. Live long and prosper.
Turn coat.. I betcha his Nanny took the soup.
“Paddy”. Fuck’s sake.
I’ve been on a bit of a WW2 kick recently (I think inspired by Masters of the Air) and being a pilot during the war seemed like a mostly horrible task. The death rate was insane and the conditions seemed shite
I have just finished a book called ‘Irish Men and Women in the Second World War’ by Richard Doherty, which I recommend (the author the son of a WW2 veteran).
He makes the case that ‘Paddy’ was often a term of affection (different times!) among the Allies in WW2 and did not normally have the negative connotation that we associate with the word today.
Anyway, it is a great book and highlights the incredible contributions these heroic Irish people made in the fight against Hitler. The chapter on the Irish fighter pilots especially is worth the price of the book alone.
Cant imagine doing that at 21 or any age. Flying a small plane into a hail a gunfire with a very high probability of death.
10 comments
Rip?
Edit: OP selected RIP flare. They’ve since changed it.
The RTE notification really had me in the first half. But he’s happily celebrating his birthday which was nice.
What a life. Say he’s lots of stories
You’d love to sit and have a pint with a man like that and hear all their old war stories and to think what all he has seen in his 105 years. I use to love listening to my grannies stories about the Belfast Blitz and rationing. Fascinating.
So impressive. Live long and prosper.
Turn coat.. I betcha his Nanny took the soup.
“Paddy”. Fuck’s sake.
I’ve been on a bit of a WW2 kick recently (I think inspired by Masters of the Air) and being a pilot during the war seemed like a mostly horrible task. The death rate was insane and the conditions seemed shite
I have just finished a book called ‘Irish Men and Women in the Second World War’ by Richard Doherty, which I recommend (the author the son of a WW2 veteran).
He makes the case that ‘Paddy’ was often a term of affection (different times!) among the Allies in WW2 and did not normally have the negative connotation that we associate with the word today.
Anyway, it is a great book and highlights the incredible contributions these heroic Irish people made in the fight against Hitler. The chapter on the Irish fighter pilots especially is worth the price of the book alone.
Cant imagine doing that at 21 or any age. Flying a small plane into a hail a gunfire with a very high probability of death.
What a legend. Free speed Captain, keep her lit