Early early this morning I stumbled across a story about this vintage WWII flyover. I’m a little perturbed that the piece is a bit of an “aside.” So I’m gonna post ANOTHER reporter’s story, hoping maybe it’ll gain a bit of traction on all those spiders and search engines and such.

The Washington Post has a wonderful personal angle. Retired Air Force Col. Robert Vickers was among the 200 or so people who enjoyed the flyover from the ground.

The 84 year old was a bomber pilot. He told reporter Sopan Joshi about losing 3 of the 4 engines to enemy antiaircraft fire on his B-24 Liberator. The lone engine limped to safety — covered by some very courageous P-51 Mustang pilots who kept the Luftwaffe from downing Vickers and his aircraft.

Pointing in the direction of the three planes, Vickers added, “I’m no hero, just a survivor.”

Wow. That one quote from a WWII hero is worth an essay — or two or three or ten.

I think what strikes me most is that everyone needs a hero. And, all of us — if we’ll just step up at the right moment — can be a hero to someone else.

Flyover Harks Back To Europe And 1945 – washingtonpost.com