The Men of the 13th TAS

       This pilot entered the world on a kitchen table in a small Nebraska town in 1919. It wasn't easy for this lad as his mother died while giving him life. Life was hard but he and his father always seemed to make ends meet. In August of 1936 a barnstorming "flying circus" came to Hall County. After a wingwalker fell to his death the flying troop needed a brave young man to replace him. The money was badly needed for the farm and soon he was traveling with the show! He learned to fly and in just several years, the world would go to war!

      World War II broke out in Europe and his barnstorming days came to an end. He signed up for the Army Air Corps and the rest is history in the making! After shooting down four Messerschmitt 109's in a single engagement with the JG2 "Richthoven" sqaudron his squadmates nicknamed him "Thunder". The name stuck and having been transfered to the 13th Tactical Aero Squadron his reputation and killing ability grows. The P-51 is his plane of preference and as he wings up with his new found friends the call "SHOWTIME!" rings through the headset. That's when the "THUNDER" starts!