Danger41 Posted July 27, 2012 Posted July 27, 2012 I saw this on the NBC show "Rock Center" the other night and had never heard of this man. It was the story of Billy Fiske. He was an Olympic Gold Medalist in 1932 (Olympian in 1928) who also carried the flag in the opening ceremonies of the '32 games. He faked Canadian citizenship to fight for the RAF and was the first American born citizen to be killed in World War 2. Link to a short version of the story: https://video.msnbc.m...310493#48310493 Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia....iki/Billy_Fiske
SocialD Posted July 28, 2012 Posted July 28, 2012 Good stuff! If you haven't read Unbroken, I highly recommend it. A book about Louis Zamperini, who was an olympian, that went on to be a Navigator. It tells an awesome survival story after going down in the Pacific. https://www.amazon.com/Unbroken-World-Survival-Resilience-Redemption/dp/1400064163/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1343484985&sr=8-1&keywords=unbroken 1
Champ Kind Posted July 28, 2012 Posted July 28, 2012 an olympian, that went on to be a Navigator. Talk about a step back! 5
Stitch Posted July 30, 2012 Posted July 30, 2012 I saw this on the NBC show "Rock Center" the other night and had never heard of this man. It was the story of Billy Fiske. He was an Olympic Gold Medalist in 1932 (Olympian in 1928) who also carried the flag in the opening ceremonies of the '32 games. He faked Canadian citizenship to fight for the RAF and was the first American born citizen to be killed in World War 2. Link to a short version of the story: https://video.msnbc.m...310493#48310493 Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia....iki/Billy_Fiske I saw that report! Pretty cool.
SocialD Posted July 30, 2012 Posted July 30, 2012 He faked Canadian citizenship to fight for the RAF and was the first American born citizen to be killed in World War 2. I forgot to mention, here is a good book about a guy who fought for the RAF, even before the Eagle squadrons. It has everything we all love...flying, fucking and drinking. It's really eye opening to see the loses those dudes experienced. Spitfires, Thunderbolts and Warm Beer: An American Fighter Pilot over Europe. https://www.amazon.co...by+Philip+Caine
aceart Posted July 31, 2012 Posted July 31, 2012 A little more info on Fiske and the others that headed off to the RAF. Cover story for the Nov. Dec. 2010 issue of World War II mag. (flogging my own pub here). Anyone that hates reading too much stuff online, I'll send you a copy, just send me the info. Happy to do it. https://www.historynet.com/a-few-americans-in-the-battle-of-britain.htm
gmwalk Posted July 31, 2012 Posted July 31, 2012 You should also read "The Few" by Alex Kershaw. He writes about Billy Fiske and other Americans that went to England to fight in the Battle of Britain. 2
HuggyU2 Posted July 31, 2012 Posted July 31, 2012 You should also read "The Few" by Alex Kershaw. He writes about Billy Fiske and other Americans that went to England to fight in the Battle of Britain. Excellent recommendation. A guy in our squadron is related to Fiske, and passed on this book to me. Good story.
M2 Posted August 1, 2012 Posted August 1, 2012 You should also read "The Few" by Alex Kershaw. He writes about Billy Fiske and other Americans that went to England to fight in the Battle of Britain. Agreed.
aceart Posted August 1, 2012 Posted August 1, 2012 You should also read "The Few" by Alex Kershaw. He writes about Billy Fiske and other Americans that went to England to fight in the Battle of Britain. Great read. That's why we had Alex write the piece for the magazine.
gmwalk Posted February 20, 2014 Posted February 20, 2014 Thread bump: Unbroken is coming out as movie around Christmas, this year. Trailer: https://www.runnersworld.com/general-interest/watch-trailer-for-unbroken-released?cm_mmc=Facebook-_-RunnersWorld-_-Content-News-_-UnbrokenRelease
morenoj135 Posted February 20, 2014 Posted February 20, 2014 Talk about a step back! What else could he do? He knew how to read, do math and who his parents really were. 2
gmwalk Posted July 3, 2014 Posted July 3, 2014 Louis Zamperini has died at 97. LOS ANGELES -- Louis Zamperini, an Olympic distance runner and World War II veteran who survived 47 days on a raft in the Pacific after his bomber crashed, then endured two years in Japanese prison camps, has died. He was 97. Zamperini's death was confirmed by Universal Pictures studio spokesman Michael Moses. A family statement released early Thursday said Zamperini had been suffering from pneumonia. https://espn.go.com/olympics/story/_/id/11171984/war-hero-olympian-louis-zamperini-dies-97
17D_guy Posted July 4, 2014 Posted July 4, 2014 Got to hear Louis tell his story in person. What an amazing man and Godspeed.
DUNBAR Posted July 14, 2014 Posted July 14, 2014 (edited) When a chaplain recommended "Unbroken" to me, I was pretty skeptical. I felt like I just didn't need to hear any more about all the brutality of WW2, and the whole notion of the book seemed like a snooze. Wow was I wrong. Please read this book if you get the chance. You can tell I feel strongly about it, as I have sacrificed my vaunted "69 posts" status in order to recommend it. Edited July 15, 2014 by DUNBAR 1
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