July 25, 2024
Volume 54 - No. 30
Spirits in the Sky
My Ride in D-Day Doll
By Mark Carlson There are many reasons to love flying, not the least of which is the ability to view the world from a great height, as well as travel to far-flung places in a short time. But I like a different sort of flying than most people would recognize. I like flying in warbirds. Vintage warbirds, aircraft that have long since been obsolete and removed from the military inventory. Long since, as in more than seventy years. Yes, that means being in an airplane built long before I was even born. Since about 2010, I have had the op-
portunity to get rides in more than half a dozen different warbirds, the famous Boeing B-17 flying Fortress, North American B-25 Mitchell, and even a Ford 5AT Trimotor that was built in 1929. No, I don’t ride in them because they are comfortable or quiet, in fact, they do not even have flight attendants to serve coffee and peanuts. They are noisy and shake, rattle and even roll a bit. But boy, I never turn down a chance to get into one of these old warbirds. This is the story of my ride in a very special plane. Not only was it a warbird, it actually flew across the
The Paper • 760.747.7119 online: www.TheCommunityPaper.com
email: thepaper@cox.net
English Channel on the predawn of June 6, 1944 to carry paratroopers over Occupied France for the initial phase of the D-day Allied Invasion of France. It was in this plane, named D-day Doll, in which I spent time with the Spirits in the Sky. As a writer and supporter of the Commemorative Air Force (CAF) and the cause of vintage warbird preservation I was always happy to be welcomed around these cherished relics of a bygone era. They are rare now, and most lie in static
displays in museums. A few still fly, and are very popular at airshows. Thousands of people far too young to have lived during the Second World War flock to shows to see and hear these wonderous machines that helped to keep freedom alive. Standing under the broad wing of a B-17 or running my fingers along the sleek cowling of a P-51 is my way of touching the past. A few months ago I wrote a story for a national magazine entitled “Date with a Doll,” the history of Inland Empire CAF’s veteran C-53D
D-Day Doll See Page 2