Battle of Midway Dive bomb pilot turns 100

[mako88sb]

Missed this somehow back in early March. Last surviving Dauntless pilot of that epic battle.

http://www.valleynewslive.com/home/h...371286561.html

[Torplexed]

Thanks for the link. They are down to a precious few. We owe a lot to those sharp eyed dive bomber pilots on that fateful day.

Checked the Enterprise's pilot's roster in the War in the Pacific game and there Norman Kleiss is.

[Jimbuna]

~SALUTE~

[Commander Wallace]

Birthday Greetings to Navy pilot Dusty Kleiss .


Quote : Dusty successfully dropped bombs on two of four Japanese aircraft carriers in the famous Battle of Midway.

As Torplexed said, we owe these gentleman a great deal for their sacrifices.


Great article mako88sb.

Big salute to Dusty and thanks.

[Aktungbby]

(You simply Do not put a big red dot on two ship's decks-Kaga and Hiryu- for a boy from Coffeyville Kansas(the Dalton gang demise at the hands of citizens) who could shoot a BB gun before he could ride a bike...and whose Aunt Helen was the Women's Shotgun Campion of Kansas.)

Kleiss took aim at a big red circle on the Kaga.

"I released a 500-pound bomb at 1,500 feet (instead of the usual 2,500 feet) (and) my two 100-pound incendiaries at 1,000 feet," he wrote in the diary.

Barely managing to make the pullout because he dived so low to be sure and hit, "When I glanced back, I saw an explosion in progress on the big red circle, or rather a big one and a little one of greater intensity. A second later, the entire ship was a mass of flames 100 feet high."

Kleiss also scored a hit(1 of five) on the cruiser Mikuma causing its destruction.

[vienna]

The sad truths are there are so very few of these great Americans left to tell their stories and there are so few of them left to hear the thanks of the people they defended. Those of my generation were fortunate enough to either have had family members who served or to be around others who served; the current generations only know them as subjects of films or as very old veterans who seem from a time long ago and very far away, not really knowing or understanding the lives they live today, with the freedoms and benefits of living in this country, once hinged on their efforts and their sacrifices. Some years ago, I heard some young person asking why such a fuss was being made over some old vet who fought in "some old war"; maybe if the kid was taken aside and told how everything we have today is here because of those old vets and what they did in "some old war", how when we thank them, its not just for serving, its for everything we are, everything we have, and everything we have hoped for...

Dusty, thank you for your service and really, sincerely, thanks for everything...


<O>

[mako88sb]

Sad news as Dusty passed away a few days ago:
http://www.cnn.com/2015/11/11/us/wor...norman-kleiss/

RIP sir. Thanks for your fantastic contribution to such a pivotal battle

[Commander Wallace]

I'm very sorry to hear of the passing of Dusty. He and his generation who fought with the allies in WW2 are all hero's.

Rest in Peace Dusty.

[Jimbuna]

Blue Skies Dusty