His name was John Richards Plowden, but he preferred to be called "Dick." He was a charter member of the greatest generation, and he was my friend. He's gone now. I want to tell you a little about him and what he bequeathed to me.
Dick was a South Carolina boy, and when WWII broke out, he joined the Army with the intent of becoming an Air Corps fighter pilot. In training, he felt convinced he couldn't make it because his eyesight was not perfect. So he snuck into the shack that housed the eye chart and memorized the sequence of letters. He aced the eye exam.
With two years of college at Clemson University, he passed pilot training and qualified for a commission as an Air Corps second lieutenant. He was quickly assigned to the 86th Fighter-bomber Group in the European theater - they flew the "Jugs" - the P-47 fighter-bombers, whose primary mission was ground support. This is a pic of Lt. Plowden next to his plane, together with his crew chief.
Dick was engaged in many combat missions. During one of them, his engine was damaged by a flack burst and could no longer be controlled. He bailed out (no ejection seat in those days) and narrowly missed his tail section as he exited the cockpit.
He was right on the border between France and Germany, so as he parachuted down he was not sure if the assemblage gathering to meet him was French or German, but they swarmed around him. They soon had stripped him of his flight jacket and his boots - and they were French! It was winter and they needed warm clothing...
Returned to American lines, Dick served until the end of the war. During this time, he acquired a Walther PPK for personal protection. Here's a photo of it that I took at Dick's house in 2014. He and I had become good friends; both of us interested in guns and shooting.
On returning to civilian life, Dick finished his college degree at the Citadel and subsequently married. His wife of many years passed before he did.
In 2015, Dick asked if I would be his (required) guardian on an Honor Flight visit to DC, and I jumped at the chance. While there, Many WWII vets got to view the WWII memorial and the many other tributes to the military, including a visit to Arlington Cemetery. Here's a picture of Dick and me on the Potomac river across from the Washington Monument.
Dick continued to serve in the Air Force reserves and retired as a reserve Lt. Colonel.
Before he died in 2019, Dick made it a point to let me know that when he passed, his Walther PPK would become mine, and he was putting that provision in his will. I'm proud to own it as a memento of a fine man who served his country with distinction in its hours of need, and I was proud to call him a friend.
John
Dick was a South Carolina boy, and when WWII broke out, he joined the Army with the intent of becoming an Air Corps fighter pilot. In training, he felt convinced he couldn't make it because his eyesight was not perfect. So he snuck into the shack that housed the eye chart and memorized the sequence of letters. He aced the eye exam.
With two years of college at Clemson University, he passed pilot training and qualified for a commission as an Air Corps second lieutenant. He was quickly assigned to the 86th Fighter-bomber Group in the European theater - they flew the "Jugs" - the P-47 fighter-bombers, whose primary mission was ground support. This is a pic of Lt. Plowden next to his plane, together with his crew chief.
Dick was engaged in many combat missions. During one of them, his engine was damaged by a flack burst and could no longer be controlled. He bailed out (no ejection seat in those days) and narrowly missed his tail section as he exited the cockpit.
He was right on the border between France and Germany, so as he parachuted down he was not sure if the assemblage gathering to meet him was French or German, but they swarmed around him. They soon had stripped him of his flight jacket and his boots - and they were French! It was winter and they needed warm clothing...
Returned to American lines, Dick served until the end of the war. During this time, he acquired a Walther PPK for personal protection. Here's a photo of it that I took at Dick's house in 2014. He and I had become good friends; both of us interested in guns and shooting.
On returning to civilian life, Dick finished his college degree at the Citadel and subsequently married. His wife of many years passed before he did.
In 2015, Dick asked if I would be his (required) guardian on an Honor Flight visit to DC, and I jumped at the chance. While there, Many WWII vets got to view the WWII memorial and the many other tributes to the military, including a visit to Arlington Cemetery. Here's a picture of Dick and me on the Potomac river across from the Washington Monument.
Dick continued to serve in the Air Force reserves and retired as a reserve Lt. Colonel.
Before he died in 2019, Dick made it a point to let me know that when he passed, his Walther PPK would become mine, and he was putting that provision in his will. I'm proud to own it as a memento of a fine man who served his country with distinction in its hours of need, and I was proud to call him a friend.
John
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