I always love a cup of coffee and a sweet on Saturday morning. (The sweet is a cake donut now due to calorie limitations.) I went to Mazzetti's Bakery. I prepared a coffee and ordered a cake doniut. Space was limited so I took a seat across from a distinguished-looking older man. We started to talk. I found out that his name was Ed. He had graduated from the University of California Davis in 1950. He was in Air Force pilot training when the Korean War started. He was trained to fly the F-86 Sabre jet. After graduating and getting his wings, he was sent to Japan. He picked up his jet fighter and flew it to a base in South Korea. He soon found himself flying missions over North Korea and into" Mig Alley." Ed was soon surprised to find that as soon as a Mig pilot saw a Sabre Jet they turned tail and made a run for Manchuria where US planes could not follow. His hopes of becoming an "Ace" by shooting down several Migs was thwarted. Instead he was ass
igned to bomb and strafe targets in North Korea. He knocked out so many locomotives that he thought that he should get locomotive symbols on the side of his airplane. Ed was ordered to stay above 1,000 feet when making these ground attacks. One day he went down lower and made a bombing run. After he pulled up he noticed pain in one of his legs. He soon realized that shrapnel from one of his own bombs had hit him. He was able to fly his plane back to base and land it. When he was taken to the hospital the doctor told him he was lucky that the shrapnel had not punctured an artery and caused him to bleed to death. Ed was awarded a Purple Heart for his wound. Ed left the Air Force when his enlistment was up. He worked as an engineer. He married and raised children. His grand children describe him as a true hero. I agree with them. Ed is 83 years young and an incredible man who I admire very much.
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