A few years ago, I wrote an editorial about a P-47 World War II pilot who I knew from my architect days in the northwest. Recently, those memories came flooding back when I was invited to hear firsthand stories from other P-47 pilots that flew together over Germany. Archie Matlbie, Ed Lopez and Ralph King are lifelong friends that share a bond stretching 70 years. Their real life war experience is something most of us can never fully appreciate but should. Each pilot’s story was nothing less than amazing. Two of the pilots had been captured and held prisoners of war by the Germans.
My wife found Archie “Lin” Maltbie’s story particularly interesting as he recounted a German plane breaking up in front of him, the debris of the Messerschmitt tore holes in his plane and caught his engine on fire. With the smell of fuel in the cockpit, he made the right choice to parachute out. He mentioned the need to survive to keep fighting with his friends (and to carry out his recent engagement to an English girl). He told us about his eight-day journey in occupied France, encounters with German soldiers, being forced to spend the night in a tree to avoid vicious wild boars and more. Maltbie was directed to destroy all his American ID, yet he was undaunted in his effort to get back to the allied lines.