First Class War Hero

[CapnJim]

Ok, I've never been in First Class. Ever. I've never flown as a passenger, never been upgraded on a deadhead, nothing. I had a deadhead flight today though, Newark to Columbus, and I finally got one. Whoopie. A one hour flight on a 73, and that's my first 'first' upgrade. "Ah well" I'm thinking "At least it'll be a good nap". Still, it's leaps and bounds better than the bulkhead window I had before.

So I'm waiting for the flight, and an elderly couple comes into the gate area. As the man approaches, I notice his blue blazer has several pins on it and a large round patch near the hip pocket. I can see the pins, and they're impressive: Purple Heart, Airborne, Rifleman, etc. But then I have a look at the patch, and my jaw dropped right out of my head: This man was a Medal of Honor recipient!

I started a conversation with him, and he very kindly tolerated my curiosity and questions, but his wife was the one who really has the PR worked out; she had a small photo album with a newspaper cutout detailing what he had done to earn the Medal of Honor, and it was astounding. The man is nothing less than a real life John Wayne! Charged the hill not once, not twice, but three times, returning under enemy fire each time to get more ammo and charge again, killing thirteen enemy soldiers and ignoring his own wounds to pull his men out in the face of overwhelming superior forces. Astounding. Amazing. The guy could give baddass lessons to Chuck Norris. The more the man talked, the more dumbfounded and speechless I became. Literally, the only response I could think of (but of course not say) was "Holy ####!"

Eventually the gate agent made the announcement to start boarding, so I shook his hand, thanked him and his wife, and head toward the plane. I'm stuffing my gear in the overhead when I look behind me and there they are, in coach, in the same bulkhead row where I would have been sitting had I not been upgraded to first, and looking entirely uncomfortable. Obviously, this was intolerable. There was a couple of empty seats in first, so I told the lead flight attendant the situation and offered to retake my coach seat if it meant the man and his wife could sit in first. Score! He's ex Air force. Tells me to OK it with the Captain and it's good to go. I talked to the Captain, who stated flat out that he would love to see that happen, and put it back in my hands to clear it with the gate agent. Talked to the gate agent: Score again. She tells me, "Keep your seat hon! Three A and three B are empty- put ‘em there!" So I went back to the couple and told them what I'd been up to, and would they like to sit in first for the ride home? Of course, they were thrilled, which made me happy. Best of all, I got to keep my seat in first! As I drifted off, the last thing I remmeber was seeing the two of them enjoying thier pre-flight coffee and ginger ale. Bar none, best nap I've ever had on any plane.

P.S. Before we parted, the man gave me his card. I looked him up online just a minute ago. Here is his story:

http://www.homeofheroes.com/moh/cita..._a_rosser.html
http://www.southeast.k12.oh.us/vets/vets/rosser.htm

[JEP]

Dude, I get chills just reading that.

Kudo's to you for making the effort. 1st Class all the way. Where you were sitting and most of all, What You Were Willing To Do.

[ComplexHiAv8r]

What a story! We should be treating all our honored vets this way. I spend a few days with some WWII vets a few weeks ago. There isnt too many of them left but a great bunch of guys to just sit around and talk with.

I was surprised to hear the tape you had to clear to get them moved.

[SteveC]

Excellent!!!

[amorris311]

what a badass. makes chuck norris look like a scared little dog.

[tonyw]

Jimbo, that was a great move on your part as well. Way to get them upgraded.

[MQAAord]

Jim, the more I hear from you the more I like you.

That was the best thing I've heard done for a pax in a long, long time.


(Personally, I'll take an empty seat next to me in coach over first for a short-haul domestic flight. I'm too short to 'need' the legroom in 1st.)

[Aero_Engineer]

Very well done!! Great to know there are still people like you out there.

[FlyChicaga]

Well done Jim. You are a class act in my book.

[FlyNavy]

Well done. I hope your example inspires other people on to acts of kindness.

[CapnJim]

Thanks gang! I just did what I thought was right, Sgt. Rosser is the one really deserves the kudos.

I had to do more legwork to get it done because I was a regional guy on a mainline flight; people are funny about things sometimes. I had to tread lightly. Once I said 'Meadal of Honor' though, there was no question about intent.

[Fly4Pay]

Originally Posted by CapnJim

Ok, I've never been in First Class. Ever.

CapnJim, on behalf of us guys who will someday be the old military farts out there, thanks! And good on ya for being willing to give up the seat.

These WWII vets are awesome to talk to. I found out that the former pastor of my church used to be a "toggler" on B-17s. (Basically a bombadier without the training--he just pulled the lever when the other bombers dropped theirs!) The first time I ever talked to him about it, he was going along then said, "... and then after I was shot down, I ..."

WAIT A SEC! Go back to that "shot down" thing again!

Turns out he was shot down over France and evaded his way back to England after hooking up with the French Resistance. Wow!

Given my military background, he practically adopted me like a grandson or something. I brought him back flags that I had flown over Iraq, squadron coins, and so on, and bless his heart, the guy thinks they're the best thing since sliced bread.

If you know any of these WWII guys, get to know them. Time's a wastin'! All the good deals we have, we owe to these guys!

[mtsu_av8er]

Good Job, Jim.

[ready2fly]

Outstanding job, Jim!!

I had the chance to meet a Bronze Star receipient from WWII last week and I had the same feeling of awe.

You da man for what you did!!

[surreal1221]

Very good story. You'll never forget meeting him.

[CapnJim]

Thanks again guys.
Fly4Pay, you're dead on about the old vets. They are, bar none, some of the finest people on earth. I remember doing this 152 checkout with this funny old man; he had a Long Island accent, a bemused twinkle in his eyes, and a very direct and satirical way of asking for what he wanted. Basically, he was an 18 year old in a senior citizens body.

We were taxiing out, and he was handling things very deftly and confidently. I was ready so sign him off based on that alone, when he looks at me sideways and says, "Ya scared yet?"
I said, "Uh, no sir, not just yet!" He smirked, nodded and looked back at the instruments. We take the runway.
"Scared yet?"
"Well, no sir, not yet!"
Smirk and nod. We take off, carve around the pattern, and head south. Then, at about 1500 feet and 2 miles from the airport, he starts doing chandelles and accellerated stalls. With the stall horn blaring, he asks again: "OK, now ya scared?"
"Ummm, I'm getting there sir!" I should note, however, that the ball was nailed inside the cage. I mean, it didn't even wiggle! And our altitude was bang-on 500 feet, up and down. I couldn't stall within those parameters on my best day.

So he senses I'm a little nervous and heads back to the pattern for some touch and goes. He's totally in control now. I'm just along for the ride, a young punk kid who's gonna sign ths guy off whether I like it or not. He starts doing touch and goes. Abeam the numbers, throttle idle. No base leg, no final, just a long, sweeping curve that ended with zero airspeed, zero altitue, and exactly on the numbers. Every...single...time! Then it dawns on me: carrier patterns! He's flying carrier patterns!!

So I ask him: "Ahh, hey, were you in Corsairs?" (This was a guess. The Corsair had a long nose that required the sweeping-curve pattern. This allowed the carrier to be in sight until the last possible moment when the big nose had to be lifted up to flare) He says, "Yeah, I flew wanna dem once! How'd ya guess?" Turns out, this guy was a Navy fighter pilot in WWII!! He flew just about everything they had back then: Wildcats, Hellcats, Corsairs.. then later on, Panthers!

I became quite good friends with him, and the stories he told were nothing short of incredible. So if you get the chance to meet a vet, sit and talk with 'em for a while! You definitely will not be disspointed.

[jjm]

this is one of the best threads I've read here... nice job.
j

[Tim]

Outstanding job of honoring a vet like the guy. I think many of todays kids and some adults forget that the many of the elderly men today fought in Korea or WWII and should be honored and respected and you did just that. To many it may have been a small thing but possibly to the couple it was a big deal.
My great uncle was on Iwa Jima and he had some stories to tell. Unfortunately he passed before I could really ever understand the magnitude of what when on there and in the south pacific and WWII. I am sure I would have appreciated it tons more