One Pilot's Story Began when He Was 19 Years Old

For many of the honored guests, The Last Time will bring together pilots of Douglas C-47s that flew in World War II--and several haven’t flown the airplane since they brought them back safely to the United States following the war.

Reunions for pilots and veterans of World War II just don’t happen that often anymore. What was once a regular occasion--to get together and reminisce about their shared experience--is now a rare occurrence. Visitors to The Last Time event at Whiteside County Airport, in Rock Falls, Illinois, on July 23-26, will have a chance to share this moving reunion with pilots like Jack Jackson, who commanded a C-47 during three missions towing American and British gliders during the D-Day invasion of Europe, and in the countless supply and evacuation missions that followed. Jackson will be flying to the reunion in order to share his experiences with fellow vets, and to once again fly in the airplane that he flew during the war.

File Photo

Jackson was 19 years old when he graduated from single-engine pilot training in April 1943. “I wanted to be a fighter pilot, so at the time, I was disappointed. In a short time, though, I was delighted with the assignment, the people I flew with and served with,” Jackson recalls. “The mission required precision flight--you had to drop the troops or the gliders precisely. It was a very demanding duty.” Jackson was assigned to the 72nd Troop Carrier Squadron; his unit stopped holding reunions almost 10 years ago, making The Last Time event a very special time indeed.

The year 2010 marks the 75th anniversary of the first flight of the iconic Douglas DC-3 and what is likely to be last time for a large reunion of aluminum and engines with the people that saw it all. The Last Time’s four-day reunion activities are free and open to the public, and general aviation aircraft parking and camping are available as well. All DC-3 aircraft will be parked together, and events include aircraft tours, public rides, free media rides, demonstrations, entertainment and music, extensive hangar flying and storytelling by all those invited to share the DC-3 experience—and a mass formation fly-by sure to be a record-setting event. The mass formation flight will launch from Whiteside County Airport on the afternoon of Monday, July 26.

FMI: www.thelasttime.org