Kenneth Schechter
His son, Rob Schechter, tells the Los Angeles Times that Schechter died on Dec. 11 in Fairfield, Calif. He had prostate cancer.
ENS Kenneth A. Schechter being awarded the DFC 40 years late. Presented by VADM Robert J. Spane Aboard USS Constellation (CV-64) September 1995
AVIATION PING
The Case of the Blind Pilot
By COMDR. HARRY A. BURNS, USN
Stunned and bleeding, Ken
Schechter was alone in his
Skyraider over North Korea. He
couldn’t even see, but he flew
back, with the help of a
guardian angel from the Yellow
Devil Squadron. The true story
of a combat miracle.
http://thebrownshoes.org/content/kenneth-%E2%80%9Cken%E2%80%9D-schechter
RIP.
RIP.
Story told in Men of the Fighting Lady. Van Johnso plays Thayer and Dewey Martin plays Schechter. Major differences in the movie were that the landing was on the carrier deck and the Fighting Lady was USS Yorktown (CV-10), not USS Valley Forge (CV-45).
Wow.Puts my trivial problems in a different perspective
Not to take anything away from him, but he wasn't the only one to land blind during the Korean war.
On September 17, 1050, Ensign Edward D Jackson, Jr. blind landed an F9F-2 Panther on the carrier Philippine Sea after flying into steel "booby trap" cables strung across the Han river.
The story is told in the current issue (March 2014) of Aviation History. This is one of their best issues yet!
To the grunts on the ground the SKY RAIDER was an angel of mercy. To the enemy it was the open gate to hell. The SKY RAIDER was down in the dirt with the grunts. Heaven is one angel better today because of that man that flew that wonderful beast of a ground attack aircraft.