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b - One in a series of tributes t o ' me r be r s ' o f " The Great sr
Generation" who served our country during World War II .
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Vaughn Manning always wanted to fly. After he Sometimes for fun, we would buzz their quarters area
graduated from Lampassas High School and was knocking the coconuts off the trees and onto their
drafted in 1943, he took and passed the flight exam tents with our propeller wash. When they buzzed us,
• and started flight school. "I was soon flying B -25's they did it flying upside down."
with only seventy hours of flight time. The war was on "In the summer of 1945 we were in he a.
and pilots were needed, no matter how inexperi- Philippine loading our planes and equipment on ' rzi
at enced." ships to head to Japan. We weren't looking forward to
Manning was also trained to and did fly the P -38. it because we knew what the Japanese did to downed
He was initially stationed in the Maccabees Islands in pilots - they executed them. When we heard about the
• the Pacific and his primary job was to fly the P -38 on bomb, we knew that it had probably saved most of our
• reconnaissance flights to Guadalcanal and Borneo. lives."
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The flight time to Borneo and back was eight After being discharged, Manning continued to fly
hours so it put a real strain on a P -38's fuel tanks. • as an instructor pilot. "One Sunday morning as I was
Flying over all that open water with low fuel, bad taking a student pilot up, I flew over this little church
weather and limited navigation was tense. You hoped with the people gathering for service. It was then that
and prayed that you had enough fuel to get back and I realized that my life was there and not in the air." ;;
• that you were on the right course." Manning entered Baylor and after graduation, the
Manning ended up at Mauritius Island which was seminary. He has served as a Baptist minister .since
partially held by the Japanese. His job was to fly low 1952. He served as the Director of the Creath- Brazos
level reconnaissance so that enemy traffic on the Baptist Association and retired from the ministry as
beaches, and other activities could be monitored. the pastor of the First Baptist Church of Franklin in
"One day while flying just above the beach, I 1993.
• looked up and there was another plane dead ahead Vaughn Manning has served his God and his
• doing the same thing. I had to twist the plane so hard country well. His name can be found on the Brazos
I popped the mirror off. The other pilot never knew we Valley Veterans Park Memorial. If you would like to gg
almost collided." make a contribution or know of some veteran whose
Manning has fond memories of some of his fel- story should be published please contact the Brazos
low pilots to include the Australian pilots he served Valley Veterans Memorial at www.veterans-memori-
with. "The Australians' were tough and crazy. al.org or Bill Youngkin at 260 -7030.
am Vi
The.Eagle
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