Airpark Veterans Day dedication honors WWII operators
HURLBURT FIELD - Nearly 100 people gathered in the airpark Veterans Day for the dedication of a plaque honoring the 801st/492nd Bombardier Group Carpetbaggers of World War II.
The ceremony was attended by WWII veterans, their families and base personnel. Col. Mark Alsid, 1st Special Operations Wing vice commander, was also in attendance.
Sebastian Corriere, president of the 801st/492nd Bombardier Group Association, welcomed everyone to the ceremony.
"Keeping a promise we made 25 years ago at a dedication on a very rainy day, I will try to keep my speech down to a few words," he said.
True to his word, he thanked everyone for attending and then handed the floor to retired Col. Rudy Bestro, one of the original pilots of Operation Carpetbagger.
Colonel Bestro spoke of a trip he took a few years ago to Harrington in Northampton England.
"I went back to look at my old base and was amazed to see that the hedge at the end of shortest runway still had the double grooves created by our wheels as we took off," he said. "I thought, maybe that hedge is waiting for the return of our guys who didn't make it."
He reminisced about the danger of the mission they flew and how hard it was to know some friends wouldn't be coming back.
"I think the one thing any enemy of this country should remember is that Americans keep going and going, and they never stop until the victory is ours," he said.
The purpose of Operation Carpetbagger was to deliver supplies and personnel to resistance groups in enemy occupied countries. They flew 3,000 sorties, delivered 4,811 tons of cargo and dropped 556 special agents to the underground in Europe.