Thanks to Flight Member Mark Dougherty, our Flight enjoyed a fantastic presentation by Mr. Bob “Punchy” Powell.

Lt. “Punchy” Powell shared some neat stories about himself and fellow airmen of the “Mighty Eighth” Air Force.  Hearing this hero and Greatest Generation member share his “there I was” stories about flying the P-47 and P-51, was a very special event for our flight. 

“Punchy”, a native of Wilcoe, West Virginia, talked about flying his plane, The West “by Gawd” Virginian with the 328^th Fighter Squadron, and the famous 352^nd Fighter Group “Bluenose Bastards of Bodney”.  From being in a 2-ship shooting down an Me 110 and in a 3-ship taking out an He (Heinkel) 177 Bomber, to spotting young ladies riding horseback in the England country side, this poetic speaker had us on the edge of our seats the entire presentation.

Once again, you should have been there!

We are proud to say “Punchy” completed his Daedalian application the next week and is now our Flight Membership Committee Chairman. 

Note:  “Punchy” edited the recently published Bluenoser Tales, a fantastic book of 352^nd Fighter Group War Stories. Instructions on how to order this book can be found our “FCIF” page.

Here are a couple of photos from this outstanding meeting:
 

Bruce & Punchy with Bluenoser Tales	Capt Maclane presents Punchy Powell's Gift	Flt Capt Maclane inducting Johnson, Webb, Keithley, Tushek	Guest Speaker Punchy Powell	Members hover around Punchy
Punchy and Mark