P-51 Fighter Pilot to Talk about Lonely Combat against Reich

John Gaston of Newcastle, Wyoming, was all alone each day as he flew his P-51 Mustang fighter out of Lesina-Foggia, Italy, as a member of the 325th Fighter Group known as the Checkertail Clan.  His mission was to take on German aces, some of the best pilots in the world, in one-on-one aerial combat.

     Immersed in solitude, he made every decision himself, even as flak and small-arms fire above the battlefield meant that he might die alone as well.  His memoir A Pilot’s Story was published last August.

       On Saturday, May 14, he and daughter Harmony will visually recount his experiences at Ellsworth Air Force Base’s South Dakota Air and Space Museum beginning at 9 am, a free event sponsored by the Black Hills Veterans Writing Group .