My Arkansas, Then And Now

My Arkansas, Then And Now
Showing posts with label invasion stripes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label invasion stripes. Show all posts

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Veterans Day 2009


Here’s a picture of my father, Artie ‘Jack’ Cotner, U.S. Army Air Corps, taken in London, England just days before the D-Day Allied Invasion of Continental Europe. He and his flight crew led by Colonel McCloud in their B-26 Marauder, named “Dee-Feater” (in honor of Colonel McCloud’s wife, Dee). The crew logged more than 66 missions over the European Theater. On D-Day, the crew was seventeen minutes out ahead of the actually invasion force bombing key coastal targets along the French coast. The Dee-Feater, with its prominent white ‘invasion striped’ wings, is one of the planes often seen in the World War II film footage of the D-Day Invasion.

A salute to all Veterans this day for their service and sacrifice.