Up until now, I haven't had the time to really focus on Dave Carey's A-4E. So, I'm sketching myself back into the groove, getting the feel for the airplane's fantastic lines. Here's my latest study. I'm not quite "there" yet.
Anyway, this is the airplane Carey was flying when he was hit by a Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) over North Vietnam, in 1967. He ejected and began a 5 and a half year life as a Prisoner of War.
Ironically, I spent part of yesterday with former Senator George McGovern. Most remember him as a front-stage "anti-war" politico of the era. Far fewer know him as a combat pilot himself, flying B-24s over Europe in WW2.
It's too bad I couldn't have talked to them both over the same table - they're both students of leadership, of history and are patriots. Maybe some day.
But in the meantime, I look at Carey's Skyhawk with a different eye, knowing he served his nation with so much controversy back home and endured captivity under a rabid enemy.
Though #315 is a few weeks from being finished, I look forward to learning more about what makes Carey tick and representing his machine as well as I can. As a student of history, I'm grateful for the front seat.
