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Former Carpetbagger visits MacDill


Patchcollector
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Patchcollector

Hi all,
I saw this on my local News today and thought it was neat.Keith Cole,a member of the 492nd Bombardment Group,the famous Carpetbaggers,visited MacDill AFB and spoke about his experiences at U.S. Special Operations Command and was given a tour of the flight line during his visit.
The Carpetbaggers worked with the Office of Special Services(OSS) to drop supplies to French guerrilla fighters.
He showed the French Legion of Honor, the highest decoration obtainable in France,that was given to him in recognition of his participation in the Top Secret missions that the 497th flew,dropping supplies and Agents behind enemy lines.

 

 

Here is a link to the story in case anyone is interested:

 

http://warbirdsnews.com/warbird-articles/interviews/pioneer-tactical-airlift-visits-macdill-afb.html

post-13386-0-43065000-1521778907_thumb.jpg

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post-9148-0-64978800-1522000586_thumb.jpgHere is the info on another Carpetbagger pilot,crew and flight log (Messenger 40) that drop the agents in France for The Proust Mission. I also posted in on my research thread about Mike Burke

(one of the OSS agents dropped).

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Patchcollector

Thanks Thor for your thumbs up and for that info Ronald.The Carpetbaggers had a super dangerous job;delivering supplies and people into enemy held territory.
IIRC,they flew alone,at night,with weapons removed to maximize loadout,while German night fighters combed the skies.If detected,they would be easy prey.I salute the brave men that manned the planes on these almost suicidal missions.

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