You never know who you are going to meet at a train store.

we have to treasure those WWII guys, not many left. the Greatest Generation

yes Marty they did a great job to keep our country free and help with the war effort!I'm an EAA chapter 216 member my self Experimental Aircraft Association my self, and i was in the air force during Vietnam we had F4 fighter jets flying sorties and bombing and then returning to our base. many a jet got wholes shot threw them, some made it bad and some jets did not come back.

Alan

 My late father loved to watch the old war movies. He liked the plane shows too and had models of them. I believe he was sent to Korea. I think all his older brothers were in WWll. I used to enjoy the times when we could watch the shows together before I grew rebellious.

 Now I watch all the war shows. There are the greatest tank battles, and tons of stuff on the wars. I bet he would have loved to see them. Great info on all that happened.

 I'm learning stuff I never knew. I didn't know the Germans destroyed stuff in Germany at the end of WWll so the Allies wouldn't get to use it. I knew they did it elsewhere so I shouldn't have been surprised.

 Anyways, every time I watch or even talk about the wars, I remember my dad, fondly now. Seems like it was the only thing we would talk about, briefly anyways. Took away some of the bad feelings we used to dwell on. So hearing about some model planes at Ro, did it again. I'm sure I would have been drooling over the trains. He, would have been staring at the planes.

 Thank you, for thanking him!! (Mr. Howard Carter)

Thank you for posting this story Marty.  It takes me back to my Father.  Each of us has a story to tell of a parent or relative who served in that period.  My Dad did and like all of them he was also a hero and very much a hero to me.  The price he paid was steep, but he lived to raise us and I am so grateful for that. My best to you....

I met General Chuck Yeager at the airport in Huntington, West Virginia back about 1988 and Newt Gingrich in the JC Penny store at our local mall about the same time.

The only important train person I ever met in a train store was...me.  I'm a legend in my own mind...

Not just in your own mind Rich, If You ever get out to the Portland, OR area, I would Really enjoy talking with you.

Doug

p.s. Bring Hot Water too, he is another member of the forum that I would find very interesting to spend a day with.

Now that is one epic random encounter!! How did you even manage to pull yourself away from talking with him?

I love WW2 people.  My Father landed on D Day.  He was a highly decorated Vet.  I served in the Navy in the early 60s .  I was an aircraft/helicopter mechanic.  I got the best training in the world.  I saw the world from the flight deck of the Aircraft Carrier USS Randolph serving in Helicopter Squadron 7.

Rich, never sell yourself short.  You are highly thought of by a great many people.  You have the best job in the world flying aircraft and running steam locomotives.  That is a hard list to top.

Mr Carter had to get going.  We will meet again as he is starting into trains.  A great day.  

Very nice story Marty. I have a red tail on my shelf.

PS: I forgot to mention. One day at church, I was helping one of the ushers and I noticed his lapel pin of a P38. When I asked him about it, he whipped out a picture of him and a P38. He stated he taught flyers how to fly a P38. I was in awe.

When I was drafted we were sent to Ft. Benning and were part of the reconstituted 3rd Inf. Div. We shipped to Germany on troopships an spent 18 months in the infantry playing war. Spent a lot of time in the field. The one thing I don't forget was that a lot of our cadre were vets of WW II and Korea. Super guys. Some held reserve commissions from WW II. When we were ready to come home I thanked them for putting up with us. Often wonder if some went to Nam-probably. Our Platoon Sgt. was a paratrooper in WW II. A Puerto Rican, he was my buddy.  Would have followed him to hell if I had to.

I had the honor and privilege to know one of the airman. Lt. Col Bertram Wilson lived in the small town of Ashford, Ct. near the University of Conn. I was the UPS driver there in the mid 90's and use to see him walking every day. I also had several deliveries to him each month. During the hot days of summer I often took my lunch hour at his house where I swam in his pool. Over the years I got to see many great photos of him during the war. He passed away in 2002 and is buried at Arlington.

That is an awesome chance meeting. I love talking to veterans from the World War II era, especially the aviators. I actually got to visit the Tuskegee Airfield a couple years ago and talk to several of the airmen at an event. It was an amazing experience.

Some of those fellows were pretty amazing. Met this guy at a Big Red One reunion about 12 or so years ago - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_D._Ehlers - and we managed to get together a few times before he passed away last year.

I think my Dad, though not famous, could have fit in the hero category. Severely wounded at Monte Cassino, he spent 17 months in and out of hospitals and ended up living his life with1/2 of one lung. He still managed to work and raise four kids. He died two days after his 77th birthday about 20 years ago after living a good life, considering his condition.

Fellow that taught me to fly (in the early 60's) was a B17 pilot during WWII. He had four brothers and all five of them were bomber pilots. No wonder the mothers back then always had a worried look on their faces.

Not in the war hero category, but I met Neil Young at a train store.  Of course I was 7 at the time and had no idea who he was.  My father told me "shake this man's hand and I'll tell you who he is later".  Thanks dad

Wonderful story to start the morning. Thanks for sharing it with us, Marty.

My cousin, Arnie, and I used to attend The Reading WWII days every year.

Think it was in 2007, a group of Tuskegee Airmen were there along with an original Trainer Aircraft.

One year Paul Tibbets was signing one of his books at a table in the  Aircraft hanger.

The P61 "Black Widow" was being restored and was parked in that same hanger.

Marty,

This is a great thread. Thanks for posting.

You are so right !! The Tuskeegee Airmen are

heroes. We should also honor another group that contributed

mightily to our success in WWII. The Navajo Code Talkers.

I was not in a train store, but I met Pope Paul VI.

My wife and I were in the only car in the Vatican. We had

gotten lost on one way streets in Rome. As soon as we drove in

I heard wailing police sirens . . . Da DAH, Da DAH and I thought

I was going to get arrested. Out walks the Papal entourage and

the Pope. He walked over to our car and spoke to us in Italian and

blessed us. 

What does a nice Jewish boy say to the Pope? I believe I said,

"Thank you, Your Holiness."

Marty,

   Great thread, I agree with Brian, great way to start the morning!

PCRR/Dave

AXP889, you are correct, Neil Young is not a war hero and never served.

Marty, great thread thanks for posting !!!!!!!!

Alex

Marty, I wasn't trying to make a statement about him not serving.  I took your original post as "people you've met at train stores".  The thread seemed to be going in the direction of famous vets, so I just made the statement to say "not really in the pattern this thread has taken, but still a famous person in a train store."  cool also if you consider his involvement in Lionel as well as his music career.

Neat Marty.  Is he a train guy?  G

Very cool Marty, I hope you thanked him from all of us for his service!

We met a 'famous to us' SR71 Blackbird pilot in my hobby shop back in 1989 or '90. We didn't know much about the aircraft in those days and he was very interesting as he gave us a lot of information from his perspective. 

My Dad was a Navy instructor and taught enemy aircraft identification in WW2. We had a box full of black bakelite (?) plastic models all in the same scale when I was little. Have no idea what happened to them over the years and have never seen any like them since.

Great story Marty - glad that you were there at the right moment!

I just knew it wasn't a swimsuit model...

AXP889, I did not mean it the way it sounded.  How old were you when you met him?  I know NY from talking to him at York.  A train guy he is.  Many people are not aware of his help with TMCC back in the day.

John, we only talked aircraft.

My apologies, always hard to judge tone in emails/posts.

I was only 7 or 8 at the time.  He was in Boston for a concert and stopped by Charles Ro.  My dad and I happened to be there at the same time.  If I remember correctly, he had his son with him.

Collecting WW2 US stuff has been my primary hobby since my 20s.

I've met my fair share of WW2 personalities over the years as a WW2 re-enactor. I've met all the living 'Band of Brothers' vets from Easy Company, 506th PIR from the days before they were famous (the book had just been written, and the TV series was years away). Talked with Dick Winters on several occasions.

Here I am with Don Malarkey a few years back:

Met countless US WW2 fighter pilots, couldn't name them all. I never got too many photos of me with any of them, though. Now, I wish I'd had.

I did get Robery Morgan (pilot of the B-17, "Memphis Belle") to sign the lining of my A2 pilot's jacket, though.

I've met several German Aces, including Erich Hartmann and Adolf Galland...

I even got a ride in a P-51 in formation with a B-17 and a B-24 over water once, right after meeting a few US WW2 pilots...

AXP889. I live in Dedham.  Are you close enough to stop by and run trains?  I am in the phone book.

Thanks for sharing Marty.

My dad was an Army Ranger in 1958.  He used to take our family to the Chino Air show in CA.  Mainly WWII warbirds.  The show there was awesome.  We met Pappy Boyington there once, awesome.  There's also a nice museum there.  It encouraged me to read and enjoy history.  We'd also see the Blue Angels and Thunderbirds.

Now I take my family to the air shows. 

Good memories, thanks.

James, take him as often as you can.

Thanks for the offer Marty, I grew up in Medford, but I had to move to Southern CT for work.  The plan is to eventually get back to Mass, so I'll be sure to look you up when I do.  Since the move, all my trains have been in storage, so hopefully that'll be the same time I'll "eventually" have room to set them up again!

That's really neat!  It would have made my day!

--Greg

Thanks for sharing that.

I was in the LHS and struck up a nice conversation for awhile with a pretty lady. Then her hubby looked annoyed (he was big) so I checked out the magazines.