Latest news with #Peterburs
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
WWII veterans honored in special heroes send-off at Nashville International Airport
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Applause erupted in Nashville International Airport Wednesday afternoon as 16 World War II veterans made their way down the terminal. The veterans, alongside high schoolers from Clarksville, are headed to The National Word War II Museum in New Orleans. '[It was] a very rewarding and fulfilling career, and I would do every minute of it over again,' expressed WWII Veteran Joseph Peterburs. | READ MORE | Peterburs, 100, served for 36 years in the U.S. Army Air Corps and then the United States Air Force. He is a WWII, Korean, and Vietnam War veteran. 'All I know is that I am feeling good and looking forward to the next 100 years,' Peterburs told News 2. Before the age of 21, Peterburs flew 49 missions over Germany in WWII, became a prisoner of war after his plane was shot down, but escaped. He then joined the Russian tank unit in Berlin, Germany, and was later rescued by American troops. Peterburs later returned home to marry the love of his life. 'Then I flew 76 missions, combat missions in Korea in the P51 Mustang, and then later I went into command and control, and I served in Vietnam,' Peterburs continued. | READ MORE | On Wednesday, Peterburs and 15 other WWII veterans flew together to The National World War II Museum in New Orleans, which was paid for by The Gary Sinise Foundation (GSF) and American Airlines. 'I think I'm the only Air Force in this group, but I feel a bond with them,' Peterburs said. Joining the veterans on the flight are 20 Clarksville students from Rossview High School. 'We wanted to expose these children to an opportunity that they are not going to get in school, traveling to a World War II museum with somebody who actually lived through that experience is unlike anything you can get,' founder of the Sinise Foundation, Gary Sinise, told News 2. For the students, this trip is a lesson in sacrifice, resilience, and courage. ⏩ 'The children that are with them are going to be impacted greatly, not only by, you know, what they learn about during World War II and what they did, all these gentlemen did when they were just teenagers, but you know how they have lived their lives,' Sinise expressed. Peterburs' advice for high schoolers is to never give up. 'What I used to tell my troops and what I believed in is if you have a goal in life, you do the best you can at it,' Peterburs said. 'Don't let fear or apprehension do it, just keep your eye on the ball and get the job done.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
BBC News
11-04-2025
- BBC News
US WW2 fighter pilot takes to skies at Duxford in Mustang
A World War Two American fighter pilot has been surprised with a flight in a Mustang aeroplane 80 years to the day after he was shot Peterburs was escorting United States Air Force bombers over Germany on 10 April 1945 when he was forced to bail out of his damaged plane and was unexpected flight in the Mustang was organised by King's Cliffe Airfield Museum, in Cambridgeshire, after it heard the 100-year-old planned a visit to the former RAF Peterburs said it was "beyond my wildest dreams to have this opportunity to fly over England and remember the days past". Mr Peterburs was stationed at RAF King's Cliffe with the 55th Squadron of the 20th Fighter Group after he arrived in the UK in December Cliffe Air Museum arranged the flight with professional display pilot Isabel Rutland, flying from the Imperial War Museum airfield at Duxford, took him up in a Mustang similar to the one he flew in World War Peterburs had fond memories of the combat plane, saying: "It was a beautiful aircraft, I used to say it was like a suit of armour putting it on - it just fit you like a glove." By the time he was shot down, the 20-year-old was flying his 49th mission. "I landed, looked around and there was just farmland with about 20 German civilians working in the field - they came running at me - and then I heard a rumbling noise and up came a Luftwaffe [German air force] sergeant on a motor cycle who fired two shots in the air and said I was his prisoner," he said. After a few "hairy adventures" - including interrogation by Gestapo officers and sharing an air raid shelter Luftwaffe airmen during RAF raids - he managed to escape from a prisoner of war camp. "I headed towards Berlin and came across a Russian tank column, so fought with them up from Berlin to Wittenberg on the River Elbe, and a US army patrol came along and retrieved me - I was repatriated after that," Mr Peterburs said. The veteran said he enjoyed the memories sparked by his return to RAF King's Cliffe: "When I was there, it was a hustling, bustling community of people, things were going on all the time, there was a lot of joy and fun."He continued his career in the airforce, retiring as a colonel in 1979. "A lot of young men were not able to live the life I've lived," Mr Peterburs said. "I'm truly grateful that people are remembering the sacrifices that were made during the war." Follow Cambridgeshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
