海角大神

They鈥檙e not as spry as they were 75 years ago when they were aggressive young pilots gearing up for combat during World War II. But today they鈥檙e beaming, lost in memory, two old warriors swapping stories only few today know firsthand.

Retired Capt. Peter Goutiere, now 104, and retired Lt. Col. Dave Hamilton, 96, are still standing straight, as if at attention, and almost giddy as they recount their first missions flying C-47 Dakotas, the twin-engine military transports they called 鈥淒aks鈥� back then.

鈥淭he C-47 was a luxury aeroplane. It had everything,鈥� Captain Goutiere says to me and a small group gathered at a hanger at Waterbury-Oxford Airport in Connecticut. In 1944, during his training in Miami, he was almost mesmerized when he saw the Dak he was to fly to Europe and beyond.

鈥淗ere comes this lovely aeroplane,鈥� he recalls, describing the military version of the venerable Douglas DC-3, which helped revolutionize civilian travel in the 1930s. 鈥淚t had its military insignia on it, and that was my aeroplane,鈥� he says, just slightly jutting his chin with a pursed smile. 鈥淏y the way, with this old age, I鈥檓 deaf as a whatever,鈥� the brash centenarian adds, tapping his hearing aid.

Outside, there鈥檚 a regimented fleet of nearly a dozen restored C-47s lined up along the small airstrip this morning, not unlike that time in 1944. These vintage aircraft are part of The D-Day Squadron, a supported by the Tunison Foundation, the nonprofit that helped reboot these WWII-era transports to honor pilots and other WWII veterans like Captain Goutiere and Lieutenant. Cololnel Hamilton 鈥� and the roles they played in one of the most significant dates in modern history.

On June 6, this squadron will comprise the American contingent of a massive reenactment of D-Day called a multination commemoration that will include dozens of restored C-47s and hundreds of volunteer paratroopers. Each will be wearing not only authentic WWII-era uniforms and gear, but also the same kind of parachutes Allied soldiers used when tens of thousands jumped over occupied France 75 years ago.

Along with others, including the Monitor鈥檚 director of photography, Alfredo Sosa, I鈥檝e come to participate in one of The D-Day Squadron鈥檚 training runs along the Housatonic River in Connecticut, and I鈥檓 feeling a little lucky.

We鈥檝e been assigned to fly with the crew of 鈥淭hat鈥檚 All, Brother,鈥� in the first wave of C-47s to fly over Normandy during D-Day鈥檚 main airborne assault. Its name intended to be a message to Hitler, this plane was also the first to drop American paratroopers during the massive main invasion 鈥� members of the 2nd Battalion of the storied 101st Airborne Division.

This made it feel like more than a historical artifact 鈥� part of the point of bringing these aircraft back to life and outfitting their crews with the gear of a bygone era. The goal: Somehow, to make memory alive, to reimprint those breathless moments, to revisit the bravery, the sacrifices.

鈥業 was No. 14.鈥�

Lieutenant Colonel Hamilton is dressed in a rumpled vintage uniform, but his memory is more than crisp, even now, at 96. 鈥淚鈥檒l be 97 in July 鈥� I鈥檓 a kid!鈥�

He played a special role during D-Day as a 21-year-old pilot about to fly his first combat mission: Even before the main airborne assault, the kid from New York City was part of an elite squadron of C-47s that left six hours before the main invasion, a squadron of 20 planes that dropped the first specialized 鈥減athfinder鈥� troops behind enemy lines.

Wait. You were the very first pilot to fly over Normandy on D-Day? I asked, incredulous. 鈥淚 was No. 14,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 flew on the right wing of Capt. Pete Minor, who was an experienced pilot from North Africa. I was brand new from the States. My first mission was Normandy.鈥�

What was like to be sitting there in the cockpit, waiting to take off?

He pauses. 鈥淢aybe the word fear had never entered our minds, but we were anxious,鈥� he says. 鈥淎nd we had our lives and the paratroopers鈥� lives in our hands 鈥� until we dumped them out over France, and so it was somewhat of a relief to get rid of them,鈥� he says with a smirk. 鈥淚 dropped my paratroopers at 15 minutes past 1 o鈥檆lock in the morning.鈥�

鈥淏ut we knew those guys by their first names, family鈥檚 and children鈥檚 names, everything,鈥� he says, more seriously, describing how every pilot had trained for months with the same group of about two dozen elite Pathfinder soldiers at Bottesford Base in England. 鈥淚t was a very personal situation, and it meant quite a bit as far as the companionship and the comradeship that we had.鈥�

鈥淲ere we anxious? Yes,鈥� Lieutenant Colonel Hamilton says. 鈥淪cared? No.鈥�

The 96-year-old pilot was not without bravado, either, as he recalls those first moments. 鈥淲e were practicing in a three-ship formation,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 had come from a troop carrier group training in the States, where we had 40-ship to 1,500-ship formations. So a three-ship formation forming a small group of 20 going from England to France? It was a snap. We just made one circle over the field and headed out.鈥�

He returned that morning and went on to fly dozens more combat missions, including in the Korean War, when he flew more than 50 missions in an RB-26 bomber. (鈥淚 liked them a lot. They were faster than C-47s, and they had guns!鈥�) Later, he trained to fly jets and served in the Air Defense Command, retiring from the Air Force in 1963.

鈥淏ut I wasn鈥檛 sure I was going to live through that first one,鈥� Lieutenant Colonel Hamilton聽says of his D-Day mission. 鈥淚 came back with over 200 bullet holes in that aeroplane.鈥�

鈥楾hat鈥檚 All, Brother鈥�

About an hour later, Judge Matthew Jalowiec is standing with me next to 鈥淭hat鈥檚 All, Brother,鈥� and we鈥檙e waiting to climb aboard as the crew of this historic C-47 makes last minute preparations for today鈥檚 training run.

A probate judge who serves the nearby towns of Cheshire and Southington in Connecticut, Judge Jalowiec is a self-described 鈥渉istory buff鈥� who has participated in a number of historical reenactments. Today he鈥檚 dressed in the vintage WWII paratrooper gear that he鈥檒l be wearing when he participates in 鈥淒aks Over Normandy鈥� and makes a commemorative jump with about 300 others.聽聽

鈥淚t definitely takes it to the next level, because, you know, you can buy the gear, you can dress up, and you can look like it, but when you鈥檙e in that plane going 150 miles an hour, at 1,500 feet off the ground, and the light turns green and the jumpmaster is giving you the go command 鈥� now it鈥檚 not fake anymore,鈥� he says.

He鈥檇 never jumped out of a plane before, he says, but for each of past three years he鈥檚 been taking a few weeks to train in Oklahoma as member of the 聽(CAF), the organization that flies and maintains the C-47s of The D-Day Squadron 鈥� just a part of the 170 refurbished military aircraft they keep in locations across the country as 鈥渢he largest flight museum in the world.鈥�

Judge Jalowiec has been training for a particular drop zone. He鈥檒l follow the original flight path Lieutenant Colonel Hamilton took 75 years ago and reenact the Pathfinder mission that dropped soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division over the small town of Sainte-Marie-du-Mont, which is just three miles inland from Utah Beach, code name for one of the beachheads where the Allies made a major amphibious assault.聽聽

鈥淭hat was actually the first area liberated on D-Day,鈥� the history buff says, explaining how these paratroopers were tasked with securing the town and clearing a passage for the troops landing at Utah Beach. 聽

鈥淎nd one of the guys in our group that鈥檚 gonna go, his dad jumped in that area,鈥� he says. 鈥淪o when we jump, you know, we鈥檙e jumping with the memory of his dad, there in the same place where his dad jumped 75 years ago. So it鈥檚 going to be quite a feather in our cap,鈥� he says with the same giddiness of 鈥� well, of a centenarian pilot.

Down the airstrip, Howie Ramshorn is pretty energetic too. Standing on a ladder under the propellers of another original WWII transport, he鈥檚 dressed in an old-school mechanic鈥檚 overalls and checking the C-47鈥檚 engines before she joins the three-ship formation on this morning鈥檚 training run.

A former mechanic and crew chief at TWA for nearly 40 years, Mr. Ramshorn has been volunteering for the CAF since 2010.

鈥淚 was born in 1939, and I remember my dad being an air raid warden; I remember the blackouts, the coupon books,鈥� Mr. Ramshorn says, recalling his childhood in Long Island. 鈥淪o in my little job here, if I can turn around and keep their legacy going, I鈥檓 proud to do it.鈥�

Before we climb aboard 鈥淭hat鈥檚 All, Brother,鈥� the pilot, Doug Rozendaal, gathers us together to give us an idea of what to expect during this 45-minute flight.

鈥淭here鈥檚 puffy clouds today, and we鈥檙e gonna be below these clouds, so it鈥檚 going to be rough,鈥� says Mr. Rozendaal, an experienced commercial pilot. But then he reminds us why we鈥檒l be flying in formation over the Housatonic River on this bright and puffy-clouded day.

鈥淲e fly these airplanes as a tool to tell a story, and the story is why we live free, and the sacrifices that were made, and the incredible examples of what we can accomplish as a country when we all come together,鈥� he tells us.

Then he stops to point at the door on the side of the plane 鈥� we鈥檒l have to use a rope to pull ourselves up to the flipped-down steps, which are about three feet off the ground.

鈥淲hat we want to impress on people is to remember, that across that threshold of that door, you know, kids walked out into the deep dark night on June 6,鈥� Mr. Rozendaal says.

There are about 30 stainless steel seats lined up along the sides of the pea-green cabin, each with thick military-style belts. The cabin isn鈥檛 pressurized, and as we take off, the roar of the engines and propellers on each wing is deafening. I notice two unopened boxes marked 鈥減arachutes鈥� on the floor.

Just like the main airborne assault on D-Day, we鈥檙e the lead plane. Outside the window, 鈥淒-Day Doll鈥� and another ship called 鈥淧lacid Lassie鈥� are flying off our wings.

鈥淢an, if you were on the wing, you could probably jump right on those other planes!鈥� one of the other guests says, surprised at how close the three planes were flying together.

We were flying on a bright, gorgeous day with sunshine and blue skies, and as my editor would later point out, the Connecticut countryside kinda looked like France. But the young soldiers in this cabin 75 years ago were sitting in total darkness as they flew across the English Channel.

鈥淵ou look at their pictures and you say, well, they鈥檙e 18, 19 years old, and they were jumping out of a plane that鈥檚 taking anti-aircraft fire,鈥� says Judge Jalowiec, who鈥檚 looked at a lot of them. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e going to get on the ground, and there鈥檚 guys who want to kill them. We鈥檙e in beautiful sunny weather, and nobody鈥檚 going to kill us.鈥�

鈥淏ut it changes your life forever, once you go out that door,鈥� continues the father of three, musing on the dozens of jumps he鈥檚 already taken out of 鈥淭hat鈥檚 All, Brother鈥� and other C-47s.

鈥楾he Himalayan Rogue鈥�

We鈥檙e in the air less than an hour before we land back at Waterbury-Oxford Airport. In a few days, The D-Day Squadron will make another training run, this time in full formation over the Hudson River to New York, where it will circle the Statue of Liberty.聽聽

Then it will embark on the trans-Atlantic trip to 鈥渃ross the pond鈥� to England, stopping to refuel at Goose Bay, Canada; Narsarsuaq, Greenland; Reykjavik, Iceland; and Prestwick, Scotland, before joining the international contingents of Daks that will reenact the D-Day invasion of Normandy, France.

Lieutenant Colonel Hamilton will also be making this cross-Atlantic flight and then relive his first combat flight 75 years ago. A named Harry Read will also be reliving his jump 鈥渋nto the deep, dark night鈥� on June 6, 1944.

Captain Goutiere didn鈥檛 fly a mission during D-Day, but as a pilot known as 鈥渢he Himalayan Rogue,鈥� he flew an astonishing 680 missions over during WWII, one of the most notoriously deadly supply routes over China, Burma, and India. Pilots also called this flight path the 鈥淎luminum Trail,鈥� since more than 600 planes and 1,000 men were lost.

Captain Goutiere still remembers his first flight over the Hump 鈥� and a special moment he took as he flew over Agra, India, the location of the Taj Mahal.

鈥淭here was a little building across it on the Ganges River 鈥� and for your information, I was born and raised in India 鈥� and this building on the Ganges River, that is where I lived when I was 5 or 6 years old,鈥� he tells us.

鈥淪o I got permission to circle around my village, that building that I once lived in so long ago, and where my father died,鈥� the 104-year-old pilot says, welling with emotion.

鈥淭hen I saluted my wings, for my father.鈥澛犅�