Welcome to the Yellow Jacket Flying Club!

The Yellow Jacket Flying Club is a student organization
of the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia.

September 22 : 7 PM - Stories from a World War II fighter pilot - a talk by Robert Powell

 Born in 1920, Robert Powell grew up in the coalfields of West Virginia.  He was in his 3rd college semester when the Japanese struck Pearl Harbor, so he entered the Army Air Corps three or four weeks later as a Private, but qualified to be an Aviation Cadet.  Called to active duty in April 1942, he won his Silver Wings and Commission on Jan. 4, 1943.  He transitioned briefly flying the P-47 Thunderbolt, was shipped to Europe in April 1943, and assigned to the 352nd Fighter Group.  While there, he flew 87 combat missions (two combat tours) in P-47s and P-51 Mustangs, including three missions over Normandy during D-Day.  He was credited with the destruction of  six enemy aircraft,  two probables and seven damaged  (air and ground).  After his return in December 1944, he served as a test pilot in the Army Air Corps until August 1945.  He then separated from service to return to West Virginia University where he received a B.S. degree in Journalism in 1947.

 Mr. Powell was recalled from the Air Force inactive Reserve in early 1950 for four years duty during the Korean War.  His military awards include the Air Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters; the Distinguished Flying Cross with two Oak Leaf Clusters, the ETO Medal with four Stars, a D-Day Medal awarded by the French Government and various campaign medals. 

 After a successful journalistic career, Mr. Powell retired in 1987 and turned to writing books as the Historian for his WWII fighter group.  He co-authored and published two books on the 352nd FG,  the "Bluenosed Bastards of Bodney" and "Bluenose Tales", both now out of print, and he is currently writing his life story, "Above the Mountains," for his family.

 According to Mr. Powell, "I am no Richard Bong, Chuck Yeager, Gabby Gabriski or other wartime hero.  I was just one of thousands of ordinary guys who served their country to the best of their abilities when that became necessary."

 Mr. Powell will come to Georgia Tech on Sept. 22 to talk about his war flying stories.  For a sneak preview, please see:
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/diglib/vhp-stories/loc.natlib.afc2001001.05342/

Last changed: Oct 20 2009 at 9:05 PM