Hero who was killed in action fighting for another country. Im 09 oliver north. Coming to you in england. He was one of a handful of american pilots who defied the neutrality laws in the United States to join the Royal Air Force during a desperate battle. With this island nations last line of defense. Flying spit fires and hurricane through narrow runways across southern england, swarmed into the air to take on the enemy and deadly epic combat. Come along with war stories for a thrilling ride with the yanks and the raf. Summer 1940 all of Continental Europe is in hitlers iron first. Britain is the lone hold out against the nazis. In the skies over england, the Royal Air Force battles the germans in a fight to the death. It was really britain against the world in a way that hasnt happened before. Everybody knew they were fighting for the survival of that country. Alex care shaw spent three years researching the americans who fought in the battle of britain for his book. It came down to 22yearold guys going up and fighting and dying day after day, week after week. Our hearts go out to the Fighter Pilots whose brilliants actions. 1940 british Prime MinisterWinston Churchill pays tribute to theen of the raf with these stirs words. Who were put . The smallest number of men ever to determine a major battle in world history. Just 2,500 pilots flew with the raf. And seven of the few were americans. One was a 29yearold twotime olympics champion named billy fisk. Billy, a wonderful, romantic glamorous character. You couldnt have made this guy up. The son of a wealthy chicago banker. He was born into the life of privilege. When his family moved to france in 1924, billy soon discovered a lifelong and dangerous passion speed. Would he be classified as a daredevil . He lot offed speed but i think he wasnt a real daredevil. Sensible daredevil. Patricia is billys niece. How did he end up a bob sledder . They used to go over in the winter and he broke all kinds of records. He was 16 when he won the gold med tal for the usa on the bobsled. Undisputed greatest bobsled champion of all time. Won a second gold medal in 1932. Like a lot of other young men he became ennam orred with a new kind of thrill. The 1930s were the golden age of flight. The notion of being a pilot was a great fantasy. This was a time of lindbergh was a national hero. Young men wanted to become a pilot. I wanted to learn to fly. Steve was born in athens, greece, on 10, november, 1919. When i was about 13 i saw the Greek Air Force flying over head on my way to school. He did some of the most wonderful acrobatics i have ever seen. I said to myself when i grow up im going to be become a na i had a friend a pilot in world war i. He told me, okay, ill take you for a ride but you never must let your dad know you were in an airplane. In 1929 bill edwards got his first taste of flying. There was no looking back. I think i was 11 at the time. He let you touch the control . Yeah. I got to play with it. Absolutely. It was wonderful. The wonders of flight made the aircraft an obvious weapon of war. World war i introduced the world to the dog fight. And the legend of the red baron. The Second World War showed how powerful a weapon the airplane could be. Adolf hitler recognized that during the 30s and built an air force that none of his future enemies could imagine. The arming of the third riech violated the treaty of versailles and done in secret. In february of 36 they hosted the olympics but billy fisk wasnt there. He wouldnt participate in the 36 olympics because it would have been in berlin and he cant stand hitler. The one i like to believe. I think most people like to believe he didnt want to go there because he was antinazi. The other theory is that the American Community didnt allow to pick his team and do what he wanted. Instead of competing he remained busy. He was a pilot while working to fly where he worked in hollywood where he financed a few films including white heat. He vently would take a job at his fathers new York Investment firm. In 1938 as europe teetered on the brink of war. He joined his family for a vacation in france. For patricia it was the last time she would see her uncle alive. I was around eight. He took us down and he built a bonfire in the woods and he told us ghost stories so we got scared to death. As he and his family enjoyed their time in europe 18yearold steve departed greece for america with 8 and a dream of becoming a pilot. I got a job on a freighter and we left for baltimore. He managed to buy a train ticket to new york city. I was crying like a baby who lost his mother. I didnt know where to go. I was amazed, you know, to see the skyscrapers that i was always dreaming about. He was lucky in times square. He heard two men debating in greek. I saw it in athens. In athens . What are you doing here . I told them what i had done. And they asked me if i had a place to go. I said no, i dont know anybody. I dont know where to go. They took me to their home in brooklyn and two days later, one of the men got me a job at the bakery. I taught myself the english language. Six months later, i began to take flying lessons. By the time britain declared war on germany in of september 1939 billy quit his job and was on a ship heading for england. He was determined to be the First American to join the raf. He loved england. He had gone to cambridge. He had friends there. He married a beautiful english woman. He would do anything to help england defend itself. When war stories returns billy helps take on the germans in the legendary battle of britain. The wings of the your path to retirement may not always be clear. But at t. Rowe price, we can help guide your retirement savings. So wherever your Retirement Journey takes you, we can help you reach your goals. Call us or your advisor t. Rowe price. Invest with confidence. As after a dvt blood clot,ital i sure had a lot to think about. What about the people i care about . Including this little girl. And what if this happened again . I was given warfarin in the hospital, but wondered, was this the best treatment for me . So i asked my doctor. And he recommended eliquis. Eliquis treats dvt and pe blood clots and reduces the risk of them happening again. Yes, eliquis treats dvt and pe blood clots. Eliquis also had significantly less major bleeding than the standard treatment. Both made me turn around my thinking. Dont stop eliquis unless your doctor tells you to. Eliquis can cause serious and in rare cases fatal bleeding. Dont take eliquis if you have an artificial heart valve or abnormal bleeding. If you had a spinal injection while on eliquis call your doctor right away if you have tingling, numbness, or muscle weakness. While taking eliquis, you may bruise more easily. And it may take longer than usual for bleeding to stop. Seek immediate medical care for sudden signs of bleeding, like unusual bruising. Eliquis may increase your bleeding risk if you tak certain medicines. Tell your doctor about all plned medical or dental procedur. Eliquis treats dvt and pe blood clots. Plus had less major bleeding. Both made eliquis the right treatment for me. Ask your doctor if switching to eliquis is right for you. Deartheres no other way to say this. Its over. Ive found a permanent escape from monotony. Together, we are perfectly balanced, our senses awake, our hearts racing as one. I know this is sudden, but they say if you love something. Set it free. See you around, giulia the motorized units are swift and deadly. Poland has no massive modern equipment to meet this onset. Following the 1939 invasion of poland, britain, france, australia, new zealand declared war on germany. Across the atlantic, america officially remained neutral. American Foreign Policy throughout the period was a constant bone of contention for most brits. They felt they would be left to fight. That was pretty much the truth. Desperate for pilots, the raf would have a little help. Despite just 90 hours of solo flight billy pulled a few strings and got himself in the raf. He was training for the day he would take a hurricane into combat. It was a very sternly built preacher. I appreciate that. You have a very solid punch. In 1940 military historian experienced the battle of britain as a schoolboy living outside london. He would grow up to be a Royal Air Force fighter pilot. They were sure they would be able to push the raf out of the way. The first phase of the battle was started on the 10th of july when they started attacking conv convoys. Hitlers air force commanded by herman was ordered to destroy the raf. With their superiority the germans could launch operation sea lion, the invasion of britain. The raf was ordered not to engage the more experienced germans. The commander in chief wasnt interested. He wasnt aut to get into a battle. So he had actually instructed raf fighter squad rons not to engage in combat unless we were being attacked. A frustrated hitler realized tactics werent working. By that time hiterer lost patience. It was organized. 13th of august when the offensive against the main line would begin. By eagle day billy had been 601 squad ron for a month. 601 was nicknamed the millionaires squadron. So many of them came from money. Speeding to the attack. Back in america the rafs exploit were making news and inspiring adventurous young men. You would see movie tone. Do you remember see battle of britain stuff . Yes. They engaged the enemy in air battle. Join the raf. My instructor in new jersey he told me one day do you want to fight the germans . I said i want to kill them. How about joining the Royal Air Force . It would be more than a year before edwards got to england. During that summer of 1940, seven americans were already helping the raf. What prompted most of them to want to go to serve . They were obsessed with flying. They wanted to do their part. And this was an opportunity to do that. And of course, they were violating certain law. Absolutely. Donahue joined the raf in the july of 1940 just before the battle of britain. He committed treason basically. Saint charles, minnesotan was one of those. He was a devote cholic who cherished flig. He sent a letter to his parents im going fight hitler in his backyard before i have to do so in my own back yard. Men like donahue were needed. By august of 1940 they were down to 12 guys with had any experience leading men in the air. At lunchtime on 16, august billy and the pilots of 601 scrambled to intercept another array. The target . Their home. Billy went up and tried to shoot down bombers that come over to attack their air base. Air bombers dove out of the sun filling ground crew and destroying aircraft. The millionaires and the hurricanes struggled to drive off the enemy. On the ground, 20yearold medical orderly Jeffrey Faulkner was on duty when the phone rang. We had a call from the control a plane was in distress. We sent an ambulance who picked the pilot up. Its thought that a bullet may have hit his reserve fuel tank and that exploded. We could see the plane but we suddenly realized that we were, in fact, being bombed. We proceeded to the aircraft watched the bombing that was going on. How did he manage to bring the plane back and land was anybodys guess. It was remarkable feat. The wings of the aircraft. He was badly burned. And the cockpit in which he was sitting was black with fire damage. He looked back at the aircraft and said something. Billy was piloting a hurricane fighter just like this one here at the airfield livestream your favorite sport at the airport. Binge dvrd shows while painting your toes. On demand laughs during long bubble baths. Tv everywhere is awesome. The allnew Xfinity Stream app. Xfinity. The future of awesome. 16, august, 1940. The battle of britain. Billy fisk is critically injured while trying to land his plane. Barely alive, he was rushed to a nearby hospital by 20yearold medical orderly jeffrey falkner. He was in pain and badly burned. Early the next morning his heart gave in. He basically died of shock. Billy was only 29 years old. I my mother was very sad. She did say it was maybe a blessin blessing. He was taken to carried by his officers. Stars and stripes was draped over the coffin. A wreath was sent by Winston Churchill. I know, that for a fact. I signed for it. It had a caption on it. I cant quite remember what it said, it was a deep regret. Signed Winston Churchill. Churchill was aware of all the americans that flew through the battle of britain. He saw them as potentially very important propaganda figures. At this time, churchill is doing everything he can to try to convince america to come in and help us. With britain losing fasters faster thanty can be replaced they turned up the head on raf. They concentrate order the major raf fighter in southeast london. With 300 planes dried and more than 140 pilots dead or missing death and exhaustion were taking a heavy toll. There was no end in site. One skraud ron billy belonged to. There was not one guy left alive. They were decimated. The americans came over to britain in the summer of 1940. With billy dead, art and five other americans were left in the raks of the raf. Before joining the Royal Air Force, three of those pilots had been so desperate to get in the fight they tried to fly with the french before france fell to the nazis in june of 1940. They looked like three musketeers. The mad russian, swarmy, womenizing. Very charismatic. Eugene who was he came from california. Grow up on the wrong side of the tracks. Shorty, the shortest pilot to fly 410 he would run to a plane with a cushion under each arm. They were welcomed with open arms. They were intensely popular. They fought with all the major air battles during the summer of 1914. 7, september, 1940 the raf finally gets a break. In retaliation for an attack on berlin they order an allout assault on london. The blitz is on. Huge because once they stopped attacking the raf it gave the raf the chance to recover. When they attacked london, the pilots were shocked that so many spit fires and hurricanes came up to meet them. Among the swarm of raf pilots took on on balgt battle of britain day. They lost so many planes on the 15th of september that the german high command decided they should call off the planned invasion of britain. It wasnt the end of the destruction for london, of course. There were other cities in the u. K. Doing a lot of damage and killing a lot of people. It was clear the invasion was over. 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Business network. Summer 19 40 britains Royal Air Force barely survives a pounding by ger any. By the fall, the rafs biggest problem replacements for the hundreds of pilots killed and wounded. Colonel Charles Sweeney faced a similar problem 25 years earlier. He was active in starting up the squad ron which was a squadron of american volunteers who went to fly for the french. His idea was to have the similar kind of skquad rons. He went and got it aproved. Retired air force general taught military history at the u. S. Air force academy. His as if nation with the americans and the raf inspired two books. Euge eugene, vernon all became members of 71 squadron. The first of the allamerican eagle squad rons. The first squadron was followed by two others. 121, 133. And they have americans coming over there. There was an over recruiting drive conducted here in the United States. A group called clayton Night Committee recruited several thousand americans. He was a pilot in world war i. His group, which was financed by the marines would take a suite in the best hotel in major cities and then clan destinely put the word out to airports where all the guys were flying and come get a job flying. Many of these guys saw this the opportunity a lifetime. Had you heard anything about the british recruiting americans to come fly for them . Word went around they were recruiting in a hotel in oakland. 21yearold San Francisco native james gray was a member of the california flying club when he heard about the recruitment drive. I had about 100 hours at that time. And they said if you had about that amount of time they would take you. So i signed up. I always dreamt about being a fighter pilot. California born 19yearold John Campbell had been a pilot since high school. The little guy with mustache started war for my benefit. I was able to do what i dreamt about. I went to the Hollywood Roosevelt hotel where they sent me out at glendale. 22yearold steve was working in a plainfield new jersey hotel that got the pilots license when he heard the raf was looking for aviato aviators. He wasted no time getting to the recruitment office. When i joined the raf i had to visit my boss, a german fellow. I went to his office and said i have to tell you i have joined the Royal Air Force and im going to england to fight the germans. He was, of course, surprised. Steve, he said and i want you to go there and if y. In california 22yearold bill edwards couldnt get to the Hollywood Roosevelt hotel fast enough to sign up for the raf. Did anybody tell you that what youre doing could be perceived as against the law the neutrality act . We didnt pay much attention to i