Robert Swan is my wife's (Linda) Father. Both Robert and Beverly(Dixon)Swan currently reside in Santa Rosa, Calif. Great Grandpa Bob is 90 years old and his health has been of some concern lately, I have been thinking of him and in so doing felt inspired to put down some information somewhere for our family to see someday. Our Grandchildren know him as the friendly old grey haired man from the mainland.
Heloves to play solitaire and do puzzles and crosswords.
He told me the story, after my coaxing, how he learned to first fly a plane in Montana, As a young boy around 8 years old. He would love to hang out in the barn at the top of the hill in his neighborhood. There he would idolize the guys flying the first planes, mostly for the farmers. He would be their gopher and help wash the planes etc. The pilots took a liking to this inquisitive kid and actual taught him how to fly. No thing like regulations and the FAA back then. He once took his schoolteacher for a ride. He was a big man and they couldn't get off of the ground because of their combined wieght, so Bob flew the airplane over the cliff to get liftoff. They flew in circles for a short time and then had to land the teacher in a field by his home to drop him off. He then took off and could fly back up the hill to the hanger(barn).
This is part of his story written by his comrade and lifelong friend.
This is amazing story of what happened as a prelude to one of the most famous and greatest stories of the Pacific theatre of WWII. The account is authored by the pilot and commander of the PBY that played a vital role. Ensign Robert Swan is my Father-in-law today.
Wonderful story that Hollywood made movies of. The Battle of Midway turned the tide of WWII in favor of the Allies and the USA. Famous actors have played the roles of these men, but the reals heros were unassuming sons, fathers, husbands, and brothers. For several years The US government would fly Bob and surviving crewmembers and family to celebrations as far as Guam as VIP to honor the great battles of the Pacific. He said he was honored at the great fuss but always felt a little uneasy, especially thinking about all of his comrades that were missing.
Bob is 90 this year(2009)and several years ago I asked him put some his personal rememberances down so future generations would have the chance to read them. It is as if he was able to tell the stories himself.
Christmas picture taken by Jeff with his new camera in 2006, Christmas. A true American hero with his family and Great Grandchildren. A wonderful man that did everything because it was his duty. Few would ever think that the heroics of the 40ty's would many years later be a blessing to the generations that would follow and would forever change history. A young man from the plains of Montana to a Great Grandfather sitting in our living room on Maui, Hawaii.
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