What Makes a Good Fighter Pilot?

A you wanna be, you wanna be one. I guess, you can’t be too concerned about your own skin, and that’s why I didn’t want to be on bombers because I’d be concerned about the guys that are flying with me and on fighters, I don’t have to worry, it’s just me. And I guess you have to be, pretty good reflexes and you, funny thing to say, I guess but Fran asked me the other day, she said, “Were you ever afraid? ” And I said, “No, I’ve never been afraid. Ever. I’ve never been afraid.” She said, “Even when we were skiing on the mountains and you were coming off a cornice? ” I said, “No.” I was hesitant about going first. I always wanted somebody else to go first when we were skiing with the girls and we always said ladies first, you know. But I never was afraid, and I think that’s part of being a good pilot because if you get, if you become afraid, you’re not very objective and you’ve got to be objective as hell when you’re fighting, you know. You’ve got to really look around. You’ve got to really, and if you’re worrying about your, your tail then you’re not, you’re not worrying about everything else. So, I think that’s part of it. I don’t say that all pilots were not afraid but I, I wasn’t one. I don’t think, I don’t think Huey or...We had some guys who were, and one was fairly senior and we got him, we got rid of him. And he used to regularly turn back. You know, bad engine, oil pressure and everything, so.They transferred him out of, out of the squadron. But he, he, if he hadn’t been the rank he was, he was a squadron leader, he probably would have gone to the Glass House.