Originally Posted by
sevenforseven
No.
Every person I've met who definitely has bragging rights, doesn't brag. They are all old school guys. One guy I flew with (Part 91) was a U-2 pilot and was getting qualified in the SR-71 program before it got cancelled. I had to drag that information out of him. There's no way I'd be able to keep that inside if I had those kind of credentials.
His humility was remarkable.
Yeah, I've learned that the folks who instantly volunteer to tell you about their combat experiences...are usually the guys who never got anywhere near the action.
One of my best private-pilot students was a medical doctor. Very quiet, polite, soft-spoken. If you met him, you'd instantly peg him as an accountant. I knew him for about three years before I managed to find out that he had served multiple tours as an Army Ranger and had fought in the Mogadishu battle depicted in 'Black Hawk Down.' I only got this out of him after a large number of beers, and even then he refused to say anything other than that he had been there and he lost some buddies.
My wife's dad served as a Marine infantry lieutenant in I Corps, 1966-67. To this day he refuses to say anything about the experience, even to his own wife, other than his rank, dates of service, and the fact that he did see combat.
And yet, as a nation, we glamorize and celebrate pop stars, rather than the people who fight and die to keep us safe.
To keep this aviation-related...I learned that SkyWest started with a couple of Cherokees. Who knew?