101-year-old WWII pilot reunited with plane similar to one he flew during war
A World War II pilot from Georgia is reuniting with the type of plane he flew before becoming a prisoner of war.
Jim McCubbin, 101, flew P-51 Mustang fighters in Europe throughout World War II until he was shot down in 1945 and taken prisoner. He’s credited with destroying nine enemy aircrafts during his service.
McCubbin now lives at the Renaissance Marquis Retirement Village in Rome.
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The 101-year-old veteran hadn’t seen a P-51 plane since 1945 until the Commemorative Air Force Airbase Georgia arranged a fly-in visit for him at the Richard B. Russell airport in Rome.
CAF Airbase Georgia keeps a P-51 named “Red Nose” in the airbase’s Warbird Museum in Peachtree City.
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Dozens of residents from the Renaissance Marquis joined McCubbin for the ceremonies. When they saw the plane start to taxi towards the airport tunnel, they began to applaud the plane and McCubbin’s service.
The veteran even got to recreate an old photo of him standing next to the aircraft in the 1940s.
The CAF Airbase Georgia maintains and flies seven vintage military aircraft.
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