The team at ‘Fly a Spitfire’ were honoured to welcome WWII Veteran Casimer ‘Casey’ Bukowski to our Biggin Hill HQ to celebrate his 99th birthday.
Staff Sgt Bukowski was a waist gunner on B-17’s and his story includes his ordeal as a POW, including interrogations, two POW camps, and an 82-day forced march during the coldest winter on record in Germany.
During his aerial duties he had the distinction of bailing out of not one, but two burning B-17s.
Bukowski began his war time service as a young man in Buffalo making parts for the P-40, and eventually it led to his aerial duties, capture and liberation as a POW by Patton’s Third Army.
As well as showing Casey our Spitfire Factory, vintage vehicles and USAF aircraft, we were delighted to take him up in one of our 2 Seat Spitfires where he was joined by two other WWII warbirds, our P51-D Mustang and Spitfire RW382 both proudly carrying USAF liveries.
Casey is now set to travel to Normandy in Northern France to mark the 79th anniversary of D-Day – when troops from the USA, Canada and UK landed on the beaches of Nazi-occupied France – on Tuesday (June 6).
Happy Birthday Casey – thank you for your service!
