RIP 'Johnny' Johnson - the last Dam Buster

enuff_zed

enuff_zed

Lifer
 Attleborough, Norfolk
As someone who was fortunate enough to serve for 9 years as an engineer on 617 Sqn, I was sad to hear the last of the Dam Busters has passed away, aged 101.
Johnny Johnson was the bomb aimer of the aircraft sent to bomb the Sorpe Dam. Without any other aircraft to support them, he insisted on going round several times until he was happy. Their single bomb hit and damaged the dam.
Regardless of your views on the rights and wrongs of it all, they were an extremely brave bunch of men.
In 1993 I took part in the 50th Anniversary parade and met many of these men. Not a single one wanted to talk about it, other than to acknowledge the loss of 53 of their friends. All they wanted to do was climb into the Tornados and chat about us!
I found it a humbling experience that has stayed with me.
You have to wonder whether these days we would find people of this calibre if we needed them.

RIP Sir, and thank you.
 
Kirsty Alley died too. She got news headlines, I wonder if your man does/ did? :|
 
+1 enuff-zed

A totally different time and I also wonder if the same calibre of men and women exist today
I suspect they do, just in smaller numbers
 
enuff_zed said:
As someone who was fortunate enough to serve for 9 years as an engineer on 617 Sqn, I was sad to hear the last of the Dam Busters has passed away, aged 101.
Johnny Johnson was the bomb aimer of the aircraft sent to bomb the Sorpe Dam. Without any other aircraft to support them, he insisted on going round several times until he was happy. Their single bomb hit and damaged the dam.
Regardless of your views on the rights and wrongs of it all, they were an extremely brave bunch of men.
In 1993 I took part in the 50th Anniversary parade and met many of these men. Not a single one wanted to talk about it, other than to acknowledge the loss of 53 of their friends. All they wanted to do was climb into the Tornados and chat about us!
I found it a humbling experience that has stayed with me.
You have to wonder whether these days we would find people of this calibre if we needed them.

RIP Sir, and thank you.
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The attitudes and values of the current generation are very different from those of the men and woman who were prepared to sacrifice everything for their Country during WW2. There are some very decent young people today but sadly they are in the minority . The majority feel ‘entitled’ and believe the rest of the world owes them a living. I read yesterday that up to 250000 young people currently have no intentions of ever having a job.
I know I get more like Victor Meldrew every day but you have to wonder where it will end. :cry:
 
biZ4rreMids said:
Absolute heroes, every one of them - RIP
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A lot has been said in the years since about how it was a futile exercise. After all, everything was back up and running fairly quickly.
However, what is always forgotten is the fact that to repair all the damage and get the factories back on line thousands of labourers were shipped back from the Channel defences.
When Rommel took over the preparations against invasion he was shocked just how much of the defences were unfinished.
This undoubtedly saved many lives on the beaches the following June.
 
Different era, generation and values, having said that I would be in no doubt that our armed forces today I would imagine made up of mostly of young people would be just as brave and dedicated in this day and age.

Tim.
 
I was holidaying in Scotland about 10 years back and found the wreck of a Liberator near a loch on a remote mountainside.
There was a poignant little memorial stone on the edge of the loch which detailed the crew and passengers -twelve in total.
The oldest crew member was the pilot who was just 23 years of age. The aircraft crashed into the hillside due to poor visibility and there were no survivors.
They were on a routine flight back to the USA. A 23 year old flying across the Atlantic with the responsibility of the lives of all aboard.
There was a small bunch of withered flowers near the memorial stone, no doubt placed by a son or daughter who made the long pilgrimage to honour a father they must have barely known.

Even more responsibility rested on the shoulders of the U-boat captains, many of who were barely 30

Incredible amount of responsibility at such a young age.
 
IRD said:
The attitudes and values of the current generation are very different from those of the men and woman who were prepared to sacrifice everything for their Country during WW2. There are some very decent young people today but sadly they are in the minority . The majority feel ‘entitled’ and believe the rest of the world owes them a living. I read yesterday that up to 250000 young people currently have no intentions of ever having a job.
I know I get more like Victor Meldrew every day but you have to wonder where it will end. :cry:
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"Decent young people are in the minority" - I don't buy that or understand how you can possibly make such a sweeping statement? Young people are the future - we need to big them up not run them down. They will be the nurses, doctors, firemen, careworkers, soldiers, policemen, entrepreneurs, tradesmen, engineers, scientists of the future that we, the older generations, will all rely on.

There are good uns and bad uns in all generations, always have been, always will be.

We owe a debt of gratitude to those who sacrificed their lives in conflict to defend our freedoms but equally we should acknowledge that there are young people who serve today with the same attitudes and values. Unlike you I don't believe that they are the minority.
 
Vornwend said:
IRD said:
The attitudes and values of the current generation are very different from those of the men and woman who were prepared to sacrifice everything for their Country during WW2. There are some very decent young people today but sadly they are in the minority . The majority feel ‘entitled’ and believe the rest of the world owes them a living. I read yesterday that up to 250000 young people currently have no intentions of ever having a job.
I know I get more like Victor Meldrew every day but you have to wonder where it will end. :cry:
Click to expand...

"Decent young people are in the minority" - I don't buy that or understand how you can possibly make such a sweeping statement? Young people are the future - we need to big them up not run them down. They will be the nurses, doctors, firemen, careworkers, soldiers, policemen, entrepreneurs, tradesmen, engineers, scientists of the future that we, the older generations, will all rely on.

There are good uns and bad uns in all generations, always have been, always will be.

We owe a debt of gratitude to those who sacrificed their lives in conflict to defend our freedoms but equally we should acknowledge that there are young people who serve today with the same attitudes and values. Unlike you I don't believe that they are the minority.
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You can only speak from experience. I spent the whole of my working life in education. During that time the attitudes of many of the young people I came in to contact with ( and also their parents) had changed significantly. Your experience of life may well have been different and I respect your right to hold a different opinion to mine.
 
This man was one of many very brave individuals in bomber command that often get overlooked as heroes of WW2.

One of my fathers cousins was killed on New Years day 1940 on Snaefell on the Isle of Man when his plane crashed in bad weather when they were testing new bomb sights.
 
I'm sure I've posted this before but, Guy Gibson's Lancaster used on the Dambuster raid survived WW2 intact, but not a single member of her crew did. She was scrapped just after the war ended, what a waste.

Bomber command crews had 44% casualty rate in WW2, higher than any other branch of the forces.
 
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