Hellcat Ace Describes How He Shot Down the Enemy over Europe and the Pacific
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- Опубліковано 30 жов 2017
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Commander Dean "Diz" Laird is the only U.S. Navy "ace" pilot to have shot down enemy aircraft in both the European and Pacific Theaters of World War II.
One week after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on January 2, 1942, Laird drove to San Francisco to enlist. Laird entered the U.S. Navy cadet program. On August 11, 1942, he became a commissioned officer. In NAS Miami, Florida, on October 21, 1942, he became a Naval Aviator. Laird shot down 5.75 enemy aircraft in combat and he damaged an additional plane. Two of his victories were German planes: A Ju-88 and a He-115 in October 1943 near Norway. The other victories were Japanese planes so Laird has the distinction of being the only Navy ace to have scored air victories against both Germany and Japan. He flew F4F Wildcat and then F6Fs and was assigned from November 1942 to March 1943, to the aircraft carrier USS Ranger (CV-4). From November 1944 to March 1945 he was assigned to the USS Essex (CV-9).
In December 1944, Laird was almost shot down. His F6F Hellcat was riddled with bullets over the Philippines, but he was able to pilot the plane back to the USS Essex which was 250 miles away. His landing gear did not work and Laird landed the plane skidding on its bottom across the runway of the aircraft carrier USS Essex.
He received the Distinguished Flying Cross for his actions on February 7, 1945. Laird was escorting bomber planes which were attacking heavily defended Japanese aircraft engine factories. He shot down two Japanese planes during that mission near Tokyo, Japan.
Interview recorded in 2017.
Commander Laird passed away on August 10th, 2022.
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I remember a story of a American pilot who I had to shoot down a DC-4 or some kind of transport plane like that... Ended up saving the gal he was seeing from them landing on a Jap air strip that his group just got done attacking.. I want to say they got hitched.. But if you can, that would be a amazing guy for you all to get to talk to....
@@jonathanbair523 The first sentenced makes no sense and it goes from there... who is going to try to find this mythical person for you and interview him ?
@@jonathanbair523¹moll¹1❤
Commander Laird was 96 years old in 2017 when this was published. Accessible info says he's, thankfully, still with us at 101 now in 2022. I doubt he'll read this. Thank you for our freedoms. I hope you're doing well.
unfortunately he died August 10th 2022
RIP. Sir, say hello to Duguid for me and make him tell the story.
May u fly high...much respect to him🇺🇲🙏🇺🇲
Wow. Impressive longevity for the gentleman. Goes to show you God has all different stuff in store for each of us. From Qld Australia
Blue skies and tailwinds commander.
Make these interviews longer!!! Let them speak until they have nothing more to say.
Yes I concur 🤜🏻🤛🏻🇺🇸
These are old guys now. Maybe they don’t want to or can’t speak as long as you’d like
@@andrewmountford3608 The point of his comment was let them speak until THEY are ready to stop. Be it 30 minutes or 30 hours. I understand these guys' ages and all that...but let them decide and not the interviewer. (Which to be honest. I don't think these guys rudely cut anything short or cut them off. They probably book a 1 hour interview or 2 hours etc. It would just be nice to "do things the old way". Back in the 90s I would go around town with a VHS recorder and ask if anybody knew any veterans who would want to share their story. I've had guys talk for 10 minutes and some where I spent 2 months coming back for more)
Amen brother when they're gone that's it
@@willyhearrell9060 Hi. I know this is an old comment but have you ever considered sharing that information you collected in the 90’s? I agree that every story needs to be saved and shared for future generations.
I've just read the this Officer, Gentleman and Ace Fighter Pilot passed away last month. A sad loss for his family and the world of Naval aviation. Commiserations from the UK. RIP Sir. .
To think this gentleman is 96 or 97 years of age at the time of filming is inspirational for even just that alone.
A total boss, hell of a man. We as a nation are lucky to have men like him when we needed them. We should be forever grateful.
This man is a national treasure.
There should have been a part 2, 3, 4 to cover the rest of this hero's career as an aviator.
That was my thought too... so much to cover. I am also struck by how vivid every detail remains of each air combat after 75 years. This gentleman had incredible vision, observational skill and ability to optimize his situation. After nearly a century, he still had a great sense of humor too!
i met Richard Shindler who had 143 missions in WW2 he was an ace many many times. i dont think any man ever stayed alive in that many fights. i know for sure he aced 5 times. but the actual number he said he didn't care. He told me about breaking the sound barrier long before someone took the claim. They flew p38 and p51. He said the plane could take anything you gave it. it was built so strong. And fast. dives till plane was shuddering which mean speed of sound and beyond. This was in 2002-2003. He was i think 98. Still had his pilot jacket on when i met him. Incredible man, just like this humble Ace pilot here.
Yes would've been great to hear the rest 3 war veteran that's amazing he kept answering the call just like many others of his generation
@@rikji I think you would be hard pressed to get a p51 past Mach 1. It would need to effectively double its maximum airspeed.
@@rikjicompressiblity
RIP Dizzie. I've heard you speak multiple times over the years. You are true hero, and patriot for our nation and a genuine gentleman. Great loss to our nation
Ty i was Was wondering if you still alive
@@Peter-od7op Lived to 101. RIP Sir.
Mr. Laird was the only Navy pilot with air victories in Europe and the Pacific theaters. There were Army Air Force pilots who were credited with air victories in multiple combat theaters (James Howard and Louis Curdes were at least two credited pilots).
Would love to hear his full story about both theaters in WW2 then, Korea, and Vitenam.
Amazing man.
Thank you, sir. Youre a true asset to America.
RIP to Cmdr. Laird. He was in the elite group of men who served in those three conflicts.
Robinson Risner was another notable figure from the USAF.
What a great man! I am a Navy Veteran myself (although not during WW2 off course),and I only wish I could have contributed as much as Commander Dean Laird. Laird is a humble, great man and a hero.
I salute you and thank you for sharing your story, and for all your years of service. Especially your fight to free the World from the Axis of evil under WW2.
Col. James Howard also shot down enemy aircraft in both theaters. You may recall Monogram models put out a 1:48 scale plastic kit of Howards P-51B "Ding Hao."
Man oh man, can you imagine what it would have been like to fly with this gentleman, what a dream. People like this are history makers but also the kind of men who trained other Americans to be the best. It’s so important for the host to stay quiet and allow these heroes to tell their stories, even when they talk like game show host.
It'd be nicer to have an edited version for certain time slots, and then a true full interview. It is very discouraging to hear the idea of running out of time when this veteran has given his time and energy to recall these events. Often painful hard choice events to ask to hear details of. How much small information or feeling we've lost out of convenient time slots and to wrap it up that's the job of a good interview and editor to pull their words together and organize. Or to keep the interview on track. Thank you for the hard work of making these happen, please allot more time. Thank you sir for your service and sharing this with us you continue to serve us all. Ever grateful
Laird not the ONLY one. James H. Howard had 6 Japanese and 6 German fighter kills. He also fought in both theatres, plus was awarded MOH. Very famous in many propaganda media. Known as the 'One man airforce.' Not sure how they missed him.
The interviewer only mis-spoke at the end, it was meant to say the only NAVY Ace to have kills in both theaters, Howard was USAAC during WWII
Great story. Thanks to all our Veterans. Semper Fi.
Awesome! Thank you for your service. May you Rest In Peace
I'm always amazed at how these men were modest and down to earth. Eternal gratitude for that generation.
Small clarification, and not to take anything at all away from this man. He was not the only US Airman to record kills in both areas, he was probably the only US Naval Aviator to do so; several USAAF Pilots did so. Probably some Australian/NZ and maybe some Brits as well.
Yeah this channel does AMERICAN vets
A true hero no doubt and an honor to hear him speak..
I love what you're doing. Just wish there could have been interviews with more vets before they were gone.
This man should write a book.
So glad I just found this channel. I believe I heard this interview on the radio not too long ago as a repeat on a weekend show I caught randomly. I ended up sitting in my truck in the Home Depot parking lot for probably twenty minutes because I wanted to stay and hear the rest of the interview. I wish this was like 5hours longer.
I wonder if there are interviews of these guys telling the stories when they were younger. I love hearing them and thank them for their service and sacrifices it just takes so long to tell the stories
Like many others, I too would love to hear more on the gentleman's later service, as well as more details on his WW2 service. Some very very interesting anecdotes there, about the USS Ranger for one, and also the rather abbysmal one about the squadron commander who flipped his lid. All this history, really really important to keep alive.
A living piece of our military history. Once he and his fellow pilots are gone films like this is all we gave left. God bless him. The Japanese were real cocky and pushing us back. He and others like him pushed them all across the pacific back to their island.
He isn't living - he died a month ago at 101 years
I have a high regard for this man's viewpoint.
This man makes us proud ! What a treasure!
Loved this. I'd watch hours to cover his career. He was not the only pilot who scored air to air victories in the Pacific and European theaters. Double-ace Louis Curdes, USAAF, shot down German, Italian, Japanese and the only official credit for shooting down a US aircraft. He saw a C-47 lining up to land on a Japanese-occupied island, tried to warn the pilot, fired warning shots, then shot out one of their engines but the Gooney Bird continued on. He shot out their second engine and the aircraft ditched and were picked up by the Navy. The C-47 had a nurse aboard Curdes had danced with the night before and he ended up marrying her! Saving the pilots and passengers from death or imprisonment by the Japanese, Curdes was the only man given an air to air victory over another US aircraft. He had ten victory symbols on his fuselage for Germany, Italy, Japan AND the US!
He is the only U.S. NAVY pilot to have shot down enemy aircraft in both the European and Pacific theatres. Incidentally there are quite a few Allied pilots who made kills in both theatres.
The generation that greatness oozes from. Incredible, gutsy people
Sir, thank you endlessly for your service and may God bless you always!!!!! ✝️🇺🇸✝️
Right there, at 27:05 / 44:53, you see it!Look at his eyes, he's back in action. This is, by definition, a hero!
So many more stories we would have loved to hear from this great man. Just wondering, why so much initial time spent on training instead of using that time for his stories? Why stop him from that last story that you said you would love to hear? Are you limited to a certain time for some reason? He seemed willing to continue...
Yeah Carumbus’ talent is wasted in this format. Anyone really. A podcast is far superior. No time constraints. This is produced for radio I believe. Who the hell listens to the radio anymore anyway 😂
@@primeministerofredneckistan love your screen name!
Thanks for your service!
Another god of aerial combat from Placer County, California. Rest In Peace sir. I assume Laird Rd in Loomis, California is named in his honor.
I really wish they’d just let them talk as long as they want ! They have stories that need to be told and we are rapidly running out of time to hear them !
Couldn’t agree more
@Grady Milan yea, have been using Flixzone for since december myself :)
Man , you should have made this in two parts I wanted to hear about the jets 😉🇺🇸
A Special Man . Ace Dizzy Dean
Well, that was one war; be great to have him back (as I understand he’s still kick’n)!
We’d sure like to hear about the rest of this Ace’s career! 😊
RIP Mr. Laird you will never be forgotten and a true American HERO
I was one of the Navy guys aboard the ship with the radars, and on my radios with these guys, finding targets (bogies) for these guys and I have always said the Navy pilots are the most ballsy of them all.
Thank You for your service sir
I'd like to see his logbook. I'm really surprised how long it took to get into an actual squadron.
James H Howard was an ace in both China, with the Flying Tigers (6 confirmed) before joining the AAC and shipping off to Europe and receiving the medal of Honor for singlehandedly driving the Germans off a formation of bombers.His exploits can be read in his book "Roar of the Tiger"
But the presenter states Laird was the only American to have kills in both theatres of war. Why did he state only Laird and leave Howard out? Even Laird did not correct him, and he must have heard of Howard.
But Howard was not a USN ace fighter pilot. Big difference there.
Hell of a man right there..
I'm guessing the float plane he is talking about at the 30 minute mark was a Heinkle He 115 Twin engine float plane.
My guess, too (came to see if anyone else said so before commenting, lol)
This Gentlemen IA sharp even at his age. This us what a real hero looks like 👍 Thank You for you service Sir!!
Thank you for your service. What an amazing story.
Thank you Commander.
Be nice if you included pictures if he has any of the various people and locations he's talking about
Thank you !!!
From the chinese people to Hellcat Ace Dean! Thank you for your sacrifice’s winning ww2
The only thing about this channel I dislike is the shortness of the interview. I realize these people are elderly, but give them a rest or let them decide when to end the interview. We will never have these opportunities to speak to them again so make it count.
Godbless you sir, and thank you for your service!
A humble courage’s and dedicated pilot who set a wonderful example and was protected by the Lord.
What a human in this planet we call Earth this aviator/pilot is; my Kodus to you Sir!!!
If you watch this at 1.25 speed, this man becomes 30 years younger. It helped me appreciate how sharp he is/was.
In PC terms, there’s plenty of hard drive space but the processor isn’t what it used to be.
We can never forget. Never.
Heinkel HE 115 is the German float plane he is describing.
Thank you sir.
What an amazing generation, thank you to all of you.
Did anyone else hear the comment abt shooting @ a pontoon equipped aircraft that was faster than the F4F? Wow
A lot of aircraft were faster than the F4F at low level, although I wonder which aircraft this might have been. The He115 had a top speed of about 200 mph (170 knots), so I guess hie numbers might have been off a bit. Seems like the most likely candidate, with a crew of three. Poor buggers.
With the drag created by a shreded pontoon!
The very model of humility
Shame how this doesn't have that much likes.
Enjoyable stories from a fellow from my home area (Auburn CA), however, "the only pilot to score in both Europe and Pacific"??? An Australian named Caldwell scored during BoB and later back over Darwin. Former US Navy pilot, James Howard, with AVG, had Japanese victories BEFORE winning MOH, as USAAF pilot over Germany.
Right, this huge quasi-misrepresentation at the beginning of the interview -- "the only U.S. Navy "ace" pilot to have shot down enemy aircraft in both the European and Pacific Theaters -- is atrocious. Add John D. Landers, a USAAF Pilot, to the list of American aces in both theaters.
I hope this warriors final days on earth are filled with comfort and love. Till Valhalla!
I love the part where he talks about waxing the aircraft to get more speed. Ingenious. High speed, low drag!
I'll probably hurt some feelings here but whatever. There is such a difference between the old vet and the modern vet. No worrying about stolen valor, no endless talk of PTSD. Men who stuffed their pain and succeeded regardless and did it with little to no help. These guys were either drafted or went out of a sense of duty. Today you volunteer. Likely for education or housing benefits to come later. There are truly young heroes equivalent to these old guys but as a whole the old-timers are a different breed
You are talking out of your arse - I don't know any ex-military who endlessly talk about PTSD & I know some severe cases who will never recover & lead normal lives & it's important for you to realise that stress characterised as PTSD is present also in the non-military who have never been to war - it's a syndrome caused by a range of varying factors.
Going back to the military: during their deployment in Iraq and Afghanistan, approximately 380,000 U.S. troops, about 19% of those deployed, were estimated to have sustained brain injuries from explosive weapons and devices. A DARPA study revealed that, while the brain remains initially intact immediately after low level blast effects, the chronic inflammation afterwards is what ultimately leads to many cases of shell shock and PTSD. This was well known [in a non-clinical way] right back to WWI & in fact the Brits had sixteen hospitals dedicated to the care & treatment of shell shock victims from WWI some of which remained active into the 1960s. My neighbour was in a Japanese POW camp & I could hear him waking up screaming most nights until he died in 1983 - he was twisted by the incessant brutality & sadism of his captors & witnessed many executions by sword for minor or imagined infractions of the rules. Countless civilians never recovered from their WWII experiences & lived like shadows for decades never speaking of it. To not speak of such things is normal & generally bad - it's the ignorance of the effects of physical & mental trauma that allowed Patton to strike a sick soldier - easy for Patton who while being a generally fine combat commander was not blessed with much [if any] emotional intelligence.
WWII vets are NOT a different breed, they are essentially no different to contemporary vets - the wise, compassionate commander has always quietly arranged for personnel who had gone off the rails to be transferred to other duties without shame - this happened to a few very well known & courageous WWII PTSD sufferers who were [for example] promoted away from the front lines or transferred to training establishments for a year or so until their symptoms died down. There are plenty of modern vets who joined out of a sense of duty following disturbing events in their own regions - the Twin Towers is just one example & the Ukraine is another - for you to paint modern vets as joining for the perks tells me you're a cvnt with an opinion who has never served anyone but himself.
I agree cut from a separate cloth.. kills embraced...the same mentality in our warriors are out there still just not inside everyone but there are some guys I've seen speak who served in Iraq and Afghanistan that are just natural born warriors and they love it not everyone is cut out for it but alot do join for benefits and when ur in ur in but either way respect to them all but u are correct we may never see another generation of Americans from this same cloth sadly.
He wint aboard the Essex after my dad was transferred to the Hornet.
How rude to be out of time to hear this mans story as he wants to tell it. And then to glorify the kill part and be so shallow. That's lazy journalism. His story is, he was out there volunteering every opportunity he got, and he wasn't looking for glory he was looking for the enemy and doing his part, and someone else's part by taking their spot.
Glorify the kill part? Yeah that's what the job is why shouldn't it be glorified can't take the heat get out the kitchen bud these men ain't ashamed of it and they shouldn't be
RIP Hero!
Saluting you Sir! Go Navy!
The Greatest Generation.. including my Dad, Lt. Col. George Baker, U.S. Army, 1907 - 1995.
Tip: run on 1.25 speed
Why in hell, you all didn't interview these great gentlemen 20 years earlier. Waiting till there 100 doesn't seem fair too them.
I love the idea of this but I dont care for the interviewer at all. Sorry bro. You need to find someone better. These guys deserve better. Future generations listening to this deserve better. These stories are too important for a half-assed approach with the interview. You need better-prepared questions and a more thorough knowledge of history, the military, naval tactics, etc. I know you mean well, but these videos need a true professional, likely someone older.
See him like him grandpa i love you 🙏🌹🌹♥️
I grew up in Loomis and the Lairds were fine people and one of my Del Oro High School friends was Bob Laird, probably a grandson? Maybe his son. I'm 74, so maybe his son for crying out loud! Loomis was a great place to grow up. Interestingly, a large proportion of the population of this small country California town were Japanese, my best friends. Imagine that! Laird Road is a main road out there to this day and as an architect I still occasionally get a project there, the latest one on Leak Lane, named for another local family, remodeling the old Leak place now. One of the Leak family girls' name is written in the concrete of the patio. Small world.
And our high school was the home of The Golden Eagles. I just noticed Mr. Laird's hat! Wonder if that's the origin of our teams' name.
I would like to hear the rest of his story.
These were the people who made America great.
Argentia Newfoundland is where my navy dad met my canadian mom...after the war...
I do not wish to take anything away from this wonderful , inspirational man . He may have been the only American pilot to claim kills in both the Pacific and European theatres , but there were a number of Australian pilots who had already achieved this milestone .
only American NAVAL aviator. There were quite a few in the USAAC that achieved that status also but not in the navy.
@@marthavaughan4660 yeah pretty sure the channel covers AMERICAN vets
He is a Veteran of 3 wars. WW1, WW2 and WW3.✊😩
Geez why cut him off?
please crank the volume of these episodes.. i cant hear sh%t
you have a vol control ffs
My daughter lives in Loomis cute town
Did he used the F6F Hellcat in Europe?
What a life
This dude was rough to listen to. Tried at 1.5 speed
RIP Warrior
I wonder if at the end he was thinking of those three Germans as the interview was signing off?
Idk at first I thought he was gonna tell us he opened up on them 😂 I wouldn't have judged as it would've been a factor that could've save lives later on down the line..these men are a different breed so just what I expected lol
I came of age up through and the close of Vietnam. I'll never be as good. Was naive enough to believe what was on TV.
1921 man was born 100 yrs ago
They cut veterans off short all of the time. I wish they were interviewed by better people.
Great interview, Could I humbly suggest instead of calling his shoot downs as Kills perhaps the use of the word Victories might be somehow be better
Do "victories" sound less violent than "kills"? Just wondering why.
You are obvious not a military aviator. It is a nasty business where people die in air combat - all the participants know the deal before they join. A kill is a very accurate term. If you lack the toughness of character to think in these terms, this is not the game for you.
another fkn snowflake
Yeah I don't get why people get into this but can't take the reality of it
Is name is SCOTT JOHNSON
I was somewhat of a pilot on the aircraft carrier USS America CV 66.... Yes indeed I flew quite a bit I flew for slushies.... You buy... I'll fly!
???
@@stephenanderle5422 On the Carriers, a guy will volunteer to go for snacks or smokes, or soda's or what ever if the other guy will buy for both hence you Buy, I'll Fly...
At Dennis. So the government pays the bill.3 hours to nearest toot n tote, 500 gal. Fuel! Got to stay in practice!
Proficiency.
Thanks for this video.. I did however put a asshole in is place for disrespecting this man!
Quonset point rhode island only 2 mins from my house literally
Big County That's a great area!
@@motorcop505 absolutely is
@@motorcop505 home of the Seabees!!