Seven decades after doing battle in the skies over Iwo Jima, the two surviving members of an elite Army Air Corps squadron met Thursday for a reunion marked by tales of World War II heroics and plans for the future.
"I want to thank John from the bottom of my heart, sincerely, for making that long trip come down here just to see me," said 93-year-old Willie Forman told his former wingman, John Googe. "I am certainly thankful to him."
The 91-year-old Googe, who lives in North Carolina, had co-piloted his Beechcraft Baron twin engine airplane to Quincy Municipal Airport, near Tallahassee, for the reunion.
"I'm happy to be here, roommates on Iwo Jima and we're still around," Googe gushed.
The duo were well aware of the distinction of their meeting, at a time when an average of nearly 500 World War II veterans are dying each day.
"I don't know if we're the greatest generation, but I do think we played our part in history," Googe said when asked if the moniker popularly ascribed to World War II veterans is accurate.
Forman and Googe flew their missions over Iwo Jima in 1945, the tail end of the war, after the island had been secured but before the United States dropped two fateful atomic bombs on the Japanese mainland.
"We would open up machine guns, six .50 caliber machine guns with tracing bullets, and we would destroy this building with one pass," Forman said of the strafing runs he and Googe flew.
Both men say their love for aviation, which began with their wartime service, has been a key ingredient in their recipe for longevity. Health permitting, they plan to continue flying.
"It won't be 25 years before I see him again, unless we both die and go to heaven," Googe committed.
"I'm going to get my little airplane fixed so I can't meet him halfway - it's only about two hours - and I can see Googe, see John, John Wesley, I can go up and see John Wesley anytime I want to," Forman said.