Veteran Triple Play

      Not too many military pilots can say they flew in combat in three wars.

      From an obituary for Robert Thacker. He died
died on Nov. 25 at his home in San Clemente, Calif. He was 102.

DAYTON, Ohio -- Col. Bob Thacker stands beside the North American F-82B Twin Mustang at the National Museum of the United States Air Force. The museum's F-82B, "Betty-Jo," flew from Hawaii to New York on Feb. 27-28, 1947, a distance of 5,051 miles, the longest non-stop flight ever made by a propeller-driven fighter. (U.S. Air Force photo)

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Lieutenant Thacker, who arrived on the island of Oahu as Japanese warplanes devastated the American naval base there, would soon be dropping bombs of his own. He flew some 80 missions during World War II, seeing action in both the Pacific and European theaters. He later became a record-setting test pilot and flew in the Korean and Vietnam wars.