Billy Fiske Blog

The death of George Floyd was unconscionable.  I am outraged, as everyone should be, by the conduct of the police in Minneapolis.  The murder by Derek Chauvin was senseless, but even more appalling was that three officers, Thomas Lane, Tou Thao, and J Alexander Kueng stood by and did nothing.  They stood by and did nothing!  The outrage that has followed and the response to it should be a wakeup call for all of us.

GIVEAWAY ALERT!
June 4th marks the 109th birthday of Billy Fiske, the first American pilot to die in World War II. Fiske was only 29 when he died from wounds sustained during the Battle of Britain.

I was delighted when Kevin Billings invited me to write a short piece about how Billy Fiske’s sacrifice in 1940 exemplifies the UK/US Special Relationship and, in particular, the unique relationship between the USAF and RAF.

On 12 July 2017, I took command of the 501st Combat Support Wing at RAF Alconbury then immediately drove to RAF Fairford so I could oversee the Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT).  While attending the RIAT Gala Dinner, extremely jetlagged but happily enjoying cold beverages, I saw this RAF Group Captain who looked a lot like one of our old USAF Assistant Secretaries for Installations, Environment and Logistics – Kevin Billings. 

Johnny Wheeler and the 601 Squadron flying sword

I’ve read speculation before that Billy Fiske was nothing more than another bored wealthy American adventurer, searching for thrill in whatever means could be found.  This has been an accusation put forward to all of the nine Americans that would leave the USA to fight in what became known as the Battle of Britain.  I certainly can’t speak for the motives of each man, but the facts present the opposite for Billy.