Thank you to all who made this event a memorable success. It honored the Centennial of Frank Tinker's birth and was held at Tinker's grave in De Witt Cemetery.
Lt. Frank Tinker, Jr. (De Witt High School 1926, Annapolis 1933) was the first American fighter pilot to down a Nazi Messerschmitt 109. As a contract flyer for the FARE (the Spanish Republic's Air Force) he battled America's World War II enemies before Pearl Harbor. Tinker earned Ace status with 8 confirmed kills and 11 more probables. He chronicled his experiences in his book, "Some Still Live". He was the model for one of the American pilots in Hemingway's "Night Before Battle".
Tinker was born July 14, 1909 and died in 1939.
Photos at http://www.flickr.com/photos/40439843@N04/
More information:
http://www.libs.uga.edu/flyers/
http://imansolas.freeservers.com/Aces/Frank%20Tinker.html
http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=4581
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Glasgow_Tinker |
