USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -On his 18th birthday he enlisted in the armed forces. The youngest pilot in the Navy when he received his wings, he flew 58 combat missions during World War II. On one mission over the Pacific as a torpedo bomber pilot he was shot down by Japanese antiaircraft fire and was rescued from the water by a U. S. submarine.

Detailed explanation-2: -Poplar Grove resident Chuck Downey earned his wings as a U.S. Naval pilot when he was 18 years old, and decades later discovered he was the youngest of the war, despite a claim by President George H.W.

Detailed explanation-3: -Thomas Dobney applied to join the RAF in 1941, aged just 14, after a dare from a school friend. He flew a Tiger Moth of No 2 Elementary Flying School near Gloucester six days after his 15th birthday. He went solo after 12 flying hours.

Detailed explanation-4: -Bush performed part-time Guard duty as an F-102 pilot through April 1972, logging a total of 336 flight hours. Before April 1972, Bush had fulfilled more than the required hours of service, but with more than two years remaining before his discharge.