ATLANTA — A World War II pilot from Georgia celebrated his 100th birthday in style, taking to the air again in a P-51 Mustang of the same type he flew nearly 80 years ago.
Paul Crawford, who lives in Buckhead, went out on Tuesday with four pilots taking off in Mustangs from DeKalb-Peachtree Airport. Crawford flew with pilot Bob Bull in the "E Pluribus Unum," according to an account of the event provided by Moreno Aguiari with the Inspire Aviation Foundation.
"There's nothing in the world like that airplane," Crawford said of his reunion with the P-51. "I loved doing the maneuvers again."
Inspire Aviation and the Liberty Foundation partnered to put on the event, where Crawford was joined by his son-in-law, friends and members of the foundations.
According to an account of Crawford's life by Aguiari, he graduated high school six months after the attacks on Pearl Harbor and set his sights on the skies.
“I knew that I was going to be drafted so I went to Atlanta to talk with the Army Air Corps and the Navy about flying,” Crawford said. ”The Navy said they would accept me for flight training but wanted me to go right then to their Great Lakes training center. The Air Corps told me they would accept me, but to go on back to college and they would notify me when to report.”
Crawford enrolled in Georgia Southwestern College and soon after reported to Fort McPherson in 1942 upon being drafted.
He was ultimately assigned to the 311th Fighter Group, 529th Fighter Squadron protecting B-29 bases in China. With just 60 hours of flight time under his belt, he transferred to a combat zone and, on his 29th flight, was shot down during a mission. He was picked up by Chinese Communist guerillas, who at the time were fighting the occupying Imperial Japanese Army, and endured a 200-mile trek evading the Japanese forces. Eventually he made his way to an airstrip where the U.S. was flying out downed airmen.
“When I recall my time in World War II, I always start by saying, I was not a hero! I was just there! That is not false modesty because it is the way I have always felt," Crawford said.
See some more photos from the event. The other pilots joining Crawford and Bob Bull were Ray Fowler (Liberty Foundation) in "Old Crow," Rodney Allison in "Rebel" and Steve Maher in "Ain't Missbehavin."
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