Macs next door neighbor happened to be Birmingham’s only World War 1 ace, Jimmy Meissner. Jimmy would tell Mac tales of flying and combat. That was the beginning of his quest to fly. For his 14th birthday, Jimmy took him on his first airplane ride. His dream was coming true but not even in his wildest dreams could he have imagined that this ride would be just the first of thousands of hours flying, or that his feats of daring in the face of great danger would rival those of the flying aces of World War 1.
Jimmy Meissner 117 Air Refueling Wing, Alabama Air National Guard