Local WW II Vet shares his story

Lt.Col. (retired) Dick Waring shares an amusing story from one of his combat missions over Germany as a B-17 navigator during WWII with Col. Allan Swartzmiller (left) 914th Airlift Wing Commander and Col. Bret Larson, 914th Airlift Wing Vice Commander at the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station, NY on August 4, 2012. Waring was presented with a shadow box of his rank and medals in appreciation for telling his story for the Air Force Pioneers in Blue Program, to be seen in the near future on the internet. (U.S. Air Force photo by Peter Borys)

Local WW II Vet shares his story

Lt.Col. (retired) Dick Waring displays a shadow box with his rank and medals with Col. Allan Swartzmiller (right), 914th Airlift Wing Commander and Col. Bret Larson (left), 914th Airlift Wing Vice Commander at the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station, NY on August 4, 2012. Waring was presented with the shadow box in appreciation for telling his story for the Air Force Pioneers in Blue Program, to be seen in the near future on the internet. (U.S. Air Force photo by Peter Borys)

Local WW II Vet shares his story

Published Aug. 15, 2012
By Peter Borys
914th Airlift Wing Public Affairs

NIAGARA FALLS AIR RESERVE STATION, NY -- As time passes on, so too does the World War II veteran.

In November 2011, the Department of Veterans Affairs estimated that approximately 1,711,000 American veterans were still living. That number has since diminished. It is important to document and preserve these and other veteran's stories of bravery and courage for future generations.

"Pioneers in Blue" is an Air Force Public Affairs Agency sponsored project that includes portrait-based displays, video interviews, multimedia and a website dedicated to telling the stories of individual veterans. The entire endeavor will be submitted to the Library of Congress as part of the Veterans History Project and distributed to numerous media outlets to help honor those who have served proudly.

Lt.Col. (retired) Dick Waring was asked to share his story for Pioneers in Blue. The B-17 navigator flew more than 35 successful bombing missions over Germany in WW II. Waring's story will be shown in the near future.

To see all the pioneers online, visit their website here.

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Local WW II Vet shares his story

Local WW II Vet shares his story