Lockheed P-38 "Lightning" WWII Fighter Pilots

We live in a digital era.  Digital photos, High Definition Videos, and Music, all of them can be archived and kept  on a thumb drive.  These "files" can be shared with anyone, anywhere in the world. But what about our parents era? 

Photo Corner Tabs

Our parents displayed their photos in frames that sat on shelves or hung on walls.  Other photos were arranged in albums kept in place with corner holders. I remember our dining room table becoming  an album assembly line.  My mother would have stacks and rows of photos arranged in "her order".  I would pick a photo out of the pile asking who is this a picture of?  She would patiently tell me who it was and the "story" that went with the photo.  But, a mothers patience soon wears thin and she would simply say, Jimmy turn the photo over and read the back, followed by: make sure you put that back where you found it.

The back of the photos contained handwritten information which satisfied my curiosity of who, where, and when. The writing styles varied, some of the photos were copies given to us from various relatives and friends. No doubt each copy of the photo's information was carefully transcribed from the master photo each time a copy was requested.

Which brings me to today.... I googled Lockheed P-38 Lightning looking for a picture of my fathers plane that he flew as a WWII Fighter Pilot. I found what I was looking for and used it as my facebook cover photo.  My son came down the stairs and said "dad, don't you have a photo of your dads actual plane"? I thought for a minute and said "yes I think there is one on a shelf, someplace.... Amazingly I found it and carefully removed the photo from the frame.  I flipped the photo over and on the back was a wealth of information.  

My son was surprised at the story that was written on the back in my fathers handwriting.  A story that I am sharing with you.  I wonder how many of you will start pulling out old photos and looking on the backs for the rest of the story....

The Back of the photo

My Dads Fighter Squadron "The Screaming Meanies"