stoopified
5/29/2013, 04:16 PM
I went to high school in Ponca City and one day in 1975 I saw a picture hanging in the gym.It was a picture of a group of young men in WWII gatered around the nose of a B-29 bomber nicknamed Waddt's Wagon.The pilot was identified as Walter( Waddy) Roland Young of Ponca City.It made quite an impression on me and I set about finding out all I could about Waddy.
He graduated from Pnca in 1934,was an all star in everything he did. Upon graduation he recieved a football scholarship to OU/ At 6'1 185 he played end(both ways in those days) for the Sooners n 1938 as a senior he became OU's first consensus All-American,helping lead OU to it's first bowl game an Orange Bowl vs. Tennessee. Young went on to play two years of pro footbal(1939,1940) After the 1940 season Waddy joined the Army Air Corp.By the time of Pearl Harbor,Young was a qualified bomber pilot.
His first assignment was flying ant-sub missions out of Newfoundland.He later completed a combat tour over Europe in B-17s.He rotated home and becaome an instructor for the new bomber the B-29 Superfortress.After some considerable effort on his part,Young got posted to The Pacific as aB-29 pilot.On waddy young's last mission he was a flight leader in Waddy's Wagon as the bomber formation was returning to base after a raid over Tokoyo.One of the other planes issued a distress call and Waddy turned his flight over to his number 2 plane and went back to the aid of the other B-29 the Miss Behavin..Right on cue the Japanese launched fighters against the two trailing bombers.Out of range of help both planes were shot doqwn,there were no survivors. Waddy Yong gave his life that day in January 1945 so America could be free.
From that day in the Po-Hi gym in 1975, Walter Roland Yound who would be 97 if he had livedhhas been my hero.Just thought I would share his story for those who have never heard it.
He graduated from Pnca in 1934,was an all star in everything he did. Upon graduation he recieved a football scholarship to OU/ At 6'1 185 he played end(both ways in those days) for the Sooners n 1938 as a senior he became OU's first consensus All-American,helping lead OU to it's first bowl game an Orange Bowl vs. Tennessee. Young went on to play two years of pro footbal(1939,1940) After the 1940 season Waddy joined the Army Air Corp.By the time of Pearl Harbor,Young was a qualified bomber pilot.
His first assignment was flying ant-sub missions out of Newfoundland.He later completed a combat tour over Europe in B-17s.He rotated home and becaome an instructor for the new bomber the B-29 Superfortress.After some considerable effort on his part,Young got posted to The Pacific as aB-29 pilot.On waddy young's last mission he was a flight leader in Waddy's Wagon as the bomber formation was returning to base after a raid over Tokoyo.One of the other planes issued a distress call and Waddy turned his flight over to his number 2 plane and went back to the aid of the other B-29 the Miss Behavin..Right on cue the Japanese launched fighters against the two trailing bombers.Out of range of help both planes were shot doqwn,there were no survivors. Waddy Yong gave his life that day in January 1945 so America could be free.
From that day in the Po-Hi gym in 1975, Walter Roland Yound who would be 97 if he had livedhhas been my hero.Just thought I would share his story for those who have never heard it.