Full Transcript is Below:
– Welcome to a very special edition of NFM TV. I’m honored to be joined in studio by World War II veteran Kenneth Hutcherson, who is receiving our NFM Salute for the month of February 2018. Thank you for being with us, and thank you for your service.
– Thank you.
– You flew in 26 bombing missions. You were based in London. What is a memory that comes to mind of your time in service?
– My first memory was my first bombing mission. We went to Gelsenkirchen, Germany. After we dropped our bombs from 28,000 feet, the bomb bay doors wouldn’t close. The pilot ordered me to crank up the doors because they would slow us down. We couldn’t stay in formation. So I walked across the catwalk, put the crank in. They started coming up, so in my haste to get back to the radio room, I dropped the crank, and I can still see it tumbling end over end from 28,000 feet, headed for the ground.
– Well, I know that you developed some really, really close friendships, and there’s one particular thing that happened with a good friend by the name of Robert Evans. He was one of the 10 that you served with on those bombing missions. Tell the audience about that experience.
– Well, they flew the bomb, they had honor flights and flew crews in from all over the country to visit the World War II memorial in Washington. And I knew he was coming. I was notified he was coming. We wrote them letters, which they opened on the plane, and they called it the mail call. So I made arrangements to meet him at BWI. When he got off the plane, he came off in a wheelchair, and I met him down on the tarmac, and we hugged and cried.
– Oh, and what a special moment. I know that these days you reside in Towson, Maryland, and one of the biggest thrills you get these days is the younger generation recognizing you, thanking you. What does that feel like?
– It feels great. In fact, I spoke at Towson High School with the senior class, and it was such a thrill for me to see the attention that they, and the interest they had in it.
– We’re so honored that you made the journey here to NFM TV today, and we’re also privileged to be able to donate a thousand dollars to Platoon 22, which is an organization very near and dear to NFM Lending, that deals with the systemic problem of veteran suicide. Congratulations on the nomination. We really appreciate it. It’s such an important cause to us. Thank you so much for being with us, and congratulations on the honor, and we’re so proud to have you with us.
– Thank you so much.
– All right, thank you very much. That’s our February 2018 NFM Salute, Kenneth Hutcherson. And we appreciate you watching NFM TV. We’ll see you next time.