On Memorial Day, people remember and honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice. For Dean Whitaker, those memories go back to World War II.
Whitaker was a bombardier on a B-17, running 20 missions during the war. On his 20th mission, he and his crew were gunned down. Most of his crew was killed while parachuting down and Whitaker was taken as a Prisoner of War, where he would remain for the next seven months.
This Memorial Day Weekend, Whitaker ate a pizza lunch with a group of Girl Scouts from Troop 77, sharing his story.
"Our plane was shot up all the time, never did come back with no holes in it," said the 94-year-old to the teenagers.
He said he remembers his crew on Memorial Day, thanking them for making the ultimate sacrifice.
"I was so lucky my sacrifice was a minimal. You gotta think about my crew members that got shot," said Whitaker.
13 Action News recently traveled with Whitaker on an Honor Flight to Washington D.C. to visit the war memorials. Read all the stories here.
