Those Aren't Bells Ringing, They Are Balls Clanging Together.

Big, Brass Ones.


Bill Overstreet, Famed WWII Fighter Pilot, Dies At 92

World War II fighter pilot William Overstreet Jr. passed away Sunday. He was 92. Overstreet gained fame for flying beneath the Eiffel Tower's arches during the war in pursuit of a German aircraft.

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CLEMMONS: This was a half-hour dogfight which would end up going through the streets of Paris and conclude itself through a pursuit through the Eiffel Tower where Bill shot down the German pilot.

CORNISH: Yes, you heard that right, from the stratosphere, down through the arches of the Eiffel Tower. Here's how Overstreet himself described the chase in an interview posted online.

WILLIAM OVERSTREET: He figured I'd try to get around and he'd have time to get away. He was wrong. I was right behind him, right under the Eiffel Tower with him. And when he pulled up, I did get him. But that's a huge space. That's not close at all. It's plenty of room to go under the Eiffel Tower. But it makes a good story.

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A half hour dog fight over the streets of Paris from thirty thousand feet all the way down to the deck under the Eiffel Tower.

Apparently he was also a master of the understatement.

God Speed sir.

Read the whole thing here.