WWII Veteran Returns To Skies At RAF Ridgewell
 

WWII Veteran Returns To Skies At RAF Ridgewell
By: Claire Sadler - 26th September 2019 at 5:09pm
RE: https://www.forces.net/news/wwii-vet...-raf-ridgewell

Photo link: On site only
Ninety-five-year-old Casey Bukowski served at the RAF station in Essex during the Second World War.

Casey Bukowski is 95 years old and during the Second World War, he served at RAF Ridgewell.

The veteran has not been to the RAF station in Essex since the war.
RAF Ridgewell was a heavy bomber base used by the Americans.

On 22 February 1944, Mr Bukowski set off on a fateful mission on his B-17 bomber.

"At that time, I was a fresh kid from the States," he said.

"I had nothing but excitement and adventure in mind."

Photo link: https://www.forces.net/sites/default...?itok=U9MFeuuO
Second World War Veteran Casey Bukowski visited the RAF station after 75 years.

He recalls that when he went on his first mission and the Germans started shooting at his aircraft, he realised he "did not belong" in the battlefield.

"Someone could get hurt, and it could be me," he said he remembers thinking at the time.

When flying over Germany, he was shot down by the enemy forces.

While surviving the fall, he spent the rest of the conflict as a prisoner of war.

More than 74 years since being shot down, he headed for the skies again.

"I am looking for another new adventure," he said boarding the aircraft that took him for a spin around Essex.

"I have to try this again sometime," he added with a smile.