Events_Coming_Full_Circle

Events coming full circle!

Bernard Siehling & John Siehling

On a beautiful afternoon in late 1944 I was plowing with a team of our Belgian horses one furrow at a time as I watched overhead  a Trio of Lightnings  (American fighter bombers) in formation heading west at rather low level, likely just searching for targets.  Suddenly one peeled off to make a 180 degree turn and put his nose way down directly aiming at me and the team, and I knew enough to simply stretch out in the fresh furrow, making a very small target. He did NOT waste any ' ordinance', but after a perfunctory look kicked in the after-burners to pull up and join his buddies.  That might have been my final furrow to plow!--- But I lived to tell the story to my grand-children, some of them now actively working on real flying machines like the F35.--- That is what history is all about !

An additional connection between the two is that the P-38 "Lightning" carries the same namesake as the F-35 "Lightning II".  So Bernard's encounter with the P-38 Lightning ties to his grandson John's work on the F-35 Lightning II!  The story on the naming can be found on the F-35 website here.  Also, below are a few photos from the Lockheed Martin event that had both aircraft together.