Col. Steve Pisanos, USAF, Ret. on Blakeslee
"In 1986, I was invited to the Paris Air Show at Le Bourget Airport, by my friend, Dimitri Countouris, a retired general of the Greek Air Force and a manufacturer's rep. in Greece, who represented many aviation companies from all over. When I met Dimitri in Paris, he told me that we were going to have lunch at the Bell Helicopter Chalet, with a group of people.
The Bell people had reserved a round table for 10 at the Chalet, as they thought much of Countouris, since he had sold a good number of helicopters to the Greek Army.
We were sitting at our table at the Chalet and about 12:00 noon, when my friend's friend, walked in with another couple, and I couldn't believe my eyes when I spotted the great Luftwaffe ace with 105 victories in WWII, my ex. enemy Gen. Adolf Galland.
I knew Galland from history and photos, but he didn't know me. At the table, my friend placed me at the chair to the left of my ex. enemy, who by the way, spoke English with an accent like me. I was introduced to Galland as Steve Pisanos, friend of Dimitri.
We had just started to sip our wine, when Galland turned to me and said, "You helicopter pilot?"
"No General," I said, "I don't like helicopters. I fly real aeroplanes."
"And what aeroplanes do you fly?" he asked.
"I don't fly now general, but in World War Two I flew Spitfires."
"You flew SPITFIRES???" he uttered sharply.
"Yes sir. General, I was with the 71st Eagle Squadron in the RAF, and later on with the USAAF 4th Fighter Group, that escorted the B-17s to Berlin the first time, on March the 3rd.
"That was BLAKESLEE'S GROUP!!!" he exclaimed.
"Yes it was. Why? Do you know Colonel Blakeslee, General?"
"My friend, we knew him very well in the Luftwaffe. I was in Berlin that day meeting with Marshall Goering and when we were informed that the Americans were coming over with B-17s and that they were being escorted by Mustangs, I knew it was Blakeslee and his pilots.
Galland then said, "You know my friend, we had gotten Hub Zemke, but truthfully, Blakeslee was the one we wanted."
(Excerpted from a rather long letter that Col. Pisanos wrote about two year ago.)
