Franklin County, North Carolina, is home to a World War II veteran, Joe Balogh, who is getting ready for a special Blue Ridge Honor Flight from Asheville to Washington, D.C. Balogh is part of a diminishing group of courageous men and women who served in the war. At 103 years old, he remains active and is still able to stand on his own two feet.
As a young man in Detroit, Balogh worked for the Ford Motor Company, which was producing B24 aircraft for the war effort. He had aspirations of becoming a pilot rather than an officer, so he underwent cadet training in the Army Air Corp. In 1944, he was sent to southern Burma where he piloted a B25 plane on dangerous missions. Balogh recalls one instance where Japanese Zeros fired at their plane while they were dropping artillery to a U.S. ground force. Miraculously, Balogh and his crew were able to bail out and avoid capture by the enemy.
On another mission near the mountains of China, tragedy struck when they were unable to jump out of the plane in time and had to crash into rice patties. Balogh lost his co-pilot in the crash. Despite surpassing the recommended limit of 68 air missions, Balogh continued to fly as the attrition rates for pilots were high during the war.
Looking ahead to the Blue Ridge Honor Flight, Balogh is eager to reunite with his fellow veterans and share stories of their time in the war. He views them as brothers who worked together to protect their country. Balogh’s dedication to his service is evident through the 106 missions he flew during World War II.