Pilot Jim Baynham, 101, reflects on the Kassel Mission battle

Fresh off a lecture about mechanized scooter safety in the halls of his assisted living facility, 101-year-old Jim Baynham sat down for a telephone interview with Linda Alice Dewey and Aaron Elson, hosts of the Kassel Mission Chronicles podcast.

The last surviving participant of the battle between 35 B-24 Liberators and about 120 German fighter planes, Baynham had turned 20 only a few months before and was the youngest member of the crew whose lives were in his hands.

I was a little late hitting the record button and missed the part about Jim's class on scooter safety, but fortunately Jim puts out a sort of blog by email and text, and this morning the following arrived:

"We did it. Actually tested those of us scooter drivers who turned ourselves in. We reported to the residents lounge, carefully threading our way through the spaces between the chairs and table. Carefully, it was no time to have an accident. So we were directed to form a line in preparation for a drivers test among pylons set up in the main hallway. Those of us who successfully navigated the course without knocking over a pylon got a certificate attesting to our successfully completing the test. It was a pretty impressive event. That hall full of old folks showed up and proved we coud still tame our impulses to run over someone and act like we were normal folks with concerns for our fellow man. It was pretty impressive. Love, Dad, Grandpa, Uncle, Jim."

credit: Kasselmission.org

For more on the Kassel Mission:

https://www.kasselmission.org

For more about the podcast hosts:

https://www.lindaalicedewey.com

https://aaronelson.substack.com