WWII Veteran Flies Again

Jim Bennie, as a native of Scotland who spent much of his youth in Massachusetts, had seen plenty of the world by the time he went off to serve during World War II in the Army Air Corps, fighting Japan's occupying forces in China as a member of the famed Flying Tigers unit.

Several decades later, he has had some fresh air time over the CSRA, with the help of North Augusta resident Damon Comparetta, a former Marine Captain who now makes a living via aerial photography.

Comparetta, to help grant a birthday wish for the 94-year-old veteran, helped guide a two-man flight from Aiken to Lake Thurmond (also known as Clarks Hill Lake) and back.

"He was so happy," Comparetta recalled. "He was just grinning from ear to ear. He reminded me of a kid again, and"it was refreshing for me, as a pilot, to see someone at that age, seeing the kid in them again."

Bennie offered some thoughts, in a Saturday interview, on his view of Memorial Day and remembrance in general. "So many memories pop up during this period of time," he said. "It's very hard to catalog all the things that you've done and seen. At 94 years old, I've got a lot of things in my memory bank. All the guys that I know that have died, got killed, or whoever, they all come back," said Bennie, who lives in Modoc, in Edgefield County, near the McCormick County line.

He is in a position to have plenty of military memories, since he joined the service in 1942, served through the end of the war and wound up getting back on board in 1951 (after a five-year break serving with Eastern Airlines, in Miami). He also was called on to serve in Indochina (later known as Vietnam) with French forces, and retired in Hawaii in 1977.

Recalling Bennie's birthday excursion, Comparetta said he was particularly impressed with Bennie's ability, at 3,000 feet, to navigate, realize whether the plane was on course and make a correction if needed. "He's still with it and he still has his intellect there," Comparetta said.

Bennie recalled, "Years ago, I got my pilot's license, so I told my daughter, "Gee, I'd like to go flying again - really flying," so that was my birthday party. Damon took me for a ride. We had a good time."

The vehicle of choice was a high-performance Cessna Cardinal 177RG (for retractable gear), with 210 horsepower.

As an aircraft mechanic, Bennie started his military career in the presence of P-40s that helped make a claim to WWII history by blasting a variety of Japanese targets trucks, boats, bridges, whatever" - in partnership with the Chinese.

His duty, always performed with a Chinese counterpart, included such jobs as aircraft inspection, damage repair, maintenance and changing engines. He would eventually reach the rank of command master sergeant - the uppermost position among enlisted personnel.

His most recent flight included no hostility but still posed some challenges, as it took place on the Monday after the Masters Tournament, with plenty of golf traffic still being in the CSRA. The Cessna was "a little bit restricted," Bennie recalled.

"He was so happy. He was just grinning from ear to ear. He reminded me of a kid again, and it was refreshing for me, as a pilot, to see someone at that age, seeing the kid in them again."
-Pilot Damon Comparetta, on Jim Bennie

Bill Bengtson, a native of Florence, Alabama, has worked for Aiken Communications since 1996, providing pictures and stories for the Aiken Standard and The North Augusta Star.