My grandfather, Captain Robert K. Chittle (China Burma India "Hump" C-47 pilot) with his wife Jessie, 1945. He made Major before he left the service. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his perilous flights over the Himalayan mountains, supplying the Flying Tigers and ground fighters who were fighting the tough Japanese forces. These stories and more are currently featured in The Pacific on HBO.

Many pilots never made it back from these flights and were never heard from again. They called the hump "Aluminum Alley" because of all the crashed planes.  When my grandfather returned home, several major airlines offered him a job. He ended up joining his family's restaurant supply business in his hometown of Flint, Michigan, where he retired in 1983.

He and my grandmother are still alive and well today!