Still in the sky

They were from different parts of the country and fought World War II in different parts of the world. For almost three decades, they lived only about 40 miles away from each other but they had never met.

One newspaper article, one phone call and one visit later, and the two men discovered kindred spirits -- and a bond that only a few still living can share.

Ike Farrar of Flat Creek and John Ross of Manchester were pilots during World War II, with Ike flying C47 and C46 military transport planes in the Pacific theater and John flying the speedy P-38 in the European.

In a Times-Gazette article published about a year ago, Ike was interviewed, along with other Bedford County veteran pilots Ivan Potts, Bob Bomar and John Jarrell.

"That's all that's left of us," said Ike.

Someone saw the article and showed it to John, living over in Manchester. He contacted Ike and the two men have been visiting each other once a week ever since.

"We talk about the war," said John. "Most people don't understand what we're talking about."

Eye in the Sky

Long before any television helicopter team claimed the title "Eye in the Sky," John Ross was taking on that role. One of the most decorated pilots still living, the Distinguished Flying Cross pilot flew 96 missions over Europe -- and most of them without weaponry, armed escorts, or even decent weather.

John was a spy.

"Everything we did was top secret," he said.

He flew photo reconnaissance missions (including some with Francis Gary Powers, who later shot down over the Soviet Union in his own spy plane) over German occupied territory, taking back vital information to the generals that would help them decide what action to take next. In fact, Ross himself was a pivotal player in the Battle of the Bulge in 1944-45, a credit long kept silent because of the secrecy of his role.

"Our morale was at its lowest at that time," he said.

Hitler was making a drive toward Antwerp (the port now in Allied hands and the only access to an ocean supply line) driving a wedge between Allied forces. The troops were moved under the cover of fog and darkness, with the Luftwaffe airplanes roaring back and forth overhead to distract Allied troops and to mask the sounds of the advance.

"The Germans even put straw on the roads so you couldn't hear the wheels of the trucks," said Ross.

In order for the Allies to counter the German moves, the leaders had to know where they were. That's where John and his fellow photo recon pilots came in.

Only -- of the few sent out to get the photos needed, shooting film through fog and the cover of the Ardennes forest -- only Ross returned. After the war, someone found orders issued directly from Hitler for German pilots to take out the Allied Recon flyers by any means necessary, even if meant ramming their planes and suiciding.

When Ross defied the odds of enemy pilots and dense terrain, he still faced the foe of bad weather upon his return.

"They didn't want to let him land," said Ike. "The ceiling was too low. He told them he had to land, they needed the information. So he came in."

Speed and skill

The photographs John brought back helped the Allies win after what is considered the single largest and bloodiest battle the Allies fought. But not all of John's trips were for the sake of plotting bombing runs. Sometimes he brought back information for preservation purposes as well.

"We were bombing the bridge in Cologne and we were on strict orders to leave the cathedrals alone," said John. "I had to get close to them and see that they weren't hurt."

On one such reconnaissance run, John took an amazing close-up of the Cologne cathedral, one that appears in several history books with his name as the photo credit.

"You could see the rivets in it," he said.

When his superiors first saw the photo, one of them joked, "Tell Ross to get 50 feet closer next time."

That type of flying took skill, but the recon runs over occupied territory also took speed. The P-38 Lightning he flew was stripped clean of all weaponry -- there were no machine guns, no offensive or defensive weaponry anywhere. This left room for several cameras and also left the aircraft much faster than its armed counterpart. Of course, it also posed a hazard to the pilot, when he was flying unescorted.

Or even escorted ... the Germans would capture planes and during the thick of a dogfight, would insinuate their fighters into the Allied flight ranks to wreak havoc from within. One time, Ross found himself being shot at by a British Spitfire and had to order his escort to shoot the plane down.

"I told him to get that SOB off my tail," said John, grinning. He'd been a little embarrassed to see that exact quote in an official report filed -- and hidden away under "Top Secret" for decades.

Greatest Generation

Many of those secret flights have come to light in recent years. One woman contacted him years ago and surprised him by showing him page after page of de-classified reports of his activities. Her name was Patricia Keen and she was writing a documented history, "Eyes of the Eighth,, about the war efforts of the photo recon pilots in World War II. John has a copy of the book now, of course, and he is featured in it several times, from the famous Cologne Cathedral shot, to the mention of the night he spent floating in a rubber dinghy in the North Sea after his plane went down.

"You know, they told his wife three times he wasn't coming back," laughed Ike.

John nodded and said, "The last time, she told them to just wait. He'll be back."

He and his wife, Leona, or "Sis" as she was called, were married 72 years before she passed away. They have five children, 23 grandchildren and 23 great-grandchildren, many of whom have shared John's passion for flying, with his son a pilot in Vietnam and a grandson and granddaughter-in-law who were pilots in the Persian Gulf War.

Ike and his wife have been married for almost as long, and that sense of family and continuity are another bond the two men share. They are also a part of what television journalist Tom Brokaw called "The Greatest Generation" -- the people who lived through the Depression and fought and won World War II.

Both Ike, 91, and John, 96, have traveled that path, struggled through those hard times, and emerged victorious.

And now, once a week, each one reflects upon his past in the comfortable presence of someone who can understand.