I first saw Lynn Forshee in the summer of 2004.  We had "met" over the air, since we were both Amateur Radio operators, and while visiting North Iowa, I dropped by to meet him in person.

Lynn looked directly at you when he spoke, and when the subject was one of the many he cared about, there was an intensity and focus that suggested he'd accomplished a lot over the years. 

He talked of his early interests in electronics and "Ham Radio," and the conversation led to his joining the Navy in early 1941, before the United States got involved in World War II.  Lynn was in Naval Aviation as a radioman and gunner (and towards the end of the war, he was trained as a pilot).  He spoke as if it were yesterday, and when he talked of dangerous missions and dog fights, I could tell he was reliving those moments.  He told of loosing his closest wartime friends in battle, of hearing their last words over the radio as their planes went down, and for a while he was unable to continue with his story.

Near the end of our fascinating conversation, he mentioned he'd written and self-published a book called Standby, Mark that recounted his time in the war.  I asked what the title meant.  He told about when going into a bombing dive, the pilot often couldn't see the sea or ground.  Only the bombardier could see, who would call out STANDBY,  and then when it was time to pull out of the dive, he'd shout MARK!  As I leafed through the book, I was struck by the stories Lynn had put on paper, and I wondered if there were a way for them to be shared more widely.

So began this project to re-publish Lynn's book, this time on the web.  I saw Lynn one more time, the year he died (Lynn's obituary), and he was clearly happy his book was available for others to read online.

Click here to begin reading about Lynn's experiences in WWII in Naval Aviation.

                             -- Webmaster,   Jim Moen    K6XZ

Copyright ©2004-2007 Lynn R. Forshee.  All rights reserved.