Gene Roddenbury......Decorated B-17 pilot.

[Forgotten Field]

If Trek fans had enough skills to commit violence, I would have been killed at a sci-fi con in the early 90s. I tied up Gene Roddenberry about his B-17 time and Deforest Kelly on his time making movies for the Army in WW2. Each were delighted to talk about anything other than Trek! Roddenberry even leaned in and said, "Thanks, I hadn't thought about those days in a while and nobody ever asks about that."
A good pal further drove the Trekkies nuts at the same event by asking Roddenberry about his time as a cop...

Very fun! I did the same thing to a sitting Judge in MD, who mentioned being in the South Pacific; he said something like, "What we called that when I was in WWII in the Pacific was a SNAFU." So I stayed after court (traffic court) to talk to him. The bailiff rolled his eyes the whole time. He was a photography tech in an A-20 squadron.

[wacoykc]

Matt Jefferies was a good friend of mine who flew a Waco YOC NC17740 that is now in the Virginia Aviation Museum in Richmond, VA. That is the airplane the inspiration came from.