Hod Nielsen
Sep 18, 2009
Hod Nielsen is one of Yankton's favorite citizens. He is a revered sports broadcaster and sports editor. But before all that he was a WWII pilot who flew the famous P-38.
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Ron Fagen of Fergus Falls, Minn., owns one of only a few P-38s in existence, and he had a pilot fly it to Yankton on Thursday (Sept. 17) just for Hod. -
Word spread around town about the reunion of the old aviator and the P-38, and more than a hundred people came to greet Hod and see the vintage aircraft. -
Pilots and crew who were just passing through encountered quite a celebration in Yankton. -
As the plane taxied to a stop, Hod Nielsen walked out to the runway to take a close look. He flew the plane for four years during the war, then never flew again. -
Hod talked aviation with Rob Ator, who flew the plane to Yankton for the Fagen family. The plane has two engines, each with 1,600 horsepower. -
Before the Normandy invasion of 1944, Hod and his fellow P-38 pilots flew over France and photographed the topography to provide information for military strategists. -
Flying the vintage WWII planes is "like strapping on a national monument," said one pilot who attended the reunion at Yankton this week.
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