Met a WWII Fighter Pilot tonight ***UPDATE

I work as a waiter and by chance, members of our military and veterans will often be seated in my section. Tonight an unassuming gentleman was dining alone and I noticed an American flag pin on his collar similar to one I wear on my uniform. He asked 'Do you fly?' and I said no, sir, my pin was a gift from a veteran. Then he told me he was a P-47 fighter pilot and I realized he was a WWII veteran. Out of more than 15,000 P-47's that were built, he flew #000007. He piloted 67 missions with the 371st Fighter Group including the first ones into France after D-Day. In between missions they would rescue injured soldiers as well as French civilians. They 'adopted' one badly injured French girl and in 1979 a group returned to the town St. Mere to visit her and meet her daughter, and see a monument dedicated to them. It was amazing to hear his experiences...to think of the lives he saved, and the friends he lost, and to talk to someone who had a real part in stopping Hitler. He shared a lot more about his life and mentioned his knees were messed up from plane crashes. He told me he is 91 but he looked more like 75. It's not every day I get to meet someone so tough and honorable.