https://barrycountyhistoryportal.org/files/original/14/360/Dibble_Text0218.pdf 7cc50db8237688ddc446e285cc2aeaa1 PDF Text Text .¥ O Os®l W >¥ \ ' - . Ml I re > Bl| i Ji 1 >a Iff’ 1.I ..«* 3 ’T 1 lie fundamental of leadership in war is simply that the senior officer has to show the others that it can be done and how to do it. Forty-seven years ago, my Uncle led the first fighter group into combat, and we honor him for that today. Deeds of valor were done because the enemy barred a return to home and family. It didn’t matter whether the enemy was fascist, or Nazi. Few understood such matters. The enemy was there, and until he was killed the Americans could not go home. Soon after World War II began, and openly proclaiming that he had no desire to be a private in Anyone’s Army, Jim joined the Cadet program to learn to fly. xpuld not let anything stand in his way. He was not only going to be '■'P - the P-38 Lightning. Jim was driven by an in inner desire to be a pilot a a pilot, but a fighter :r pilot, Hying the hottest pit] By Augustt of 1943, Jim had fulfilled his his goals. <■ seasoned veteran veteran of of 42 42 combat missions. mission AuguT Presidential Distinguished stinguishe Unit Citations that d\ and Italian Airfields ields in preparation pr of the allieds ers to Italy. Again on the 28th, Jim shot another fighter group to their SecondPresidential Disting just 24th he i I mention these missions because of all the excitins merited mentioning in letters home was leading tlw enemy planes. In fact, he never mentioned the^nW On August 31st, Jim wrote to his wife,, “ 1 Yeste^^| I was a little nervous when confrontedI 'with the res[ 9th, 1943, while staling a large German convoy, Jim m! into combat. 'lu irned to the kot in 11)1 Ididmy ; sacrifii :e ea experience ini Jim’s mindwas not nc shooting down late combat that was important to him. pts into i to combat iter group intc ; combat, I led the first fight September enough.” Oni Si st and I guess it was good en< ing fighter pilots loing what he enjoyed most, i leadir fatever the reward. Soldiers are unlikely to calculate Jim didn’t try to be a hero. He didn’t have to. Good officers are good .hir.k’ng, and happens will win a medal. Jim said it best, “When a guy gets in a bad spot and does some fast ‘thinking that this or any action ac joy it and doesn’t want of Me-109’s to his credit, he may get the DFC for it; but you can be sure he didn’t enji to get out with a: couple c ieserved.” it to happen again. 99% of the boys don’t want to be heroes, it happens, and any medals they get are well dt ©ooZdO d J A . ■ ) r< >.. I This medal today is well deserved and its award greatly appreciated. Thank you. of xfjiSSolfi7 ~ OT quadron from Rest Camp ip. He was a 21 year old ie first fighter group earnt ned the first of its three Jorth Africa to Foggia, roggia, It Italy -1, to strafe the German .shot down a Me-109 while escorting be Zomb s. And oXcourse, on August 30th, Jim led the ie first < event which Fh<p<4 led to Jim during thisis one week, the only ).//lie u\ ^yiow #< do.« U.S.A � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource James P. Dibble: The Search for Answers Description An account of the resource Learn about the 30+ years James' nephews Jim and Ted spent investigating his death to unearth what actually happened. Using private investigators, government contacts and tenacious research, see how they learned what really happened the day James died, how they found his crash site, including witnesses, and made new friends in Italy along the way. Included are photos and documents about James' posthumous Distinguished Flying Cross, photos of the crash site and finding plane wreckage, plus documents and letters amassed during their search for answers. Jump to other sections of the collection: <ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/5">James P. Dibble: World War II P-38 Fighter Pilot</a><ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/6">His Early Life</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/7">High School into the Army Air Corps</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/8">Flight Training</a><ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/17">We Got Married!</a></li> </ul></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/9">Combat!</a><ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/10">Mission Reports</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/11">Letters Home</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/16">Flying with Eisenhower</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/12">The Day of Armageddon - August 30, 1943</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/13">Killed in Action</a></li> </ul></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/14">The Search for Answers</a><ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/15">The Monument in Padula, Italy</a></li> </ul></li> </ul></li> </ul> <ul><li> <ul><li><a href="http://omeka/collections/show/15"></a></li> </ul></li> </ul> Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Typed document Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Certificate describing James Dibble's character and receipt of the Distinguished Flying Cross Subject The topic of the resource James Dibble. Medals and Citations. Description An account of the resource Certificate describing James Dibble's character and receipt of the Distinguished Flying Cross. Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Achievement certificates Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Jim Dibble Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1990-12 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-NC/1.0/ Rights Holder A person or organization owning or managing rights over the resource. Hastings Public Library Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Jim Dibble Date Accepted Date of acceptance of the resource. Examples of resources to which a Date Accepted may be relevant are a thesis (accepted by a university department) or an article (accepted by a journal). 1/18/2022