The FINAL SBD Dauntless gunner?

The Last Veteran of a Legendary Aircraft

Let me tell you about my good friend - Richard "Dick" Miralles.

I have gotten to know quite a few World War II veterans in the past three years of my work. But perhaps none of them was closer to me than Dick Miralles - a former SBD Dauntless gunner with Air Group 11. This plane is the famous dive bomber that won the Battle of Midway and helped to turn the tide in the Pacific.

Dick came to our attention in 2022 when we heard he was coming to Airbase Georgia from California to take flight in his former aircraft - the Dauntless, which the Commemorative Air Force Airbase Georgia had in flying condition, offering rides to the public for fees or free flights to all World War II veterans.

It was here that we connected with George Retelas, a volunteer at the USS Hornet Museum - who is now our good friend, and associate producer on my upcoming B-17 documentary. George was the one leading this project and acting as Dick's representative in many of his travels and veteran-related events. George had previously directed a documentary called "Eleven" on the last surviving veterans of Air Group Eleven. This group of naval aviators was assigned to Henderson Field on Guadalcanal, as there was no carrier available for them.

After interviewing eleven veterans for his documentary, years later - he discovered Dick Miralles - one final veteran from the group. Since Dick had not been a part of the documentary, George took it as his project to not only get Dick back in the air again - but also to eventually put together a second film, "Sundown to Eleven", in which Dick stars as they try to uncover the fate of their missing commander from World War II. I was lucky enough to play a small part in the production, and it will be coming out on YouTube December 7th.

Anyway, let's get back to the story. When Dick made it to Airbase Georgia, my camera guy Josh and I were there to help.

Together with George, we got some wonderful photos and footage of Dick getting back into his former position as the rear gunner. In nearly all of these photos, Dick's infectious personality shines through. Always smiling, always joyful, and always happy to be a part of something.

We helped to film and document Dick's flight in the SBD and hear him to tell his story once more. One of my favorite moments was after the flight, when Dick said upon touching the ground that it was "kind of dull", despite the fact that Peter Hague did as much maneuvering as he was allowed in the air to recreate movements from SBD flight tactics. He demonstrated that even in his late 90s, he still remembers the feeling of flying downwards in a near-vertical dive. Modern-day flying simply cannot compare to the experience he had in the back seat in 1943.

The CAF Airbase GA wing was also kind enough to help us outfit GoPros all around the aircraft, so we got tons of great angles of the experience! With the footage we gathered here, I put together one of my favorite videos that documents both Dick's tour of duty and his journey back into the air. You can watch it here:

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I hope you will take the time to watch it. It is truly fantastic.

As I am sure many of you have heard, Dick passed away last week. I am not positive, but I believe he was certainly one of, if not the very last, SBD Dauntless veteran alive. This was a somber day for us, as our experience with him is what began our entire journey of interviewing veterans. Without him, it is entirely possible that none of the following projects would have ever happened. But fortunately, they did. And now, thanks to great historians and filmmakers like George, Dick's story will live on for many years to come.

Fair seas and tail winds Dick. Thank you for your service.

While I continue to search for more stories to tell, your support on Patreon would be greatly appreciated! Lately, more and more AI "history" channels have been popping up on YouTube (including some that have even stolen my content). This unfortunately means that it is more important than ever to have supporters to help fund my work here. Plus, get all sorts of behind-the-scenes content! You can join here: TJ3 History Patreon!​

That is all I have for today - hopefully this provides some unique insights into all the work that goes into crafting these videos. Thanks for reading, and I will talk to you guys soon!

Please reply with your thoughts or feedback here! And don't forget to forward to any friends that might be interested in stories like this one. Here's to saving more history together.

-TJ

TJ3Business@gmail.com
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