cool dudes i admire: THOMAS FITZPATRICK

Thomas fitzpatrick was a dude born on april 24th, 1930. justifiably nicknamed tommy fitz, he was an american pilot who fought in wwii when he was just 15. stationed in china, fighting on the pacific theatre, he learned to fly a reconnaissance plane just two years before being discharged from the marines. from there, he enlisted in the us army and spent some time in japan. scheduled to return home in due time, fitzpatrick was sent to korea where he became the first resident of new york city wounded there. this earned him a purple heart.

we salute tommy fitz’s military service as we turn to salute the two events he is better known for: on september 30th, 1956, an intoxicated fitzpatrick stole a single-engine plane from the teterboro airport in bergen county, nj— just a few miles from new york city. making a bet in the bar, he claimed that he could travel from new jersey to new york city in 15 minutes. with no radio and no lights, he landed the plane near 191st street in front of the same new york city barroom that he had been at earlier. this flight was dubbed a “feat of aeronautics” by the new york times. fitzpatrick was fined $100, and the owner of the plane refused to press charges.

two years later, almost to the day, another intoxicated fitzpatrick stole another plane from the same airport and landed near 187th street, proving the disbelieved bartender that he could do it. for this second flight, he was sentenced to six months in prison, with the judge stating “had you been properly jolted then, it’s possible this would not have occurred a second time.” he responded that “it was the lousy drink” that made him attempt the stunt.

fitzpatrick worked as a union steamfitter for 51 years & died of cancer at the age of 79— when i say the greatest generation was built different, i think this is what i mean.