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Dear Bill, Can't tell you how much I'm gonna miss hearing that relaxed, easy-going drawl calmly emanating from my headphones; the easy-going grace with which you tackled any challenge - in the DCS cockpit anyway, as that is unfortunately the only arena I was able to witness it first hand - and the dichotomy of your quiet, almost befuddlingly laissez-faire, determination, all these made you a pleasure to be around in the virtual skies. The matter-of-fact way in which you treated your illness, knowing your time was limited, was of much the same spirit - and I will take some solace in the fact that, while you always kept hoping for another few months, you seemed, if not fearless, then phlegmatic and philosophical, to the point where if someone had tapped you on the shoulder and said "tomorrow morning Bill, 10.30", you're response would have been "okay, I got 13 hours to have some fun and love my family a little bit longer." I'll miss your stories, your jokes, that wheezy laugh. I'll miss the humility of a gentlemen being instructed in the finer points of Spitfire flying by a young upstart half his age and taking it with such decency and dignity, no histrionics, no drama, no diva, just oodles and oodles of plain good grace. Bill mate, you have a fine legacy and a wonderful family; and, if I may, you have made an example for a not-so-young man to aspire to, and if even a fraction of your grace and decency has rubbed off, well he's a very lucky fellow. I hope you have found yourself back in the cockpit of your T-38 - and this time I think they'll forgive you if you break outta the circuit. Go chase some clouds, Bill. No-one deserves it more.

The one guy who would, always, break off whatever he was doing and come to your aid. Would cross the channel just to try and help out on your six. I had many private TS conversations with Bill, I will miss his fine old drawl. Blue skys old buddy.

Hold your horses there boys, there are still some hurdles to cross: 1. The unit we have chosen, is, to the best of my knowledge still unavailable; there seems to be a way I can manually add units to the a campaign structure but for some reason it's not working currently with the USAAF squadrons. Pat Wilson is investigating. As soon as I have a solution I will let you know. 2. Need some volunteers to play flight commanders, ideally 3-4. These guys will start at Captain rank, and will, well, command flights! 3. Once the above are established I need to create a campaign and run a couple of test missions before we commit because there are bound to be teething troubles, and I suggest myself and the Captains do so in a private server whilst the rest of the Dogz play co-ops/DFs on the DDZ Dedicated GBS, to avoid the sucking off teeth, twiddiling of thumbs and the impatient exhales of frustration. 4. Once done we can go all in!

That was beautiful Tom, spot on. He believed he would be back...... “Life take two”. I hope he was right ! This is the last thing he said in the chat box..... “ I am still looking at the last week in Nov before I get to hear your lovely voices again! “ Got to love that man !

Missing man formation tomorrow night ?

This is what his Daughter posted