The P-38 "lightning" is the plane that shot down Japanese General Yamamoto, the planner of the "Pearl Harbor Attack". Much controversy ensued before a decision that Yamamoto was shot from the sky by Rex Barber, who later became Mayor of Redmond Oregon, where I post this from.

Yamamoto's body was recovered from the Japanese bomber he was being transported in to a conference in the South Pacific. The latest bridge over the Crooked River Canyon in Central Oregon is dedicated to Barber and a huge amount of information on the downing of Yamamoto's aircraft is posted at the bridge site, on HWY 97 just North of Redmond Oregon. Another Air Corp pilot in Redmond broke his back while exitiing a P-38 going down and getting caught in his parachute on the elevator between the twin rudders. His name was Cal Butler, and I took lessons and rented planes from his local Butler Flying service. Cal bought many WWII surplus planes and converted them for fighting forest fires all over the PNW.

The air shows in Redmond have always been big and noisy with these old warbirds.

The planning to intercept Yamamoto, involved a huge amount of convoluted planning and two flights of P-38 convoys to take off from different locations and intercept at a third point, over the Ocean near some islands. The plan worked well, yet there was some controversy over which of two pilots made the kill. An autopsy on Yamamoto's body helped resolve the credit for the "kill" of the man who planned "Pearl Harbor" on December 7th, 1941.