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Old 13th April 2018, 17:36
Bookman Bookman is offline
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Re: Julius Neumann 1916-2018

Just an addition. The next oldest member of JG.27 was Willi Jackel. Born 1915 passed 2016. We from JG.27 surprised him for his 100th (and I celebrated my __th with him that day). He was an Oberwerkmeister, and the last Gruppen T.O. of the III/JG.27 at end of 1944. He was the longest serving member of the unit, from its inception in Jesau 1938, until the last days. He received a special furlough for his suggestion to use powdered graphite as a lubricant that unlike oil and grease, did not attract dust. When he travelled as a passenger with some Italian soldiers back to his unit in Africa, he found a german truck stalled and unoccupied. It lacked a battery, quickly replacing it with an Italian one, he arrived in style to the unit with a truck full of needed supplies. This was verified by the Wing Commander Neumann to me independently. Additionally, he was well known for Rommel's visit to the unit. As part of his training, he could fly small aircraft. When Neumann said the 'air nearby was clean', Rommel asked Willi to fly the Storch for a short view of the immediate area. A personally dedicated photo was 'payment' gratefully accepted.
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