Author talks about famous WWII Piper pilot during Fly-In
CALE BLAKELY/FOR THE EXPRESS Author Jim Busha spoke to a variety of civic groups at this year’s Fly-In about his latest book “Bazooka Charlie: The Unbelievable Story of Major Charles Carpenter and Rosie the Rocketer.”
CALE BLAKELY/FOR THE EXPRESS Cal Arter, president of the Piper Aviation Museum, shakes hands with author Jim Busha after introducing him as a guest speaker during an event on Thursday afternoon.
CALE BLAKELY/FOR THE EXPRESS Among Busha's presentation, was his explanation on how Major Charles Carpenter's daughter Carol Carpenter Apacki, was who lead him to a plethora of information featured in the book the pair co-authored. Apacki is pictured in the slideshow with her parents and with her father's plane.
CALE BLAKELY/FOR THE EXPRESS Author Jim Busha spoke to a variety of civic groups at this year’s Fly-In about his latest book “Bazooka Charlie: The Unbelievable Story of Major Charles Carpenter and Rosie the Rocketer.”
CALE BLAKELY/FOR THE EXPRESS Cal Arter, president of the Piper Aviation Museum, shakes hands with author Jim Busha after introducing him as a guest speaker during an event on Thursday afternoon.
CALE BLAKELY/FOR THE EXPRESS Among Busha's presentation, was his explanation on how Major Charles Carpenter's daughter Carol Carpenter Apacki, was who lead him to a plethora of information featured in the book the pair co-authored. Apacki is pictured in the slideshow with her parents and with her father's plane.
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LOCK HAVEN -- Multiple local civic organizations gathered at the Piper Aviation Museum to hear the amazing story about World War II pilot Major Charles Carpenter and his Piper L-4 Grasshopper "Rosie the Rocketer."
The meeting, hosted by the Lock Haven Kiwanis on the third floor of the museum, featured the Lions Club, Lock Haven Rotary, Rotary Club of Downtown Lock Haven and Bald Eagle Nittany Valley Kiwanis.
Museum President Cal Arter, started the meeting off with an update on the state of the Fly-In. He said that they were looking to find more activities to be done in the case of inclement weather, with a tour put together by Lou Bernard of the area as an example.
Arter even felt that he learned new things about the area, such as President Jimmy Carter having spent a month living in Lock Haven and Mark Twain staying at The Fallon Hotel.
"The main reason we do this is to show off Clinton County," said Arter, hoping to introduce similar activities for next year's Fly-In.
He then introduced the guest speaker for the meeting, Jim Busha, vice president of the Experimental Aircraft Association.
Busha has written over 350 articles for EAA along with several books, most recent of which was "Bazooka Charlie: The Unbelievable Story of Major Charles Carpenter and Rosie the Rocketer," which ended up being the primary topic of his speech.
Busha had planned on writing the story earlier on in his career but ran into several dead ends on his search for information. Busha was able to resume his writing though after Carpenter's daughter, Carol Carpenter Apacki, reached out to EAA with additional letters written by her father.
Busha and Apacki then co-wrote the novel together, publishing the book in May of this year.
Their book follows the exploits of Charles Carpenter throughout his life from early childhood, to major WW2 battles and ending with his later illness and legacy left behind.
Carpenter was born into a poor farming family with an alcohol and gambling obsessed father, but Carpenter didn't let that hold him down.
He left his home with a strong moral code developed through his work ethic and went off to college to become a teacher.
Carpenter was obsessed with aviation though, with his brother Gene being a pilot for the U.S. Air Corps.
After Pearl Harbor pushed the war efforts onto American territories, Carpenter ended up enlisting into the armed services, becoming a 2nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Army.
Carpenter started out in flying observation for the military in his L-4 Grasshopper, the militarized version of a Piper Cub.
He swiftly rose through the ranks, being promoted to major just two years later, by demonstrating his courage and bravery in battle.
Despite being a pilot and unfamiliar to tank mechanics, in one battle Carpenter leapt onto an Ally tank, leading the charge into a German-held town.
He also began to equip rocket launchers to the side of his aircraft, garnering him several nicknames among the troops, such as the "Mad Major," "Lucky Carpenter" and his most iconic, "Bazooka Charlie."
The L-4 Grasshopper was a flimsy light aircraft, but Charlie managed to strap six bazookas along the wings of his plane, which he affectionately named "Rosie the Rocketer" after cultural icon Rosie the Riveter.
With these weapons he'd rain hell down upon German tanks, with at least six tank kills credited to his name. There likely was even more enemy vehicle destruction that could be credited to his name, Busha said, but Carpenter didn't keep a tally during battles.
"Carpenter wasn't the kind of guy to count his kills. He'd only stop to reload before getting back out on the field," said Busha.
Carpenter and Rosie were seen throughout battles all over Europe, including the famous Battle of the Bulge. Carpenter's ferocity in combat was attributed to his desire to get back to his family at home, which tragically came about not with the end of the war, but with a diagnosis of Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.
Doctors only gave Carpenter one year to live before sending him home, but he defied the odds, living 20 years after this diagnosis, returning to his work as a teacher.
Carpenter's spirit lives on in his beloved family and aircraft, which was recently restored to its former glory after being acquired from a museum in Austria.
Busha's book can be purchased at the Piper Aviation Museum gift shop and an on-field gift shop throughout the duration of the Fly-In.