Dr. Creek shares memories at Movie Night

Manila Pilots Association hosted Movie Night at the Airport on Saturday, Oct. 7. Due to inclement weather, the movie “Fly Boys” was moved inside at the Airport Community Center.

A special guest, Dr. Larry Creek of Jonesboro, was introduced by Jason Bennett with the Manila Pilots Association. Dr. Creek shared some of his memories from the days when he served as a pilot during World War II.

Dr. Creek, a retired optometrist, was born and raised in Corning. His college days were interrupted as he joined the military to train to become a pilot.

He talked about the training and the airplanes he flew during the war. He flew a P38 and P51.

Dr. Creek said he is proud to have served his country. He enjoyed flying during his service time but did not fly after the war.

He considered going on to school to learn to fly jets but decided not to.

He spent six years in the military and 22 years in the reserves.

After active duty, Dr. Creek went back to college, graduated and spent 38 years in private practice.

“The Lord has blessed me,” he said. “I have forgotten a lot of the events of the war. You have to to move on.”

The floor was opened for questions and Dr. Creek talked about the respect the pilots had for each other, combat tactics, how many missions he flew, close encounters, and his opinion of today's military.

“I think we still need to keep a decent size military,” he said. “We are in a chaotic world.”

Dr. Creek received a standing ovation as he finished his interview.

Members of the 4-H Club provided a concession for the evening.