re: Have you ever known a fighter pilot that was shot down….

George R Carr of Bogalusa joined the RCAF before the US entered WWII. Later, Carr transferred to the US Navy and while flying an F6F Hellcat off the USS Essex became an "Ace In a Day" and a Double Ace in action, dubbed "The Great Marianas Turkey Shoot". He was awarded the Navy Cross for his deeds. He died in 1952 during training exercises in his F6F Hellcat.

Carr was a personal friend of my Dad's who served as a pallbearer at Carr's funeral. I met Carr as a youngster in the late 1940s.

Carr's family says while flying a Spitfire for the RCAF over Germany, he was shot down but was able to get his crippled plane over the English Channel, where he bailed out. However, records of the RCAF do not confirm this. A friend has published a book (in two volumes) recounting the exploits of Americans who served in the RCAF. He examined records of the RCAF, and in the chapter of his book about Carr, he contends that during Carr's service with the RCAF, he was a glider tow pilot and never flew Spitfires.

Maybe my meeting with Carr does not constitute knowing someone who was shot down, but nevertheless, he was a true war hero whom I had the honor of meeting.