A Discussion on WW1 Aviation with Mike O’Neal

Battles of the First World War Podcast

Mike Cunha

History

4.8 • 812 Ratings

🗓️ 8 August 2021

⏱️ 98 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Recently I was invited to a Zoom discussion with some other WW1 enthusiasts to talk about what we can do to keep the memory of WW1 alive in these post-centenary times. At that talk was Mike O’Neal, a longtime WW1 aviation enthusiast, and we quickly connected to get Mike on the podcast talking about his lifelong passion.

Folks, if ever there is an example of being bold and striking out for what you want to do, here it is. In his teens, Mike wrote letters to various journals and WW1 veterans, and the results have been amazing friendships and working on some fascinating projects. He was listed as a contributor to journal articles in his teens, a WW1 aviator gave Mike his wings for good luck, he acquired his own biplane, and much more.

Join us for a great discussion on the beginning and development of Mike’s passion for WW1-era aviation.

Relevant links mentioned in this episode:

“Over the Front” journal - https://www.overthefront.com/

American Society of Aviation Artists - http://asaa-avart.com/

Golden Age Air Museum in Bethel, PA - https://www.goldenageair.org/

The Aerodrome: Aces and Aircraft of WW1 - http://www.theaerodrome.com/index.php

Advisory: Nothing bad in the episode, but you may hear my family in the background talking, as well as one of the cats scratching and meowing at the door. Apologies, but our house is a lively one. There is always something going on. :)

The BFWWP is on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/BattlesoftheFirstWorldWarPodcast.

Any questions, comments or concerns please contact me through the website, www.firstworldwarpodcast.com or the Battles of the First World War Podcast page on FaceBook. Follow us on Twitter at @WW1podcast, and on Instagram at @WW1battlecast. Not into social media? Email me directly at [email protected]. Please consider reviewing the Battles of the First World War Podcast on iTunes.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey folks, welcome to the battles of the First World War podcast.
0:07.0	Recently, I was invited to a Zoom discussion with some other World War I enthusiasts to talk about what we can do to keep the memory of World War I alive in these post-centenary times.
0:20.0	With us this evening is Mike O'Neill, a gentleman who was part of that Zoom talk, and is a long time World War I aviation artist and enthusiast.
0:31.6	But we need to talk about Mike's level of enthusiast.
0:42.1	So let's compare, we'll compare me, myself, to Mike.
0:46.8	So if you're watching the Zoom video, you can see there's a lot of World War I books behind me.
0:55.6	There's a French Pauulu helmet, some doughboy helmets. I have some barbed wire taken from the old Samuel front.
1:00.7	And I wear the same boots the doughboys wore on a daily basis.
1:02.5	Not bad, I think, right?
1:06.0	You know, like I'm keeping the memory of World War I alive.
1:06.6	Okay.
1:14.5	But Mike here, as an aviation enthusiast, owns his own biplane.
1:23.5	So I'm going to say that again, in case if you're driving and you're coming on to the highway and you're paying attention to something else, if you went to get a cup of coffee.
1:25.0	Like, I'm going to say that again.
1:29.6	Mike owns his own biplane. Like, I'm going to say that again, Mike owns his own biplane. Like, wow, that's just wild.
1:34.7	That is, talk about like living your passion and going for it.
1:38.5	That's just so awesome.
1:40.1	So we will get to the biplane and what it's like to fly World War I era aircraft.
1:46.8	But let's get started by finding out about how Mike got into World War I,
1:52.0	the journals and organizations he is a part of, the development of his artwork,
1:56.5	and then his flying.
1:58.6	Mike, welcome to the podcast. Thank you so much for coming on. That's my pleasure,
	...

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