LavraVisitBlogTitle This past week I had the privilege and honor of spending time with Captain John Lavra, retired naval aviator and veteran of WWII, Korea, & Vietnam. Adding to the excitement of this visit was getting to meet Richard Mallory Allnutt of the Military Aviation Museum who conducted an interview with the Captain about his experience in the Navy and his personal connection to the museum’s own CptJohnLavraUSN  Douglas AD-4 Skyraider. As mentioned in some of my past posts, Captain John (as he is known by me) is married to my father’s cousin Marolyn and has been very dear to me my entire life. Captain Lavra will be celebrating his 99^th birthday in just a few weeks in May!

Last Wednesday’s spectacular weather made driving though Tennessee, North Carolina, and Virginia a stunning natural wonder – especially when getting off of the interstates! A few times I got side tracked and made some extra stops which I will explore further in future ‘Retro Blog’ posts. My final destination at the JohnLavraSkyraiderCrash Captain’s home is not too far from Appomattox Court House - a must see in itself for its historical importance.

Around noon on Thursday Richard and I set up multiple tripods in the Captain’s dining room holding various video and audio recorders for what turned into an over two hour long video interview! What followed was an amazing talk about Captain Lavra’s beginnings in the Navy, the progression of his flight career, his time on the carriers Princeton and the Essex during the Korean War with the VA-55, flying Douglas Skyraiders (including the museum’s own), and of the harrowing stories of MarolynJasonJohnRichard_2025 being shot down twice and surviving… once behind enemy lines! After the interview Richard and I went through the Captain’s extensive collection of wartime photos, ephemera, and his flight log books! Richard set up his computer and scanner and went to work preserving these important documents for future projects at the museum.

The experience was entertaining and educational! I cannot wait to see what the Military Aviation Museum will be doing with recordings and materials collected in the future. I want to thank Richard for making the trip to the Captain’s home and spearheading this historical preservation project, the Captain's wife Marolyn and daughter Cathy's hospitality, and of course, my eternal thank you for Captain Lavra’s 26 year long service to his country!

Please CLICK HERE to visit the Military Aviation Museum's Website!

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Click the photo below if you would like to listen to Captain Lavra’s story of being shot down behind enemy lines in North Korea from my 2023 interview.

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