Brian was driving down JTB recently in the Hepler Bros. Leather Fixers van when he noticed a car that seemed to be following him. He started to getting nervous, especially when the car followed him into his apartment complex.

But his anxiety vanished when 85-year-old Lt. John Williss got out of his car, excitedly explaining that he had followed him because he was desperate to get his WWII leather bomber jacket repaired.  Lt. Williss doesn’t have a cell phone or a computer, and he doesn’t like to talk on the phone, so he figured the best way to accomplish his goal was to follow the van until it stopped!

Brian did a great job repairing a tear under the right arm, which the Navy veteran attributes to wear and tear from controlling the stick in his F6F Hellcat single-pilot plane  (http://www.chuckhawks.com/hellcat.htm) , in which he flew many fighter missions in the Pacific. 

This treasured piece of history from the Greatest Generation now looks just like it did during the War.  Check out the photo of Lt. Willis smiling and showing off his newly refurbished jacket!

Filed under: leather by Carey Hepler Monday, April 5th, 2010