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Commander Mitchell Flint, American U.S. Navy Pilot Honored During Israel’s 75th Anniversary

Mitchell Flint

Plaque for Mitchell Flint

Mitchell Flint

Mike Flint, Mayor Moshe Fadlon, Mitchell Flint's cousin Ed Kugler, and marathon winners: Photo courtesy of Mike Flint.

The marathon started at the street roundabout, just named in honor of the American Navy Pilot.

LOS ANGELES, UNITED STATES, May 1, 2023/EINPresswire.com/ -- Commander Mitchell Flint, a World War II American U.S. Navy Pilot, had a street roundabout named after him during Israel’s 75th Anniversary on April 27, 2023. To further honor Mitchell, the Herzliya Marathon Race for distances of 10 km, 5 km, and 2 km started at the square dedicated to the Commander on Saturday, April 28, 2023. The intersection between Abie Natan Street and Yosef Navoh Street in Herzliya, Israel, was named after Mitchell. Mike Flint, Producer of "Angels in the Sky," a film project in development dedicated to Mitchell, also received the honor to hand out medals to winners at the races.

Mitchell was recognized for his remarkable and one-of-a-kind service, which included squadron leadership and flying crucial missions that helped establish the Israeli Air Force. According to The Times of Israel, Mitchell co-founded the 'Machal' group of non-Israeli IDF volunteers as a founding member of Israel's first fighter squadron during the 1948 War of Independence.

When the Mayor of Herzliya, Moshe Fadlon, dedicated the roundabout and made a surprise announcement about the Herzliya Running Races, Mitchell’s family, friends, and a host of dignitaries were in attendance. His son, from Los Angeles, and family members from Chicago and New York were at the marathon on Saturday.

As a determined pilot, Mitchell was persistent. He performed bombing flights for the U.S. during World War II before returning to the country to pursue legal studies, according to the Los Angeles Times. However, the conflict between the recently formed state of Israel and neighboring Arab countries sparked Mitchell to return to combat.

The Los Angeles Times states that years later, in an interview with the Times of Israel, Mitchell explained, "I'm Jewish; Israel desperately needed fighter pilots, so I thought I could perhaps do something to sustain the state."

There was an obstacle to Mitchell’s plan to help Israel. He could not fight for a foreign country as an American citizen. Not being deterred, he came up with a solution. According to the Los Angeles Times, he told his mother and government passport officials that he did not intend to be a soldier but a tourist who would travel through Europe after the 1948 Olympic Games in London. His idea worked, and Mitchell ultimately spearheaded a group establishing the Israeli Air Force.

Robert Gandt, with Mike Flint, features Mitchell in the book “Angels in the Sky.” The book is an exciting and unknown tale of how this legendary pilot led an all-volunteer air force to help defeat five Arab countries and defend the developing Jewish nation.

According to the Times, his son Michael Flint said his father died September 16, 2017, at his Los Angeles home of natural causes. He was 94.

“He was a humble man who did what he did and never looked for glory,” Michael Flint said. “He was proud of what he did until the very end.”

To find out more about Mitchell Flint or "Angels in the Sky," click here: http://angelsintheskythemovie.com/about-mitchell-flint/

Aurora DeRose
Boundless Media Inc.
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