Hal Downes was a radar operator in the back of an Air Force bomber which went down during a mission over North Korea in 1952
PORTSMOUTH, N. H. — Rick Downes was 3 years old when his father Hal went off to the Korean War. He’s been missing ever since.
« I call it the wound that never heals, » Downes said. « After a while you get used to having it and it finds a place within you, and you go on, you live life. »
He was too young to remember his father, so all he has is a home movie of a 26-year-old with everything to live for.
« You just can’t help but look at him and see that he had it together. He had the woman he wanted, he had the family he wanted, » Downes said.
Hal Downes was a radar operator in the back of an Air Force bomber which went down during a mission over North Korea. The pilot and navigator were able to bail out, but they didn’t know what happened to Rick’s father.
« The navigator said the plane went down over — finally crashed over a hill and he heard the ammunition going off, and that’s all.
