Gaylord Betcher - Interview by Tom Hosier - Seacrhlight in Italy

Here is Tom Hosier, father of Scott after whom this series is named in memory, interviewing Gaylord about his training and action as a searchlight operator. Here, Gay is pictured with an approximate 5' mirror that was illuminated by a carbon arch light, that Gay says could search up to 60 miles in the air to coordinate with anti aircraft and airplanes. During the talk he mentioned that a German fighter, likely a Messerschmidt was hit and crash landed nearby. I has a photo of the swastikas and a story that he made a bracelet out of some of the parts of the airplane. I lot of stories from four years of action from Tunisia, to Italy, to France, to Germany and back home. Here is a photo of the searchlight projected on the screen. Later a 10 minute DVD with music directed by Gary with music added by friend Bonnie was shown of Gaylord's service years