Taken on as a replacement for his first P-51B 42-103968 Donna, Woodie Spears KITTEN had already carried Charles McGee through a 136-mission tour. KITTEN was my wifes nickname, McGee explained, but also my crew chief Nathaniel Wilson, kept that engine purring like a contented kitten. McGee would fly Mustangs in Korea, and then flew RF-4 Phantom IIs as commander of the 16th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron in Vietnam, amassing 408 combat missions over the course of his 31-year career. Spears tenure in the military was shorter he was hit by heavy flak over Berlin during the 332nds Distinguished Unit Citation-winning mission on 23 March 1945. With part of its wing sheared off, Spears coaxed KITTEN to a wheels up landing in Poland, where he was briefly held as a POW before his captors were overrun by the Soviets. The first KITTEN ended its proud career in a Polish scrap yard.