Historic marker J80 on Summit Avenue is dedicated to George Preddy. Mr. Preddy was born down Summit Avenue a couple of miles east of downtown Greensboro. As stated on the marker, Preddy was a World War II fighter pilot. He was born in Greensboro in 1919 and attended Greensboro High School. He doubled up on classes so that he could graduate at age sixteen.
Preddy served as a second lieutenant in the Army Air Corps. At the time of his death, he was the highest ranking ace in the European theater and had earned a Distinguished Service Cross. Ironically, Preddy died on Christmas Day 1944 as a result of friendly fire. He was only twenty five. At the time of his death, Second Lieutenant Preddy had accomplished 26.83 aerial victories and 5 ground victories in 143 missions (read more in the archives of the Greensboro Historical Museum here). In 1968, a portion of I-85 was named Preddy Boulevard in honor of George and his brother Bill, also a pilot killed in World War II. If you are interseted in the military accomplishments of George Preddy, Wikipedia has a fair of information (here).
In the background of the photo, you can see buildings in downtown Greensboro. Some historic markers are in high-traffic hard to read areas; however, the one to Preddy is very accessible on Summit Avenue which, in Preddy's day, was a very prominent part of our city. Today, on Greensboro Daily Photo, "P" is for for Preddy on ABC Wednesday. Thank you for visiting.
Well, I just deleted the 25 Air Jordan and Coach Bag Spam messages on our blog. It had been so long since the WAVE had hit! Has anyone else noticed how much closer to sounding like REAL comments the computer generated SPAM messages are getting? Wow!
Posted by: Greensboro Daily Photo | Wednesday, November 03, 2010 at 06:18 AM
So many young people don't understand the sacrifices that were made.
Posted by: B^2 | Wednesday, November 03, 2010 at 08:21 AM
George Preddy accomplished quite a bit in such a short time. Interesting post & a nice tribute to Mr Preddy.
Posted by: Lily | Wednesday, November 03, 2010 at 09:49 AM
What a terrific and inspiring post for the P Day! Lt. Preddy did indeed accomplish a lot in such a short lifetime. We all owe so much to him and people like him. Hope you're enjoying a great week!
Sylvia
ABC Team
Posted by: Sylvia Kirkwood | Wednesday, November 03, 2010 at 10:43 AM
It's sad to lose one son or brother, but to lose two is dreadful, though sadly not all that uncommon. It's good to see this tribute.
Posted by: jabblog uk | Wednesday, November 03, 2010 at 11:18 AM
Oh dear. Lost in friendly fire. Funny phrase, that.
ROG, ABC Wednesday team
Posted by: Roger Green | Wednesday, November 03, 2010 at 01:57 PM
Oh, how sad - nice tribute, though.
Posted by: Tumblewords | Wednesday, November 03, 2010 at 11:38 PM