Franciscan priest speaks in Columbia on U.S.-Iran relations

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Wednesday, April 29, 2009 | 12:01 a.m. CDT
BY MATTHEW REINIG

COLUMBIA – In the late '50s, the Air Force gave Louie Vitale orders to shoot down a plane.

Vitale was a young pilot in those days, in his mid-20s, who had enlisted in the Korean War era. But he was suspicious enough to disobey orders and ask about the target he was to destroy.

"Are you sure they're enemy bombers?" he asked. The answer from the other end: "Yes."

It was sometime later, Vitale said, that he identified his target as a commercial airliner. He could see hands waving in the windows. His betters were mistaken. No shots were fired ... http://www.columbiamissourian.com/stories/2009/04/29/franciscan-priest-speaks-columbia-us-iran-relations/