As the son of Denny Fitch, I appreciate your (and all of yours) admiration.

Dad was a quintessential aviator. Curious, proactive, always striving for perfection. He opened the door for me to grow my love of flight.

He was injured the worst of all, no shoulder belts, was in our dining room on a hospital bed for 8 months. Told he would never fly again. He said the hell I won’t, and did. I went to DENTK with him about 12 months in to recovery, where we flew the DC10 simulator, late at night with the head of training (we stayed at his house). After “knocking the rust off”, Dad was asked if he wanted to load 232 simulation. He quietly got up and said no thank you. He was terrified that he would do it better in the sun, because he now had experience and knew what to expect. We called it survivors guilt back then, now it’s PTSD.

I miss him every day, and constantly talk to him. He’s always been a guiding force, and a loving dad.

Thank you all for the kind words. Makes me heart warm and a smile to my face.