Roy Vitousek, and his teenage son Martin were flying an Aeronca TC-65 Defender toward Pearl Harbor that fateful Sunday morning. According to Martin, they stayed in the air during part of the attack, circling at 2,000 feet to avoid the Japanese planes. Upon taking fire from enemy aircraft, they immediately returned to John Rodgers Field and executed a safe landing. John Rodgers Field is now Honolulu International Airport. An Aeronca TC-65 Defender that has been painted to resemble the aircraft that Roy Vitousek was flying on the morning of December 7th is on display at the Pacific Aviation Museum.
