re: Have you ever known a fighter pilot that was shot down….

Not a pilot but a navigator,for a bomber shot down over Germany.Was a POW for a year.Became a vascular surgeon after the war.

Col.Jerry Thiels,helicopter pilot in Viet Nam was shot down 7 times.I grew up about 1/2 miles from his house.Me and his younger brother were classmates and good friends.We used to hunt together.

Both are dead now.