1st Division
Marine
Dad and the B-17
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There's probably no better recognized aircraft from WWII than the B-17 Flying Fortress. This particular plane picture is from the Air Force museum photo collection, and is included here strictly as reference. It might also be noted that this pic, as it is in the museum collection, is printed backwards - the star should be on the left wing.
Some time after Guadalcanal, Dad had a friend who was top turret gunner in a B-17 just like this one. Seems this friend was wounded on a mission and the crew was looking for a replacement for a couple flights.
Now, keep in mind that my father was a Marine. They INVENTED the term "refuse to volunteer". Dad broke the cardinal rule of being a Marine, he volunteered!
He'd never been in an airplane before, let alone a warbird that was flying combat missions. But, he was a pretty good machine-gunner and couldn't see the harm in a new experience. Besides, the pilot and bombardier both assured him that they were simply going to go out, find a particular Japanese airfield and drop a few "eggs" on it - then they'd be coming home again in time for a late lunch.
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Sure!
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Anyway, as Dad told it, he hit the triggers on those two big .50-cal guns in the top turret and didn't stop firing until his ammunition ran out. Then he re-loaded the guns and fired again until the barrels started to warp from the heat. He had to unscrew the barrels from the guns, and replace them - in the middle of a fire-fight! That wasn't enough though, he hit the triggers again and was the last man firing when they (the Japanese pilots) all turned for home.
Result of the air attack: no runs, no hits, no ammo left in the plane. That's right, as far as anybody knew, nobody had scored even a hit on the Japanese fighters - and the B-17 hadn't been hit either.
Oh, yeah - they returned home with all the bombs still in the bomb bay. The air attack had shaken everyone up so bad they never did drop the bombs.
That was my father, the brave Marine.
There are a few other stories. Will have them in ASAP.
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A Mom Reaches Out To Her Son In WW-2
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