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My heartfelt thanks to your dad and his comrades. Thank god I never had to face that and I pray the next generation doesn't have to either, at least on a similar scale. I have faith they could if they had to.

He was in the 390th Bomb Group based in Framlingham, England.

Spot-on, ingwe. And I've known it for a very, very long time.

Thanks, all, for the great comments. I'll be sure he sees them.

He is one of the bravest men I've ever known.

AND that was just ONE of his missions! Just think, after a day like that, he got to go back out a couple of days later and do it again!

It's one thing to do something if you don't know what your up against (ignorance is bliss); it's another to go back and do it again after you've seen the devil!

When I watch the film clips of those big raids, I just shake my head and try to imagine what it would have been like to have been a part of something like that where the odds were so stacked so heavily against your survival.

Keep asking your Dad questions; I have my Father's service record from that time and wish I had sat down and discussed his service more when I got old enough for it to mean something and for me to understand it.

Give your Dad a big Navy salute for me!

THANKS for the post and your dad's valient service.

Can't imagine flying the same altitude and heading into a sea of AAA and being constantly shadowed by enemy fighters like wolves following an elk herd.Thanks so much for this great story, indeed you are in the presence of greatness! Hope you have many more years with your Dad...

Wonderful story from a member of the greatest generation. I have a 97 year old uncle who was a belly gunner in a B-17. He's got some stories too, though in 60 years I've only heard a few. Riveting when he gets in that mood, though.

Thank you for sharing. Our children will never know how grateful
they should be for all they have...they have no concept of duty and honor. Thank your Dad and please shake his hand for me.

Great story achadwick. It's good to know your dad is still around. I have a cousin who's 86 and was a co-pilot on a B-17. He flew out of Thorpe Abbot with the Bloody 100th. We sure are going to miss them when they are gone. kwg

I have an Uncle, still living, who flew P-47s escorting the bombers over Germany. His experiences were hair raising for sure, but when he speaks of the bomber crews who had to fly straight and level through the flak and the fighter attacks, he speaks with great respect for their courage, and their sacrifices. He was there and lived it and his respect means a lot.

Your Pop has ballz the size of watermelons!

I have heard many stories first hand from vets and every time I hear one of these stories I wonder if given the same situation if I would have been half the man that these guys were.

When you see your Pop next time please tell him thank you for keeping old glory waving for me to enjoy.

Thanks for the awesome story.

Thank you.


A true hero no doubt.

Do they make 'em like that anymore?

Tell him thanks for me.

There is no way to describe the size of the 'gonads' of all those guys flying those missions!

My hats off to all and especially to your Dad!

I had occasion to escort a 92 year old waist gunner on a B-17 a few days ago up at Oshkosh Air Show and it was a joy to visit with him and shove him around in a wheelchair. He's ambulatory quite well but didn't want him to over-do the walking so push, my brother and I did! Name is Rod Hilderbrand from Sheboygan, Wisconsin.

There is no way to describe the size of the 'gonads' of all those guys flying those missions!

My hats off to all and especially to your Dad!

I had occasion to escort a 92 year old waist gunner on a B-17 a few days ago up at Oshkosh Air Show and it was a joy to visit with him and shove him around in a wheelchair. He's ambulatory quite well but didn't want him to over-do the walking so push, my brother and I did! Name is Rod Hilderbrand from Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Rod enjoyed walking through the interior of the old bird again and visiting with some older guys there his age.


OshB17 by Sharps45 2 7/8, on Flickr

Thanks a lot for sharing this great event with us and a special thanks to your Dad for doing what he did.

Awesome story!! Thanks to your Dad!!!

I am a retired Army Aviator, I served two combat tours in Viet Nam. That whole experience pales in comparison to what those men did. My Dad was a top turret gunner/flight engineer on B 17s in the 381st Bomb Group out of RAF Ridgewell. He never spoke much of the missions he flew (30). He would occasionally speak of his friends and the things they did while stationed in England but when the subject turned to his missions he would get quiet and I could tell he was far away, someplace. I have since read everything I could about the 381st. I absolutely cannot fathom how they could go on these missions time after time. I don't know another man on this Earth that I admire more than my dad. I wish I could have told him that before he passed.

+1, Mustang. He flew 35 combat missions in WWII, including three on D-Day. His brother James was also a pilot of a B-17, but he went down in flames over Germany. Only one man got out of the plane alive, IIRC, and he spent the rest of the war as a POW.

I'll post another one of his stories maybe tomorrow afternoon.