Please start at the beginning. Thank you for visiting!
Heading to War with Godspeed, 1944
…”He experienced what can happen when leaders spawn hatred rather than condemn it.”…
75th Anniversary of D-Day
I so wish I could have made a shirt for my dad out of this fabric…
The Checklist
Check Yourself on The Hidden Brain podcast
Listen to this very interesting podcast. It helps to answer the question “How the hell did they do it?” Well, it isn’t as simple as a checklist… but it played a crucial role in successful outcomes. What’s on YOUR checklist?
~*~I bought this souvenir when I visited the Memphis Belle several years ago~*~
“He Was On His 68th Mission”
…”After 70 missions Dickson would have been eligible for R&R back home, Martin recounted in a 1997 letter, adding that white pilots needed only 50 missions for such a break.”…
When I read these articles this morning , I broke into tears. Then I wanted to make sure I shared them on this site:
After 73 years, the remains of a Tuskegee airman lost over Europe may have been found
Pentagon Identifies Remains Of Missing Tuskegee Airman
To the brave men, the Tuskegee Airmen, I salute each of you, to your selfless, courageous, brilliant and honorable service for the United States of America and for the World and its Future, in the pursuit of Democracy with Liberty and Justice for all.
I promise that there is enough goodness and light in the hearts of people to carry forth your efforts to put an end to the demagoguery we have been witnessing presently. DEAR GOD, please help humans evolve faster to love and peacefully respect one another. May your Light continue to shine in all things Divine. Blessed Be, Namaste, Amen.
Oh What a Happy Day!
Oct 19, 1944
“Oh What a Happy day. Thirty-fifth and last mission completed! and I am still alive and healthy. I am one happy man and I am not kidding in the least. I feel ten years younger and for once I can go to bed relaxed. Mission today was the factory area in Mannheim, Germany. We carried leaflets which made the ship light and easier to fly. About eighty miles from the target we started to make contrails which necessitated a climb. We went up to 30,000 feet and still were making contrails. This I didn’t like because the danger of fighters. When you have close to 1000 planes in the air flying the same course and practically the same altitude with every ship leaving contrails, it provides a beautiful hiding place for attacking aircraft. Fighters were reported in the area and I was scared shatless. On the bomb run, the hun opened up with 300 and some guns in a barrage pattern. The fella off our right wing received a direct hit in his No.2 engines. It must of killed or seriously wounded the men on the flight deck because the side of the ship was a mess. The wing caught fire and the ship peeled off in a slow, uncontrollable dive. We drop our bombs and cleared the target with slight damage. Lucky for us, we saw no fighters, although they could have been on top of us and unseen. Our escort did a wonderful job and now after completing my tour, am thankful to the little friends. Even though they never did actually keep an EA off our ship, I am grateful as hell and was always glad to see them around. As I said before I feel ten years younger tonight and I feel like raising hell, but with Val and Millard still flying, I don’t want to make them feel bad. Tomorrow, I’m heading for London, and I will have to get drunk at least once.”
Note from editor: Here are some photos from the September 2017 exhibit at Imperial War Museum in London. IWM London
October 17, 1944
Oct 17, 1944
“Still flying and the missions aren’t getting any easier. Today Millard flew with us as he got out of the hospital day of the last mission. He is one, pissed off man and I don’t blame him. The Doc told me and him that he was through with combat, and here he is flying again. Low down dirty trick, if you ask me. He is awful tired and run down, his flying is still OK but he’s under an awful strain and is liable to crack. Oh what a chicken shit place this is. I will be glad when I leave. Today’s target was a different marshalling yard at Cologne, Germany. Once again, we were briefed for 290 guns at the target and this time saw more than we did this time. On the bomb run we were pushed out of formation by a fella’s flying a 1-4. Good thing because flak was bursting right where we were supposed to be. The flak tracked us for almost 3 minutes and was right in the same position every time, smack in front of us. We dropped our bombs and made a right turn clearing all flak and flew home without seeing anymore. Once more we saw no fighters. Hope I can say the same on the next mission. ONE MORE TO GO”
October 14, 1944…Sweating It Out
Oct 14, 1944
“Guess my luck has long been gone, here all the crews before us get relieved at thirty- to thirty two missions and we are still flying. Target today was a marshalling yard at Cologne, Ger. The co-pilot today was damn good, it was his first mission and was cool as a cucumber. We split the flying time so I didn’t tire as easily as the last mission. We saw flak at two places and suffered light damage. There was plenty of flak at the target but none close enough to make effective damage. I was surprised as hell. We were briefed for 220 guns at the target. Everyone got back okay, weather was good, we bombed PFF. Saw no fighters. I was scared as hell all the time. These last missions I am really sweating out. I might fly a mission tomorrow and then again be relieved. If I fly tomorrow I might be killed then the day after replacements come in. Damn scared and I am not kidding. Two more to go.”
Thirty-Five to Go 