Veterans...Get the hell in here now!

too larry

Well-Known Member
My father was in the US Army in WWII and survived 3 beach invasions. RIP dad...
Daddy came over from the states on a big troop transport. Straight to France. He came ashore in mid August {on walkways built over grounded ships}. He spent his 21st birthday in mid November under fire. Got shot on back to back days in December, the 2nd time actually by the Germans. He spent the rest of the war in a POW camp.
 

cannabineer

Ursus marijanus
B-17s, then B-24. He lucked out, they started sending the 17s to the 8thAF in England
I saw a documentary on Prime (?) about the US bombers of WW2. They had a cool segment showing how one of the great assembly-line innovations was the presentation of the craft's miles of wiring into preassembled plug&play wiring harnesses. I had no idea the invention was so recent.
 

BarnBuster

Virtually Unknown Member
My Mom worked in the Bendix plant assembling instrument panel gauges for B-29's. I've heard them (the women) referred to as another of America's secret weapons when the automotive, refrigerator and typewriter factories retooled for war production. My Uncle was a B-24 nose gunner. He made a letter opener for my Mom out of Perspex(?) after a AA round blew a section out right next to him. :shock:
 

doublejj

Well-Known Member
WWII US Bomber Command aircrews suffered a high casualty rate: of a total of 125,000 aircrew, 57,205 were killed (a 46 percent death rate), a further 8,403 were wounded in action and 9,838 became prisoners of war. Therefore, a total of 75,446 airmen (60 percent of operational airmen) were killed, wounded or taken prisoner.
 

Singlemalt

Well-Known Member
WWII US Bomber Command aircrews suffered a high casualty rate: of a total of 125,000 aircrew, 57,205 were killed (a 46 percent death rate), a further 8,403 were wounded in action and 9,838 became prisoners of war. Therefore, a total of 75,446 airmen (60 percent of operational airmen) were killed, wounded or taken prisoner.
Yep, that's why he lucked out by not having to transfer to the 8th with the B-17s, some of his cohort did
 
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