B-17 'Sentimental Journey' Walkaround, June 5, 2009

This photo was taken by my friend Roger Gottlob as the 'Sentimental Journey' flew over his house in Ammon, Idaho a few days ago. I had no photos of my own of the plane in flight, so I was very happy to get this one. Rog also took the photos below on June 7. The bottom photo shows his grandson.

My photos follow.

The Sentimental Journey arrived in Idaho Falls this morning. Of course I went to see it. Here are my pictures. This is one of the very few flying B-17s left in the world. One is struck by just how tight and cramped it is inside. Imagine flying at 25,000 feet, at fifty below zero, on oxygen, with bulky flying clothes, on the bomb run, while watching flak burst around you and fighting off German fighters. Can't do it? Me, neither. God, I admire those men that flew the heavies. I'm proud to know them.

.50 cal. waist gun

Looking aft from top turret gunner's position.

Majestic bird. Tail gunner position.

Top turret visible in front of tail.

Radio Operator's Compartment

Navigator's Table

Navigator's position (L) and Bombardier's position (C) in nose.

"Leonard's Office", also "Maurice's Office". Two dear friends who risked it all over Europe so we could be free.

Bombardier's position, chin turret, pilot and copilot position above.

Bob Cozen's office (pilot's position) Not to mention all the other great pilots I've known, like Gale House, Dewayne Bennett, Lefty Nairn, Grif Mumford, Bob Morgan, Lyle Shafer, James Geary and too many more to mention....

Gimbel for ball turret (at bottom). Where my dear friend Bob Capen rode out his missions, as well as Les Poitras's grandpa Leslie Moore.

Lovely lines...

Ball turret gimbel, from waist position, looking foreward through bomb bay towards flight deck.

Cockpit. "Fighters, twelve o'clock high!!"

Ask a World War Two Airman: Some of Your Questions Answered Today

A few weeks back, I initiated a feature called 'Ask a WWII Airman'. I invited readers to send in questions, and promised to get answers from my panel of WWII Air Corps veterans. Today, we have two questions, along with answers.

Question Number One: "Did the training you receive adequately prepare you for the experience of aerial combat, or, after your first experience with enemy fighters did you feel like you had been thrown into something that was impossible to prepare for?"

Maurice Rockett, who flew his tour with the 95th Bomb Group as a B-17 bombardier, responds:

Training did not prepare us for the realities of combat. There was no way, as I see it now, to put trainees into positions of death-defying situations. We did not even dream them up nor would instructors have any notion of what it would be all about either. It might have been helpful to spend longer flight periods at altitude with the poor equipment we had--speaking for my time, of course--and to fly with little rest.

As for fighters and flack, these elements had to be experienced personally for evaluation. Even then, many crewmen did not endure the hammering blows of the two mentioned perils. Regarding bailing out and the ensuing result of imprisonment would also be impossible to duplicate training experiences. Although, it would not have been impossible to give us jumping practice, but with the time constraints it was probably never even considered.

We just got shoved into impossible situations. as cannon fodder, without any guarantee of survival. Each person had to deal with death, or the possibility thereof, their own way with the hope luck would be on their side."

Dan Culler, who flew his tour with the 44th Bomb Group as a B-24 flight engineer/gunner, and ended up a POW in Switzerland, writes:

"We were always told you will get more training in your next assignment which ended up over Germany. I can't blame the military, they needed crews very bad and not that much time to train. As far as myself, the actual combat didn't bother me as much as my older crew. After all I was the youngest in our squadron. I guess that is why they want the very young to do the fighting. It doesn't bother you until later in life. I was kept busy jumping in and out of the top turret, trying to keep the dam plane flying, plus hand cranking the faulty turret. Poor Maurice in the nose saw everything coming at him. You know Maurice, I read later the people who made the top turret for B-24s admitted they had a failure problem on some turrets over 18,000 ft."

Question Number Two: "As you got further into your missions, did it get tougher to go on them or easier? Easier because you'd already been through the experience or tougher because you had fewer to go and had thus far been lucky?"

Maurice Rockett responds: "I really did not relate to missions like you do. I thought of a mission being tougher, not in anticipation, but as the result of what I encountered. While I did not fly a 'last' mission, one to finish my tour, the feeling or hope of survival would be paramount after so many hair-raising events in the skies over Europe."

Thanks for the questions, and thanks to Maurice and Dan for answering.

Anybody else have anything they'd like to know from these two living legends?

Eighth Air Force Facts

These were sent to me by 95th Bomb Group bombardier Maurice Rockett, and come from the Eighth Air Force News.

Eighth Air Force Comparative Statistics:

At its peak, the Eighth Air Force had over 200,000 officers and men.

At its peak, it numbered 40.5 heavy bomb groups, 15 fighter groups, and 2 Photo Recon Groups operating from bases in the United Kingdom.

At this peak strength, a typical mission consisted of 1,400 heavy bombers escorted by 800 fighters, consuming 3,500,000 gallons of fuel, expending 250,000 rounds of .50 caliber ammunition, destroying 25 German aircraft in the air and on the ground for the loss of 4 United States fighters and five bombers, and dropping 3,300 tons of bombs on enemy targets while on visual missions. 40% fell within one thousand feet of assigned Mean Point of Impacts and 75% within 2,000 feet.




Behing these figures are the combat crews and fighter pilots who fought in the skies.

46,456 became casualties.
14 were awarded the Medal of Honor.
220 were awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.
11 were awarded Distinguished Service Medals.
207 were awarded Legions of Merit.
817 were awarded Silver Stars.
41,497 were awarded Distinguished Service Crosses.
478 were awarded Soldier's Medals.
6,845 were awarded Purple Hearts.
122,705 were awarded Air Medals.
2,972 were awarded Bronze Stars.
28,000 were awarded POW Medals.

In addition, none could have flown without the maintainence and ground personnel, who repaired 59,644 battle-damaged aircraft, loaded 732,231 tons of bombs, and linked and loaded 99,256,341 rounds of ammunition.

Incidentally, Maurice has a Purple Heart, an Air Medal, and a Distinguished Flying Cross. He lost an eye on a mission aboard a B-17. Maurice is one of my top guys for sending good information for this blog. Thanks, Maurice!


Maurice Rockett upon graduation from Bombardier school.

B-17 vs. B-24

B-24 Liberator bombers skim the landscape as they attack the oilfields at Ploesti, Romania, one of the greatest aerial attacks of WWII.

A B-17 Flying Fortress banks, showing its classic lines.

My good friend Dan Culler, a former B-24 flight engineer, wrote me today and wondered why the B-24 always seems to get the short end of the stick when compared to the B-17. Dan wrote:

"Seeing how you and others are wrapped up in B-17 Flying Fortress WWII history, it makes me wonder how the B-24 Liberator groups are ignored from the air war in Europe, it as if we never were there. This even though more B-24s flew then B-17. When the B-24s flew the low level Ploesti raid, one of the most daring and costly raids in WWII, it was said if one B-17 was on that raid it would have been headlines Flying Fortresses hit Ploesti...I remember after the war and even today when people ask where I flew and when I say 'Europe', their first remark, Oh you flew the Flying Fortress? When I say B-24 or Liberators, they remark they never heard of it. Jimmy Stewart commanded a B-24 Squadron, shortly after I was shot down."

I emailed Dan back that I'd tried very hard not to stiff the B-24, which is every bit as good a plane as Dan says it is, in my book. While the B-17 may have been more durable, the B-24 was faster, carried a heavier bomb load, and was used in larger numbers. One of the keystone chapters of my book Untold Valor is about Dan, a B-24 man. In any case, I threw the question to one who knows more on the subject that myself, former B-17 bombardier Maurice Rockett, also a good friend and someone I trust as a straight-shooter. My own take on the B-17 vs. B-24 controversy is that the B-17 simply got more ink. It flew out of London, a city bursting at the seams with war correspondents, while the B-24 flew many missions out of North Africa and Italy, not a favorite for war correspondents. It was the media baby, the sexy plane, and the B-24 never got the same attention. Maurice basically agreed that it was a matter of ink, of publicity.

I know many men who flew on B-17s, and also many who flew on B-24s. I find it interesting and telling that B-17 men all consider the Fort to be a great plane, and the 24 men--to a man--swear by the 24. Suffice it to say that both were simply outstanding bombers and that the 24 is one of the unsung heroes of the war.

So here is a tip of the hat to the B-24 Liberator Bomber.

So please, readers, comment! What do you think?

Prayer Requests for Two Veterans

Two dear friends of mine, Dan Culler and Maurice Rockett, are undergoing surgery in the next week. Both survived hellish wounds in World War Two and both need the prayers of all blog readers in the upcoming days.

As a Christian, I firmly believe in the power of prayer. I am asking everyone who reads this who believes in the power of prayer to lift up a special request on behalf of these two men for the next week or so.

Dan Culler, prisoner of the Swiss at Wauwilermoos.

Maurice Rockett. Lost an eye over Europe as a B-17 Bombardier.

Thanks. And God bless you.

Novel Update

It's been my goal for a long time to write a novel about the Air Corps over Europe in World War Two. I wanted to tell the story, from enlistment through training and combat, followed by, in the case of my story, imprisonment in a German POW camp and a forced march at the end of the war. Historical fiction, however, is not worth telling unless it is accurate and rings true.

This summer, I've been working steadily on the novel. I have been very lucky to have eleven men who were 'over there' as my advisors. These eleven do everything from answer daily questions about anything from the cost of cigarettes to the best pub in London. They describe the terrors of combat and the humor of service life. Several also are reading the manuscript as I go in order to catch factual errors or correct scenes which do not ring true.

Their comments and emails alone run to a document of almost fifty pages so far, and this will be an important historical document in and of itself.

The novel should run about 80-100,000 words when complete. Though it deals with the entire Air Corps experience, I've also tried to make it character-driven. There are several unusual plot twists and it all builds to a surprise ending (what novel doesn't).

I'd like to thank my technical crew of advisors for their help all summer. They are:

1. Don Lewis, 15th Air Force, gunner, POW, Long March
2. Norris King, B-17 gunner, Shot down by Swiss, Internee
3. Will Lundy, 44th BG Ground Crewmen and historian, Flying Eightballs
4. Maurice Rockett, 95th BG, B-17 bombardier, Purple Heart
5. Delbert Lambson, 390th BG, Ball Turret Gunner, POW, Long March
6. Bob Cozens, 95th Bomb Group, Lead Pilot, Original member of 95th
7. John Carson, 15th Air Force gunner/armorer, POW
8. Dan Culler, 44th Bomb Group, B-24 engineer, Swiss internee and survivor of Wauwilermoos, a Swiss federal prison
9. Gale House, 95th Bomb Group, Chief Pilot, original 95th
10. DeWayne ‘Ben’ Bennett, B-17 pilot, 384th BG.
11. Leonard Herman, 95th BG, B-17 Bombardier, Purple Heart

Once the initial draft is completed, there will be re-writing and revision, but I've always found the initial drafting to be the hardest. My guess is, with a team of editors like the ones above, the revision could be a lot of fun.

Special Veterans' License Plates

Maurice Rockett's Distinguished Flying Cross Plate. Maurice received his DFC as a B-17 bombardier over Europe in WWII. He also received the Purple Heart and Air Medal.

Many states in the United States have special veterans' license plates. In some states, the plates are provided free for life to the veteran, a nice tribute and a deserved one.


The owner of this plate got his Purple Heart on Iwo Jima.

Over the years, I have seen many unique veterans' plates. Last summer, while at Crater Lake, I spotted an older gentleman getting out of his car. He had 'Pearl Harbor Survivor' plates on his car, so I made sure to go over and salute him and thank him. I've also seen Prisoner of War plates, Purple Heart plates, and Medal of Honor plates (these last are very rare).

Idaho features veterans' plates for the four major armed forces: Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines. It also has a Prisoner of War plate, and plates can also specify specific wars if a veteran is a war veteran. The most common at the present are Persian Gulf and Vietnam, but there are still a few World War Two and Korea plates in town.

Several of Idaho's specialized plates (above).

Korean War vet's plate.

These plates are available to vets who suffered radiation poisoning from 1946 to 1964 or thereabouts.

The plate at the top of this story can be found on the car of Maurice and Grace Rockett, of Wayland, Massachusetts. In addition to the Distinguished Flying Cross, Maurice also received the Air Medal, the Purple Heart and other awards as a bombardier in the 95th Bomb Group in Europe in World War Two.

It's my own opinion that these plates should be free to all war veterans for life. To do this, the Division of Motor Vehicles could solicit each person who buys plates for a one dollar contribution to offset the cost of the free plates for veterans.

Any opinions on this from readers?

Lest we forget......