Book Review: MY WAR by John C. Walter

Every so often I read a World War Two bomber crewman memoir that reaches out and grabs me. Such is John C. Walter's outstanding book MY WAR: The True Experiences of a U.S. Army Air Force Pilot in World War Two, published by Authorhouse in 2004. Not since I read the late Gene Carson's Wing Ding have I felt like I've gotten into the head and heart of a bomber crewman in such detail.

Walter flew as a pilot with the 95th Bomb Group (H) out of Horham, England in World War Two. The book begins with his enlistment and early training and follows Walter and his crew across the Atlantic to England, where they complete 35 harrowing missions in the early months of 1945 flying a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress. Not all of the crew survives their tour, and many fellow crews also go down. Walter tells his story alternating the stress and terror of flying missions with the high-spirited living of the crewmen between missions. He explains many things that I never fully understood despite having read literally over a hundred bomber crew memoirs. I guess one could say Mr. Walter has an eye for detail that enables him to describe the experience in new and introspective ways. Considering he spent much of his career honing his writing skills as a technical writer for General Dynamics, he's had a lot of practice. He also has a wonderful dry sense of humor, which I appreciated greatly while reading.

Other plusses to the book are the good photographs throughout and the appendix, which describes in detail how to read a Pilot Information Sheet used on a mission. The book has 247 pages. It can be ordered from Amazon at this link: http://www.amazon.com/MY-WAR-EXPERIENCES-FORCE-PILOT/dp/1418447250/ref=sr_1_1/104-1823667-6149529?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1191892112&sr=8-1.

I managed to get hold of Mr. Walter today and I hope to use his insight and expertise while writing the 95th BG history this coming year. It is a wonderful book and I highly recommend it.

A Stranger Becomes a Friend

The funeral card, found on the floor of a local thrift store.

Sometimes, things happen that are just too coincidental to be sheer coincidence. Such an event happened to me today. I was looking at books in a used book store when I noticed a funeral notice lying forlornly on the stained carpet. I picked it up and looked at it. It belonged to a man who died in my home state of South Dakota on Christmas Eve in 1994 by the name of William L. Savage. Not only was he from my home state, but he was buried in the Roman Catholic Church, which happens to be my church as well. He had a sister in Rapid City, my home town. He had a son in the town I live in now, Idaho Falls, Idaho. I read the short biography about William L. Savage and found the following: After graduation from high school, "He then served in the United States Air Force during World War Two. Bill flew thirty-three missions over Germany as a ball-turret gunner on a B-17 bomber".

Seeing as ball turret gunners are one of my areas of special interest, I saw this serendipitous event as nothing short of a chance to honor another of this rare breed of brave men who flew in the ball turret in the deadly skies over Europe in World War Two. William Savage instantly became my brother and my friend, just from reading his funeral card.

William Savage was a livestock commission broker at the Souix Falls, South Dakota stockyards for 25 years. He then sold western wear for ten years until his retirement in 1986. In retirement, Bill did volunteer work at the Veteran's Hospital in Sioux Falls.

According to the card, he suffered a lengthy illness before dying on Christmas Eve, 1994 at the relatively young age of 69.

William Savage, I honor your memory today. God bless you. Thanks for your service as a ball turret gunner in Europe in World War Two. Thanks for keeping us free.

Thrift Store Find-- A Piece of Aviation History

Found in a thrift store today for less than a dollar, here is a piece of aviation history--one of the Champion Spark Plugs from the record-setting modified P-51 Mustang that broke the world record for speed for a piston-powered aircraft in 1979 flown by Steve Hinton.

One of the fun things about visiting thrift stores is you just never know what you're going to find.

Take today, for example. At one place, I found three Rolling Stones albums, including a first-pressing of Beggar's Banquet, plus The Who's 'Tommy' double-LP and Volume Two of 'The Best of Cream--LIVE".

But that's not likely to interest many aviation readers.

However, I also found this unique item--an original Champion Spark Plug from the specialized P-51 Mustang, actually called an RB-51, that was flown by legendary film stunt pilot and air racer Steve Hinton in 1979 to set the World's Record for piston-driven aircraft. Steve flew the modifed Mustang at 499.046 miles per hour in 1979 at Tonopah, Nevada.

This little plaque has one of the original spark plugs from the plane, called 'Red Baron', and a metal plaque that tells about the exploit.

I paid fifty cents for it.

A photo of Hinton and the modified Mustang setting the world speed record for piston aircraft in 1979.

A neat computer-simulated shot of the RB-51 setting the record.

You can see it on eBay at http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=280158219605&ssPageName=STRK:MESE:IT&ih=018.

More Info on Robert 'Rosie' Rosenthal

100th Bomb Group pilot Robert 'Rosie' Rosenthal flew over fifty missions over Europe in World War Two. Earlier this year, Rosenthal flew his final mission. Rosie was a great man in the Air Corps and a great asset to humanity in general.

I knew Rosie only slightly. When I tried to get his story in an interview, he demured, telling me he'd had way more than his share of publicity and directing me to another fine Jewish aviator, navigator Jerome Jacobson. I think Rosie got tired of and embarrassed by the attention he garnered, but the bottom line is that his story is so compelling that it is well worth repeating here.

I heard today from Mr. Mel Wacks, the director of the Jewish-American Hall of Fame. Mel wrote me to let me know that there is a new DVD about the life of Rosie Rosenthal. It is available from the Jewish-American Hall of Fame at the f0llowing address, for the nominal fee of fifteen dollars: Jewish-American hall of Fame, 5189 Jeffdale Ave., Woodland Hills, CA 91364.

I plan to order a copy this week, and I highly recommend it to all readers. A few of my friends saw it at the 100th BG reunion last month, and said it was outstanding.

What follows is a little background on Robert Rosenthal.

Robert "Rosie" Rosenthal (1917-2007)

The day after Pearl Harbor was attacked, Robert "Rosie" Rosenthal enlisted in the U.S. Army. In August 1943, he joined the 418th Squadron of the "Bloody" 100th Bombardment Group, stationed in England. Thirteen B-17s took off for a bombing mission over Munster … but only one returned - aptly named "Rosie's Riveters" - full of holes and flying on two engines. But in spite of the intercom being out, the oxygen system shot-up and a large ragged hole in the skin of the right wing, they had successfully dropped their bombs over the target.

In March, 1944 Rosie's Riveters completed its 25th mission, which completed their military service. But Rosie reenlisted, saying "I had to do what I could for as long as I was able." This was in spite of the fact that 15 missions was the average life of a bomber crew. Later, Rosenthal was made head of the 350th Squadron after the CO was shot down. Intelligence Officer Marvin Bowman found Rosenthal "one of the great figures of the Air Force; a shy, modest, and patriotic gentleman of truly amazing courage and achievement."

When Rosenthal's plane went down over Germany in September, he broke his arm and nose - but luckily was rescued by the Free French, to whom he had dropped supplies only a few weeks before. As soon as his arm had healed, Rosie returned to his original (418th) Squadron, and was chosen to lead a mission to Berlin on February 3, 1945. Even after a direct flak hit put an engine on fire, his blazing Fortress still managed to drop its bombs on the targeted Erkner factory before Rosenthal gave the signal to "Abandon ship." The rest of the crew parachuted and after B-17 had descended to about 1,000 feet, Rosenthal was the last to leave with the ground dangerously close … just before the ship exploded. Fortunately, he was found by Russians, who embraced him and took him to a hospital. This was his 52nd mission; there was to be just one more. Rosie flew his last mission after VE-Day … to free prisoners from concentration camps.
Rosenthal was one of the most decorated pilots in the Eighth Air Force. He received 16 decorations, including the Distinguished Service Cross for "extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against the enemy," the Silver Star (with cluster) for "gallantry in action," the Distinguished Flying Cross (with cluster) for "heroism or extraordinary achievement during aerial flight," the Air Medal (with seven clusters), the Purple Heart (with cluster), plus the British Distinguished Flying Cross and the French Croix de Guerre.
Shortly after V-E Day, Rosenthal was back in Germany as an assistant to the United States Prosecutor at the Nuremberg Trials where, among other things, he interrogated Nazi leader Hermann Goering.

Robert 'Rosie' Rosenthal is shown (above right) with aviation artist Gil Cohen with the oil original of Cohen's painting showing Rosie and his crew before a 1943 mission. Shown are (left to right): Waist Gunner S/Sgt. Loren Darling, Pilot 1st Lt. Robert Rosenthal, Radio Operator T/Sgt. Michael Boccuzzi, and Waist Gunner S/Sgt. James Mack.

September 20 Named National POW/MIA Recognition Day--May We Never Forget

National POW/MIA Recognition Day, 2007

A Proclamation by the President of the United States of America

America has been blessed by the brave men and women of our Armed Forces who have answered the call to defend our country and protect liberty around the world. On National POW/MIA Recognition Day, we honor a special group of patriots: those who have been prisoners of war and those who are still missing in action. We remain forever in their debt, and we renew our commitment to them and to their families never to rest until we have accounted for every missing service member.

To commemorate this day, the National League of Families POW/MIA flag is flown over the White House, the Capitol, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the Korean War Veterans Memorial, the World War II Memorial, and other locations across our country. This flag is an enduring symbol that reflects our solemn commitment to our courageous service members who have been imprisoned while serving in conflicts around the world and to those who remain missing. America will always remember these heroes, and we underscore our pledge to achieve the fullest possible accounting for every missing member of our Armed Forces.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim Friday, September 21, 2007, as National POW/MIA Recognition Day. I call upon the people of the United States to join me in honoring and remembering all former American prisoners of war and those missing in action who valiantly served our great country. I also call upon Federal, State, and local government officials and private organizations to observe this day with appropriate ceremonies and activities.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twentieth day of September, in the year of our Lord two thousand seven, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-second.

GEORGE W. BUSH

I echo President Bush in saluting my friends, living and passed away, who were POWs in World War Two: Don Lewis, Delbert Lambson, Frank Murphy, Herb Alf, Lyle Shafer, Mozart Kaufman, John Carson, Lee Kessler, Fr. Joe Sellers, Ken Blythe, Ed Herzig, and Aaron Kupstow. I apologize if I have inadvertantly left anyone off the list.

I also salute men who were deprived of their freedom in Switzerland and Sweden, including: Dan Culler, Sam Mastrogiacomo, Norris King, Bob Long, Cyril Braund, and Charles Cassidy.

We Will Never Forget.....That's a Promise.

Top Ten Bombers

And the winner is.....? (According to the Military Channel's 'Top Ten Bombers' show)

The Military Channel had a show on last night in which it attempted to analyze and rank the top ten bombers. It was a great show and it is an interesting and thought-provoking list. The planes were ranked on such things as service life, armament, fear factor, defensive armament, range, innovation, etc.

I have no argument with the ranking of the Boeing B-52 as the top bomber of all time. After all, it has been in continuous service for over fifty years. However, I was a little surprised that the venerable Boeing B-17 was ranked tenth on the list. The top four were: B-52, B-2, B-29 and Mosquito--all great planes. The B-17 was ranked low because of its short service life (only really used in WWII, while the B-29 was used in Korea as well) and relatively small bomb load.

The list and arguments are to be found at the Military Channel's website and at this webpage: http://military.discovery.com/convergence/topten/bombers/slideshow/slideshow.html. It's a fascinating and highly debatable list.

10. B-17

9. Handley-Page 0/100

8. Junkers JU-88

7. Tupelov Tu-95 'Bear'

6. Boeing B-47 Stratojet (what a beautiful plane that was!)

5. Avro Lancaster

4. De Havilland Mosquito

3. Boeing B-29

2. Boeing B-2

1. Boeing B-52

Comments? Arguments? Where's the B-24?

Letters to Iraq

This year I 'adopted' a soldier who is in the field in Iraq and who had applied to a program that connects troops with people who will write to them. This soldier is a lance corporal in the Marine Corps and is stationed in the Iraqi desert. He is due to come home in January or February.

Today, I gave all my classes ten minutes to compose a letter to our Marine, if they wanted to. It was strictly optional, as I wanted the letters to come from the heart. Sadly, only 30 of my 150 kids actually took the time to write a letter, but the letters they wrote are excellent. I teach high school freshmen, fourteen and fifteen year olds very much involved in themselves, and not always the most empathetic people. Some of the best letters come from some of the quietest, the less studious, the less gifted academically, the poorest. I had to share some excerpts with readers.

"How did you feel when they told you you had to go fight in the war and you told your mom and your dad that you have to go and did they feel sad? I was wondering how hot it gets up there and if there is a lot of people getting shot and hurt and if there is women that are fighting."

"I am very thankful for brave people like you that fight for my freedom and every other citizen's. Thank you very much and I will never forget about all the soldiers fighting in Iraq for us."

"I know I can't fathom the sacrifices you have made for me and our country, but it's worth the thanks. I wish you the best of luck as you work in the field and that you come home soon. You guys are the real heroes."

"Writing U to tell U that I appriciate what U R doing for our country and the people you love. Keep doin what U do."

"Believe and fight for what is right,

hold your head up high,

smile proud and care for those,

don't let your hopes fall from the sky."

"I just want you to know I really admire what you are doing for our country. I could never be brave enough to do anything like that! Please be careful!"

"I'm sure there are days you don't want to do what you're doing, but you do it anyways, so thanks. "

"Thanks for fighting in the Iraq war. I know it's not fair that you had to go more than one times and so does the president for once. We all might not like Bush cause I don't, but he might bring back the draft so he can bring some of you home...So thanks for fighting for us."

"Thank you for fighting for our country. Kick their AS!E?"

"Thank for keeping us safe from terisees and I want to go to the marines to serve our country."

"I think that it is really cool that you are brave enough to go all the way across the world and fight for us. I don't think I would last one day if I went over there. I would like to thank you and all the other troops for protecting our country, and at the same time trying to help the people of Iraq have better lives and more freedom."

"You are proof that there is more good than bad in the world, and I thank you for your courage."

"Is being in Iraq scarey? I really appreciate you being down there. I'm sure you get that a lot but I really do. You must be very brave because I would be too chicken. You're like a super hero. Well, thank you!"