If you like WWII Aviation

[subsonic]

This is a good one:

 

[PaPaD]

My Dad was a tailgunner (and aircraft mechanic) in the B-series bombers in the Pacific theater in WWII - he put a few holes in some Zeros.

 

[Splunge]

My grandfather was a Pvt. With the 82nd airborne, and he was scheduled to invade Japan, but instead the dropped the bomb, I might not be here if it wasn't for good ol Oppenheimer

 

[subsonic]

The thing that amazes me is the attrition rate. We were literally running out of men at the end of WWII.

 

[Wi-Golfer]

Have attended the Heavy Bomber show at the Madison airport the past couple years, very cool going thru some of these planes and reading about and in some cases listening to the history of what they went thru.

 

[subsonic]

Cool pics! Thanks for sharing.

It is amazing to me what the guys that flew these planes went through. Tomorrow was never a guarantee.

 

[subsonic]

 

[limpalong]

My grandfather was a Pvt. With the 82nd airborne, and he was scheduled to invade Japan, but instead the dropped the bomb, I might not be here if it wasn't for good ol Oppenheimer

If you ever get a chance to get to Fayettevill, NC, don't miss visiting the Airborne/Special Operations museum. You can spend most of a day, there. So much history. Makes you really wonder what motivated men to go to war with the primitive aircraft/weapons they had.
Once you finish that museum, see if you can get on Ft. Bragg and visit the 82nd Airborne museum.

In the Special Ops museum, there is a glider from WWII. These are LITTLE aircraft with no motor or power source. One or two soldiers could be "sardined" into these and towed behind a regular aircraft. The glider would be released and would silently fly over and land behind enemy lines. Once released, there was no stopping. That had to be one frightening ride.

 

[TheTrueReview]

It's a shame WW2 movies these days are almost one big CGI cartoon.

 

[subsonic]

Translation: Army museums are cool. Glider infantry was tough.

 

[warbirdlover]

My Dad was a tailgunner (and aircraft mechanic) in the B-series bombers in the Pacific theater in WWII - he put a few holes in some Zeros.

My FIL was a P-38 pilot in the pacific escorting those bombers.
http://www.members.tripod.com/warbirdlover/index.htm

 

[Fairwaysplitter3320]

My FIL was a P-38 pilot in the pacific escorting those bombers.
http://www.members.tripod.com/warbirdlover/index.htm

Very cool!

 

[limpalong]

Wife's uncle flew a B17 bomber during WWII. On what was supposed to be one of their last missions, they tried to land in a fog and hit a high line. We have "inherited" a foot locker that was sent home which has a couple of his hats and a few momentos. We also have his coffin flag. My wife is the oldest of the neices and nephews. We'll probably pass it on down to our son, once he's retired from the Army.

"Uncle Harry" was engaged to Gertie when he left with the Army Air Corps. He sent her a bottle of French perfume that arrived after the news of his death. Gertie later married another young man in the area and they remained married for over 60 years. Gertie passed about 2 1/2 years ago. When she became quite ill, she told one of her sons that she still had the bottle of perfume... unopened. She wanted it put in her coffin. "I'll see Harry again, soon, and want to show him I've kept the perfume as a memory of him."

 

[ChrisLyons]

Dammit limp! No sad stories. I'm a softie.

 

[Fairwaysplitter3320]

Dammit limp! No sad stories. I'm a softie.

Me too, dammit limp.