Officer'Party

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billrunnels

billrunnels

Distinguished Member
B-17 Bombardier
8AF, 303bg, 360bs
1,124
1,367
Oct 13, 2017
Minnesota, USA
I am the guy leaning on the piano. Just bought the player a fresh beer.
pp-360officersparty1945d (1).jpg
 
Good picture Bill, it must bring back memories. Walking around a museum yesterday my wife saw a picture of her history teacher, she maintains she is not old enough tohave her teachers pic in a museum.:shock:
 
pbehn said:
Good picture Bill, it must bring back memories. Walking around a museum yesterday my wife saw a picture of her history teacher, she maintains she is not old enough tohave her teachers pic in a museum.:shock:
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It does bring back memories. This party was on April 7, 1945 one day following the loss of my original crew in a mid-air collision near Leipzig, Germany. I was a little down and thought the party atmosphere would help. I didn't stay long,
 
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Honor to greet you Bill.
April 7th, 1945 was fateful day for the USAAF as Me-262s and ramming Me-109s rose up to challenge the 8th AF in the last desperate attempts to stop the daylight offensive over Nazi Germany.
When was your last mission?
 
airminded88 said:
Honor to greet you Bill.
April 7th, 1945 was fateful day for the USAAF as Me-262s and ramming Me-109s rose up to challenge the 8th AF in the last desperate attempts to stop the daylight offensive over Nazi Germany.
When was your last mission?
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April 5, 1945 to Bayreuth. This was the longest mission I was on - 11 hours 30 minutes air time.
 
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airminded88 said:
Fine young men.
Did anyone of them survive such ordeal Bill?
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I should have explained the two in the middle of the first row were not on the flight that day. They are our copilot and myself. All others were lost in both planes. The copilot was on the mission flying as camera man in the tail gunner position of the lead aircraft and filmed the accident. I had flown the day before with a lead crew and was not assigned this mission. The little doll held by our navigator, "baby doll", was our mascot. It was a gift to him from his wife.
 
Thank you for your stories about your missions and the people you knew both living and dead. I wish that there more members of your generation posting their experiences here.
 
billrunnels said:
I should have explained the two in the middle of the first row were not on the flight that day. They are our copilot and myself. All others were lost in both planes. The copilot was on the mission flying as camera man in the tail gunner position of the lead aircraft and filmed the accident. I had flown the day before with a lead crew and was not assigned this mission. The little doll held by our navigator, "baby doll", was our mascot. It was a gift to him from his wife.
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Yours is a fascinating but overly tragic and sad story, Bill.
I feel shivers when I see the picture of your crew and to see such group of young and brave men/boys have their life cut short in that accident.
I can't even beging to understand how hard you must have taken the news of their fate.
I really wish that the accompanying description of that picture was a crew that finished their tour of duty and returned safely to the US to live long fruitful life among their loved ones after the war but sadly it brings home the crude reality of the air war over Europe and WWII in general.
Their sacrifice was not in vain and their legacy will keep alive as long as there are people like us who remember and celebrate their deeds.
Hearing stories like yours is what makes this site very special to me and I, like most members, feel very lucky to still have it.
It's constructive, educational and fun to disect and debate the technical aspects of air power during the war but the human elements is something that I take close to my heart.
Thank you for your service Bill.
 
airminded88 said:
Yours is a fascinating but overly tragic and sad story, Bill.
I feel shivers when I see the picture of your crew and to see such group of young and brave men/boys have their life cut short in that accident.
I can't even beging to understand how hard you must have taken the news of their fate.
I really wish that the accompanying description of that picture was a crew that finished their tour of duty and returned safely to the US to live long fruitful life among their loved ones after the war but sadly it brings home the crude reality of the air war over Europe and WWII in general.
Their sacrifice was not in vain and their legacy will keep alive as long as there are people like us who remember and celebrate their deeds.
Hearing stories like yours is what makes this site very special to me and I, like most members, feel very lucky to still have it.
It's constructive, educational and fun to disect and debate the technical aspects of air power during the war but the human elements is something that I take close to my heart.
Thank you for your service Bill.
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Thank you for the kind and thoughtful words. They mean a lot. They were great friends and remain so in the chambers of my mind.
 
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