I'm a Libertarian living in Humboldt County, CA. I've lived here in Eureka since 1973 and joined the Libertarian Party in 1992. This blog will mostly focus on local political issues, but I may stray into state and national issues as well, when I can't help myself. Please post your comments by clicking on the "comments" link at the bottom of each post. Although I do moderate comments, you need not be a registered user to post them.
The big bombers come to Eureka again. Wish I could go to the airport to see them. The B24J is usually my heavy bomber of choice when I'm playing Aces High. Do you think if I told them I'm a B24 pilot in Aces High they'd let me take theirs up for a spin?
posted by Fred Mangels @ 8:04 AM
3 comments
3 Comments:
My was grandfather was serving aboard a B24 Liberator when they were shot down over Germany. All ten aboard perished. Several years ago I took a flight on this B24, carrying a picture of my grandfather and his crew. Like you Fred, I have a special place in my heart for the B24.
I've always wanted to go for a ride in that B-24 but can't afford the $425 ticket price. My dad was a navigator and bombadier in a B-24 and told me that one time they had to fly back from a bombing run on one engine, three were out, and they made it. But then again I also remember looking at the bombsite photos which showed the cities beneath completely filled with bomb craters. It didn't register to me that these were cities of people being killed until I was older. Still, my father was braver than me to fly in those sitting duck bomber formations where German fighter planes could and did shoot them to pieces and it was a matter of luck and numbers that you and your crew came back.
I was given a gift of a ride on the B-17, which my father flew toward the end of the War. What a beautiful view of the coast we enjoyed--a little different from being shot at. When I was growing up, my father said that he saw his buddies get killed and that he felt, after all that, he was living on "borrowed time". He completed 35 missions and came home in May 1945. Thank goodness. My father was a very good, very smart man.
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