Joe Mode , Thanks for your story. I heard a similar one from an elderly gentleman from my church. He was a ball turret machine gunner who flew, I believe, 25 B-17 bombing raids over Germany. Mission 15 was the one where his plane was heavily damaged from flack and machine gun fire. The B-17 barely made it back to England with no flaps, brakes, hydraulics, or ventilation system. It lost at least one engine, and had over 300 holes in the body of the plane. All crew members survived that flight. These were real men. They had nerves of steel, as did your great uncle, and all others on those missions. May they Rest In Peace.

If your father could hear me right now I would thank him for his service. My father was in the pacific theater in 1944-45.

@@AlexA-ss4te My great uncle, William Robert Bowers, was a Tail Gunner during W.W.II with the 340th Bomb Squadron, 97th Bomb Group, 3rd Air Force. He joined up sometime around before 8 July 1942 as he was sent to Fort Oglethorpe about this time. He completed Gunnery School in Las Vegas on 7 September 1942. On 6 October 1942 he was with the 330th Bomb Group, 459th Bomb Squadron at the Army Air Base in Alamagordo, New Mexico. His brother Art Bowers said Robert flew in a bomber called “Thunderbird”, which was named by its crew (Possibly Robert’s "Thunderbird" #41-24437) Robert was wounded by shrapnel three times, lost a lung, knocked unconscious, and had to be pulled out of the tail section by his feet. He was stationed in England, then North Africa, then Italy and participated in the invasion of Africa, bombed Germany, and destroyed oil fields in Romania. He ran out of fuel and had to ditch in the desert as well as having two planes shot out from under him. A letter written by Uncle Robert's preacher said the following: A word to let you know that we have not forgotten you. Written 17 December 1943 by Rev. J.K. Smith, pastor of Gillespie Avenue Baptist Church. Robert Bowers is at home now. He was wounded in North Africa, again in Sicily, and a third time in Italy. He was in the hospital in the U.S. several weeks, but is now at home for 30 days. Then he is to return to the hospital in Palm Beach, Florida. He hopes to get strong enough to return to his post in Europe. He has the distinction of being the first Knoxville boy to shoot down an enemy plane in North Africa. He has shot down three in all. Note: According to a KZfaq documentary on the 97th, the 97th Bomb Group bombed their last target in Africa on 5 May 1943 where Robert Bowers was wounded. The 97th bombed the docks of Tunis, capitol of Tunisia, which was designed to deny the enemy the transports they needed for a successful evacuation. There were an estimated 50 enemy aircraft, mostly ME-109s at an airdrome, in addition to 35 JU-52 transports. The transports would provide a large portion of the enemy’s supplies and were to be used for any evacuation moves. This was the 101st raid for the 97th. The last African bombing mission utilized 25 B-17s on the afternoon of 5 May 1943. The bombing was accurate on the Marshaling Yards, as was the German flak, and 15 forts were hits. Heavy damage was done to the harbor and crafts. The 97th was instrumental in helping push the Germans out of North Africa. Note: On 12 September the 97th pounded the airfields at Frosinone where Robert was wounded again. Frosinone is a town and commune in Lazio, central Italy; the administrative seat of the province of Frosinone. It is located about 75 kilometers (47 mi) south-east of Rome. It was bombed 56 times by Anglo-American planes; the first Allied troops entered Frosinone on 31 May 1944. I have a crew picture with my great uncle and the following are listed: Back row: 2nd from left Co-Pilot Billy Rose-KY, 3RD Bombardier, 4th Navigator Albert George Betette-CA, 5th Pilot Sam Constantine-NY, 6th Tail Gunner William Robert Bowers-Knoxville, Tennessee (Note the Thunderbird patch on Robert’s left shoulder)