Once upon a time the best sounds of all were the sound of B-17s safely returning from long and dangerous bombing missions over war-torn Germany.
American historian, Robert Butche's book [ Gunnery Boys ] about the men who flew out of Grafton Underwood air base details the lives of two American lads, both having turned twenty years of age, who served as gunnery crews on the legendary B-17 bomber, Dark Angel.
During two years of in-depth research on Grafton Underwood, and the vast military base constructed beneath the tree canopies of historic Grafton Woods, the excellent drone footage captured by Graham Butlin, 7 decades after the war, revealed the ghost of Grafton Underwood aerodrome in Northamptonshire.
The two Americans, Gordon Shaffer and Kenny Stewart, were shot down near Leipzig and sent to a prison camp known as Stalag VII A. They survived, were freed by General George Patton's 3rd Army, and returned to their hometown, Denver, Colorado.
Pvt. First Class Gordon Shaffer was the last to pass on [ December 26th, 2018 ] the same year the story about The Gunnery Boys was completed.
The commemorative film about Kenny and Gordon's adventures at Grafton Underwood is available on this channel: Gordon and Kenny's Big Adventure.