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[22] repo depot-replacement depot located near the battle fronts, so that individual soldiers could be sent to infantry companies to replace the men who became casualties.
[23] Radio operator-Marty Bezon qualified for many positions on the heavy bombers. Many of his duties outlined in this chapter parallel the expectations for the radio man.
[24] Norden bombsight-The physics involved in dropping a bomb from thousands of feet to hit a target on the ground are astoundingly complicated. Carl Norden, a Swiss born engineer, developed a 50 lb. analog computer that was so valued by the US military that it invested 1.5 billion in 1940 dollars in it (for comparison, the Manhattan Project came in at around 3 billion). Bombardiers went to school for months to learn how to use it; it was installed in the bombers under armed guard and set to self-destruct upon the crashing of the aircraft. Unfortunately, its accuracy was highly questionable, given all of the combat conditions and high altitudes; the bombardier also had to be able to visually sight in the target. See www.ted.com/talks/malcolm_gladwell, for an interesting discussion.
[25] buzz bomb- In mid-June, 1944, the Germans began launching a new type of weapon—a small, medium-range cruise missile, from bases in northern France, the Netherlands, and western Germany. It was the forerunner to the modern rocket; indeed, some of the German scientists involved in the program later worked on the U.S. space program. The loud noise that the primitive pulsejet engine of the V-1 (‘Vengeance Weapon 1’) made could be heard approaching from more than ten miles away. See www.museumofflight.org/Exhibits/fieseler-fi-103-v1.
[26] DR navigator-‘dead reckoning’ is the process of calculating one's position by estimating direction and distance traveled by using a previously determined ‘fix’ (position) and advancing that position based upon estimated speeds over time and course, rather than by electronic navigation methods.
[27] shroud line-parachute suspension line
[28] shuttle missions- Operation Frantic was a series of World War II shuttle bombing operations conducted by American aircraft primarily based in Southern Italy which then landed at Soviet airfields in Poltava, in the Soviet Union (Ukraine). The operation began in June 1944 and ended in September. The Germans contributed to the discontinuation of the program with a German air attack on the Ukrainian bases; deteriorating relations with the USSR also hastened the demise. See www.history.com/this-day-in-history/united-states-begins-shuttle-bombing-in-operation-frantic
[29] put some kind of powder on us- DDT, an insecticide used late in WWII to control malaria and typhus among civilians and troops. A white powder was generally sprayed on the subject; it was banned for agricultural use in the USA in 1972 as a threat to wildlife.
[30] air war symposium-In November 2002 the author organized a panel discussion at our high school on the air war featuring Mr. Segan, pilot Earl Morrow, and Tuskegee Airman Clarence Dart. Mr. Morrow is also featured in this book, and both Morrow and Dart are featured in the sequel to this book, The Things Our Fathers Saw III, to be released Sept. 2017.
[31] Mt. McGregor-Mt. McGregor has an interesting history. It is located in Wilton, New York, about 10 miles south of Glens Falls. Originally settled by Native American survivors escaping King Philips’ War, it boasts spectacular views. Duncan McGregor built a hotel called the Mountain House in 1876; in 1885 the new owner Joseph Drexel loaned the use of his personal cottage on the mountain to his friend, then seriously ill former president Ulysses S. Grant, where Grant finished writing his war memoirs in just six weeks before he died there that July. Today the Grant Cottage State Historic Site is preserved exactly as it was at the time of his death. In 1945 New York State used it for convalescing WWII veterans like Mr. Segan, and from 1976-2014 it was used as a minimum security state prison.
[32] a letter from Clarence’s mother-
May 1, 1946
Dear Corporal [sic-Sergeant] Swarts:
I am the mother of Sergeant Clarence B. McGuire who was a member of the crew to which you were attached, and who was killed in action on his 6th mission over Germany (Merseberg) on July 29th, 1944. Only Providence knows the mystery which surrounds the entire crew. I had never received any further particulars from the Government, but Clarence’s only brother, Jack, was the E.T.O. at the same time, and he worked hard to get any information to be had.
When Jack reached Versailles, France, he went directly to the Graves Information Department there, and found that Clarence had been buried in an isolated grave in Benndorf, Germany, from July 29, 1944 to June 18, 1945 – at which time he was reburied in the U.S. at Margraten, Holland. Jack went to his grave in July 1945. You may be sure that what he was able to accomplish was the source of much comfort to me. I hadn’t heard a word from the Government, but in checking with them in December last, they confirmed the information I already had. Clarence’s brother and I have erected a very lovely memorial to Clarence’s memory, in our own family cemetery, and I have requested that Clarence’s remains be sent to me, just as soon as this procedure is possible.
I am particularly anxious to get in touch with Captain James P. Tounley who was the Commanding Officer of your crew at the time of Clarence’s last mission. Captain Tounley wrote my son Jack immediately after, and it was such a kind, fine letter. I wrote to Washington to get Captain Tounley’s address, but one of their form cards said the department for such information was closed, and they could not be of assistance. However, it may just be that you know of his whereabouts, and would let me have his address if you know it – I would be appreciative of your kindness in forwarding it to me.
I am addressing you under your military title, though I earnestly hope you are now out of service and have returned to civilian life – in which I wish you much, more happiness. If ever you come to New York, do make it a point to come and see me. I should like so much to have you do so; Clarence spoke so highly of all of the men attached to the crew; said they were all such a fine lot.
Thank you again and again for the above address if you can get it for me., or already have it, and with my best wishes to you,
Most sincerely,
(Mrs.) Helen Y. McGuire.
[33] John called me a few days later to tell me that he had managed to get in touch with the co-pilot mentioned in this chapter, that he was still alive, over 100 years old, in Minnesota. He gave me the number, but as of this writing, I have been unable to reach him.
* * *
[1] Bailey, Ronald H. The Air War in Europe. Alexandria, Virginia: Time-Life Books, 1979. 28.
[2] Bailey, Ronald H. The Air War in Europe. Alexandria, Virginia: Time-Life Books, 1979. 29.
[3] Bailey, Ronald H. The Air War in Europe. Alexandria, Virginia: Time-Life Books, 1979. 30.
[4] Miller, Donald L. The Story of World War II. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2001. 38
[5] Bailey, Ronald H. The Air War in Europe. Alexandria, Virginia: Time-Life Books, 1979. 28.
[6] Tooze, Adam. The Wages of Destruction: The Making and Breaking of the Nazi Economy. London: Allen Lane, 2007. Location 7803
[7] Miller, Donald L. The Story of World War II. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2001. 257.
[8] 45,000 people were killed and 400,000 left homeless -Miller, Donald L. The Story of World War II. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2001. 259.
[9] ‘B-17 Flying Fortress’, Boeing http://www.boeing.com/history/products/b-17-flying-fortress.page
[10] Ambrose, Steven. The Wild Blue: The Men and the Boys Who Flew the B-24s over Germany. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2001. 23
[11] Source Notes: Duties and Responsibilities of the Airplane Commander and Crewmen B-17 Pilot Training Manual -1943. United States Government (declassified, public domain). The responsibilities for those in the heavy bombers of the US Army Air Forces are outlined at the start of many chapters. See ‘B-17 Crew Requirements and Standard Operating Procedures’, www.303rdbg.com/crew-duties.html. Also, ‘Air Crewman’s Gunnery Manual, 1944; Aviation Training Division, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, U.S. Navy in collaboration wit
h U.S. Army Air Forces,’ www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/ref/AirGunnery
[12] Joiner, Steven. Mission to Ploesti: B-24 Liberators. Air and Space Magazine, Feb. 11, 2015.
[13] Source Notes: Andy Doty. Doty, Andrew. Backwards Into Battle: A Tail Gunner’s Journey in World War II. Palo Alto: Tall Tree Press, 1995. Used with author permission.
[14] Source Notes: Richard Varney. Interviewed by Emily Thomson, December 16, 2003. Hudson Falls, NY. Deposited at NYS Military Museum.
[15] Source Notes: Richard G. Alagna. Interviewed by Michael Russert and Wayne Clark, September 18, 2002. Rockville Center, NY. Deposited at NYS Military Museum.
[16] Source Notes: Kenneth R. Carlson. Interviewed by Michael Russert and Wayne Clarke, March 18, 2003, NYC. Deposited at NYS Military Museum.
[17] Source Notes: Earl M. Morrow. Interviewed by Wayne Clark, September 4, 2009. Hartford, NY. Deposited at NYS Military Museum.
[18] Source Notes: Martin F. Bezon. Interviewed by Wayne Clark, March 27, 2012. Port Henry NY. Deposited at NYS Military Museum.
[19] Source Notes: Seymour ‘Sonny’ Segan. Interviewed by Matthew Rozell, November 3, 2002. Glens Falls, NY.