Posted on 03/12/2021 3:42:52 PM PST by silent majority rising
Legit source? I dunno....
The U.S. suffered 52,173 aircrew combat losses. But another 25,844 died in accidents. More than half of these died in the continental U.S. The U.S. lost 65,164 planes during the war, but only 22,948 in combat. There were 21,583 lost due to accidents in the U.S., and another 20,633 lost in accidents overseas.
His autobiography was great. Major badass.
Total USAAF KIA, worldwide, appears to be roughly 34,000, with 14,000 WIA.
http://www.taphilo.com/history/8thaf/Air-Force-Casualaties-WWII-Summary.pdf
My 1975 Triumph Trident ran so well on the 94 octane fuel I could find at some Shell gas stations in the Northeast. Same motor, better fuel made a big difference.
I didn't realize what a contribution Lindbergh made in the Pacific theater during WWII.
Anyone who liked Paul Harvey’s stories may like Mike Rowe’s podcast Thats the Way I Heard It. Mike is they guy from the TV show Dirty Jobs, but he’s a heck of a writer with a great sense of humor.
Anyway, he’s said that Harvey’s stories were an inspiration for his podcast.
Thanks!
I was agreeing with you, and posting some real numbers - 26,000 dead in the Eighth Air Force over Europe, not 100,000.
There were about 115,000 American air casualties (not deaths) in the war (total). That might be where the 100,000 number came from.
Although the total number was not so high compared to deaths on land, an individual’s percentage chance of dying in the air over Europe was exceptionally high. One of the riskiest places to serve.
Thanks.
Thank you. I think you’re right that the original writer may have thought that casualties meant deaths.
Just think, with the green new deal, in flight tankers will have to recharge fighter batteries for hours in order to get across the channel.
I actually had two uncles who flew the full number of bomber missions in Europe, but only talked to one of them about it, when I was a boy. He cried a bit toward the end of talking about it (not a soft man generally), and got sloppy drunk before the end of the visit.
Afterward, I was told to not bring that subject back up to him.
I have enormous respect for those men. Can’t imagine the courage it would take to get into the plane time after time.
Despair can be as much a liar as hope. Being American, if I must go down, it will be fighting to the last.
Silent Majority, that’s a Great Post: thank you very much.
Here’s a classic book on World War 2 production that’s very inspiring:
“Freedom’s Forge: How American Business Produced Victory ...” by Arthur Herman
The one I talked to was a gunner. He said that one fighter pilot he shot passed by close enough to look each other in the face, while he was shooting him. Said it seemed like he could not shoot him enough.
The other was a pilot, who stayed in, and served through the Korean War, but got out without retiring.
My roommate in college my senior year was addicted to Paul Harvey.
He got the other room mate and I addicted after about a month. We would quietly prepare our lunches and listen to Paul. Often we would discuss what we got out of after it was over.
“Here is the “Rest of the Story!”
One of my uncles by marriage and one of my BIL’s were/are great story tellers. It is a true skill.
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Does the book mention Edwards Deming and his band of statistical process and quality control geniuses?
I never heard of that one, it’s on my list now.
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