I'm Spartacus
No! I'm Spartacus!
No! I'm Spartacus!
Posted on 12/09/2003 12:00:46 AM PST by SAMWolf
LOL. Zero?
I'm Spartacus
No! I'm Spartacus!
No! I'm Spartacus!
The 11th Airforce ...the "Pink Elephants" [28TH , 404th]Bombgroup.
With individual names of birds..such as .."Whistlin Shithouse"...which is in the below photo.
Excerpt from a personal testimony :
B-24 Raid on Paramashiro
by Richard Korpanty
I had my 19th birthday in Anchorage and flew my first mission from Shemya to Paramashiro in 1945. It was a rough one!...I flew #2 position. My windows would not defrost and the co pilot kept a 6" spot clear with his hand while i flew formation.
In the number 3 spot was a kid named Talbot. Just as I looked over at him a shell hit his bomb bay gasoline tanks and he caught on fire.
I believe he was going to try and land in Russia(Siberia),but before he could do anything his plane blew up.
I did not see any parachutes open.
Then all of a sudden the fighters started attacking from every side like wild animals.
Then I heard the nose turret was frozen and would not move but the guns did work.
As usuall we had no ball turret and the tail guns were frozen.
**U.S. Navy submarines played a key role in these long bombing/photo recon missions.
staged with destroyers..they worked the flight route..and were successfull in saving many downed aircrews.
BTW, folks Microsoft did not include any patches in their December Security update, however they did say that if it became neccessary that they would relase emergency pathces outside of their regular Security Update schedule.
Bert Alton Jr,Radio technician second class found himself assigned to destroyer tender USS Markab and was not enjoying life in the Aluetians.
"As i leaned on the Markabs railing,staring out pondered my fate and saw a beautiful sight: Two destroyers,obviously brand new,handsome in gray and black camouflage,were steaming into Adak Harbor
I ran down to the repair shop in search of the LTJG.
Mr Parker ,there are 2 destroyers out there and I want to be on one of them.
The officer stared at me ,then said which do you want ,I have been agonizing to find a fair way to select 2 people out of our ten for transfer.
He must have had that perception that to send a soul from the luxurious and comfortable Markab to a dangerous destroyer.
I chose USS Luce and reported in,only to discover the ship was full and their wasn't one bunk available.
I wound up slinging a hammock in a passageway and brooding, hopefully things would get better.
I tried to sleep that night realizing this wasn't the environment I had expected , had I made the mistake of my life.
Then something unexpected happened, a few feet up the passageway a brawny screaming sailor was being wrestled by the master at arms and some crew to the brig adjacent to my hammock.
The man was a raging bull,clubs ,fists ,elbows were flying in the melee moving my direction.
They herded the guy into the brig where he subsided into a druken stupor.
What in the world is going on I said,
They explained that he was a cook ,called Beaver,He'd gotten crazy drunk on torpedo fuel and fruit,had somehow located a 45.cal automatic pistol and began shooting wildly at imagined enemies in the ships galley.
They waited till they were certain he had emptied the clip before rushing him.
What kind of hell ship was I on?
The rest of the crew thought this to be pure entertainment.
The next day Beaver was transfered in chains ,to the beach awaiting courtmartial.
Good ol Beaver, I inherited his bunk! : )
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.