[SAMWolf]

Thanks for the story LC.

I once had the honor of meeting Sgt. John Hurd, a B-17 ball turret gunner, whose story I had read in "Castes In The Air". He was a volunteer at the Chino Aircraft Museum. They had a beat-up B-17 there that they would let you walk through for a buck.

When I said he had a familiar face he showed me his picture in the book. I told him I had read it and we had a long conversation about the B-17 and the air war. I got a very personal tour or the plane and was able to get into the cockpit and all the postions except the tail gunner postion. I even tried to get into the ball turret(I was way too tall). How anyone could get into those things for hours at a time, I'll never know.

It's still one of the highlights of my life.

[Long Cut]

I know what you mean. Me and my father-in-law walked away with big smiles, the to-short meeting had made our day. Hell, as we walked away, we saw him, arm-in-arm with two women, giving them a personal tour.

God bless the old geezer. I hope they both gave him a big kiss!

[WVNan]

It's always a thrill to get in one of those war planes. Of course I can sit here all night and tell road stories and most of them would deal with the military because that is where the band played the most. One time when we were playing at Altus AFB in Okla. the guys took the band on board one of the big C-5 transport planes. They let us sit in the cockpit and run around inside that big monster. Our son was about 10 or 11 at the time and he was thrilled to death. He sure did have an interesting childhood. I can't remember all the squad numbers and the places, but at different times the Air Force made him an honory pilot, an honory Boomer, and various honory squad member. He has the wings and insignia for all of them. The Thunderbirds took him into their private club and showed him around and gave him all sorts of memorabelia. For years we all felt as if we were in the military because we spent so much time in their clubs.

[Diver Dave]

I know a retired railroad worker who was a gunner with one of the air crews in WWII. He is never without pictures of the many reunions he has attended with his Army Air Corps buddies.

He wore his old leather flight jacket to church one Sunday when Veterans were honored. The flight wings he had got lost that day, and I don't know if he ever found them.