sevt_chevelle
Member
One of my great Uncles joined the Army Air Corp after Pearl Harbor. Being as he was only about 5'4, he got assigned as a belly gunner on a B-17.
If I remember the story right, him and the crew are still stateside, the bombardier gets drunk and ends up breaking his arm.
Uncle Don volunteers to become the new bombardier. He gets his wish, he becomes so good at the job the Army makes him an instructor. Don spends WWII teaching others how to use the Norden bombsight.
Anyways, maybe about 15 years ago at a family reunion, Don had written a book about his time spent in the Army, along with his uniform, some awesome photos of B-17s and other items out on display.
But on one table, all by itself, he had the instruction manual, some documents marked classified and a complete working Norden bombsight.
I asked Don how he came into possession of this Norden, just a simple smile and the shrug of shoulders.
If I remember the story right, him and the crew are still stateside, the bombardier gets drunk and ends up breaking his arm.
Uncle Don volunteers to become the new bombardier. He gets his wish, he becomes so good at the job the Army makes him an instructor. Don spends WWII teaching others how to use the Norden bombsight.
Anyways, maybe about 15 years ago at a family reunion, Don had written a book about his time spent in the Army, along with his uniform, some awesome photos of B-17s and other items out on display.
But on one table, all by itself, he had the instruction manual, some documents marked classified and a complete working Norden bombsight.
I asked Don how he came into possession of this Norden, just a simple smile and the shrug of shoulders.
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