Subject: B-17 Boomerang Barbara, intro part 3
From: [email-masked] (Michael Fitch)

SUBJECT: Boomerang Barbara, Part 3

Dear Mark,                              October 26, 1993

        (continued from part 2)..."The first and only mission that Bill
flew as a tail gunner was our very first mission. We went to Bremen,
Germany. The trip took seven hours and it was very cold 54 degrees C.
Our radioman should not have been on this or another mission. Even state
side he was getting sick. He loved flying so much that we all thought he
would make it OK. How wrong we were, he got air sick and opened the door
to the bomb bay, a good place to throw up. He had done this before, in the
states. This time however, we were over the target and on the bomb run, 
the bomb bay lower doors were wide open. This throws a blast of cold air
right into the bomb bay and when he opened the radio room door which leads
right into the bomb bay, he got the full blast of cold air right on his 
face. With no air mask on (he had removed it to throw up) he passed out in
seconds. Most B-17 crews were much more than brothers, our very lives
depended on each other and we looked out for each other. Officers and
enlisted men in the plane were one crew. This is what saved Sudol's life.
Zuckelli saw him from his position as waist gunner. Fred put on what we
called a walk around bottle and went to his aid. This caused Fred back
injury, which later grounded him. This chain of events led to Bill
becoming our radioman and Alan R. Smith (Smity) became our tail gunner.
        There are many other stories that I can share with you. Try to
understand, we were not gung-ho guys. Most of us were very young, I was
just nineteen. The one and only time that a cross word passed between us,
was as I told you, when went to sleep in the radio room. While we were
still in Spokane our whole crew were given furloughs to go home and 
report back to Topeka, Kansas. All the crew except me. I lacked just ten
days, for six months to have passed before my last furlough. They would
not give me one for ten days. Bailey took me to see the commanding general
and fought like hell to get me home. All he got was his ass chewed out by
the general and I had to wait the ten days. Then the whole crew waited at
Topeka for me to come back from Florida. The point is that he went to bat
for me and we all loved him for it.
        Anything that I can help you with, please let me know. There are
three of us left. Fredinand Zuckelli, James G. Baldock, and myself Albert
Soriano."

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