Some time ago I wrote about a man who I see every week at Masonicare (June 24, 2009). His name is Vern and he's 91 years old. He is a WWII veteran. While serving as a waist gunner on a B17 during his 4th mission, his plane was shot down by 3 German fighter planes called Focke-Wulf FW190s. The picture you see here is Vern standing in front of a plane exactly like the one that shot him down. Seven of the ten crew parachuted to safety. Three men were killed-one because he didn't have time to put on his parachute! The survivors were captured immediately. Vern avoided starvation by bribing guards. He traded cigarettes for bread and eggs. Today, Vern and I, among others, went to Waterbury-Oxford Airport to tour the vintage WWII planes there. I have posted on my web site a photo gallery of those planes. Yesterday Vern got to ride in the plane he flew in (B17). He was deeply moved by the memories it brought back. Take a look at these photos. They're worth the time. It would be good on this anniversary of a terrorist attack to reflect on how much so many people are going through for us. Here's the link:http://georgeswebpage.com/vern
2 comments:
Hi George, My father, too, was a waist gunner on a B-17. He and his crew flew 33 successful missions. After 58 years, Gary found my father's best friend, who was the tail gunner. We had an amazing reunion filled with stories of WW II that we never heard. Dottie Evans of the Newtown Bee did a story for us and it was even featured on the front page of the Bee.
My Dad never wanted to see these planes ever again. We would occasionally offer, but he always refused.
We lost my Dad just a year ago May, but the pride is still there. We still keep in touch with his tail gunner, who lives just a short distance away in Long Island. At the time of the reunion,(2003) "tail and waist" were the only ones left of the crew.
Your WW II Hero is very lucky to have you for a friend. This was a great story to start out a Sunday morning. It warms my heart and I'm glad I found you.
Hi Lorrie,
Your father like Vern and many, many others are great heroes. I'm glad you found the story and liked it. I'll be posting others like it from time to time as I hear more from the folks who I see at Lockwood Lodge/Masonicare. Have a great day.
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