Backlash over Air Force Uniforms.

ViperHorn said:
The B-24s were more difficult to fly and land than the B-17's.
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Did not know that. I am curious. Do you know why? I do know that Corsairs were known as Ensign eliminators due to the difficult landings.

BTW, Tom Landry flew a B-17 in WWII.
 
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Wing/Body configuration; twin tail; broadside fuselage making it hard to land, especially in cross-wind landings. The -24 was faster, but the -17 was easier to control in formations. From reports, it was a constant fight to fly the -24.

My first boss out of college was a -24 driver in Europe and finished his 25 missions. As a reward, after his 25 mission leave in the States, he started training on the -29 which he said he loved to fly. He was getting ready to go to the Pacific when the war ended.
 
Wow VH
It is unfathomable to think he flew 25 what must have been horrible missions
and his reward? Another bomber to fly in the Pacific.
HHD
Did you feel a connection to those WWII men when you were a young cadet at the Academy?
Do you think the current cadets feel that?
I am impressed with the interviews the cadet athletes give.
 
WorsterMan said:
There were no B-29's in Europe during the war - they were only based in the Pacific theatre. If he did photo recon in Europe it was likely a P-38 - that aircraft was well suited for that as it had good speed. P-38's also did recon in the Pacific but their range was somewhat limited and would not have been suitable for long missions to Japan.
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He was definitely in the Pacific during the war and in Europe afterwards. When I mentioned that he took photos in Europe, I was thinking maybe he took pictures in Japan before they dropped the bombs; i.e., selecting the more appropriate targets.
 
Since this has become praise, respect and honor for those that served then and now, I will share something. I want to credit my father for educating and keeping the memories alive for my family of those that served America in our family.

I'll try to keep it fairly brief. Dad was a Navy Lt. and served on an LST in the Pacific. Graduated from UT 1949. He lived to 90 in 2016. He did exhaustive research to find and create a "scrapbook" (more text than photos) of members of our family that served from the Civil War through the Korean War.

I knew all 8 members of our broad family that served in WW2, more so as a kid / teenager. All saw action. All survived physically.

I want to mention perhaps the most extraordinary of them all. My Uncle Joe enlisted in the Navy and became a pharmacist mate in 1942-43. The military was desperate to train qualified medical personnel to serve especially on the invasion breaches. The Navy eventually made Joe a Navy Corpsman.

He was on the first wave of Hellish Omaha Beach. He survived. Much later when I saw the movie: Saving Private Ryan, I wept thinking of my uncle on that beach and having to decide who got treated and who had to be left to die.

He was later transferred to the Pacfic and was part of the ungodly bloody invasion of Okinawa. At some point in the battle he was wounded by a grenade. My Grandmother claimed she woke up in the middle of the night and knew something had happened to Joe at roughly the same time it happened.

Joe recovered, came home, raised a family, owned a pharmacy and became Mayor of Kermit TX. We were all cautioned as kids not to ask him anything about the war. He was a good man and died at 93 in Gilmer TX.

I'm glad I can share some memories with you and recognize the bravery of 1 out of the 16 million that served, sacrificed, were wounded, died in WW2.
 
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Worster,

Thank you for sharing the memories and stories of the Greatest Generation. My uncle was on an LST in the Pacific and later in Japan for the surrender. He returned to the States and was discharged in Seattle but had to find his own way home. He hitchhiked from Seattle to Port Neches. My grandparents house was two blocks from the river. The day after he got home he was sitting down at the river and saw his LST coming up the Neches River to be placed in the "moth ball fleet".

A soldier from Chicago road that LST from Seattle to Jefferson County, where he met and married a lady from Nederland, then built their home next door to my parents in 1953 (???). They were like a second set of parents to me. Neither he nor my uncle ever talked about their service.
 
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ViperHorn said:
Wing/Body configuration; twin tail; broadside fuselage making it hard to land, especially in cross-wind landings. The -24 was faster, but the -17 was easier to control in formations. From reports, it was a constant fight to fly the -24.

My first boss out of college was a -24 driver in Europe and finished his 25 missions. As a reward, after his 25 mission leave in the States, he started training on the -29 which he said he loved to fly. He was getting ready to go to the Pacific when the war ended.
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Actor Jimmy Stewart was a pilot in WW2 and I believe flew B-24's .
 
WorsterMan said:
Actor Jimmy Stewart was a pilot in WW2 and I believe flew B-24's .
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Yep, him, Clark Gable, Kirk Douglas and of course Ronald Reagan all served. I think only Jimmy S was a pilot. That I knew. I didn't know B29's didn't make it to Europe. I thought some had made it to England toward the end of the war.

And don't forget Audrey Hepburn served as a spy. Probably died so young from health problems from being starved by the Germans when she was a kid.
 
mchammer said:
USS LST-325 | WWII Landing Ship | Evansville, IN
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Very nice find. Considering going to Indiana next Spring to see the ship. Also want to see USS Texas after she is refurbished. Have not been aboard since I was a kid.

This thread has taken a life of its own. Very interesting info, though.

Did not know about Audrey Hepburn. Audrey Hepburn - Wikipedia
 
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Run Pincher said:
I didn't know B29's didn't make it to Europe. I thought some had made it to England toward the end of the war.
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Well, I thought there were no B-29's in Europe but there was at least 1, however if there were eventually others, they may not have flown many if any bombing missions. Here is what a browser search said:

The intended use of Superfortresses in WWII was to bomb Japan, but the first B-29 was deployed to England in March 1944. It was sent to the European theater to trick the Germans into thinking that B-29s were to be based in England, and to disguise the concentrated use of Superfortresses against Japan.

B-29 Superfortress.
 
Horn6721 said:
HHD
Did you feel a connection to those WWII men when you were a young cadet at the Academy?
Do you think the current cadets feel that?
I am impressed with the interviews the cadet athletes give.
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When I was at USAFA, the school was very young - My class was the 10th class to enter. We were also keenly aware that the Air Force was only about 20 years old at the time, still working to establish traditions. Most of the history of modern airpower came from WW II and the Army Air Corps. We were schooled in the history of air power from Day One, and thus developed a pretty good connection to the history of USAF.
I would think today's cadets are getting the same perspective, aided by another fifty years of history. USAFA grads compiled a pretty impressive record in Southeast Asia. (The first USAFA grad to be awarded the MoH, Lance Sijan, was Class of 65; there is a statue of Lance at the Academy.)
Now that USAFA is also commissioning new officers for the Space Force, it remains to be seen how the historical ties will fare.
 
This is a GREAT thread and IMO belongs here.Sports teaches you about teamwork having each other's backs and next man up. Reading here one can see that is exactly what happened in WWII.
To learn about real people who served including relatives of Horn Fans is amazing.
Can't wait to see next AF game to psy closer attention to those Unis
And hear announcers comments.
 
utahorn said:
Did not know that. I am curious. Do you know why? I do know that Corsairs were known as Ensign eliminators due to the difficult landings.

BTW, Tom Landry flew a B-17 in WWII.
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My dad told me that halfway down the runway on his first B24 flight, “it was obvious that the plane was built by Ford” (a car company)
 
hornde68 said:
My dad told me that halfway down the runway on his first B24 flight, “it was obvious that the plane was built by Ford” (a car company)
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In College, one of my history professors told the story of an early WWII bomber that was too heavy for takeoff due to all the riveting and re-riveting.

Remember, that the workers in that day had no experience building aircraft. They had been farmers, carpenters and plumbers like my grandfather who did a lot of the plumbing at the Cotton Bowl in the mid-1930's before the Texas Centennial. All honorable professions, but not aircraft builders. They had to learn on the job.

I cannot imagine a 20-year-old farm kid learning to fly one of these aircraft. Yet, they did. Hat's off to the builders and crews. Thank You.
 
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One other story about a relative that served that my Dad told me late in life. I later scolded him for not telling me this story when my Uncle Pat was still alive!

First a little history: As some of you know, the first Yorktown carrier was badly damaged at Corral Sea, patched up and sent to Midway with the Enterprise and the Hornet to head off the Japanese planned attack. Nimtiz got a heads up from Joe Rocherfort and the Navy Code Breakers in Pearl about the Jap plan.

The Yorktown was badly damaged but survived at Midway but days later was sunk by a Jap sub. Another aircraft carrier was being built had its name changed to the Yorktown. My Uncle, TJ Patterson from Waco was the Gunnery Officer on the second Yorktown. Read up about its battles especially Okinawa.

Pat was a large, strong and crusty man. It was his job to call the ship to battle stations and then manage the defense of the ship. During a particular battle he changed up the call to battle stations order.

I don't know the exact quote but in effect it was: "Battle Stations, Rebels man your guns, Yankees look for cover". My Dad said the Navy did NOT think this was funny and nearly court-martialed him.

First time my Dad told me this story I laughed out loud because it exactly fit something Pat would have said.
 
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Great story. That Your Uncle Pat could show a sense of humor at that time is remarkable
And you can't tell me the men didn't laugh.
I bet his commanding officer laughed too
 
hornde68 said:
“it was obvious that the plane was built by Ford” (a car company)
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I think that was the Willow Run plant in Michigan. Many early auto manufacturers produced airplanes, tanks and other vehicles. They were part of the Arsenal of Democracy.

There are some fascinating stories from Hornfans members about their ancestors. Much appreciated.
 
I thought that my grandparents worked at Vought, but I could be wrong. First time for everything. :smile1:

Either way, they supported the war effort, and I am proud of them.
 
Can't leave out my mom. She worked at the Haggar factory in Waxahachie manufacturing military uniforms - a Rosie the Riveter with a sewing machine! She would have been proud to sew special uniforms for the USAFA.
 
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My grandfather was a radio operator on the USS Boggs offshore Hawaii with the carriers during the attack. He was transferred to the USS Nevada when it was towed to Bremerton. He sailed with her to North Africa. He was given a battlefield commission and was transferred back to the Pacific as XO on LSTs. I have his binoculars as a reminder of his service. My father and I chose a different path and both had careers in the Air Force flying planes. I choose to ignore people that are ignorant and make stupid comments about the military and military service. They're not worth the waste of brain cells.
 
utahorn said:
I think that was the Willow Run plant in Michigan. Many early auto manufacturers produced airplanes, tanks and other vehicles. They were part of the Arsenal of Democracy.

There are some fascinating stories from Hornfans members about their ancestors. Much appreciated.
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B-24's were built at various plants around the country. I think at the time the Consolidated Vultee Aircraft plant in Fort Worth built B-24's during the war. It later became Carswell AFB and was home to a SAC base IIRC. Later General Dynamics. Today it is the joint Navy Army reserve base and the plant is Raytheon?
 
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My dad was badly wounded in tinian. He and others weren't expected to live to see the trip home.

He never spoke to me about his experiences there. Never. Two times when as a child I'd get mad at dad for whatever, an uncle (who also served in the south pacific) would sit me down and explain in short what dad went through. I'd pretty much pipe down and learn a new respect

Woo and others spoke of Saving Private Ryan. Every time I'd see Dad watch a ww2 movie he'd go "phhhht, this is ridiculous. They have no idea". My brother said 20 minutes into Private Ryan dad had to leave the theater, shaking and crying. I never once saw my dad cry. Hard for me to imagine it

A month later I saw the movie, knowing dad's reacton. I sat there and choked up, tears coming down at will for 30 minutes knowing that was exactly what he experienced twice

It wasn't the Perfect Generation. It was the Greatest Generation. Always will be
 
H2R, you don't have to be Audie Murphy to be a hero. Sometimes, just being there and going through that is enough. God Bless your Dad and that generation.
 
BLucky said:
My grandfather was a radio operator on the USS Boggs offshore Hawaii with the carriers during the attack. He was transferred to the USS Nevada when it was towed to Bremerton. He sailed with her to North Africa. He was given a battlefield commission and was transferred back to the Pacific as XO on LSTs. I have his binoculars as a reminder of his service. My father and I chose a different path and both had careers in the Air Force flying planes. I choose to ignore people that are ignorant and make stupid comments about the military and military service. They're not worth the waste of brain cells.
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Battleship USS Nevada has a fascinating history at Pearl Harbor Dec 7th 1941.
 
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