Flying Flak Alley : personal accounts of World War II bomber crew combat

451 Pages·2014·7.69 MB·English

by  Alan L

FLYING FLAK ALLEY
Personal Accounts of World War II Bomber Crew Combat
ALAN L. GRIGGS
McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
Jefferson, North Carolina
Grateful acknowledgment is made for permission to quote from the
following copyrighted works: Flight of a Maverick, by Robert H. Fesmire.
Copyright 1995 Eggman Publishing, Inc. By permission of his son, Robert
C. Fesmire. From the Class of 41, by Thomas M. French. Copyright 2003.
By permission of the author/publisher. One Chance in 37,000, by R.M.
Benson. Copyright 1986 J-Mar Printing. By permission of the author’s
brother, Bob Benson. Remembrance of War: The Experiences of a B-29
Pilot in World War II, by J. Ivan Potts, Jr. Copyright 1995 J. Ivan Potts and
Associates, Inc. By permission of the author/publisher. “Splash One
Dreamboat,” by Arvid Shulenberger, and associated pictures are
copyrighted by his son, Eric Shulenberger.

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGUING DATA ARE AVAILABLE
BRITISH LIBRARY CATALOGUING DATA ARE AVAILABLE
e-ISBN: 978-1-4766-1618-6
©2008 Alan L. Griggs. All rights reserved
©2008 Alan L. Griggs. All rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any
means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording, or by
any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from
the publisher.

On the cover: Flak bursts encountered by US planes over target in the European
theater (courtesy John Kolemba); WWII Pilot wings pendant
McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
Box 611, Jefferson, North Carolina 28640
www.mcfarlandpub.com
In loving memory of Lee Griggs
In history, as in human life, regret does not bring back a lost moment, and a
thousand years will not recover something lost in a single hour.
—Stefan Zweig
Hello again, everybody. It’s a bee-yooo-tiful day for baseball.
—Harry Caray
The moral tests to which the crew of a bomber were subjected reached the limits
of human valour and sacrifice. Here chance was carried to its most extreme and
violent degree above all else.
—Winston Churchill How incredible it is for a man today to look back and say
he could load a plane up with gasoline, bombs, and nine other men and then go
out and fly a mission, get shot at, come back, and do it again and again and
again and again. Somehow we did it and it was amazing.
—B-24 copilot Jim White I recall what a bomber looked like when it got a direct
hit, especially when it was loaded with bombs and the tanks were almost full of
gas. What you saw was something that looked like a vapor cloud. No debris. No
parachuting airmen. Nothing. The only time we gave it deep thought was when
we came back to base and we sat there on our cots for a while and said, “Damn,
that didn’t happen to me and I’m glad.” Was it a risk flying one of those
airplanes? You better believe it.
—B-17 waist gunner Leonard Mika
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This book represents a labor of love that eventually spanned five years, the death
of a child, and quite a few starts and stops. Throughout, I was buoyed by the
support of many: the men whose stories comprise this book as well as their
wives and families, my friends and family, and practically everyone I told about
the effort.
A debt of gratitude is owed to William A. Rooney, a published historian himself,
for his expert editing and unfailing support, and to Michael Bess, Chancellor’s
Professor of History at Vanderbilt, for his sage advice, encouragement, and
wonderfully written foreword.
To Wayne Campbell, Winston Evans, Kaye Evans, Tom Ridley (even if he was
a top flight fighter pilot), Larry Smith, Yvonne Smith, Jonny Scruggs, Cathy
Mumford, David Van Hooser, George Menzel, Samuel Hynes, Eric
Shulenberger, Tom Gibson, David Barton, Steve Hall, Ken Tucker, Joe and
Margaret McCluney, Ivan Potts, Jr., Barry Cross, Bill Roberts, Ron Russell,
Robb Harvey, Dick Gardner, Sandra Harris, LeAnn Polk, Harry Williams, Jr.,
Steve Horton, Frank Loose, Ed Wyrick: my eternal thanks for your help and
encouragement. To all others who know of this book and who offered their best
wishes along the way: you will always be very special to me. Thank you.
To the men, their wives, and families who opened their hearts and homes to me,
who willingly shared stories they rarely shared with others, even family, and
who offered encouragement and hope through this long process: I am humbled
by your generosity, your courage, and your sense of duty. All of us—future
generations included—owe you much.
And now to my family: Sandra, Elizabeth, and William. We bear the hurt and
pain of a tragic loss. Life changed forever on December 7, 2005, yet we survive,
endure, and move forward, knowing there are better days ahead. For the many
hours when my mind was on the book and not on more important matters at
hand, when I was less than an adequate spouse and parent, and for the incredible
patience you gave me when it seemed this book would never be completed, my
patience you gave me when it seemed this book would never be completed, my
gratefulness is beyond words. I love you more than you can imagine.
Lee, I know you were proud of your dad’s book plans and I know you are even
prouder today. We love you and will always be thankful for the blessing you
were, and are, in our lives.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Acknowledgments
Preface
Foreword by Michael Bess
1. Captain R.M. Benson
2. Lieutenant Bill Jernigan
3. Lieutenant Mandell Cypress
4. Lieutenant Charles Jackson
5. Captain Beecher Bilbrey
6. Sergeant Bob Rourke
7. Lieutenant Jim White
8. Lieutenant Thomas French
9. Sergeant Jim Demontbreun
10. Captain Bush Cole
11. Sergeant Leonard Mika
12. Captain Bob Gregg
13. Lieutenant Harry Williams, Jr.
14. Captain Bill Reeder
15. Lieutenant Tom Graves
16. Captain Bill Becker
17. Sergeant David Oldashi
18. Lieutenant Roy Buck
19. Sergeant Bud Reeder
20. Major Clarence Evans
21. Sergeant John Katz
22. Lieutenant Bill Rickman
23. Lieutenant John Mcgonagle
24. Lieutenant Art Driscoll
25. Lieutenant Myron King
26. Lieutenant Don Peterson
27. Captain Al Suedekum
28. Lieutenant John Lechleiter
29. Sergeant Bernard Sanderson
30. Sergeant Charles Whitehead
31. Lieutenant Arvid Shulenberger
32. Sergeant Bill Roberts
33. Lieutenant Bob Smartt
34. Captain J.O. Grizzell
35. Captain Robert Fesmire