Yours Truly - Tail Gunner

Yesterday, I woke up to an email from a gentleman in California thanking me for my December, 2011 blog post titled Heroes and Regular People.  More specifically, he was grateful for the photos of  Dad's WWII unit pictured with "Little Mike", their B-29 super fortress.  The reason?  His father passed away in July and just one week ago was interred at Arlington National Cemetery.

After studying these photos, he was sure that his father was pictured with Little Mike - top row, third from the right:

Little Mike and Crew - 1942
Dad is front row far left

Seeking confirmation, I pulled out Dad's military file and tried again to read the names written 70 years ago on the back of the picture with the guys on an unknown flight line. 

Ice cold flight line - Dad is far right

The ink was just too old and faded, so I scanned the image and worked in Photoshop to enhance the writing so that I might be able to ferret out the names.

Enhanced scan of the back of the flight line photo

Dad's notes on the back of the tarmac photo said it was taken after a high-altitude flight where the temperature was 32 below.  After listing the men in order from left to right, he makes reference to "the man in the back" and there are several lines that I just can't make out.

 

Maj (Herman F.) Smith - Pilot

Lt (Daniel) Teelin - Copilot

Lt (Richard C., Jr.) Blanton - Bombardier

Lt (Gordon M., Jr.) Gibbs - Navigator

Don (Donald T.) Burner - Right Gunner

Bob (Robert W., Jr.) Walker - Top Gunner

Oscar Knapp - Left Gunner

Yours Truly - Tail Gunner

 

Those words leapt off the screen.  I knew it was Dad at the end of the line in the photo, but seeing his writing and the "Yours Truly" was just SO Dad.  Not the sick, frail dad ... but our younger Dad - with a sense of humor.

Capt. Manuel F. Iglesias - lead crew radar officer for the 444th Bombing Group, assigned to the 677th Bomb Squadron - was not on the list. Disappointing, but since only eight of the original eleven were in this photo I forged on with my research.

And then on the second page of a "restricted document", dated August 3, 1945, titled Central Burma Campaign Credit, I found the connection.  Stunning.

Central Burma Campaign Credit Roster
Page 1

Central Burma Campaign Credit Roster
Page 2

Central Burma Campaign Credit Roster
Page 3

Not only did Manuel Iglesias fly with Dad, I believe that they were friends given the red "tick marks" Dad made on this roster ... he was checking off the names of his team.

I did have one more photo of the group, so I repaired it and want to share it here in their honor.  When I have time, I'll compare the flight line photo with the other photos and attempt to identify the men by name.

Another photo of the 444th Bombing Group - 677th Bomb Squadron

In looking back at that 2011 blog post, someone posted a reply (that I didn't see until yesterday) and I need to follow up on that link to the past. I believe that there is (or was) a mechanic in Tennessee who was responsible for maintaining Little Mike and was stationed with Dad's crew in the "Burma Theatre".

The Lord does work in mysterious ways and I think it's fascinating that a blog post led to a connection with a WWII soldier and provided his family with photos they had never seen.  If there had been a way to make this connection in the last years of his life, I know that Dad would have loved the opportunity to spend a few minutes on the phone with Capt. Iglesias.

I believe they're catching up now.