Mission 55

My father enlisted with the United States Army Air Forces in1942at the age of 21. He was assigned as an Aerial Gunner to the5thAir Force 43rd Bombardment Group known as Kens Men in the403rdBomb Squadron nicknamed the Mareeba Butchers. He participatedas aTail Gunner in a B-24 in more than 50 missions in the skiesoverthe Southwest Pacific during WWII. The morning of March 7th1945during a bombing run at Balete Pass on the Phlippine islandofLuzon his plane encountered heavy clouds and crashed near thetopof a mountain his plane splitting in two. Of a crew ofelevenonly five men survived . . . the pilot co-pilotnavigatorbombardier and the tail gunner. This book contains myfathersmemories of his survival. He wrote it down forty four yearslater.Ive read his story many times after he passed away and Idecidedto transcribe his words into this book. One can only wonderaboutthe thousands of individual war stories that remain untold.