Dad of a friend in high school sacked groceries at the local IGA. Had no idea until after he died that he served as a B-24 nose gunner flying out of North Africa. He never, ever talked about it.
God bless that man. The B -24 was a dog of an aircraft really.
With the wing configuration one good hit in either wing and down it went.
I knew some men who flew in B- 17’s and they all said they owed their lives to fact they were flying in one.
The B- 17 could take punishment that would have destroyed a Liberator.
My father’s uncle was aboard USS Vestal that morning
I used to golf with nicest guy one could ever meet. Very quiet and soft spoken. He was a LT. in the Marines on the 2nd wave on Iwo Jima. He never mentioned in all our time on the course. He son finally told me the story.