Hell at Low Altitude

Wall Street Journal ^ | 11-13-07 | Daniel Ford

[Waco]

My uncle, Luther Broadway went all thru WWII in europe without a scratch except when crossing a fence one time. He was in Italy, Normandy the bulge etc. He was a little guy too. Had to try several times to get in. Got in on Dec. 8, 1941 finally.

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

Think of the War in the Pacific without the near miraculous victory at Midway. It would probably still have been going on in 1948, A-bomb or no A-Bomb. Hell, the resources diverted to keep the Nips from over running Hawaii might have delayed the D-Day invasion for a year. A lead to the first nuclear weapon being unleashed on Berlin.

[mcshot]

The Germans ans “Nips” were also working on A-bombs and I’m glad we used them when we did or the mushroom clouds would have been on us.

[2nd Bn, 11th Mar]

My father was also a B-24 pilot, flying out of Italy. Most of his missions were into Hungary and Romania in very late 1944 and then into 1945.

The more I read of what those aircrews did (all of them), the more astounded I am at their level of courage and sense of duty.

Semper Fi,

[mad_as_he$$]

Thank you to your Dad and family for the sacrifice.

[mad_as_he$$]

Bill Bond taught several of the tool makers I have known over the years their trade!!! Small world.

[AU72]

Takes uncommon nerve to fly in a straight line with flak and fast fighters out to blow you out of the sky.

[mad_as_he$$]

Not my opinion, but many do not think Truman would of used the A bomb on Europeans. Something to think about.

[2111USMC]

LOL!

Great Tag Line!

[zipper]

Agreed. Hats off to them; the Greatest Generation.

[Gritty]

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

During the Battle of the Bulge, Roosevelt urgently importuned Lesley Groves for an "advanced copy" of the bomb. There is absolutely no doubt that if we could have ended the War in Europe a few months earlier, at some inconvenience to Germania, we would have.

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

The Germans spent more money of the militarily counterproductive V-Waffen than the U.S. spent on the Manhattan Project. Heisenberg didn't have Leó Szilárd available, since the Nazis were so successful at driving the Untermenschen out of Grosser Deutschland, so he pursued heavy water, which would never have yielded a bomb before the end of the War.

The Nips never got close, they were experimenting with the makings of a dirty bomb which they probably would have deployed against the West Coast from a submarine. It is truly lucky for them they never did, because the entire Japanese island chain might still be glowing if they did. (and the U.S. wouldn't have stopped dropping A-Bombs on them until sometime into the second Clinton presidency.)

[reagan_fanatic]

that single, bootless, 27-minute raid cost the lives or freedom of as many young Americans as 10 months of combat in Iraq.

This bears repeating. Too many people today are insulated in their ignorance.

[mad_as_he$$]

I have no doubt about FDR using n the Germans.Some have said Truman would not of. Me I, would of used it about anywhere to end the war!!!

[null and void]

Bond, Bill Bond...

[Eye of Unk]

I just watched a recording of a History Channel show of the secret underground Nazi caves at Nordhausen and the development of the V2 ballistic rocket, the first of its kind.
After all these years we are getting glimpses of the extent of the Nazis in how far ahead they were in arms, aircraft and even atomic research.
They were just about to succeed in an intercontinental bomber like the flying wing and if history was skewed ever so slightly like a Harry Turtledove novel it could have very well been the first atomic device ever deployed by an enemy was by Germany and it took out Washington DC and New York, and then the Japanese used I-boats to drop atomic bombs on San Fransisco, Seattle and San Diego.

And to remind the younger posters here, how did we win?

We were united, we did not stop and we were victorious through the use of our combined efforts.

[colorado tanker]

Thanks for posting. Many wonderful stories on this thread.

At the risk of being flamed, there was a good book, by Ambrose I believe, of the B-24 crew commanded by George McGovern (back before his pacifist/isolationist phase). Very interesting read. An ugly brute of an airplane, very utilitarian.

[snippy_about_it]

A journey into the wild blue yonder with WWII pilot George McGovern INTERVIEW BY LYNN GREEN For most Americans, the name George McGovern is inextricably linked to his 1972 presidential campaign, a race that ended in a crushing, landslide victory for Richard Nixon. But McGovern's life has other interesting chapters, and in his latest book, historian Stephen Ambrose describes one of them in vivid detail. Thousands of young, eager volunteers lined up to be pilots during World War II, and The Wild Blue: The Men and Boys Who Flew the B-24s Over Germany 1944-45 tells their story by focusing on one bomber, the Dakota Queen, its pilot George McGovern and its crew. McGovern, a South Dakota preacher's son, was a 19-year-old college sophomore when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. He immediately volunteered for service and less than three years later was piloting one of the big, unwieldy B-24 Liberator bombers. Completing 35 missions over Europe, McGovern went on to earn a Distinguished Flying Cross for his service.

Although McGovern's war experiences may come as a jarring surprise to those who recall his opposition to the Vietnam War, Ambrose sees the former senator as "a good representative of his generation," who was willing to put his own life on the line to secure an Allied victory.

[colorado tanker]

That's the book, Snippy! It's a pretty good read. Just hypnotize yourself so that every time you read "McGovern" your brain thinks "Smith" or something like that.

I have a prejudice about the Air Force as a champagne and brie sorta service from my time with the ground troops, but this book gave me a real appreciation for the hell those air crews went through time and time again.