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Re: Perspective on a fighter getting shot down 

By: Beldin in GRITZ | Recommend this post (2)
Fri, 03 Apr 26 8:13 PM | 9 view(s)
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Msg. 17003 of 17006
(This msg. is a reply to 17001 by ribit)

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My father-in-law was a B-17 captain who started flying bombing missions for the Eighth in 1943 and flew out of England until the end of the war. He survived, but some of his crew members did not. He was "too tall" (6' 1") to be a fighter pilot, which ticked him off because he wanted to be able to dish it out instead of flying slow, straight & steady while everyone else took pot shots at him. 




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The above is a reply to the following message:
Perspective on a fighter getting shot down
By: ribit
in GRITZ
Fri, 03 Apr 26 7:19 PM
Msg. 17001 of 17006

The U.S. Eighth Air Force suffered
over 26,000 combat deaths during World War II, a figure higher than the total casualties sustained by the entire United States Marine Corps. Known as the "Mighty Eighth," they experienced extremely high fatality rates, with 77% of airmen serving before D-Day becoming casualties.


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