My son and I were standing near him waiting for my wife to meet us, and the vet asked us if we had any questions about the B-17. He was in a wheelchair and had both legs amputated below the knee. I told him no, to which he shot back somewhat jokingly, “I guess you know all there is to know about it then”.

I quickly realized here was a man that just wanted to share some of his stories, and that I owed him a few minutes of my time to hear what he had to say. I found out he was the gunner in the ball turret, and that his legs were amputated because of injuries he sustained while on those bombing runs. He had some great stories, and I was glad I took some time to hear what he had to say and to thank him for his service.