AZPhil Posted September 1, 2015 Share #1 Posted September 1, 2015 Hello Gent'sFirst off after seeing some of your great collections posted, I feel like I'm walking into Fort Knox bragging about a nuggets I have. Here is my humble addition.My Uncle flew with the 8th AF 384th Bomb Group, 545th Bomb Squadron . He was a tailgunner on the B17 "Mrs Geezil". He was shot down on April 13th 1944 on a mission to Schweinfurt and captured and spent the rest of the war as a POW in Stalag 17B. He passed in 1972 and never spoke about those times. To my great fortune the left waist gunner is still alive and he lives up in Portland. I speak with Phil every month or so. I asked Phil what were they wearing the day the were shot down and this what he said they wore that day. I have put this together to Honors these Men. The flight helmet is a AN H 15, the O2 mask is a A14 dated 9/44, the goggles are a 1065 model and the throat mic is the T30 model. I would also like to add a BIG Thanks to member doingworkinvans for selling me that fine AN H 15 flight helmet at a great price!!!!!! Semper Fi Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doinworkinvans Posted September 1, 2015 Share #2 Posted September 1, 2015 Looks mighty fine my man! A great tribute! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FtrPlt Posted September 1, 2015 Share #3 Posted September 1, 2015 Nicely done! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BEAST Posted September 1, 2015 Share #4 Posted September 1, 2015 Well done! Do you have a photo of your uncle in his flight gear? That would display nicely next to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZPhil Posted September 2, 2015 Author Share #5 Posted September 2, 2015 Not wearing that type of flight helmet but in their flight gear less chutes. This is a pic of my Uncle Joe. Bottom row second from the right after a mission in the Damned Yankee II which was in March of 44. 4 of the men in this picture died on the April 13th,1944 Schweinfurt mission. The gent to the left of my Uncle is Phil the left waist gunner who told me the story about that day and what they were wearing. I asked about flak helmets and he said" We had them but we would just use them to piss in and when it froze we would toss it out". I laughed and he said "I'm not kidding that is what we did" I'm very fortunate to have Phil around. He has been a great source of info and sharp as a tack. This is a colorized pic a friend of mine did from the original BW pic Phil sent me! Its my avatar!! Semper Fi Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doinworkinvans Posted September 2, 2015 Share #6 Posted September 2, 2015 Absolutely fantastic story! Those first hand accounts are priceless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strac Posted September 2, 2015 Share #7 Posted September 2, 2015 Howdy Phil: Not only is the tribute to your uncle fitting and well thought out, and his story an interesting one (thanks for sharing it with us!), your line about Fort Knox is a classic! I'll be remembering it to use in other situations, lol. First off after seeing some of your great collections posted, I feel like I'm walking into Fort Knox bragging about a nuggets I have. Here is my humble addition. Meanwhile, my grandfather (a Navy lieutenant and ship's engineering officer that was formerly in the Merchant Marines) was a very badly wounded Pearl Harbor attack survivor in 1941 and he rarely talked about what he went through there as well. So I can understand why you learned more from one of your uncle's colleagues than from the man himself. You are lucky in that way and I am glad he was able to fill in some details for you, that otherwise would most likely have been completely lost to the passage of time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sundance Posted September 2, 2015 Share #8 Posted September 2, 2015 Great tribute to great men. I'm sure you'll get it all down in writing for future generations of friends and family. We think about planes crashing now but to think these guys went up over and over knowing (at least early in the war) that it wasn't just possible but rather probable that your plane would go down eventualy.Then if you were lucky and not shot up or otherwise injured you would get the opportunity to jump out and hopefully not get killed by upset locals or soldiers and all in the freezing cold. It boggles the mind, mine at least, as to what these guys did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johan Willaert Posted September 2, 2015 Share #9 Posted September 2, 2015 This is a pic of my Uncle Joe. Bottom row second from the right after a mission in the Damned Yankee II which was in March of 44. Great picture.... For those that haven't seen it, more on the first Damned Yankee here...http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/128810-my-68th-anniversary-tribute-to-b17-f-damn-yankee/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZPhil Posted September 2, 2015 Author Share #10 Posted September 2, 2015 Thank You Gentlemen. This has been a labor of love and most of all to Honor those men. As for having this information saved . Most of it is in writing or saved to a flash drive. The best part is I have a 1 hour conversation with Phil Chaperon on a audio recording. I also had the privilege of knowing the Pilot of the only B17 from the 545th to make back to base that day. He gave me all the information about that mission and also he gave me a list of the men that died during the Schweinfurt mission. He said he wanted those men to be remembered. I told him I would do that. Ben passed away in March 2011. So every April 13th I post the list Dewayne"Ben" Bennett gave me on every site I am a member of. I'm keeping my promise!!! Ben was my main reason for joining the 384th website and doing voluntary work adding men's names from the copies of the original loading list and adding them to the websites database. Thank You All once again for your kind comments! Semper Fi Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aurelius180 Posted September 2, 2015 Share #11 Posted September 2, 2015 Very nice Phil! You've done a terrific job honoring your Uncle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZPhil Posted September 3, 2015 Author Share #12 Posted September 3, 2015 Thanks Ed!! I guess you can see why I have a passion for the 8th Air Force and anything USAAF. Great seeing you here! Semper Fi Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZPhil Posted September 3, 2015 Author Share #13 Posted September 3, 2015 I have to add to member Johan Willaert's post and his tribute to the 384th which I GREATLY APPRECIATE!!!!!. From my research they seem to keep putting their favorite names on these B17's or at the least use the old /modified names or something in connection with their fallen comrades aircraft.. etc. Damned Yankee- Damned Yankee II. My Uncles B17 was in memory of the "Geezil". Hence the "Mrs Geezil" Semper Fi Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
38Driver Posted September 3, 2015 Share #14 Posted September 3, 2015 Phil its just stuff if there is no history behind it. Keeping your uncles memory alive is what it's all about. Thanks for sharing it ith us. First vet I ever talked to was a 384th BG tail gunner who was the dad of a friend in high school. Those stories have stuck with me all these years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZPhil Posted September 3, 2015 Author Share #15 Posted September 3, 2015 38Driver, Do you remember the last name of the 384th Vet??? I would like to look it up on the 384th site. Semper Fi Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
38Driver Posted September 4, 2015 Share #16 Posted September 4, 2015 Last name was Zieba. His plane was "Spirit of 96". He flew the March 4,1944 Berlin raid among others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZPhil Posted September 5, 2015 Author Share #17 Posted September 5, 2015 Thanks, 30 mission. Very impressive. He flew in a couple of different B17's. "Flak Hopper" "Snuffy" and some no named one's, along with the "Spirit of 96" . I remember his name. I entered his name into the Data base on the site for those missions he flew. Here you go 38driver http://384thbombgroup.com/_content/_documents/Stories/I_Remember.pdf RIP Edmund Semper Fi Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
38Driver Posted September 13, 2015 Share #18 Posted September 13, 2015 Thanks, 30 mission. Very impressive. He flew in a couple of different B17's. "Flak Hopper" "Snuffy" and some no named one's, along with the "Spirit of 96" . I remember his name. I entered his name into the Data base on the site for those missions he flew. Here you go 38driver http://384thbombgroup.com/_content/_documents/Stories/I_Remember.pdf RIP Edmund Semper Fi Phil I had a chance to chat with his son recently. What's funny about that article is the comment that he never talked about his service. He sure did when I asked the right questions and that was in the mid 70s I heard that Silver Dollar story about his buddy among others. He had a very extensive WW2 aviation history library and his photo scrapbook was one for the ages. Oh to have had access to it during the scanner days as opposed to having to make copy negatives. I also remember his A-2 hanging on the back of their basement door. He was a classy man and it was a privilege to have him share some of his story with me way back when. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Signor Posted September 13, 2015 Share #19 Posted September 13, 2015 384th Group and 545th Squadron emblem images for you ..................... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZPhil Posted September 15, 2015 Author Share #20 Posted September 15, 2015 Thank you John for that pic. Is that 545th patch yours??????? I want to add one to my growing collection. I have a painted version on canvas that I bought. It was from some movie production supply store, but it doesn't look like the one you show. The Indian is skinny on mine. Semper Fi Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Signor Posted September 21, 2015 Share #21 Posted September 21, 2015 Phil , no sorry this patch isn't mine, it's an original patch "image" I found online , I can make you a Leather patch just like it if you want one done ....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Signor Posted September 21, 2015 Share #22 Posted September 21, 2015 Phil , Here's a couple of 384th Group patches I made, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZPhil Posted September 21, 2015 Author Share #23 Posted September 21, 2015 Thank you for your reply John. I sent you a PM. Take Care Semper Fi Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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