B-24 Instructor?

[Cobrahistorian]

Hey all,

 

Just acquired a new Flight Officer uniform for my collection. F/O Orazio T. Ciccozzi was stateside during the entire war (enlisted 42, discharged late 45) and crewed B-24s at several bases around the country. His pinks and greens are marked to him and are in great shape and fortunately, his F/O bars were in the pocket when I got the uniform. Along with the uniform came copies of two photos of him and his crew. I've done a bit of research into him on several websites and have a little bit more on him, but nothing confirming what position he flew as. I'd like to add a pair of wings to the uniform, but won't do so unless I'm 100% certain.

 

Now my question is, I've got two shots of him and his crew. Only he and one of the LTs are in both shots. Would they be instructors teaching a new crew? My focus has always been on fighters, so I'm not sure exactly how the bomber crew training process went. I do know that his bomber had a nose gear collapse in early 1945, but haven't ordered the accident report on it just yet.

 

Front row, right.

Back row, right

[Cobrahistorian]

Well no, Mr. Ciccozzi was NOT an instructor! I spent about fifteen minutes on the phone with him today and learned that he was a bombardier. He was slated to go overseas twice, but served in several stateside units. So... I'm looking for a nice pair of bombardier wings to complete it now.

 

Jon