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1
00:00:07,291 --> 00:00:08,875
LEWIS PULLER:
Whenever this war is over,
2
00:00:09,083 --> 00:00:12,041
the victory will have been won
by you,
3
00:00:12,542 --> 00:00:16,166
with the uniform you wear,
the chevrons on your sleeves,
4
00:00:16,250 --> 00:00:19,333
and the instincts in your gut,
and the blood on your boots.
5
00:00:20,417 --> 00:00:22,709
We will sail
across God's vast ocean,
6
00:00:23,750 --> 00:00:27,041
where we will meet our enemy
and make the difference
7
00:00:27,125 --> 00:00:30,208
between freedom of the world
and its enslavement.
8
00:00:35,458 --> 00:00:37,792
JOSEPH LIEBGOTT: You fought
bravely for your country.
9
00:00:38,667 --> 00:00:40,333
You found in one another a bond
10
00:00:40,417 --> 00:00:41,750
that exists only in combat.
11
00:00:44,792 --> 00:00:47,500
Every man that's wounded,
every man I lose,
12
00:00:47,750 --> 00:00:50,250
I have to believe
that it's all worthwhile
13
00:00:50,333 --> 00:00:51,834
because our cause is just.
14
00:01:32,333 --> 00:01:35,333
(MUSIC PLAYING)
15
00:01:42,792 --> 00:01:46,333
(NO AUDIBLE DIALOGUE)
16
00:03:17,834 --> 00:03:20,625
(NO AUDIBLE DIALOGUE)
17
00:04:28,333 --> 00:04:30,333
(AIRPLANE ROARING)
18
00:04:33,333 --> 00:04:35,166
(FILM PROJECTOR RUNNING)
19
00:04:36,583 --> 00:04:39,166
(ROAR OF AIRPLANES APPROACHING)
20
00:04:53,583 --> 00:04:58,792
MAN: Well, I don't know.
The odds were all against you.
21
00:04:58,875 --> 00:05:03,834
It was more or less like being
in death row in a penitentiary,
22
00:05:03,917 --> 00:05:07,709
waiting on your turn,
and you knew it was coming.
23
00:05:10,417 --> 00:05:13,333
MAN 2:
You fly a real tough mission,
24
00:05:13,417 --> 00:05:16,625
and you're so glad to get back,
and everybody says,
25
00:05:16,709 --> 00:05:19,792
"Boy, we made it
through that one, didn't we?"
26
00:05:19,875 --> 00:05:22,709
And the next morning
they'd come in,
27
00:05:22,792 --> 00:05:24,667
put the flashlight
in your face...
28
00:05:24,750 --> 00:05:27,500
"All right, boys, get up.
You're gonna be leavin'.
29
00:05:27,583 --> 00:05:30,625
We're gonna be flyin'
in two hours."
30
00:05:30,709 --> 00:05:33,500
Now, that's... that's tough.
31
00:05:40,667 --> 00:05:42,917
MAN 3: I was 21 years old, yeah,
32
00:05:43,000 --> 00:05:46,750
and we felt like
we could live forever.
33
00:05:48,583 --> 00:05:50,834
Don't get me wrong.
34
00:05:50,917 --> 00:05:54,750
We'd still get
that tight feeling...
35
00:05:57,750 --> 00:06:01,625
when we would would see
bursting flak nearby,
36
00:06:01,709 --> 00:06:03,333
when we'd see fighters...
37
00:06:03,417 --> 00:06:05,959
We still got that feeling,
but...
38
00:06:06,041 --> 00:06:08,166
(ANTI-AIRCRAFT SHELLS EXPLODING)
39
00:06:08,250 --> 00:06:10,375
you can't make a living
that way.
40
00:06:11,625 --> 00:06:13,750
All you could do
is make a dying.
41
00:06:18,291 --> 00:06:20,000
(EXPLOSIONS CONTINUE)
42
00:06:21,959 --> 00:06:24,709
MAN 4: Anybody said
they weren't afraid,
43
00:06:24,792 --> 00:06:27,750
they were full of crap. (LAUGHS)
44
00:06:27,834 --> 00:06:31,125
'Cause you were always afraid
what was gonna happen next,
45
00:06:31,208 --> 00:06:34,583
particularly in flak,
you're just waiting
46
00:06:34,667 --> 00:06:37,166
for something to go off
around you.
47
00:06:41,208 --> 00:06:44,500
And that's when the fighters
would come up.
48
00:06:44,583 --> 00:06:46,250
(AIRCRAFT APPROACHING)
49
00:06:51,792 --> 00:06:53,458
(MACHINE-GUNFIRE)
50
00:06:59,083 --> 00:07:00,834
(FIRING)
51
00:07:07,959 --> 00:07:09,625
(FIRING)
52
00:07:34,500 --> 00:07:36,291
MAN: One of the men in
our crew kept saying,
53
00:07:36,375 --> 00:07:39,083
"I know I'm not gonna make it,"
et cetera, et cetera.
54
00:07:39,166 --> 00:07:40,667
And you don't like to hear that.
55
00:07:40,750 --> 00:07:44,583
And he was very concerned
because his wife
56
00:07:44,667 --> 00:07:47,709
was expecting
within a day or two.
57
00:07:47,792 --> 00:07:50,583
And, uh, the next day,
they had him flying,
58
00:07:50,667 --> 00:07:53,750
which they shouldn't have had,
and...
59
00:07:53,834 --> 00:07:57,083
they took so many men
from our crew to fly with him,
60
00:07:57,166 --> 00:08:00,542
and they never made it back.
61
00:08:00,625 --> 00:08:02,375
They crashed into the Channel.
62
00:08:02,458 --> 00:08:05,458
And, incidentally...
And this isn't storytelling...
63
00:08:05,542 --> 00:08:07,834
But he, he, uh...
64
00:08:11,000 --> 00:08:12,208
(SIGHS)
65
00:08:14,750 --> 00:08:17,917
(VOICE BREAKING) ...he was
killed the day his son was born.
66
00:09:40,500 --> 00:09:42,041
JOHN KETZNER: The war came,
67
00:09:42,125 --> 00:09:44,375
and we went and did
what they told us to do.
68
00:09:44,458 --> 00:09:47,875
That's the only thing I know.
69
00:09:47,959 --> 00:09:50,959
The Japanese ruined my youth,
70
00:09:51,041 --> 00:09:55,583
because I was 20 years old
or 19 years old
71
00:09:55,667 --> 00:09:57,333
and everything was wonderful,
72
00:09:57,417 --> 00:10:00,750
and the Japanese,
in one fell swoop,
73
00:10:00,834 --> 00:10:02,834
ended all that.
74
00:10:02,917 --> 00:10:05,125
And it lasted four years.
75
00:10:08,625 --> 00:10:13,375
AL VILLAGRAN: Well, I can see why
they get young fellas to fly to war,
76
00:10:13,458 --> 00:10:16,583
or ground or submarines
and so forth.
77
00:10:16,667 --> 00:10:20,083
When you're younger,
you feel you can do anything.
78
00:10:20,166 --> 00:10:24,208
I think when you get older,
you get smarter. (CHUCKLES)
79
00:10:29,709 --> 00:10:32,166
VG ALEXANDER: There was
a 19-year-old navigator,
80
00:10:32,250 --> 00:10:35,041
Jewish kid, sharp as a tack.
81
00:10:35,125 --> 00:10:37,709
And I had some older boys,
82
00:10:37,792 --> 00:10:40,333
my bombardier was 26 years old.
83
00:10:42,250 --> 00:10:44,250
I was 22, 23.
84
00:10:49,166 --> 00:10:50,810
WILLIAM TOOMBS:
Oldest man we had in our crew
85
00:10:50,834 --> 00:10:53,208
was a Pennsylvania Dutchman,
32 years old.
86
00:10:53,291 --> 00:10:55,417
We called him "Pappy."
87
00:10:55,500 --> 00:10:57,792
Thirty-two years old!
88
00:10:57,875 --> 00:11:00,250
Our navigator was 26,
89
00:11:00,333 --> 00:11:04,875
and everybody else
was anywhere from 22, 23.
90
00:11:06,583 --> 00:11:09,792
I can look back now
and see why...
91
00:11:09,875 --> 00:11:14,000
young people are in a war...
Not older people.
92
00:11:14,083 --> 00:11:16,250
Old people got better sense.
93
00:11:24,917 --> 00:11:27,458
PAUL HAEDIKE: Sometimes they
say that the older you get,
94
00:11:27,542 --> 00:11:29,000
the more wiser you get.
95
00:11:29,083 --> 00:11:31,458
There weren't too many,
I don't think,
96
00:11:31,542 --> 00:11:34,250
too much younger than me.
97
00:11:34,333 --> 00:11:37,333
I flew every one
of my missions at 19.
98
00:11:37,417 --> 00:11:40,917
The old man on our crew
was our waist gunner.
99
00:11:41,000 --> 00:11:42,375
He was 25.
100
00:11:50,291 --> 00:11:55,250
JOHN DOYLE: I'll tell ya, when we got
into this thing, you wanted to fly.
101
00:11:55,333 --> 00:11:58,291
You know, you had a great time
training and all that.
102
00:11:58,375 --> 00:12:02,000
But when you get over there,
and you got shot at the first time,
103
00:12:02,083 --> 00:12:04,542
you knew you were
in deep doo-doo.
104
00:12:04,625 --> 00:12:08,625
(CHUCKLES) And you really
took life seriously after that.
105
00:12:15,667 --> 00:12:19,417
ROBERT ROWLAND: They said we
was gonna fly 30 missions.
106
00:12:19,500 --> 00:12:24,542
They started out at 25, and then they
changed it to 30 when we got there.
107
00:12:24,625 --> 00:12:29,041
Then we got 26 missions in,
and they give us a week off,
108
00:12:29,125 --> 00:12:30,875
then we come back and they says,
109
00:12:31,000 --> 00:12:33,208
"You're gonna fly 35."
110
00:12:33,291 --> 00:12:36,834
And that was kind of a shock.
(CHUCKLES)
111
00:12:42,000 --> 00:12:44,917
GLENN HARRISON: It seemed like
I was flying all the time.
112
00:12:45,000 --> 00:12:48,792
There were 40 bomb groups,
and our bomb group had a lot of people.
113
00:12:48,875 --> 00:12:52,083
I don't know the logistics
of keepin' the fuel
114
00:12:52,166 --> 00:12:55,250
and the ammunition,
loading the bombs at night,
115
00:12:55,333 --> 00:12:58,583
getting 'em ready
for the next day.
116
00:12:58,667 --> 00:13:00,709
I don't know how they did it.
117
00:13:06,667 --> 00:13:08,917
MORTON KIMMEL: When you're
in a position like that,
118
00:13:09,000 --> 00:13:11,333
there's no tomorrow.
119
00:13:11,417 --> 00:13:16,250
You do everything that you
want to do, that you can do,
120
00:13:16,333 --> 00:13:20,291
when you feel like doing it,
and do it then,
121
00:13:20,375 --> 00:13:23,875
because you may not get
the chance to do it again.
122
00:14:31,417 --> 00:14:34,417
KETZNER: Wouldn't be
unusual, they'd wake you up,
123
00:14:34,500 --> 00:14:36,375
the first thing you'd do
would be
124
00:14:36,458 --> 00:14:39,625
go to the mess hall to eat.
125
00:14:41,542 --> 00:14:42,959
The mess hall was all lit up
126
00:14:43,041 --> 00:14:44,709
and everybody was laughing
and talking,
127
00:14:44,792 --> 00:14:48,083
and usually,
they had Berlin Lynn,
128
00:14:48,166 --> 00:14:51,709
or whatever her name was,
on the radio, broadcasting.
129
00:14:51,792 --> 00:14:53,250
We hadn't been briefed yet,
130
00:14:53,333 --> 00:14:55,000
we didn't know where
we was gonna go,
131
00:14:55,083 --> 00:14:58,083
but this lady in Berlin
knew where we were gonna go.
132
00:14:58,166 --> 00:15:02,000
And she says, "Boys,
you've got a tough one today."
133
00:15:02,083 --> 00:15:04,166
You're going to
so-and-so and so-and-so,
134
00:15:04,250 --> 00:15:07,125
and we'll be waitin' on ya."
And so... (LAUGHS)
135
00:15:07,208 --> 00:15:09,417
that they knew more than we did.
136
00:15:17,834 --> 00:15:19,333
VILLAGRAN:
Now, in the Air Force,
137
00:15:19,417 --> 00:15:22,125
when we went to the kitchen
for breakfast,
138
00:15:22,208 --> 00:15:26,750
and we were getting, say, eggs,
we'd get powdered eggs.
139
00:15:26,834 --> 00:15:28,458
That's what they had.
140
00:15:28,542 --> 00:15:32,417
Once in a while,
we would get fresh eggs.
141
00:15:32,500 --> 00:15:35,333
You could get two over easy,
142
00:15:35,417 --> 00:15:37,500
and this was a treat.
143
00:15:37,583 --> 00:15:41,542
But we knew after a while
that when you got fresh eggs,
144
00:15:41,625 --> 00:15:44,750
it meant you were gonna have
a real tough mission,
145
00:15:44,834 --> 00:15:47,458
so they gave you fresh eggs.
146
00:15:47,542 --> 00:15:50,250
(LAUGHING) That's the story.
147
00:15:50,333 --> 00:15:53,625
We don't want fresh eggs,
but we want fresh eggs.
148
00:16:00,500 --> 00:16:02,709
(NO AUDIBLE DIALOGUE)
149
00:16:02,792 --> 00:16:05,417
DOYLE: When you go in to
get ready for a flight,
150
00:16:05,500 --> 00:16:09,375
you'd go into the locker room,
and you wore long johns,
151
00:16:09,458 --> 00:16:14,083
and then you'd wear
the heated suit, put that on.
152
00:16:14,166 --> 00:16:16,709
And we had gloves
that were attached to those.
153
00:16:16,792 --> 00:16:19,083
You had to get your gloves
into those.
154
00:16:19,166 --> 00:16:21,583
They came clear around
your ankles, too.
155
00:16:21,667 --> 00:16:25,375
And then you had
your flight suits.
156
00:16:25,458 --> 00:16:27,750
Those were the things
that you just wore.
157
00:16:34,291 --> 00:16:36,166
KETZNER:
Then you'd load back on a truck
158
00:16:36,250 --> 00:16:38,291
and they'd take you to the area
159
00:16:38,375 --> 00:16:41,625
where the debriefing rooms were,
160
00:16:41,709 --> 00:16:43,458
so all the crews and everything
161
00:16:43,542 --> 00:16:46,000
would be sitting there, waiting,
162
00:16:46,083 --> 00:16:48,500
and they had a sheet
over the wall.
163
00:16:48,583 --> 00:16:50,792
They'd pull the sheet back
and say,
164
00:16:50,875 --> 00:16:53,542
"Our target today is Germany.
165
00:16:53,625 --> 00:16:58,041
The weather looks pretty good
as near as we can tell."
166
00:17:04,917 --> 00:17:08,250
KETZNER: One thing always
got me about these briefings.
167
00:17:10,166 --> 00:17:12,667
The Catholic chaplain,
168
00:17:12,750 --> 00:17:16,792
he was back in the corner
hearing confessions...
169
00:17:19,291 --> 00:17:21,625
and giving out communions.
170
00:17:21,709 --> 00:17:25,000
(LAUGHING) So you knew that
you was goin' some place
171
00:17:25,083 --> 00:17:27,000
that you might not
come back from.
172
00:17:32,917 --> 00:17:36,291
(NO AUDIBLE DIALOGUE)
173
00:17:50,125 --> 00:17:52,834
(PLANE ENGINES STARTING)
174
00:18:17,500 --> 00:18:20,208
(ENGINES ROARING)
175
00:18:38,417 --> 00:18:41,375
KETZNER: That was one of the
most amazing things of the war,
176
00:18:41,458 --> 00:18:47,500
the choreographing of putting 1100
airplanes together in formation at war.
177
00:18:53,458 --> 00:18:56,750
TOOMBS: We'd all line up
on the perimeter strip
178
00:18:56,834 --> 00:18:59,792
that come around to
the end of the runway.
179
00:18:59,875 --> 00:19:04,291
And the lead ship
would taxi around and line up,
180
00:19:04,375 --> 00:19:07,291
and when they fired the flare
to take off,
181
00:19:07,375 --> 00:19:10,166
that lead ship
went down the runway.
182
00:19:14,208 --> 00:19:17,041
Next man pulled right up
behind him.
183
00:19:17,125 --> 00:19:19,709
Thirty seconds, he moved.
184
00:19:23,417 --> 00:19:25,875
Thirty seconds,
the third man moved.
185
00:19:25,959 --> 00:19:29,417
Every 30 seconds a plane
was goin' down that runway.
186
00:19:29,500 --> 00:19:32,667
That lead plane
never got off the ground
187
00:19:32,750 --> 00:19:35,625
before that second plane
was already running.
188
00:19:53,667 --> 00:19:56,417
HARRISON: Well, we'd just spin
out there on the end of the runway
189
00:19:56,500 --> 00:19:57,959
and give it full throttle,
190
00:19:58,041 --> 00:20:00,333
and you had to have
enough speed for it
191
00:20:00,417 --> 00:20:03,208
to lift all that load up.
192
00:20:03,291 --> 00:20:05,667
You had a full gas load,
193
00:20:05,750 --> 00:20:09,417
you had all your ammunition
for the guns,
194
00:20:09,500 --> 00:20:11,917
and you had the bombload.
195
00:21:23,583 --> 00:21:25,959
VILLAGRAN:
'Course, while you're up there,
196
00:21:26,041 --> 00:21:28,750
I could see the sun comin' up
around the Earth,
197
00:21:28,834 --> 00:21:31,250
and I thought that
was the most weird thing,
198
00:21:31,333 --> 00:21:36,125
to see the sun comin' up and it's
dark on Earth, you're knowing.
199
00:21:36,208 --> 00:21:38,667
But you realized what was
happening to you,
200
00:21:38,750 --> 00:21:41,125
and the next thing you know,
why, the sun come up,
201
00:21:41,208 --> 00:21:44,333
and you see all these airplanes
circling,
202
00:21:44,417 --> 00:21:47,291
straining, so to speak,
to get up to the altitude
203
00:21:47,375 --> 00:21:49,500
with a heavy load of bombs.
204
00:22:05,041 --> 00:22:07,917
ROWLAND: You had to form
up, and you had a circle
205
00:22:08,000 --> 00:22:12,041
you were supposed to fly till you
got formed up with your group.
206
00:22:12,125 --> 00:22:15,875
And then there'd be
another bomb group over here.
207
00:22:15,959 --> 00:22:20,709
And one day we come within
three or four inches...
208
00:22:20,792 --> 00:22:25,125
(LAUGHS) ...of flakin' up
another bomb group.
209
00:22:33,583 --> 00:22:35,667
ALEXANDER: Well, on some of 'em,
210
00:22:35,750 --> 00:22:38,166
when the young pilots'd come in
as replacements,
211
00:22:38,250 --> 00:22:41,500
if I was first man to take off,
we'd be up in the air,
212
00:22:41,583 --> 00:22:44,917
say, two or three hundred feet,
climbing,
213
00:22:45,000 --> 00:22:47,250
all of a sudden, boom!
214
00:22:50,000 --> 00:22:51,875
DOYLE: You'd see a bright flash,
215
00:22:51,959 --> 00:22:54,875
a red flash,
and stuff coming down,
216
00:22:54,959 --> 00:22:57,917
you knew darn well
it was a midair collision.
217
00:22:58,000 --> 00:23:03,291
And those were scary times,
as far as getting up.
218
00:23:05,959 --> 00:23:11,875
HAEDIKE: Two B-17s,
one came down right on top of the other.
219
00:23:11,959 --> 00:23:13,750
They all went to their death.
220
00:23:16,041 --> 00:23:19,333
That's when I started smokin',
by the way. (LAUGHS)
221
00:23:59,250 --> 00:24:01,291
(NO AUDIBLE DIALOGUE)
222
00:24:05,417 --> 00:24:08,125
KIMMEL: Well, actually,
I believe that our officers
223
00:24:08,208 --> 00:24:10,250
were closer to the crew
224
00:24:10,333 --> 00:24:12,375
than they were
with other officers.
225
00:24:16,458 --> 00:24:19,834
As a crew, most crews
stuck pretty well together.
226
00:24:19,917 --> 00:24:21,375
We did a lot together.
227
00:24:22,625 --> 00:24:25,750
(NO AUDIBLE DIALOGUE)
228
00:24:25,834 --> 00:24:29,083
I don't think
we would have appreciated
229
00:24:29,166 --> 00:24:31,458
one new man joining us.
230
00:24:31,542 --> 00:24:34,709
We knew what each man
was capable of doing.
231
00:24:34,792 --> 00:24:38,875
Each man did his job good,
and no one complained.
232
00:24:42,792 --> 00:24:47,583
HAEDIKE: We were family in the
air... you absolutely had to be.
233
00:24:47,667 --> 00:24:49,417
We all had our duties.
234
00:24:51,625 --> 00:24:54,041
VILLAGRAN: We just
wanted to stay together.
235
00:24:54,125 --> 00:24:59,000
And we flew 25 missions
as a crew, all of us together.
236
00:25:05,875 --> 00:25:07,667
HAEDIKE: You're a family...
237
00:25:07,750 --> 00:25:09,709
exactly... you have to be.
238
00:25:09,792 --> 00:25:12,166
However,
I can remember one mission
239
00:25:12,250 --> 00:25:15,417
when our flight engineer
came out smashed.
240
00:25:15,500 --> 00:25:17,792
And I climbed all over him.
241
00:25:17,875 --> 00:25:20,083
I said,
"What is wrong with you?"
242
00:25:20,166 --> 00:25:22,208
We depended on one another.
243
00:25:23,375 --> 00:25:25,834
(NO AUDIBLE DIALOGUE)
244
00:25:25,917 --> 00:25:28,000
KIMMEL: There was a
lot of spit and polish
245
00:25:28,083 --> 00:25:31,834
with the officers,
and that didn't happen.
246
00:25:31,917 --> 00:25:35,125
Like you say,
we're a family of brothers...
247
00:25:37,000 --> 00:25:40,208
and we didn't have time
for all that stuff.
248
00:25:42,250 --> 00:25:45,417
But there was no saluting and...
249
00:25:45,500 --> 00:25:48,458
and "Yes sir, no sir"
and all that.
250
00:25:49,750 --> 00:25:52,625
Each guy was his own guy.
251
00:25:54,834 --> 00:25:59,375
ALEXANDER: Well, of course,
each man would do his job
252
00:25:59,458 --> 00:26:03,375
and we all knew exactly
who was gonna do what,
253
00:26:03,458 --> 00:26:04,667
so to speak.
254
00:26:07,208 --> 00:26:10,125
So I knew I had a good crew.
255
00:26:11,792 --> 00:26:14,834
And we just
got along beautifully.
256
00:26:55,667 --> 00:26:57,810
TOOMBS: We had a crew chief
that took care of that plane
257
00:26:57,834 --> 00:27:00,333
after we got it back
off a mission.
258
00:27:00,417 --> 00:27:03,792
So the three of us
walked that plane,
259
00:27:03,875 --> 00:27:06,166
looked at everything
on the ground,
260
00:27:06,250 --> 00:27:08,667
ask him all the questions
we could think of.
261
00:27:08,750 --> 00:27:10,917
If there was any little thing
262
00:27:11,000 --> 00:27:14,625
that we thought we should
pay particular attention to,
263
00:27:14,709 --> 00:27:16,667
for him to tell us.
264
00:27:31,333 --> 00:27:34,083
HAEDIKE: You never flew the
same plane all the time.
265
00:27:34,166 --> 00:27:37,291
It's just like your car
havin' an ouchie
266
00:27:37,375 --> 00:27:40,875
and you take it in to Firestone
or somewhere to get fixed.
267
00:27:40,959 --> 00:27:43,792
They'd work overnight,
all night long,
268
00:27:43,875 --> 00:27:45,834
trying to patch planes.
269
00:27:53,959 --> 00:27:55,625
DOYLE: As soon as you got in,
270
00:27:55,709 --> 00:27:58,208
they would take care
of any damage,
271
00:27:58,291 --> 00:28:01,417
they would get in the plane
and check the engines out,
272
00:28:01,500 --> 00:28:03,375
start 'em up and check 'em out.
273
00:28:03,458 --> 00:28:05,583
And they would
clean up everything.
274
00:28:12,500 --> 00:28:13,917
KIMMEL: Tremendous workers.
275
00:28:14,000 --> 00:28:15,625
They were so good.
276
00:28:15,709 --> 00:28:18,709
We came back in B-17s
with two engines,
277
00:28:18,792 --> 00:28:22,750
with the tail fin shot up
and busted away...
278
00:28:24,250 --> 00:28:26,917
with all kinds of holes
in the plane,
279
00:28:27,000 --> 00:28:31,667
and in two days, that plane
was flying missions again.
280
00:28:47,125 --> 00:28:49,083
TOOMBS:
We had armor on our crew.
281
00:28:49,166 --> 00:28:52,709
And he'd be there when they...
Most cases, not all cases...
282
00:28:52,792 --> 00:28:56,834
Sometimes a plane'd be loaded
before we ever got there.
283
00:29:03,291 --> 00:29:06,000
DOYLE: The armor gunners
took care of all that.
284
00:29:06,083 --> 00:29:10,917
They'd bring 'em out
on big carriers, and...
285
00:29:11,000 --> 00:29:13,458
it was a dangerous job.
286
00:29:26,583 --> 00:29:30,542
HAEDIKE: We did not load the bombs,
no, but we did come out and check.
287
00:29:35,500 --> 00:29:39,291
(NO AUDIO)
288
00:29:53,709 --> 00:29:55,542
DOYLE: They were all fused,
289
00:29:55,625 --> 00:29:59,750
and they had fusing wires
stuck to the propeller.
290
00:30:04,709 --> 00:30:08,458
These fusing wires
were hooked on the shackles
291
00:30:08,542 --> 00:30:10,792
that the bombs are hung on,
292
00:30:10,875 --> 00:30:14,041
and when they left the plane,
they would pull the wire out.
293
00:30:17,709 --> 00:30:20,375
HAEDIKE: Now the bomb is alive.
294
00:30:22,041 --> 00:30:24,500
If you've seen movies
and you hear bombs...
295
00:30:24,583 --> 00:30:29,375
(WHISTLES) ...goin' down,
that's this fuse spinning out.
296
00:30:33,709 --> 00:30:36,125
Now the bomb is live,
and once it hit,
297
00:30:36,208 --> 00:30:37,750
of course, it detonates.
298
00:30:41,083 --> 00:30:45,083
We had two missions where I
had to go back in the bomb bay
299
00:30:45,166 --> 00:30:47,250
and put the cotter pins back in.
300
00:30:47,333 --> 00:30:50,000
And that is a little hairy.
301
00:30:50,083 --> 00:30:52,083
Why? 'Cause when you landed,
302
00:30:52,166 --> 00:30:54,750
if you didn't,
the bombs were armed,
303
00:30:54,834 --> 00:30:57,750
and if you had trouble,
of course, you'd detonate.
304
00:32:27,750 --> 00:32:31,041
VILLAGRAN: Well,
we talked about just about everything.
305
00:32:31,125 --> 00:32:35,709
Our families, et cetera.
It didn't matter what it was.
306
00:32:35,792 --> 00:32:39,542
We kept pretty much of a running
conversation between everybody.
307
00:32:39,625 --> 00:32:41,834
It made the mission
go a little easier.
308
00:32:50,041 --> 00:32:51,500
KETZNER: First thing you did,
309
00:32:51,583 --> 00:32:53,834
soon as we cleared
the coast of England,
310
00:32:53,917 --> 00:32:56,291
everybody would test their guns.
311
00:32:56,375 --> 00:32:59,208
(GUN FIRING)
312
00:33:15,834 --> 00:33:19,542
TOOMBS: Well, of course,
I can only speak for myself,
313
00:33:19,625 --> 00:33:23,250
but when you're in
hostile territory,
314
00:33:23,333 --> 00:33:25,625
and I was in a top turret,
315
00:33:25,709 --> 00:33:29,500
so all of my vision was 360...
316
00:33:29,583 --> 00:33:31,709
90 degrees this way, ya know.
317
00:33:42,000 --> 00:33:45,542
HARRISON: Contrails would
form at the tail of the ship.
318
00:33:47,875 --> 00:33:51,375
The moisture in the air
and the ship flying through it
319
00:33:51,458 --> 00:33:53,750
made the contrails.
320
00:33:55,333 --> 00:33:58,333
And a lot times
we wouldn't have 'em,
321
00:33:58,417 --> 00:34:02,291
because it depended on the
amount of moisture in the air.
322
00:34:42,208 --> 00:34:44,792
TOOMBS: Couldn't see a
prettier sight than that.
323
00:34:46,542 --> 00:34:49,500
Kind of spell-bound,
ya know, spell-bound.
324
00:34:51,291 --> 00:34:53,041
A beautiful sight.
325
00:34:58,083 --> 00:35:01,041
KETZNER: If you're watching
on the ground over in Germany,
326
00:35:01,125 --> 00:35:04,959
they tell me, it took about 30
minutes for 'em all to come over.
327
00:35:07,792 --> 00:35:10,041
HAEDIKE:
They said on a clear day
328
00:35:10,125 --> 00:35:13,917
that the Germans could see us
coming 50 miles out
329
00:35:14,000 --> 00:35:16,291
from the contrails.
330
00:35:19,333 --> 00:35:21,333
And unfortunately,
when that happened,
331
00:35:21,417 --> 00:35:24,875
that wasn't too good,
because they were ready for us.
332
00:36:12,917 --> 00:36:17,041
KIMMEL:
In 1938, I was down in Chile,
333
00:36:17,125 --> 00:36:19,542
and they threw a good will tour
down there.
334
00:36:19,625 --> 00:36:21,959
I remember going out
with my father
335
00:36:22,041 --> 00:36:23,417
and seeing these big planes.
336
00:36:27,583 --> 00:36:31,458
And I said to my father,
"Someday I'm gonna fly in one of those."
337
00:36:31,542 --> 00:36:34,875
(LAUGHS) Little did I know.
338
00:36:44,083 --> 00:36:48,500
TOOMBS: The B-17 was not
only a beautiful ship,
339
00:36:48,583 --> 00:36:49,834
but it flew like a dream,
340
00:36:49,917 --> 00:36:53,917
it flew like
an overgrown Piper Cub.
341
00:36:56,875 --> 00:36:59,417
It flew nice and smooth.
Beautiful.
342
00:36:59,500 --> 00:37:01,917
Took a lot of punishment.
343
00:37:04,333 --> 00:37:06,667
KIMMEL: The greatest
airplane ever built,
344
00:37:06,750 --> 00:37:08,709
as far as I'm concerned.
345
00:37:08,792 --> 00:37:11,166
It brought us back 35 times.
346
00:37:11,250 --> 00:37:15,709
Sometimes in condition
that you would never even think
347
00:37:15,792 --> 00:37:17,750
of trying to fly an airplane,
348
00:37:17,834 --> 00:37:20,166
any other airplane,
349
00:37:20,250 --> 00:37:24,458
that plane came back,
and that plane brought us back.
350
00:37:26,500 --> 00:37:28,792
It was a marriage, I'll tell ya.
351
00:37:40,834 --> 00:37:44,709
HAEDIKE: A lot of guys,
they'd name their own planes.
352
00:37:44,792 --> 00:37:47,000
And they had
all kinds of kooky names.
353
00:37:52,875 --> 00:37:55,000
KIMMEL: The original crews
354
00:37:55,083 --> 00:37:56,583
had a lot of good painters
355
00:37:56,667 --> 00:38:00,250
and they had a of planes
that were decorated
356
00:38:00,333 --> 00:38:03,375
and had logos on 'em and so on.
357
00:38:12,667 --> 00:38:16,959
HAEDIKE: Vargas girls, like Petty
girl... Petty girls, Vargas girls,
358
00:38:17,041 --> 00:38:18,333
sexy girls...
359
00:38:18,417 --> 00:38:20,709
There weren't too many
serious things.
360
00:38:20,792 --> 00:38:23,166
I think to keep guys loose.
361
00:39:08,917 --> 00:39:10,625
VILLAGRAN: Well... (LAUGHS)
362
00:39:10,709 --> 00:39:14,291
on a warm day
it would be 20 below.
363
00:39:14,375 --> 00:39:17,083
But sometimes it got 60 below.
364
00:39:17,166 --> 00:39:20,458
And often times
I had to take my oxygen mask
365
00:39:20,542 --> 00:39:22,542
and crack the ice out of it
366
00:39:22,625 --> 00:39:26,375
and check if it would
freeze into the tube.
367
00:39:26,458 --> 00:39:28,500
That was one of the worst parts
of the mission,
368
00:39:28,583 --> 00:39:30,792
was the cold air.
369
00:39:30,875 --> 00:39:32,417
The only time you didn't feel it
370
00:39:32,500 --> 00:39:34,500
is when you were
fightin' fighters
371
00:39:34,583 --> 00:39:37,709
or goin' over the target.
372
00:39:42,208 --> 00:39:45,542
TOOMBS: Oh, at 30,000 feet the...
373
00:39:45,625 --> 00:39:50,166
I think the temperature drops
two degrees every thousand.
374
00:39:52,208 --> 00:39:56,458
It'd be about 40 below
at that altitude.
375
00:39:56,542 --> 00:40:02,375
In the cockpit, a little bit of heat
came off the number three engine,
376
00:40:02,458 --> 00:40:08,208
it came into the cockpit
where the pilot and I sat.
377
00:40:08,291 --> 00:40:11,875
And there's enough
to kind of keep your feet warm
378
00:40:11,959 --> 00:40:13,959
and your hands.
379
00:40:15,458 --> 00:40:17,625
(WIND WHISTLING)
380
00:40:21,500 --> 00:40:24,709
TOOMBS: Our ball turret
gunner had a gun problem,
381
00:40:24,792 --> 00:40:28,792
his gun jammed,
and he took his gloves off to work on it,
382
00:40:28,875 --> 00:40:31,250
and both his hands
got frostbitten
383
00:40:31,333 --> 00:40:34,709
and he didn't fly with us for a
month until his hands healed up.
384
00:40:41,875 --> 00:40:45,583
KIMMEL: Well,
it was so cold on one mission
385
00:40:45,667 --> 00:40:50,792
our copilot suffered an anoxia
situation where he passed out,
386
00:40:50,875 --> 00:40:55,083
and his hand froze
to the plexiglass window,
387
00:40:55,166 --> 00:40:58,125
and then they had to amputate
the fingers of his hand
388
00:40:58,208 --> 00:41:02,125
because it was so cold that his
hand, when he tried to help himself,
389
00:41:02,208 --> 00:41:05,500
froze to the plexiglass window.
390
00:41:59,583 --> 00:42:01,625
(CHURCH BELL TOLLING)
391
00:42:04,500 --> 00:42:08,125
TOOMBS: Well,
the British treated us very nice,
392
00:42:08,208 --> 00:42:11,417
in some cases royally.
393
00:42:14,125 --> 00:42:15,875
They called it
"The Friendly Invasion"
394
00:42:15,959 --> 00:42:18,250
'cause we flat invaded
that country.
395
00:42:27,083 --> 00:42:29,208
England's a small country,
and we had it
396
00:42:29,291 --> 00:42:32,625
absolutely covered up
with American soldiers.
397
00:42:35,625 --> 00:42:38,542
And they tolerated us.
398
00:42:38,625 --> 00:42:41,291
(NO AUDIBLE DIALOGUE)
399
00:42:55,792 --> 00:42:57,291
VILLAGRAN: I was single then,
400
00:42:57,375 --> 00:42:59,875
I could run around,
do whatever I wanted.
401
00:42:59,959 --> 00:43:01,750
But I didn't feel uncomfortable
402
00:43:01,834 --> 00:43:04,709
with the British people
at all...
403
00:43:04,792 --> 00:43:07,709
once I got to be able
to understand the language,
404
00:43:07,792 --> 00:43:10,500
because... (LAUGHS)
that English language
405
00:43:10,583 --> 00:43:12,792
is a little different then ours.
406
00:43:14,667 --> 00:43:16,250
ALEXANDER: Very good people.
407
00:43:16,333 --> 00:43:19,542
As you know,
at the beginning of the war
408
00:43:19,625 --> 00:43:23,625
they weren't too enamored
by the Yanks comin' over.
409
00:43:23,709 --> 00:43:29,041
They said we were "overpaid,
oversexed, and over here."
410
00:43:29,125 --> 00:43:31,333
(CHUCKLES) I remember that.
411
00:44:10,333 --> 00:44:15,417
ALEXANDER: Flak is German
88-millimeter cannon shells.
412
00:44:15,500 --> 00:44:19,625
Flak was responsible
for more planes being shot down
413
00:44:19,709 --> 00:44:21,875
than enemy fighters.
414
00:44:21,959 --> 00:44:25,041
And when you see a flak,
black puffs of smoke,
415
00:44:25,125 --> 00:44:28,542
that's after the shell,
of course, has exploded.
416
00:44:28,625 --> 00:44:31,500
And it explodes, hypothetically,
417
00:44:31,583 --> 00:44:34,291
into 200 pieces...
418
00:44:34,375 --> 00:44:36,417
and it's powerful.
419
00:44:41,417 --> 00:44:43,750
ROWLAND: You don't know where
the flak is coming from.
420
00:44:43,834 --> 00:44:47,083
You don't know if the next
burst is gonna hit you or not.
421
00:44:47,166 --> 00:44:50,333
You never know where
the next one is gonna be
422
00:44:50,417 --> 00:44:53,250
in a case like that,
and that's what scares ya.
423
00:44:53,333 --> 00:44:55,333
(EXPLOSIONS)
424
00:44:55,417 --> 00:44:57,583
TOOMBS: It just looked
like a big thunderstorm,
425
00:44:57,667 --> 00:44:59,875
so to speak,
that's what it amounted to.
426
00:44:59,959 --> 00:45:02,250
But you had to keep on flyin'.
427
00:45:07,959 --> 00:45:11,625
KIMMEL: God was on your side
when you didn't get hit.
428
00:45:11,709 --> 00:45:13,875
The flak would vary so much.
429
00:45:13,959 --> 00:45:16,041
The Germans had
pretty good radar...
430
00:45:16,125 --> 00:45:19,750
They could judge your altitude,
your speed,
431
00:45:19,834 --> 00:45:22,125
and your direction.
432
00:45:28,709 --> 00:45:31,166
HARRISON: I think the
worst that I ever had...
433
00:45:31,250 --> 00:45:34,542
Over Kassel, Germany,
I will never forget that one...
434
00:45:34,625 --> 00:45:36,750
It blew my windshield out
435
00:45:36,834 --> 00:45:40,792
and come into my face
at 160 miles an hour.
436
00:45:48,667 --> 00:45:51,291
VILLAGRAN: You'd look at that
flak out there, and you'd swear
437
00:45:51,375 --> 00:45:54,250
you're not gonna
get through it...
438
00:45:54,333 --> 00:45:56,417
where the sky's almost black
with these things
439
00:45:56,500 --> 00:45:59,583
bustin' all over the place.
440
00:45:59,667 --> 00:46:03,333
It's amazing we did make it
through as much as we did.
441
00:46:17,750 --> 00:46:19,375
VILLAGRAN: Well, we had a dog,
442
00:46:19,458 --> 00:46:22,208
and it looked more like a pig
than a dog. (LAUGHS)
443
00:46:22,291 --> 00:46:25,041
But it was our mascot.
444
00:46:32,458 --> 00:46:36,000
We had a stove
in the middle of the barracks,
445
00:46:36,083 --> 00:46:38,959
and we used to make sandwiches
on it and so forth.
446
00:46:39,041 --> 00:46:42,875
If the dog was around,
we'd feed him whatever we had left over.
447
00:46:44,542 --> 00:46:47,000
He hung around the barracks
until we got back.
448
00:46:47,083 --> 00:46:49,625
Don't know if
he had a name or not.
449
00:46:49,709 --> 00:46:51,959
He was a faithful little dog.
450
00:46:52,041 --> 00:46:55,250
But it had a real wide nose.
(LAUGHS)
451
00:47:02,709 --> 00:47:05,250
HARRISON:
Oh, you get superstitious.
452
00:47:05,333 --> 00:47:09,041
I remember I had to put on
a clean pair of socks
453
00:47:09,125 --> 00:47:11,333
the day I was shot down.
454
00:47:11,417 --> 00:47:15,875
I'd been wearing
the same pair of socks.
455
00:47:15,959 --> 00:47:20,125
Evidently, I think that the pup
got one of my socks
456
00:47:20,208 --> 00:47:22,834
and was chewing on it
and hid it,
457
00:47:22,917 --> 00:47:24,458
and I couldn't find it
that morning,
458
00:47:24,542 --> 00:47:27,417
I had to put on
a clean pair of socks.
459
00:47:27,500 --> 00:47:30,625
That might have been the reason
I was shot down.
460
00:47:32,417 --> 00:47:34,333
KIMMEL:
You are to believe this or not,
461
00:47:34,417 --> 00:47:37,083
but somewheres around
the 10th or 12th mission,
462
00:47:37,166 --> 00:47:42,333
I got to a point, and I know some of
the other fellas reached the same thing,
463
00:47:42,417 --> 00:47:44,750
that they were feeling blasé.
464
00:47:44,834 --> 00:47:46,792
"They didn't get us up to here,
465
00:47:46,875 --> 00:47:49,542
they ain't gonna get us hereon."
466
00:47:51,333 --> 00:47:54,291
HAEDIKE:
I was somewhat superstitious.
467
00:47:54,375 --> 00:47:57,125
I always felt
God would bring me home...
468
00:47:57,208 --> 00:47:59,041
And I mean that sincerely...
469
00:47:59,125 --> 00:48:03,250
However, I wasn't sure
if it would be in one piece.
470
00:48:08,166 --> 00:48:10,917
I flew five days in a row.
471
00:48:11,000 --> 00:48:12,542
Five missions.
472
00:48:12,625 --> 00:48:14,959
And I remember
by the fourth or fifth one,
473
00:48:15,041 --> 00:48:18,041
you really didn't care...
You were worn out.
474
00:48:18,125 --> 00:48:21,000
You wanted to get away from it.
475
00:48:21,083 --> 00:48:23,583
TOOMBS: I saw a lot of
'em break under pressure.
476
00:48:23,667 --> 00:48:28,208
Come back and told the flight
sergeant, "I can't fly anymore."
477
00:48:28,291 --> 00:48:29,583
And they didn't.
478
00:48:29,667 --> 00:48:30,987
Nobody pointed
their finger at 'em
479
00:48:31,041 --> 00:48:32,625
and ridiculed 'em.
480
00:48:33,792 --> 00:48:35,458
Nobody.
481
00:49:15,208 --> 00:49:17,125
KIMMEL: Yes, the bomb run.
482
00:49:17,208 --> 00:49:18,750
That was the worst,
483
00:49:18,834 --> 00:49:21,792
'cause you had to
keep everything steady.
484
00:49:23,208 --> 00:49:24,625
If you weren't on a bomb run,
485
00:49:24,709 --> 00:49:27,333
you could slide over
once in a while,
486
00:49:27,417 --> 00:49:29,792
that made 'em
think they'd miss ya.
487
00:49:29,875 --> 00:49:33,875
But on a bomb run, you just
had to set there and take it.
488
00:49:37,458 --> 00:49:40,917
Try to shrivel up,
I guess. (LAUGHS)
489
00:49:43,041 --> 00:49:46,083
HARRISON:
The lead ship does it all.
490
00:49:46,166 --> 00:49:48,625
You just follow what he does.
491
00:49:48,709 --> 00:49:51,667
The lead ship, and then
the two on each side,
492
00:49:51,750 --> 00:49:55,041
one down there and one up here
and around there.
493
00:49:59,709 --> 00:50:03,458
TOOMBS: I was flyin'
right above the leader,
494
00:50:03,542 --> 00:50:05,625
and when you're watching him
495
00:50:05,709 --> 00:50:10,041
and you see that the bomb door
is open, then you open too.
496
00:50:10,125 --> 00:50:12,000
And then you wait
for him to drop bombs,
497
00:50:12,083 --> 00:50:14,291
and when he drops bombs,
then you drop 'em.
498
00:50:25,125 --> 00:50:27,333
KIMMEL:
We can't change our altitude,
499
00:50:27,417 --> 00:50:29,500
and we can't change
our direction,
500
00:50:29,583 --> 00:50:32,750
and we're what you call
sitting ducks at that moment.
501
00:50:36,500 --> 00:50:39,500
HARRISON: It was rough,
because any minute,
502
00:50:39,583 --> 00:50:41,583
you were gonna get hit.
503
00:52:02,834 --> 00:52:05,667
KIMMEL: The bombs are
dropped, bombs away,
504
00:52:05,750 --> 00:52:08,667
and the first thing you hear is,
505
00:52:08,750 --> 00:52:11,792
"Let's get the hell outta here."
506
00:52:11,875 --> 00:52:16,875
We make a sharp turn,
and the group follows the lead.
507
00:52:19,959 --> 00:52:21,417
DOYLE: After a while,
508
00:52:21,500 --> 00:52:23,500
fighter attacks
started coming in,
509
00:52:23,583 --> 00:52:26,208
and they didn't miss very often.
510
00:52:35,041 --> 00:52:38,542
(GUN FIRING)
511
00:52:48,583 --> 00:52:50,792
TOOMBS:
They'd be out 20, 30 miles,
512
00:52:50,875 --> 00:52:54,208
and they'd come rush
straight at your level.
513
00:52:55,917 --> 00:52:58,583
(FIRING)
514
00:53:01,291 --> 00:53:05,333
HARRISON: You couldn't hit
anything with those guns like that.
515
00:53:05,417 --> 00:53:08,792
By the time you saw a guy,
he was gone.
516
00:53:08,875 --> 00:53:11,875
You'd see one comin', he's gone.
517
00:53:13,667 --> 00:53:15,750
(MACHINE-GUNFIRE)
518
00:53:35,208 --> 00:53:39,166
ROWLAND: You don't have
much time to shoot at 'em.
519
00:53:39,250 --> 00:53:42,500
If you get off a burst or two,
well, you're lucky,
520
00:53:42,583 --> 00:53:44,750
then they'd go zoop!
521
00:53:53,041 --> 00:53:55,250
(MACHINE-GUNFIRE)
522
00:53:59,375 --> 00:54:02,959
(FIRING)
523
00:54:03,041 --> 00:54:06,333
TOOMBS: He'll drop
off, he'll fly down,
524
00:54:06,417 --> 00:54:08,291
and then he'll line up on ya.
525
00:54:08,375 --> 00:54:11,125
(IMITATES GUNFIRE)
Then he'll peel off.
526
00:54:21,667 --> 00:54:25,000
(FIRING)
527
00:54:38,333 --> 00:54:40,834
(GUNFIRE CONTINUES)
528
00:54:48,959 --> 00:54:52,250
HARRISON: The copilot was hit
pretty hard when we were shot down.
529
00:54:52,333 --> 00:54:57,583
A 20-millimeter shell
popped right above his head
530
00:54:57,667 --> 00:54:59,750
and it knocked an eye out.
531
00:55:01,750 --> 00:55:07,458
So it was high noon,
an ME-109 was back there blasting at us,
532
00:55:07,542 --> 00:55:12,208
and I heard the copilot,
he said, "Jesus Christ",
533
00:55:12,291 --> 00:55:15,500
number four's on fire. Get out."
534
00:55:19,542 --> 00:55:22,583
When that thing is spinnin'
and headin' down,
535
00:55:22,667 --> 00:55:24,291
you were glued to your seat,
536
00:55:24,375 --> 00:55:26,750
you couldn't move
if you wanted to.
537
00:55:30,709 --> 00:55:34,417
VILLAGRAN: And you're lucky if you
see two or three guys bail out.
538
00:55:37,709 --> 00:55:39,166
We would count the chutes,
539
00:55:39,250 --> 00:55:41,667
and usually if we
started to look too long
540
00:55:41,750 --> 00:55:43,583
after a ship
that was going down,
541
00:55:43,667 --> 00:55:46,333
the pilot would say,
"OK, guys, off... ".
542
00:55:46,417 --> 00:55:47,851
We didn't want
to spend too much time
543
00:55:47,875 --> 00:55:49,667
looking at a plane going down
544
00:55:49,750 --> 00:55:52,917
when we had fighters
in the area and so forth.
545
00:56:01,083 --> 00:56:04,917
HARRISON: The gunners and the others
that were watching all the time
546
00:56:05,000 --> 00:56:09,083
would tell ya, "Boy, I don't think anybody
got out of that one, nobody got out,"
547
00:56:09,166 --> 00:56:13,542
and then sometimes you'd
see chutes comin' out of 'em
548
00:56:13,625 --> 00:56:15,917
before they blew up or anything.
549
00:56:18,625 --> 00:56:20,625
If you didn't have your chute on
550
00:56:20,709 --> 00:56:24,000
and get out of there
in less than 30 seconds,
551
00:56:24,083 --> 00:56:25,458
you're gone.
552
00:56:27,083 --> 00:56:28,959
You're gone.
553
00:56:30,750 --> 00:56:36,125
And seven out of eleven
out of my crew got out alive...
554
00:56:36,208 --> 00:56:39,667
and one of 'em,
when he got on the ground,
555
00:56:39,750 --> 00:56:42,250
they pitchforked him to death.
556
00:56:43,917 --> 00:56:47,000
How could you kill a human
like that?
557
00:57:23,333 --> 00:57:27,250
KIMMEL: As we approached the
field, we set off flares.
558
00:57:27,333 --> 00:57:30,625
Red flares means
you have wounded aboard.
559
00:57:30,709 --> 00:57:32,917
Everybody else
gets out of the way
560
00:57:33,000 --> 00:57:35,125
and the wounded comes in first.
561
00:58:24,458 --> 00:58:26,750
KIMMEL:
To this day, I still see it.
562
00:58:26,834 --> 00:58:29,125
When I think of it, I choke up.
563
00:58:29,208 --> 00:58:31,500
I can't help it,
they were friends of mine,
564
00:58:31,583 --> 00:58:34,959
they were good friends,
and it hurt so bad.
565
00:58:35,041 --> 00:58:38,875
ESPECIALLY WE ALL FELT LIKE:
"What a waste."
566
00:58:42,500 --> 00:58:47,333
With the job we had,
the chance of dying was at least 50%.
567
00:58:47,417 --> 00:58:51,625
50% chance of living,
50% chance of dying.
568
00:58:55,375 --> 00:58:57,351
HAEDIKE: You know, a guy
said, "Your name's on it."
569
00:58:57,375 --> 00:58:59,333
Well, maybe it was.
570
00:58:59,417 --> 00:59:01,667
But it was scary.
571
00:59:01,750 --> 00:59:07,959
And I get very irritated when I hear some of
these guys say, "I wasn't scared one bit."
572
00:59:08,041 --> 00:59:10,291
They're full of prunes.
573
00:59:14,250 --> 00:59:16,834
I was scared every time.
574
00:59:23,625 --> 00:59:26,208
KIMMEL:
I went out to a ship one time
575
00:59:26,291 --> 00:59:28,750
when they were taking
a young fella off,
576
00:59:28,834 --> 00:59:32,125
and I thought I could help them.
577
00:59:34,208 --> 00:59:36,417
The guy they were pulling
out of the ship...
578
00:59:39,625 --> 00:59:43,166
(VOICE BREAKING) ...he was
calling for his mother.
579
01:00:33,250 --> 01:00:37,291
HAEDIKE: In about late 1944,
580
01:00:37,375 --> 01:00:40,458
the Allies decided
581
01:00:40,542 --> 01:00:44,041
to do away
with precision bombing.
582
01:00:45,875 --> 01:00:48,333
We went to pattern bombing.
583
01:00:50,041 --> 01:00:52,375
Unfortunately, it killed
a lot of people,
584
01:00:52,458 --> 01:00:57,208
but brought the war to a close
about a year sooner.
585
01:01:06,583 --> 01:01:09,500
DOYLE:
The United States military
586
01:01:09,583 --> 01:01:13,500
did not go out to carpet-bomb
civilians or anything.
587
01:01:13,583 --> 01:01:16,041
They went out to bomb factories,
588
01:01:16,125 --> 01:01:18,333
rail yards, refineries,
589
01:01:18,417 --> 01:01:20,750
and places that had something
to do with the war.
590
01:01:20,834 --> 01:01:23,542
I don't think that
I felt bad about that at all.
591
01:01:23,625 --> 01:01:25,750
That's what we were
supposed to do.
592
01:01:25,834 --> 01:01:29,959
But toward the end of the war,
the Germans would not give up.
593
01:01:50,375 --> 01:01:52,000
TOOMBS:
Never thought a thing about it.
594
01:01:52,083 --> 01:01:55,166
We didn't think about people
being down there.
595
01:01:56,417 --> 01:01:57,875
That never crossed my mind,
596
01:01:57,959 --> 01:02:00,458
about a human being
bein' down there.
597
01:02:11,834 --> 01:02:14,709
ALEXANDER: Never gave it a
thought, they just Germans,
598
01:02:14,792 --> 01:02:17,625
you know, and I never
gave it a thought.
599
01:02:28,250 --> 01:02:30,917
DOYLE: For some reason,
I didn't hate 'em.
600
01:02:31,000 --> 01:02:32,750
If I had a fighter plane
601
01:02:32,834 --> 01:02:35,333
come within
shooting-me distance,
602
01:02:35,417 --> 01:02:39,875
my thought was, "This kid probably
wanted to live as bad as you did."
603
01:02:42,166 --> 01:02:44,625
I really didn't have
any hate for 'em.
604
01:02:44,709 --> 01:02:46,458
I was just scared of 'em.
605
01:02:50,291 --> 01:02:52,166
KIMMEL: Never gave it a thought.
606
01:02:52,250 --> 01:02:54,583
I honestly
never gave it a thought.
607
01:02:54,667 --> 01:02:57,333
I JUST FELT THIS WAY:
608
01:02:57,417 --> 01:02:59,083
"They're gonna do it to us,
609
01:02:59,166 --> 01:03:01,625
we better do it to them
before they do it to us."
610
01:03:01,709 --> 01:03:04,500
And that's the way I felt,
and I couldn't help it.
611
01:03:44,333 --> 01:03:48,458
INTERVIEWER: Bring any
thoughts, seeing that?
612
01:03:48,542 --> 01:03:52,542
TOOMBS: Well, I drifted off
into several thoughts. (LAUGHS)
613
01:03:52,625 --> 01:03:56,000
Most of 'em, you know, uh...
614
01:03:56,083 --> 01:03:58,500
were bad thoughts when
you're lookin' at a mission.
615
01:03:58,583 --> 01:04:03,500
I see what took place
on that mission,
616
01:04:03,583 --> 01:04:07,208
and your mind drifts back
to those times, you know.
617
01:04:22,875 --> 01:04:25,625
DOYLE: We had a lot
of midair collisions.
618
01:04:25,709 --> 01:04:28,500
Some guys would get mixed up,
pilots,
619
01:04:28,583 --> 01:04:33,000
and they'd start flying...
the wrong direction and so on.
620
01:04:33,083 --> 01:04:37,000
But the scary part
of most of our missions
621
01:04:37,083 --> 01:04:39,125
was just getting through
all of that.
622
01:04:41,542 --> 01:04:46,041
INTERVIEWER: Did it get easier or
harder as you flew more missions?
623
01:04:46,125 --> 01:04:49,417
DOYLE: I just... Like I
say, I was scared to death.
624
01:04:49,500 --> 01:04:53,667
But, uh...
those were not good days.
625
01:05:04,458 --> 01:05:07,709
There was no radio
communication at all.
626
01:05:07,792 --> 01:05:11,125
We had the intercom goin'
all the time, though.
627
01:05:11,208 --> 01:05:14,834
I'd check in with the man
with the oxygen mask on,
628
01:05:14,917 --> 01:05:18,792
make sure their oxygen
was flowing right.
629
01:05:18,875 --> 01:05:20,500
Especially the tail gunner,
630
01:05:20,583 --> 01:05:23,959
he was layin' back there
by himself so much.
631
01:05:31,792 --> 01:05:35,500
HARRISON: You got very close
with the men and everything.
632
01:05:35,583 --> 01:05:38,041
And they're all young kids.
633
01:05:42,208 --> 01:05:45,166
They're all dead now, I'm sure.
634
01:05:56,709 --> 01:05:58,125
When you're that high up,
635
01:05:58,208 --> 01:06:01,834
everything on the ground
looks like a little toy.
636
01:06:01,917 --> 01:06:04,667
If you see a truck or something,
637
01:06:04,750 --> 01:06:06,709
it really looks small.
638
01:06:08,333 --> 01:06:12,000
It was hard,
but you had to do it.
639
01:06:12,083 --> 01:06:15,875
We had to get rid of Hitler,
and so we did it.
640
01:06:28,208 --> 01:06:32,542
You guys know that some bombs
went through the wings of B-17s?
641
01:06:33,875 --> 01:06:35,875
I always wondered
how in the world...
642
01:06:35,959 --> 01:06:38,041
They were out of position...
643
01:06:38,125 --> 01:06:40,041
in the formation.
644
01:06:41,375 --> 01:06:44,208
God's been good to me.
645
01:06:44,291 --> 01:06:47,291
First of all,
he's given me 70 years
646
01:06:47,375 --> 01:06:49,333
with that lady over there,
647
01:06:49,417 --> 01:06:52,083
and we have a wonderful family.
648
01:06:56,291 --> 01:06:57,917
We have six kids
649
01:06:58,000 --> 01:07:01,667
and we have 20 grandkids,
22 great-grandkids.
650
01:07:01,750 --> 01:07:05,750
So we've been
a very blessed family.
651
01:07:05,834 --> 01:07:09,083
I didn't say I want 'em all
at the house at once.
652
01:07:16,208 --> 01:07:18,667
INTERVIEWER: What do you
think about "The Good War"
653
01:07:18,750 --> 01:07:20,709
and "You're
the Greatest Generation"?
654
01:07:23,125 --> 01:07:27,375
VILLAGRAN: Well...
(LAUGHS) I'm beginning to believe it.
655
01:07:27,458 --> 01:07:29,125
(LAUGHING)
656
01:07:30,375 --> 01:07:32,667
Does that make sense to ya?
657
01:07:34,917 --> 01:07:39,458
You kind of grew up 10 years
when you went into that thing.
658
01:07:41,083 --> 01:07:44,208
And when I came back home,
659
01:07:44,291 --> 01:07:47,125
I didn't feel like
the same man anymore.
660
01:07:54,625 --> 01:07:58,333
INTERVIEWER: What do you say to
people who say, "John, you're a hero."
661
01:07:58,417 --> 01:07:59,917
You're a hero"?
662
01:08:00,000 --> 01:08:01,685
KETZNER: I say, "OK,
you're probably right."
663
01:08:01,709 --> 01:08:04,542
(LAUGHING)
I don't know what else to say.
664
01:08:04,625 --> 01:08:07,041
I wasn't one of the hero-heroes,
665
01:08:07,125 --> 01:08:10,625
the guys that finish their tour
and sign up for another one,
666
01:08:10,709 --> 01:08:13,667
I wasn't them kind of heroes.
(LAUGHING)
667
01:08:15,792 --> 01:08:17,917
ALEXANDER:
But I want it clearly known:
668
01:08:18,000 --> 01:08:20,792
I do not profess myself
to be a hero.
669
01:08:20,875 --> 01:08:23,417
I was the pilot;
670
01:08:23,500 --> 01:08:27,750
The heroes are buried in
England, Germany, and France.
671
01:08:27,834 --> 01:08:31,041
The boys didn't make it,
they're the heroes.
672
01:08:31,125 --> 01:08:33,333
I was just a normal pilot.
673
01:08:52,917 --> 01:08:55,542
This is called pattern bombing.
674
01:09:02,041 --> 01:09:04,601
INTERVIEWER: No offense,
but you guys aren't getting any younger.
675
01:09:04,625 --> 01:09:06,250
Why do you think it's important
676
01:09:06,333 --> 01:09:09,083
that people know
what you guys did?
677
01:09:11,375 --> 01:09:12,959
KIMMEL: Well, for one thing,
678
01:09:13,041 --> 01:09:14,917
we don't want it
to to happen again,
679
01:09:15,000 --> 01:09:18,458
in fact or in fancy.
680
01:09:18,542 --> 01:09:20,500
We just don't want it
to happen again,
681
01:09:20,583 --> 01:09:25,709
for my grandson,
my granddaughters and their husbands.
682
01:09:28,583 --> 01:09:32,750
I don't want to see them
have to face what we did.
683
01:10:05,583 --> 01:10:07,250
(WHEELS SKIDDING)
684
01:10:11,959 --> 01:10:14,959
(FILM PROJECTOR RUNNING)
685
01:10:19,625 --> 01:10:22,792
HAEDIKE: I cannot say it
much more eloquently...
686
01:10:22,875 --> 01:10:25,792
It was a hazardous profession.
687
01:10:27,834 --> 01:10:31,208
OK, up at altitude and,
of course, bombs away and all,
688
01:10:31,291 --> 01:10:32,792
and you got this on,
689
01:10:32,875 --> 01:10:35,166
I think fear more than anything,
690
01:10:35,250 --> 01:10:38,208
you'd perspire and sweat.
691
01:10:38,291 --> 01:10:40,333
You got this on.
692
01:10:40,417 --> 01:10:43,500
Ice would form,
and you'd take a deep breath
693
01:10:43,583 --> 01:10:46,500
and break the ice
out of the oxygen mask.
694
01:10:46,583 --> 01:10:49,083
And then put it back on.
695
01:10:51,667 --> 01:10:55,333
This is Bud
trying to get down on the floor.
696
01:10:55,417 --> 01:10:57,417
This is the Mae West.
697
01:10:57,500 --> 01:10:59,917
Remember I told ya
about the oxygen?
698
01:11:00,000 --> 01:11:02,125
I mean, the CO2 cylinder?
699
01:11:02,208 --> 01:11:05,083
This is it. There it is.
700
01:11:05,166 --> 01:11:07,083
CO2 cylinder.
701
01:11:07,166 --> 01:11:10,583
This was before underarm
deodorant, hair spray...
702
01:11:10,667 --> 01:11:14,834
I think this was the birth
of aerosol containers.
703
01:11:14,917 --> 01:11:18,917
And if guys bailed out,
they didn't want it totally inflated
704
01:11:19,000 --> 01:11:20,750
couple hundred feet up,
705
01:11:20,834 --> 01:11:24,583
because if they hit the water,
they could break their backs.
706
01:11:24,667 --> 01:11:27,083
So it wasn't that easy.
I never did it.
707
01:11:27,166 --> 01:11:28,917
This is a throat mic.
708
01:11:29,000 --> 01:11:31,333
This is how I talked to Eric.
709
01:11:31,417 --> 01:11:32,917
And this plugged in.
710
01:11:33,000 --> 01:11:35,709
And as I showed ya
on the helmet,
711
01:11:35,792 --> 01:11:37,291
this is how I heard.
712
01:11:37,375 --> 01:11:39,458
So we had
our communication system.
713
01:11:39,542 --> 01:11:41,291
INTERVIEWER:
But, Bud, to be clear,
714
01:11:41,375 --> 01:11:44,208
this should have been returned
to the government in 1945.
715
01:11:44,291 --> 01:11:46,458
(LAUGHING)
716
01:11:46,542 --> 01:11:48,417
Come and get 'em, baby.
717
01:11:48,500 --> 01:11:50,542
INTERVIEWER:
What we just did with you
718
01:11:50,625 --> 01:11:52,333
might be the credit roll
to our movie,
719
01:11:52,417 --> 01:11:53,959
so you have any messages
for people
720
01:11:54,041 --> 01:11:55,709
that just watched this movie?
721
01:11:55,792 --> 01:11:59,792
Well, I'm just so glad
that people in America,
722
01:11:59,875 --> 01:12:04,625
or anywhere,
can get an idea what 19 and 20
723
01:12:04,709 --> 01:12:07,417
and 21-year-old kids
went through,
724
01:12:07,500 --> 01:12:10,875
and as I tell kids
when I get done with my talk,
725
01:12:10,959 --> 01:12:13,667
"I'm gonna ask you guys
a favor now."
726
01:12:13,750 --> 01:12:15,166
"What's that, Bud?"
727
01:12:15,250 --> 01:12:16,542
"When you go home tonight,"
728
01:12:16,625 --> 01:12:19,125
you say a prayer of thanks
to God
729
01:12:19,208 --> 01:12:22,709
for those 28,000 guys
that gave their lives
730
01:12:22,792 --> 01:12:25,542
"so that you got
the life you got today."
731
01:12:27,917 --> 01:12:29,393
INTERVIEWER: Well,
thank you for your service, Bud.
732
01:12:29,417 --> 01:12:31,250
HAEDIKE: Not at all. Not at all.
57674