Scribd
Upload
88 views2 pages

Untitleddocument

Jim Reily Sr. served as a bombardier in WWII, flying 10 missions over Germany to drop bombs using a Norden Bombsight for accuracy. During one mission, his plane was shot down and he was captured. He was imprisoned at Stalag Luft III POW camp in Poland for around 6 months before being forced to march south as the Russians advanced. After several more months at another camp, the prisoners could hear fighting approaching and were soon liberated by General Patton's troops. Jim felt that his generation, who experienced the hardships of war, was a "good generation."

Uploaded by

api-297180858
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
88 views2 pages

Untitleddocument

Jim Reily Sr. served as a bombardier in WWII, flying 10 missions over Germany to drop bombs using a Norden Bombsight for accuracy. During one mission, his plane was shot down and he was captured. He was imprisoned at Stalag Luft III POW camp in Poland for around 6 months before being forced to march south as the Russians advanced. After several more months at another camp, the prisoners could hear fighting approaching and were soon liberated by General Patton's troops. Jim felt that his generation, who experienced the hardships of war, was a "good generation."

Uploaded by

api-297180858
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 2

AGoodGeneration

TheairsoundedwithdeafeningBoomsasflakrocketedthroughtheskyandrained
overthesouthofFrance.TheHeavyUSbomberrockedbackandforthasit
experiencedturbulence.Suddenly,the10mancrewinsidewasthrowntotheleftand
anearpiercingalarmwentoffinthebombardier.Theplanewasgoingdown,andfast.
Weregoingtohavetojump!clamouredthecaptain

JimReilySr.wasabombardierintheendofWWII.BornandraisedinPhiladelphia,
Pennsylvaniahegrewuparoundplanes.Jimoftenwenttothelocalairporttowatchthe
planesforhours.Attheyoungageof16,hesigneduptojoinWorldWarII.

...EverybodyintheentireclasswantedtoflytheMustang.Thatwasthefighterofthe
day.Andmetoo,IwantedtoflytheMustang.Butunfortunately,theydidn'tneed
additionalMustangpilotsatthetimeandIendedupasabombardier.Thefellawho
dropsthebombs.

AsAmericawasdrawnintothewar,peoplebecameresoluteinwinningandjustifying
themselves.Jimhadnotroublejoining,thegovernmentwaslookingforrecruitsandin
hiswords,hisfamilyathomewas,allrahrahaboutthewar.Whenaskedifhehad
anygoalsinmindwhenjoiningtheAirForce,Jimshookhishead,Iwouldthinkthatmy
goalwastobecomefamiliarwithflyingandsomehowchoosethatasmylifelong
approach.

Sadly,onlyafewmonthsafterWWIIended,Jimwasdischargedandreleasedbackinto
thecivilianworld.Afterthewar,Jimflewasaninstructor.Sinceflyingcouldnolonger
behislifelongapproach,JimtooktodrivingtrucksatnightforthePhiladelphiaInquirer.
ItwasahardlifetoraiseafamilyonbutJimmanagedtosucceed.

Despitebeingayoungrecruitintothearmy,Jimsucceeded.Asabombardier,Jimsjob
wastositupfrontinthenoseoftheplaneandsetthebombontoitstarget.Toincrease
accuracyforbombers,CarlNordenwascontractedbythegovernmenttocreatethe
NordenBombsight.Thiswasadevicethatcouldcalculatetheexactmomenttodropa
bomb.Itwasofficiallyintroducedintothebombersplanesintheearly1940s.Although
thisbombsightwassuperiorandmoreadvancedthananythingofthattime,itwasnot
thefirsttobecreated.Butbecauseofitsaccuracyandimportance,alltencrew
membersofabomberwereswornunderoathtoprotectthesecrecyofit.Jimwouldbe
swornfirstashewastheoperatorofthedevice.

Yeah,wehadtheNordenBombsight,veryfamousbackinthosedaysandIthinkwe
probablydidverywellintermsofaccuracy.

Jimonlywentonabouttenmissionstotal,andeachtime,Jimandhiscrewwouldbe
senttoGermanyandgiventargetstodropbombson,usingthebombsight.
Once,whileflyingoversouthernGermany,Jimsplanewasshotdown.Whenthecrew
hadsafelygottentothegroundtheyweretakeninbytheNazis.

Thenwewenttoprison,totheGermanprison.Wehappenedtogotoaprisonthatwas
forairguys...wewenttotheStalagLuftIII

StalagLuftIII,locatedinPoland,wasaPOWcamp.Originallybuiltin1942forBritish
sergeants,itwaslaterreplacedwithAmericanAirmen,untiltheirliberationonApril29,
of1945.

Wewerethereforprobably...ahalfyearandthreequarters.BecauseoftheRussians
movinginfromupclosetoGermany,theGermansmovedusout.Movedsouthtoget
awayfromtheRussians.

FromtheStalagLuftIIItheairmenwereforcedtomarchinthecoldsnowtotheStalag
VIIA.

Wewerethereformaybefourorfivemonths.Wecouldhearthegunsandthenext
morningcameaJeepandGeneralPatton...Andthatwastheendofthewarforus.
Afterbeingprocessed,thePOWsweresenttotheLuckyStrikecampinFrance,tobe
cleanedupandsentbackhome.

IhadlostalotofweightandIgotsomekindofavirusandwedidn'thavemuchtoeat,
wehadsomeprettytoughtimesinthatwholearea.

Withallhismemoriesandrecollectionsfreshinhismind,Jimmakesafewfinal
remarks,Thatwasagreatgenerationbytheway,youknowmanypeoplewilldisagree
withthat.Wewereagenerationthat,wedidn'thavethelollipopsandallthat...Soitwas
adifference,weknewwhatwecoulddowithout.Itwasagoodgenerationofguys.

You might also like

pFad - Phonifier reborn

Pfad - The Proxy pFad of © 2024 Garber Painting. All rights reserved.

Note: This service is not intended for secure transactions such as banking, social media, email, or purchasing. Use at your own risk. We assume no liability whatsoever for broken pages.


Alternative Proxies:

Alternative Proxy

pFad Proxy

pFad v3 Proxy

pFad v4 Proxy