FIGHTERS, FLAK, FROSTBITE & FEAR

These four “Fs” were a part of every mission for members of the Eighth Air Force according to Major John “Lucky” Luckadoo. Major Luckadoo, a 101-year-old WWII veteran and Eighth Air Force B-17 pilot, recently spoke to a rapt crowd of 300 on Sea Island about his wartime experiences. Major Luckadoo grew up in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and joined the Army after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor in December 1941. A flying cadet at age 19; training at 20; a combat veteran at 21, Major Luckadoo was home by the time he was 22. Between June and October 1943, he served with the Eighth Air Force 100th Bombardment Group based in Thorpe Abbotts, England, flying B-17 “Flying Fortresses” over France and Germany. The unit became known as the “Bloody 100th,” because of its high casualty rate. Major Luckadoo both witnessed and cheated death. Aptly nicknamed “Lucky,” he is now the last surviving member of the 100th, having piloted his plane successfully through Luftwaffe machine-gun fire and antiaircraft flak in subzero temperatures for 25 missions, where the average bomber crew flew 8-12.

Award-winning New York Times bestselling author Kevin Maurer shared Major Luckadoo’s story in Damn Lucky: One Man’s Courage During the Bloodiest Military Campaign in Aviation History. Described as “an epic, thrillingly written, utterly immersive account of a very lucky, incredible survivor of the war in the skies to defeat Hitler,” Damn Lucky, is available for purchase locally at Righton Books, both in the store and on their website. Major Luckadoo is the very embodiment of the Greatest Generation, answering the call to serve and sacrifice at the time of our country’s greatest need. How fortunate we are that he is still able to share his experiences with us and keep that part of the nation’s history vivid in our memory.

Major Luckadoo’s visit was sponsored by the National Museum of the Eighth Air Force, a group that has its own compelling story. “The Mighty Eighth” flew more than 600,000 sorties in paving the way for Operation Overlord, D-Day, June 6, 1944. In earning its moniker, the “Mighty Eighth” paid a heavy price in carrying out its mission which resulted in the liberation of Nazi-occupied Europe.

Although more and more nations found themselves involved in World War II, the United States showed little appetite to engage in combat. That stance changed overnight with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941. Within eight weeks, the U.S. Eighth Air Force was activated in Savannah, Georgia. Begun with a modest cadre of officers and enlisted men, the Eighth grew to unprecedented numbers: 350,000 personnel and thousands of planes; air power unimaginable in its time and never again equaled.

The air warfare that was introduced on a large scale during WWII played a significant role in the war’s outcome both in Europe and the Pacific. While the air forces of other nations used their planes for tactical support of ground forces, the Americans and British were keen on air power for strategic purposes. In theory, four-engine bombers massed in combat formation with the benefit of some fighter plane cover could deplete the enemy’s ability to wage war by targeting factories, munitions centers, marshaling yards and submarine pens.

Leadership called it high-altitude, daylight precision bombing. This unproven airwar doctrine of the U.S. Army Air Corps at the time of our country’s entry into WWII was predicated on the Norden bombsight, a gyroscopically stabilized analog computer that determined the exact moment to drop bombs from a moving aircraft on a target from some 25,000 feet in the air. Second only to the Manhattan Project in terms of secrecy, the Norden bombsight was installed in B-17 “Flying Fortresses” and B-24

“Liberators” to enable bomber crews to drop their payloads on elements of the German warmaking machine with pinpoint accuracy. In practice, however, neither flying in tight formation to protect the vulnerable crews nor the precision of the Norden bombsight proved accurate. Bombs regularly missed their targets, sometimes by miles; while the casualties of the Eighth Air Force were staggering. 26,000

Eighth Air Force airmen were killed (more than any other unit in WWII); 28,000 were interned in German POW camps.

The Eighth Air Force was arrayed on 40 bomber bases and 15 fighter bases across England’s East Anglia region, a rural area northeast of London near the English Channel and the European continent. While the Royal Air Force operated under the cover of darkness, the Eighth flew the more dangerous daylight missions. Aerial combat was some of the fiercest of the war, undertaken in otherworldly conditions. Crew members experienced fighting at an altitude of 25,000 feet, withstood temperatures of -40° F, and survived on oxygen above 10,000 feet due to unpressurized cabins. Prayers and luck accompanied the flyers on every mission.

Initially required to complete 25 missions, then 30 and ultimately 35 to be eligible to go home, airmen had one-in-three odds of hitting that first number in 1942 and 1943, when the Eighth suffered extraordinary casualties. Service as a flyer came down to finishing the requisite number of missions, being shot down and captured (though approximately 2,000 airmen evaded capture), or being killed in action. It was deadly duty, yet, ironically, most Eighth crew members were volunteers.

Because we cannot visit battlefields in the sky, the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, located in Pooler, Georgia, just miles from the Eighth Air Force’s original location, is the keeper of the history of our nation’s most storied air force. Its lessons in duty, honor, courage, and sacrifice are preserved and shared in artifacts, exhibits and education programs. We thank Museum President & CEO Scott Loehr for his assistance with the information about the Mighty Eighth. The museum’s mantra is “They Saved the World; We Save Their Stories.” Just like our gratitude for Major Luckadoo and other veterans, we cannot thank them enough.