 |
| B-29 Superfortress |
My father began every
story with those words. He’d lean back
in the kitchen chair—that is where most stories were told—and tilted back the
John Deere cap.
Me and Sweetman
were on a long run over the China Hump…you know what that is, dontcha? Well, that is a flight over Burma and China
to Japan. We dropped bombs on towns
there. But... Well, then.
It took close to 24
hours to fly there and back. Had to fly
low over the waters, so low that we could see the white caps on the waves. I betcha we coulda reached out to grab some
sea water.
We flew so low to conserve
fuel. Plane was heavy. Man, it was heavy with the fuel tanks and the
artillery. Me and Sweetman were the bay
gunners. The closer we got to Japan, the
Japs would be buzzing around us like hornets.
Me and Sweetman would shoot at them, heavy guns and loud. Now and then, we’d say, “I got one…”
Well, then. This story is about a rule we had on the
bomber. The first one who had to pee
would have to clean the latrine. Nasty,
bad job.
Ol’ Gandy had to go
bad. The rest of us were pent-up about
the mission, we couldn’t have peed for nothing.
But Gundy had to go.
But the latrine? He decided he’d open the bomb bay doors just
a little and pee down them. Worked just
fine.
Then we heard the navigator Ol' Shelton say somethin’ like. “What’s
this? Yellow sea water?” He smacked his lips, wiped his face. “Tastes funny.”
We never told him
what that was. Don’t think he’da like it.
 Top Row (rt. to lt.): Charles T. Rock, Charles H. Donalds, Ronald M. Gandy, Louis E. Peck (my dad), John Sweetman Middle Row: Capt.Willam O. Ezell (pilot), Lt. Hump Halsey (co-pilot), Arthur M Shelton, Merril Williams Front: James. D. Waring, Robert Quick | |||||||||
Dad loved to tell stories, but only certain stories.
He had a great delivery.
ReplyDeleteYou can't imagine, but his facial expressions on certain words were part of his delivery. He never laughed at the end. He had a wry smile.
DeleteGood story. Love the picture. I have some like that.....found then in a box my mother left. God, those guys always look so young and they were,
ReplyDeleteI saw "Memphis Belle" years ago, and it was then that it hit me. These young men were very young.
DeleteWhat a great story! I wonderful that your dad shared them with you.
ReplyDeleteHe shared more and more stories as he grew older. My grandfather was the same.
Deletelmao ewww no wonder it tasted funny
ReplyDeleteGlad I don't get those chances to experience such.
DeleteWhat an amazing story Susan. I truly loved reading this. Love hearing stories passed down :)
ReplyDeleteAren't they fascinating? I encourage any blogger whose parents are old, still living, to record those stories. Video them, if possible. I wish I had done that.
DeleteI wish that my father had shared more of his life. And love this story, and your telling of it. Thank you so much.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the story and loved the picture, Susan.
ReplyDeleteI remember my Uncle Tommy telling us of his days in the Pacific. He did not speak much of the war, except for anecdotes about him and his buddies. He always had an interested audience.
Bless all of them who have sacrificed for all of us.
Never trust the yellow sea water!
ReplyDeleteYour dad is a great story teller.
Thanks, Susan, my husband is waiting for a cancer operation, so things are not normal, but hope to have my next book published by the beginning of December.
ReplyDeleteHahahaha yeah I wouldn't have told him either. :-D
ReplyDeleteThat story is a classic. I wrote a piece about a WWII pilot of a B17. He was shot down over Nazi occupied France. His story was remarkable.
ReplyDeleteEw, but really funny! It's great that your dad was a story teller.
ReplyDeleteWell, then, you dad sure could tell a tale or two. Pee down them bomb bay doors, indeed!
ReplyDeleteYour dad handed down not just the stories, but the art of storytelling, to you. What a gift. I've heard of the Yellow River, but the Yellow Sea? ewwww. :) Some of those guys in the photo had some mighty "big guns" of their own, including your dad. Sweetman was a cutie pie, huh?
ReplyDeleteIt's great that your dad shared this, and other classic war stories with you. Your dad, and the men he served with were true heroes.
ReplyDeleteJulie