[303rd-Talk] Re: The Mighty Eighth

[Bob Van Pelt]

I have heard all were volunteers, but that term is relative.  Like Bill said, the duty was glamorous and "flyboys" had a mystique about them.  Flying, when "volunteering" sure seemed better than living and eating ina foxhole or serviing onboard an all male ship for months at a time.
   
  But if a crewman wanted to quit, or if he got flak happy or if he just couldn't cut it under the pressure of combat, I have heard these men were wisked away from the Group (presumably to prevent a contagious spirit) and no one ever heard from them again.  I have also heard it was frowned upon to just quit.
  Bob

bill runnels <billrunnels at yahoo.com> wrote:
  I have never thought of myself as a volunteer but in the truest sense I guess I was. The Air Force duty was desirable, in part, due to the additional $75 dollars a month flight pay. Plus there was an element of adventure that did not exist in most of the other services. I don't believe any of the air crew members were drafted but many did take advantage of opportunities to transfer into the Corps after being drafted.

Bill Runnels
Bombardier (B-17)

Gordon Walker wrote: 
Hello All,

I just helped my wife unload the groceries from the car and on the front seat, I noticed several packages for me, namely two books that I had ordered re: WW2. One is "Time Out for War" by Ed C. Cury and the other, "The Mighty Eighth" by Gerald Astor. Both of the books deal with the 8th Air Force and although I have not yet had time to read either, I did manage to read the Preface of The Mighty Eighth and one of the very first things that struck me was that it said all of those who flew combat were volunteers. Can someone clarify that for me? Does this mean just the pilots or did every member of the bomber crews volunteer? Also, would I be correct in assuming that many were drafted into the service and then volunteered for combat ?

Scotty
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