[303rd-Talk] Re: The Mighty Eighth

[bill runnels]

Bob, I personally do not know of a crewman that quit  but I am sure it happened with some degree of regularity.  Generally, the crew would sense the problem and either bring it to the attention of the pilot or suggest the crew member go to the pilot and express his desire to quit.  In either case, the pilot had the authority to request a replacement and did.  The last thing any crew wanted was a member you could not depend up on to carry his share of the load. Our bond was that of a team and that's the way we functioned. Our pilot requested a replacement for one of our crew members and it was honored. His personality simply did not fit with the rest of the crew.
   
  Bill Runnels
  Bombardier (B-17)

Bob Van Pelt <bvp6565 at yahoo.com> wrote: 
  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.