A Vet's Story, is it true?

[Randy Haskin]

You'd know if he was really there if he pronounced it "Ploe-wesh".

I got 'schooled' by some Romanian AF officers when I was TDY there and asked them about "Ploe-estee".

OK, I'll bite, what did they have to say about it?

It didn't have anything to do with the city or the event, it was more just one of those, 'oh, ignorant Americans with your mis-pronunciations of our Romanian cities', as if he'd heard the same thing multitudes of times before.

[Ken]

Some of these guys are still sharp as a tack and some have fading memories. One P-51 pilot can hardly remember specific details now about airfields he strafed (and I know for fact he has air to air credits and ground credits documented). Others can still describe what happened on specific missions.

You're absolutley right. In all fairness, there are some guys who don't remember the specifics even the next year. Details from 35 missions flown over a six month period 65 years ago can be alot to ask. The historian may study one mission in painstaking detail while the combat pilot flew many more and didn't dwell long on one because, in short order, he was off to the next one. I imagine the lines blur and only the most memorable remain. For some, the most memorable might be the ones they'd rather forget.

Human nature dictates some of them also didn't really care. If you asked what cargo we delivered during the seige of Sarajevo - I honestly don't remember, other than the bags of flour that would break and mess up the cargo floor. A historian might ask, did we deliver vehicles? troops? certain diplomats? It was 16 years ago and I was 25. I mostly remember scanning for manpad shots and suspiciously watching plainclothed dudes carrying weapons around the homes that seemed to be built right up against the airport fence. The logistics aspects didn't really concern me at the time.

Long way of saying this man's service, even if his story doesn't jive, is most likely legit.

Ken

[michaelharadon]

I think that there are some of us who know more details about the air war than the guys who fought it. We have the interest and passion to research and study our favorite aspect of it while so many of the aircrew may have just wanted to get home alive, then forget about it and get on with their lives. So I'm not surprised when they say things that we know are less than accurate. They just may not care as much about the details as we do.

[Django]

Also, Randy, I've thought how interesting it would be to comb the crash sites of the 24's of the original raid to see if there are any bits and pieces still laying around or buried. Do you know if this has been done already?

Thanks.
Michael

Michael, do a search for Hadley's Harem. It's pretty amazing, and really it seems only a few people have heard of it's recovery.

[michaelharadon]

Also, Randy, I've thought how interesting it would be to comb the crash sites of the 24's of the original raid to see if there are any bits and pieces still laying around or buried. Do you know if this has been done already?

Thanks.
Michael

Michael, do a search for Hadley's Harem. It's pretty amazing, and really it seems only a few people have heard of it's recovery.

Thanks, Randy and Django for the replies. Too bad the Romanians weren't, it seems, all that interested in the air battle. History that happened half a world away has more of an attraction than what happened in your own back yard.

Django, I had no idea she exists. This is like looking at pictures of the Holy Grail: http://www.airkule.com/default.asp?page=haber&id=8073

It looks like a real good job was done preserving the remains.

[gunnyperdue]

Bill-

I see no reason to doubt him.... you'd be surprised how poor most folks memories of past events are... and how little they knew of them while living through them. I would bet he was not a pilot... given that he knew nothing of the navigation, the locations, the targets, details etc. He was just there. He probably finished his tour and went home... forgot all about the war and tried to build a life... by the time you saw him he was probably interested and nostalgic... but not enough to actually read up on what went on... after all he lived it... just that he doesn't remember it very well.

I've seen it time and time again.... eyewitness accounts are anecdotal... you just can't take them as fact... in history primary sources rule... and in his case his story just adds color. If he didn't remember the job he did, or couldn't tell you about the training, or where he was based, or how he got home.... and the answers are consistent with other experiences then his story might be at issue... but then again he just might not remember. Take it for what it's worth... an anecdote.

The B-17s did take part in the Russia Shuttle missions.... and their losses were worse on the Italy leg than on the German leg. But by then Rommel was in Europe trying to stop the breakout in France... Africa was long lost and no Axis target was safe from attack.

gunny

[JDK]

Too bad the Romanians weren't, it seems, all that interested in the air battle. History that happened half a world away has more of an attraction than what happened in your own back yard.

I think it has something to do with whether you were dispatching or receiving the bombs and who 'won' that war in the end. The situation in Eastern Europe at the end of W.W.II was a lot more complex and with a lot more villains than we, outside that, might realise. There are areas of historical discussion that are taboo, given that people are still getting killed for bringing some of them up. I dunno if Polesti is one of them, but I'd not be surprised.

When in Treviso in Italy a couple of years ago, there was a plaque talking about the bombing and destruction of the historic town centre in W.W.II. There was no reference to who had been dropping the bombs, or why. Obviously it wasn't the Germans (there usually no reason to omit their work in Italy - and they lost) so it was presumably an allied raid. Thanks to Oscar Duck's help (Ta!), I was informed it had been a USAAF B-24 raid, but given the healthy and constructive post-war relationship between the US and Italy, a bit of historical 'blind spot' was - understandably - created.

For some, certain aspects of the ar are best forgotten or still 'hot' topics.

Regards,