1
00:00:16,810 --> 00:00:21,022
I still get the same reaction
when I see a B-17.
2
00:00:21,898 --> 00:00:24,484
But isn't that a beautiful aircraft?
3
00:00:25,193 --> 00:00:26,820
It's like a piece of sculpture.
4
00:00:28,238 --> 00:00:31,616
{\an8}And it's lovely in the air
when your wheels are up.
5
00:00:37,122 --> 00:00:39,082
When you flew in formation...
6
00:00:42,961 --> 00:00:45,547
sometimes with a thousand aircraft...
7
00:00:47,966 --> 00:00:50,427
it was a very beautiful
and dramatic sight.
8
00:00:52,679 --> 00:00:55,056
In the cold, blue skies over Europe,
9
00:00:55,599 --> 00:00:57,267
a new kind of combat was fought
10
00:00:57,267 --> 00:01:01,271
in an environment
that had never been experienced before.
11
00:01:01,897 --> 00:01:04,940
It was a singular event
in the history of warfare.
12
00:01:04,940 --> 00:01:08,737
Unprecedented and never to be repeated.
13
00:01:19,289 --> 00:01:21,791
Airmen from 40 American bomber groups
14
00:01:21,791 --> 00:01:25,587
bled and died in staggering numbers
in air combat.
15
00:01:26,087 --> 00:01:29,507
One of these groups,
hyperaggressive and undisciplined,
16
00:01:29,507 --> 00:01:33,720
suffered so many casualties
in such a short period of time
17
00:01:33,720 --> 00:01:36,514
it became known as the Bloody Hundredth.
18
00:01:55,825 --> 00:01:58,036
Germany has invaded Poland.
19
00:01:58,036 --> 00:02:02,165
{\an8}In a big attack, about nine o'clock,
Warsaw itself was bombed.
20
00:02:06,920 --> 00:02:10,173
{\an8}The German army invaded
Holland and Belgium early this morning
21
00:02:10,173 --> 00:02:12,884
by land and from parachutes
22
00:02:16,805 --> 00:02:18,848
{\an8}You ask, what is our policy?
23
00:02:18,848 --> 00:02:22,185
It is to wage war by sea, land and air.
24
00:02:22,185 --> 00:02:26,856
To wage war against
a monstrous tyranny never surpassed
25
00:02:26,856 --> 00:02:30,986
in the dark
and lamentable catalog of human crime.
26
00:02:34,698 --> 00:02:36,700
If Great Britain goes down,
27
00:02:36,700 --> 00:02:42,747
{\an8}the Axis powers will control
the continents of Europe and Asia
28
00:02:42,747 --> 00:02:46,418
{\an8}and Africa, and they will be in a position
29
00:02:46,418 --> 00:02:52,507
to bring enormous military and naval
resources against this hemisphere.
30
00:02:53,675 --> 00:02:55,552
{\an8}We have witnessed this morning
31
00:02:55,552 --> 00:02:59,639
{\an8}severe bombing of Pearl Harbor
by enemy planes.
32
00:03:00,181 --> 00:03:01,558
It is no joke.
33
00:03:01,558 --> 00:03:03,351
It is a real war.
34
00:03:05,145 --> 00:03:08,315
{\an8}I ask that the Congress declare
35
00:03:08,315 --> 00:03:11,234
{\an8}that since the unprovoked
36
00:03:11,860 --> 00:03:15,989
{\an8}and dastardly attack by Japan,
37
00:03:16,656 --> 00:03:18,700
a state of war.
38
00:03:32,589 --> 00:03:34,007
At this point in the war,
39
00:03:34,007 --> 00:03:36,968
{\an8}Hitler's Germany
controlled continental Europe.
40
00:03:36,968 --> 00:03:39,721
{\an8}Great Britain stood alone and vulnerable,
41
00:03:39,721 --> 00:03:44,267
the last surviving European democracy
at war with the Nazis.
42
00:03:44,809 --> 00:03:47,979
And the question became
how to hit back at the enemy.
43
00:03:48,980 --> 00:03:52,234
Britain's bomber command
had been striking Germany incessantly
44
00:03:52,234 --> 00:03:54,986
but ineffectively since 1940,
45
00:03:54,986 --> 00:03:59,950
taking huge losses in night raids
that often missed their targets by miles.
46
00:04:01,952 --> 00:04:05,413
There was a clear
and present danger to global democracy
47
00:04:05,413 --> 00:04:07,707
because of the Nazis.
48
00:04:07,707 --> 00:04:11,503
{\an8}So, patriotism was something
that the Greatest Generation,
49
00:04:11,503 --> 00:04:14,047
{\an8}my father's generation,
took very, very seriously.
50
00:04:16,591 --> 00:04:19,134
Now, it isn't as if it was
a chore for me to talk to you
51
00:04:19,134 --> 00:04:22,973
{\an8}because I wanna speak on my
favorite subject, the Army Air Forces.
52
00:04:24,015 --> 00:04:26,393
{\an8}I can't speak from long experience.
53
00:04:27,185 --> 00:04:28,687
I've only been in the service a year,
54
00:04:28,687 --> 00:04:31,982
but I've learned a lot about
what the air forces have to offer.
55
00:04:33,149 --> 00:04:34,526
That's what I wanna talk to you about.
56
00:04:35,735 --> 00:04:39,406
The Army Air Forces need 15,000 captains,
57
00:04:39,406 --> 00:04:43,827
40,000 lieutenants,
35,000 flying sergeants.
58
00:04:44,369 --> 00:04:47,080
Young men of America,
your future's in the sky.
59
00:04:47,664 --> 00:04:49,291
Your wings are waiting.
60
00:04:51,293 --> 00:04:54,629
I was in the middle
of my sophomore year in college
61
00:04:54,629 --> 00:05:00,594
{\an8}and didn't have a lot on my mind but
chasing girls and drinking whiskey.
62
00:05:01,219 --> 00:05:04,180
Meantime, Pearl Harbor happens, and then,
63
00:05:04,180 --> 00:05:09,728
along with my other fraternity brothers,
were recruited as aviation cadets.
64
00:05:09,728 --> 00:05:11,354
Attention!
65
00:05:12,480 --> 00:05:15,650
At that time,
there was a great deal of anti-Semitism.
66
00:05:15,650 --> 00:05:20,113
And Hitler, with his talk of superiority
of the Aryan nation,
67
00:05:20,113 --> 00:05:24,701
I had a sense of frustration
that I couldn't do anything about it.
68
00:05:24,701 --> 00:05:27,537
Suddenly, that frustration disappeared.
69
00:05:27,537 --> 00:05:29,706
I'd felt now that I could do something.
70
00:05:30,206 --> 00:05:33,919
{\an8}I thought the most effective
way to serve would be as a pilot.
71
00:05:35,295 --> 00:05:40,133
I went down the next day
and volunteered to be an air force cadet.
72
00:05:43,261 --> 00:05:46,890
Before enlisting, thousands
of American flyers had never set foot
73
00:05:46,890 --> 00:05:51,728
in an airplane or fired a shot at
anything more threatening than a squirrel.
74
00:05:51,728 --> 00:05:54,814
The crews were made up of men
from every part of America
75
00:05:54,814 --> 00:05:57,317
and nearly every station in life.
76
00:05:57,317 --> 00:06:01,655
There were Harvard history majors
and West Virginia coal miners.
77
00:06:01,655 --> 00:06:04,783
Wall Street lawyers
and Oklahoma cowpunchers.
78
00:06:05,408 --> 00:06:08,703
Hollywood idols and football heroes.
79
00:06:11,373 --> 00:06:13,250
The cadets have passed their test.
80
00:06:13,250 --> 00:06:15,293
And now, they'll get their flying lessons.
81
00:06:16,086 --> 00:06:19,464
Each instructor had four students.
82
00:06:19,464 --> 00:06:23,385
The other three students
had previous flight training, I had none.
83
00:06:23,385 --> 00:06:25,554
I had never been inside of an airplane.
84
00:06:30,058 --> 00:06:32,978
After about ten hours, we'd have solo.
85
00:06:33,478 --> 00:06:36,648
{\an8}When those wheels leave the ground,
there's no one to help you.
86
00:06:36,648 --> 00:06:37,691
{\an8}You're on your own.
87
00:06:40,068 --> 00:06:45,323
{\an8}I became a navigator
because I was a flop as a pilot.
88
00:06:46,700 --> 00:06:47,784
I got washed out.
89
00:06:47,784 --> 00:06:51,037
{\an8}I'll never forget the guy that
washed me out was Lieutenant Maytag,
90
00:06:51,037 --> 00:06:54,541
{\an8}proper name for washing out
a prospective flying student.
91
00:06:55,125 --> 00:06:59,713
I had a military instructor,
and he was about to wash me out,
92
00:07:00,422 --> 00:07:02,465
and he said,
"You're gonna kill yourself anyway,
93
00:07:02,465 --> 00:07:06,136
but I'll tell you what,
I'm gonna go over and sit under that tree.
94
00:07:06,136 --> 00:07:11,558
{\an8}If you can take this up three times and
around the pattern and land it, you're in.
95
00:07:12,100 --> 00:07:14,102
If not, you're out."
96
00:07:16,730 --> 00:07:20,775
We flew from eight o'clock
in the morning to eight o'clock at night.
97
00:07:20,775 --> 00:07:24,821
I did various maneuvers
of chandelles and lazy S's.
98
00:07:24,821 --> 00:07:27,657
And on a rare day off, we would dogfight.
99
00:07:29,659 --> 00:07:32,621
I never enjoyed anything
more than I did at that time.
100
00:07:43,548 --> 00:07:48,470
Forty of my classmates,
just graduated from flying school,
101
00:07:48,470 --> 00:07:49,763
along with me,
102
00:07:49,763 --> 00:07:53,099
were all assigned to fly the B-17.
103
00:07:53,099 --> 00:07:55,936
We'd never been in a B-17 before.
104
00:07:58,188 --> 00:08:01,441
The Boeing Flying Fortress,
manned by ten men,
105
00:08:01,441 --> 00:08:04,444
this new bomber has a speed
of nearly 300 miles an hour.
106
00:08:04,444 --> 00:08:07,155
The bulges on its fuselage
are turrets for machine guns.
107
00:08:07,948 --> 00:08:09,616
With 4,000 horsepower engines,
108
00:08:09,616 --> 00:08:13,495
it can cruise for 3,000 miles
without landing to refuel.
109
00:08:13,495 --> 00:08:18,792
B-17 was the first both offensive
and defensive aircraft ever designed.
110
00:08:19,501 --> 00:08:23,797
Offensively, it dropped
very heavy payloads for its day.
111
00:08:23,797 --> 00:08:27,342
And it was called the Flying Fortress
because it had so many 50-caliber guns.
112
00:08:28,927 --> 00:08:31,888
The feel of the B-17 was wonderful.
113
00:08:32,389 --> 00:08:37,811
The plane responded so beautifully
that I immediately related to it.
114
00:08:38,852 --> 00:08:41,356
I was very happy to be on B-17s.
115
00:08:42,941 --> 00:08:45,902
We had about
five or six months of practice training
116
00:08:45,902 --> 00:08:48,196
and getting ready
for an overseas assignment.
117
00:08:50,156 --> 00:08:54,160
{\an8}In May of 1943 we were sent to England
118
00:08:54,160 --> 00:08:56,037
{\an8}to become a part
of the Eighth Air Force.
119
00:08:57,998 --> 00:09:01,126
We were told before we went overseas,
120
00:09:01,918 --> 00:09:04,546
"You look on your left and your right,
121
00:09:04,546 --> 00:09:06,715
and only one of you is gonna come back."
122
00:09:07,299 --> 00:09:09,551
We were going overseas to die.
123
00:09:25,400 --> 00:09:28,820
Just as the crews of the 100th
began arriving at their new base
124
00:09:28,820 --> 00:09:33,909
in rural eastern England,
the European war entered a new phase.
125
00:09:33,909 --> 00:09:36,578
It was the official beginning
of Pointblank,
126
00:09:36,578 --> 00:09:39,039
an around-the-clock bombing campaign,
127
00:09:39,039 --> 00:09:42,208
with the Americans bombing by day
and the British by night.
128
00:09:42,709 --> 00:09:47,047
Its purpose, to achieve air supremacy
over northern Europe
129
00:09:47,047 --> 00:09:49,633
by the D-Day invasion
the following spring.
130
00:09:50,634 --> 00:09:54,679
Without air supremacy, the Allies
could not invade the European continent.
131
00:09:58,266 --> 00:10:01,937
We'd just got there
and getting to know one another,
132
00:10:01,937 --> 00:10:06,399
{\an8}and King, the pilot, asked me,
"What had you done before?"
133
00:10:06,399 --> 00:10:11,321
{\an8}I said, "Well,
recently I did the work of a cowboy."
134
00:10:11,321 --> 00:10:15,075
{\an8}And he said, "Well, fine,
you'll be Cowboy from now on."
135
00:10:15,992 --> 00:10:17,869
The 100th is a young outfit,
136
00:10:17,869 --> 00:10:20,956
and it had some
pretty reckless young commanders.
137
00:10:20,956 --> 00:10:24,251
{\an8}A guy named Gale Cleven,
who was a squadron commander
138
00:10:24,251 --> 00:10:26,920
{\an8}and an air executive named John Egan.
139
00:10:26,920 --> 00:10:30,757
{\an8}Egan and Cleven didn't have to fly
as squadron leaders, but always did.
140
00:10:30,757 --> 00:10:33,343
{\an8}And that's one of the reasons
the men admired them.
141
00:10:33,343 --> 00:10:38,223
Buck Cleven,
along with Bucky Egan, they wore scarves
142
00:10:38,223 --> 00:10:41,560
and their hats cocked
on one side of their heads,
143
00:10:41,560 --> 00:10:43,562
and they were pretty cocky.
144
00:10:43,562 --> 00:10:46,606
{\an8}They'd be at the officers' club,
and they would say,
145
00:10:46,606 --> 00:10:49,693
{\an8}"Lieutenant, taxi over here,
I wanna talk to you."
146
00:10:50,485 --> 00:10:52,404
{\an8}John Egan, Gale Cleven,
147
00:10:52,404 --> 00:10:55,365
{\an8}their life's ambition
was to fly an airplane.
148
00:10:55,365 --> 00:10:56,866
And here they are, flying an airplane.
149
00:10:56,866 --> 00:11:00,036
{\an8}Doing something that they love
for a country that they love
150
00:11:00,036 --> 00:11:01,538
{\an8}on a mission that they believe in.
151
00:11:02,581 --> 00:11:05,083
Cleven and Egan
would help lead the 100th
152
00:11:05,083 --> 00:11:09,629
against the most formidable air force
in the world, the German Luftwaffe,
153
00:11:09,629 --> 00:11:14,342
whose veteran pilots had seen action
over Spain, Norway, Poland,
154
00:11:14,342 --> 00:11:19,723
France, Russia, Greece,
North Africa and England.
155
00:11:20,223 --> 00:11:25,145
{\an8}They will understand the enormity
of their miscalculation
156
00:11:25,979 --> 00:11:30,692
{\an8}that the Nazis would always have
the advantage of superior air power.
157
00:11:31,234 --> 00:11:35,405
That superiority has gone forever.
158
00:11:35,989 --> 00:11:41,369
We believe that the Nazis
and the fascists have asked for it,
159
00:11:41,369 --> 00:11:43,371
and they're going to get it.
160
00:11:52,422 --> 00:11:55,050
Captain Kirk, Captain Thompson,
Lieutenant Bushka,
161
00:11:55,050 --> 00:11:57,469
Iverson, Holloway and Hawkers
scheduled to fly.
162
00:11:57,469 --> 00:11:58,386
Snap it up.
163
00:12:02,057 --> 00:12:04,434
The commanding officer,
he'd come in, he'd come up the front,
164
00:12:05,268 --> 00:12:07,562
he'd pull back a curtain,
165
00:12:07,562 --> 00:12:12,609
{\an8}and there'd be a red ribbon from
Thorpe Abbotts all the way to the target.
166
00:12:13,860 --> 00:12:16,696
This group of buildings here
is your target.
167
00:12:17,447 --> 00:12:20,033
This building will be the aiming point.
168
00:12:20,575 --> 00:12:24,204
If your bomb pattern
is concentrated in this area,
169
00:12:24,204 --> 00:12:27,582
it should very effectively
knock out the factory.
170
00:12:35,257 --> 00:12:39,010
After getting off the jeep
and getting some of the stuff stowed,
171
00:12:39,010 --> 00:12:42,347
{\an8}then climbed aboard, got settled in,
and fired up.
172
00:12:55,652 --> 00:12:57,696
Flying in a self-defending formation
173
00:12:57,696 --> 00:13:00,365
they called a combat box,
174
00:13:00,365 --> 00:13:04,869
with accumulative firepower
of as many as 13 guns on each plane,
175
00:13:04,869 --> 00:13:09,249
they could muscle their way to
the target through waves of enemy planes.
176
00:13:10,625 --> 00:13:13,295
At the fighter fields,
Thunderbolts are ready.
177
00:13:18,425 --> 00:13:20,635
They set out to meet the bombers.
178
00:13:20,635 --> 00:13:24,014
The two groups make
rendezvous over the English Channel,
179
00:13:24,014 --> 00:13:27,517
and with the fighters patrolling
the skies around the bomber formation,
180
00:13:27,517 --> 00:13:30,353
the air armada moves into enemy territory.
181
00:13:32,272 --> 00:13:35,650
The bombers received
limited protection from the smaller,
182
00:13:35,650 --> 00:13:39,571
more nimble fighter planes,
like the P-47 Thunderbolt,
183
00:13:39,571 --> 00:13:43,033
whose limited fuel capacity
forced it to leave the bombers
184
00:13:43,033 --> 00:13:45,535
once they crossed deep into Germany.
185
00:13:45,535 --> 00:13:47,495
The crewmen were in an alien world
186
00:13:47,495 --> 00:13:52,459
to where they physically could not survive
without specialized clothing,
187
00:13:52,459 --> 00:13:54,252
without specialized equipment,
188
00:13:54,252 --> 00:13:57,297
without breathing oxygen
that was being pumped to them.
189
00:13:57,297 --> 00:14:00,634
As soon as we got to altitude,
we had to go on oxygen,
190
00:14:00,634 --> 00:14:03,178
so we had an oxygen mask
clasped on our face.
191
00:14:03,178 --> 00:14:05,055
And the stark cold.
192
00:14:05,055 --> 00:14:07,474
The frigid temperatures.
193
00:14:07,474 --> 00:14:11,353
We were operating
in 50 or 60 degrees below zero.
194
00:14:17,984 --> 00:14:21,196
The fighter escort did not have the range
195
00:14:21,196 --> 00:14:25,325
to escort the B-17s all the way
to the targets inside of Germany,
196
00:14:25,325 --> 00:14:27,577
so the Allied fighters turned around
and went back to England.
197
00:14:35,377 --> 00:14:39,172
I remember that when
we first crossed over the English Channel,
198
00:14:39,172 --> 00:14:43,426
I remember looking down and realizing
that we were over enemy territory,
199
00:14:43,426 --> 00:14:45,470
and I had a lump in my throat.
200
00:14:45,470 --> 00:14:46,888
I was nervous.
201
00:14:49,724 --> 00:14:51,726
There are the black smudges of the flak
202
00:14:51,726 --> 00:14:54,020
that come up from
the antiaircraft guns below.
203
00:14:54,813 --> 00:14:56,982
A flak gun is a German 88 gun,
204
00:14:56,982 --> 00:15:00,110
and it could fire a shell
up to 40,000 feet.
205
00:15:00,110 --> 00:15:05,240
The shell would explode in the air,
and it would throw shards of shrapnel.
206
00:15:07,617 --> 00:15:10,704
The skin of the plane is not steel,
it's aluminum.
207
00:15:10,704 --> 00:15:13,164
So, that meant
flak just blew holes in the plane.
208
00:15:15,292 --> 00:15:20,380
That was my first time to be
exposed to very heavy antiaircraft fire,
209
00:15:20,380 --> 00:15:23,341
and it was frightening.
210
00:15:28,096 --> 00:15:31,725
We were being confronted
by very experienced
211
00:15:31,725 --> 00:15:36,104
and very well equipped
and very well trained opposition.
212
00:15:36,104 --> 00:15:39,900
They were pros, and we were rank amateurs.
213
00:15:43,945 --> 00:15:46,531
When the formation neared its target,
214
00:15:46,531 --> 00:15:50,243
the bombardiers entered variables
such as airspeed and wind drift
215
00:15:50,243 --> 00:15:51,953
into their Norden bombsights,
216
00:15:51,953 --> 00:15:55,498
top-secret aiming devices
designed to guide the planes
217
00:15:55,498 --> 00:15:59,044
to the optimal release point
for dropping their payloads.
218
00:15:59,628 --> 00:16:02,589
The Norden bombsight,
it's supposed to be so accurate
219
00:16:02,589 --> 00:16:07,844
that you can bomb from 20,000 feet
and drop your bombs into a pickle barrel.
220
00:16:10,639 --> 00:16:12,098
When we dropped our bombs,
221
00:16:12,098 --> 00:16:14,684
{\an8}I could see bombs from the planes
ahead of us dropping
222
00:16:14,684 --> 00:16:17,687
{\an8}but also I could lean out
in the plexiglass nose
223
00:16:17,687 --> 00:16:21,274
and see the bombs
falling directly down from us.
224
00:16:21,274 --> 00:16:25,612
And then, when they exploded,
we could actually see the explosions.
225
00:16:25,612 --> 00:16:27,280
The first bombers have been over,
226
00:16:27,280 --> 00:16:30,617
and the target's already partially
obscured by the fires they've started.
227
00:16:31,409 --> 00:16:34,955
Hits were scored on a power plant,
submarines under construction,
228
00:16:34,955 --> 00:16:36,998
and at least one U-boat in the water.
229
00:16:39,000 --> 00:16:40,418
We dropped our bombs,
230
00:16:40,418 --> 00:16:43,088
a couple of fighter attacks,
nobody got hurt.
231
00:16:43,672 --> 00:16:45,757
{\an8}And I thought, "Well, this isn't so bad."
232
00:16:48,552 --> 00:16:52,264
The early missions for the 100th
were mostly coastal targets,
233
00:16:52,264 --> 00:16:56,601
like submarine pens
and industrial sites in France and Norway.
234
00:16:57,561 --> 00:16:59,813
The air force was trying to destroy
235
00:16:59,813 --> 00:17:02,190
the war machine of Nazi Germany.
236
00:17:02,190 --> 00:17:05,485
The factories that made planes,
that made tanks.
237
00:17:05,485 --> 00:17:07,237
The factories that produced ball bearings.
238
00:17:07,821 --> 00:17:09,531
At the British landing fields,
239
00:17:09,531 --> 00:17:11,157
word on the sky battle was out.
240
00:17:12,242 --> 00:17:14,869
Many of the fortresses themselves
were crippled.
241
00:17:14,869 --> 00:17:19,207
A few came in with feathered props
or with knocked-out landing gear.
242
00:17:20,292 --> 00:17:23,253
The B-17 had the reputation
of being trustworthy and safe
243
00:17:23,253 --> 00:17:24,545
and getting people back.
244
00:17:24,545 --> 00:17:26,673
You could lose three engines and get home.
245
00:17:26,673 --> 00:17:30,093
You could lose half
of your vertical stabilizer on the tail
246
00:17:30,093 --> 00:17:31,219
and get home.
247
00:17:31,219 --> 00:17:34,097
It would bring you home on two engines,
248
00:17:34,097 --> 00:17:36,600
{\an8}and I've seen 'em come in with only one.
249
00:17:42,772 --> 00:17:44,983
Everything was
about to change for the Eighth
250
00:17:44,983 --> 00:17:47,611
with the largest raid
they would undertake up to now.
251
00:17:47,611 --> 00:17:51,406
A double strike against
ball bearing plants in Schweinfurt
252
00:17:51,406 --> 00:17:54,284
and Messerschmitt factories in Regensburg,
253
00:17:54,284 --> 00:17:58,246
massively defended targets
deep inside Germany.
254
00:17:58,246 --> 00:18:01,541
The 100th was assigned
to the Regensburg Force.
255
00:18:02,208 --> 00:18:05,003
When they pulled the curtain
away from the map,
256
00:18:05,003 --> 00:18:08,006
and you saw that red line
going all across Germany,
257
00:18:08,006 --> 00:18:10,091
{\an8}you know, we thought, "Holy cow."
258
00:18:10,759 --> 00:18:13,470
The plan as designed
is really brilliant when you look at it.
259
00:18:13,470 --> 00:18:14,387
So, you've got
260
00:18:14,387 --> 00:18:19,100
{\an8}Curtis LeMay's Third
Bombardment Division is going to fly
261
00:18:19,100 --> 00:18:23,313
and attack the Messerschmitt factories
at Regensburg and then head for Africa.
262
00:18:23,313 --> 00:18:27,275
And ten minutes behind them is gonna be
the First Bombardment Division,
263
00:18:27,275 --> 00:18:30,111
{\an8}and they're gonna attack
the ball bearing plants at Schweinfurt
264
00:18:30,111 --> 00:18:31,696
{\an8}and then go back to England.
265
00:18:31,696 --> 00:18:35,075
{\an8}So, the Germans are gonna have to
decide which of these groups to hit.
266
00:18:35,075 --> 00:18:39,746
{\an8}The problem is-- surprise, it's August,
and there's fog in Great Britain.
267
00:18:41,248 --> 00:18:42,666
We went out that morning.
268
00:18:42,666 --> 00:18:47,212
{\an8}I had took lanterns and flashlights
and lead the airplanes out.
269
00:18:48,129 --> 00:18:51,466
I got assembled about ten minutes late,
but we got off.
270
00:18:51,466 --> 00:18:54,469
Curtis LeMay has trained
his bombardment division
271
00:18:54,469 --> 00:18:56,555
to take off in English fog.
272
00:18:56,555 --> 00:18:59,057
The other bombardment division hadn't.
273
00:18:59,057 --> 00:19:02,686
So, all of a sudden, LeMay gets
his guys up and gets them all formed,
274
00:19:02,686 --> 00:19:05,063
and the other bombardment division
hasn't even taken off yet.
275
00:19:05,814 --> 00:19:08,817
So, it ends up, instead of
a ten-minute gap, a two-hour gap.
276
00:19:11,278 --> 00:19:14,155
This captured German film
shows how quickly their 109s
277
00:19:14,155 --> 00:19:17,200
and Focke-Wulf 190s
got into action after a warning.
278
00:19:17,701 --> 00:19:21,079
They had plenty of time to amass
their fighters at a chosen point of attack
279
00:19:21,079 --> 00:19:24,833
and to outnumber our escort
at anything from 2-to-1 to 10-to-1.
280
00:19:28,003 --> 00:19:31,006
Flew across the channel.
It was a beautiful day out there.
281
00:19:31,798 --> 00:19:32,883
They hit the Dutch coast,
282
00:19:32,883 --> 00:19:35,176
and all of a sudden
the whole world exploded.
283
00:19:36,219 --> 00:19:38,179
Kept up for the next two hours.
284
00:19:41,057 --> 00:19:44,227
The training we'd had previously
gave us the idea
285
00:19:44,227 --> 00:19:46,771
that we could outrun German fighters.
286
00:19:46,771 --> 00:19:50,150
Of course,
we learned that that was not true.
287
00:19:51,026 --> 00:19:55,196
{\an8}There was flak, there were
fighters, more flak, more fighters.
288
00:19:55,196 --> 00:19:59,910
{\an8}And I could hear the top turret
chattering away with machine-gun fire.
289
00:20:00,577 --> 00:20:04,289
Cleven's plane took six hits.
290
00:20:04,289 --> 00:20:07,292
They knocked out the hydraulic system.
They knocked out one of the engines.
291
00:20:07,876 --> 00:20:09,544
The cockpit is on fire.
292
00:20:09,544 --> 00:20:13,632
Cleven turns around,
and he looks at the radio gunner,
293
00:20:13,632 --> 00:20:15,926
and the radio gunner
doesn't have any legs.
294
00:20:15,926 --> 00:20:17,093
They'd been sheared off.
295
00:20:19,930 --> 00:20:22,057
And I still remember one plane,
296
00:20:22,057 --> 00:20:24,851
fire was coming out
of every opening in that hull.
297
00:20:26,853 --> 00:20:29,564
I dreamed about that one for a long time.
298
00:20:30,607 --> 00:20:32,442
Every single member of that flight crew
299
00:20:32,442 --> 00:20:35,654
was fighting so democracy
and freedom could reign.
300
00:20:35,654 --> 00:20:39,241
But when you're in combat,
you know who you're fighting for?
301
00:20:39,241 --> 00:20:42,035
The guy to your left
and the guy to your right.
302
00:20:42,035 --> 00:20:44,371
The guy just ahead of you
and the guy just behind you.
303
00:20:44,371 --> 00:20:45,789
That's the pod you're fighting for.
304
00:20:48,750 --> 00:20:53,588
Cleven is sitting in the cockpit,
and his copilot said, in so many words,
305
00:20:53,588 --> 00:20:55,715
"We gotta get out of here.
Let's hit the bail out bell."
306
00:20:55,715 --> 00:20:57,884
Cleven said,
"We gotta get to the target.
307
00:20:57,884 --> 00:21:00,136
We're gonna complete the bomb run."
308
00:21:00,136 --> 00:21:05,475
Five minutes before we got to
the target, everything stopped.
309
00:21:05,475 --> 00:21:07,435
No fighters, no flak, no nothing.
310
00:21:08,270 --> 00:21:10,855
We succeeded in dropping our bombs.
311
00:21:14,025 --> 00:21:16,111
Perilously low on fuel,
312
00:21:16,111 --> 00:21:21,283
the Regensburg group fought its way
over the Alps down to North Africa,
313
00:21:21,283 --> 00:21:25,996
while the Schweinfurt group flew straight
into the full brunt of the Luftwaffe.
314
00:21:26,871 --> 00:21:30,250
So that means for the Germans,
they get up and ravage LeMay's guys,
315
00:21:30,250 --> 00:21:33,587
then they get to land and have
a schnapps and rearm and refuel too.
316
00:21:33,587 --> 00:21:35,463
And then they get to hit
the Schweinfurt guys.
317
00:21:39,217 --> 00:21:44,556
The whole Luftwaffe jumped on the
Schweinfurt group and just shattered them.
318
00:21:51,855 --> 00:21:53,982
Having made it to North Africa
by day's end,
319
00:21:54,566 --> 00:21:58,695
the crews of the 100th Bomb Group were
battle-worn and weary,
320
00:21:59,237 --> 00:22:01,573
but feeling lucky to be alive.
321
00:22:02,949 --> 00:22:05,827
Any commander
that had to commit forces to combat
322
00:22:05,827 --> 00:22:07,787
when they were outnumbered
323
00:22:07,787 --> 00:22:10,081
and with equipment which was not suitable
324
00:22:10,081 --> 00:22:15,837
{\an8}and with a minimum of training,
faced very tough decisions.
325
00:22:16,963 --> 00:22:19,174
It's like sentencing men to death.
326
00:22:23,637 --> 00:22:28,975
{\an8}I had landed in England
in the summer of 1943,
327
00:22:30,227 --> 00:22:33,563
{\an8}and I was sent to the 100th Bomb Group.
328
00:22:33,563 --> 00:22:36,524
Rosie Rosenthal arrived at the group
329
00:22:36,524 --> 00:22:40,779
as a replacement crew
for crews that were lost.
330
00:22:41,363 --> 00:22:45,367
Egan had gotten word that
this kid, Rosie, was a pretty good flyer.
331
00:22:45,367 --> 00:22:48,995
And so, Egan took him out
and ran him through the struts
332
00:22:48,995 --> 00:22:51,081
and said, "I want you in my squadron."
333
00:22:54,918 --> 00:22:56,711
I happened to be in the bar.
334
00:22:56,711 --> 00:23:03,301
And I was having my usual Scotch
and felt this tap on my shoulder
335
00:23:03,802 --> 00:23:06,930
and turned around,
and here was the squadron commander.
336
00:23:07,514 --> 00:23:10,433
He said, "Lucky, you better go home
and get some sleep.
337
00:23:11,101 --> 00:23:12,435
You're flying tomorrow."
338
00:23:16,565 --> 00:23:20,277
When the weather over Germany
cleared on October 8th,
339
00:23:20,277 --> 00:23:24,281
the Americans launched a succession
of maximum-effort missions
340
00:23:24,281 --> 00:23:27,409
to take out aircraft manufacturing plants.
341
00:23:28,201 --> 00:23:31,913
The airmen would
eventually call it Black Week.
342
00:23:32,622 --> 00:23:36,418
On October 8th,
855 planes left Great Britain
343
00:23:36,418 --> 00:23:38,920
for a raid on Bremen and Vegesack.
344
00:23:38,920 --> 00:23:41,756
They were loaded with
two and a half million pounds of bombs.
345
00:23:41,756 --> 00:23:44,634
Two and three-quarter million
rounds of ammunition.
346
00:23:46,553 --> 00:23:50,056
As we came off the target,
out of the corner of my eye,
347
00:23:50,056 --> 00:23:56,396
I saw this flight of two Fw 190s
aiming directly for us.
348
00:23:56,396 --> 00:23:59,858
He shot down the ship
directly in front of me,
349
00:23:59,858 --> 00:24:03,778
and it blew them out of the formation,
and they exploded.
350
00:24:05,113 --> 00:24:06,781
The group was decimated.
351
00:24:06,781 --> 00:24:10,660
We were shot clear out of the formation.
Our number three engine was on fire.
352
00:24:11,912 --> 00:24:13,413
Cleven tried to move up
353
00:24:13,413 --> 00:24:16,541
and take over the group
when he was shot down.
354
00:24:17,876 --> 00:24:19,002
Cleven, he got hit.
355
00:24:19,711 --> 00:24:21,713
There's a lot of chaos in the plane.
356
00:24:21,713 --> 00:24:23,632
The cockpit caught fire. They gotta bail.
357
00:24:27,427 --> 00:24:28,970
Gale Cleven is shot down.
358
00:24:28,970 --> 00:24:33,141
This is a huge hole
left in the 100th Bomb Group at this time.
359
00:24:33,141 --> 00:24:36,519
And for all intents and purposes,
everybody thinks he's dead.
360
00:24:37,854 --> 00:24:43,360
That was the first time that I doubted
that I really was gonna get back.
361
00:24:44,361 --> 00:24:49,157
{\an8}My plane, Rosie's Riveters,
was badly damaged,
362
00:24:49,157 --> 00:24:51,368
and a couple of engines were out.
363
00:24:53,203 --> 00:24:54,955
After we dropped our bombs,
364
00:24:54,955 --> 00:24:58,708
I brought what was left
of the formation home,
365
00:24:58,708 --> 00:25:01,127
which was only six airplanes.
366
00:25:04,422 --> 00:25:08,468
I mean, imagine the morale,
to lose all those crews in one day.
367
00:25:09,052 --> 00:25:11,346
What they would try to do
is clean out the barracks.
368
00:25:11,346 --> 00:25:13,431
As soon as a plane went down,
they'd clean it out.
369
00:25:13,431 --> 00:25:15,976
So, you'd walk into an empty barracks.
370
00:25:17,310 --> 00:25:20,814
Egan was in London on leave,
371
00:25:20,814 --> 00:25:23,608
and he got word
that Cleven had been shot down.
372
00:25:24,859 --> 00:25:28,738
Egan was so incensed that
he immediately canceled his leave
373
00:25:28,738 --> 00:25:33,493
and returned to the base,
and said, "I'm leading the next mission."
374
00:25:34,244 --> 00:25:37,205
The Münster raid
was a city-busting operation,
375
00:25:37,205 --> 00:25:39,332
a new thing for the Eighth Air Force.
376
00:25:39,332 --> 00:25:43,753
The target was a strategically essential
rail yard in the city center
377
00:25:43,753 --> 00:25:47,632
and also a neighborhood
of workers' housing that abutted it.
378
00:25:48,258 --> 00:25:53,388
In the fight against Nazi tyranny,
human flesh and bone became a target,
379
00:25:53,388 --> 00:25:56,600
an essential part
of the Reich's war machine.
380
00:25:56,600 --> 00:25:58,602
There was tension in the room.
381
00:25:58,602 --> 00:26:01,688
A lot of the airmen,
for the first time ever,
382
00:26:01,688 --> 00:26:03,148
questioned the mission.
383
00:26:03,732 --> 00:26:05,650
Egan makes a speech.
384
00:26:05,650 --> 00:26:10,322
They were gonna fly this one for Cleven,
and this is a revenge raid.
385
00:26:14,826 --> 00:26:19,956
{\an8}Because we had high losses,
our group was pretty well banged up,
386
00:26:20,457 --> 00:26:24,419
{\an8}and we could only
put 13 planes in the air.
387
00:26:26,046 --> 00:26:28,715
{\an8}When it came to German fighter attacks,
388
00:26:28,715 --> 00:26:34,179
if your formations were loose,
if you had 13 aircraft as opposed to 18,
389
00:26:34,179 --> 00:26:36,556
the Germans are gonna
attack the lesser target.
390
00:26:36,556 --> 00:26:40,810
We were immediately attacked
by over 200 German fighter aircraft.
391
00:26:41,394 --> 00:26:46,566
Two Me 109s came in behind us
and killed our tail gunner.
392
00:26:46,566 --> 00:26:50,403
I was sprayed with shrapnel flak
from an exploding cannon shell
393
00:26:50,403 --> 00:26:51,947
and knocked to the floor.
394
00:26:51,947 --> 00:26:54,824
It was clear
that the airplane was out of control,
395
00:26:54,824 --> 00:26:57,077
and we were going to go down.
396
00:26:57,619 --> 00:27:00,789
I remember we were about 21-- 22,000 feet.
397
00:27:00,789 --> 00:27:04,876
The ground looked a million miles away,
but I had no choice.
398
00:27:04,876 --> 00:27:07,295
I had to go out, and so I did.
399
00:27:15,762 --> 00:27:20,183
We went down the flight line,
and we kept waiting around.
400
00:27:24,521 --> 00:27:26,898
Finally, one of ours came in.
401
00:27:28,066 --> 00:27:30,610
Only one airplane
of the 100th had returned.
402
00:27:31,111 --> 00:27:33,947
Rosenthal was the man
that was flying that airplane.
403
00:27:33,947 --> 00:27:38,743
So, he had seen his share of rough times.
404
00:27:41,037 --> 00:27:43,915
We returned to the officers' club.
405
00:27:43,915 --> 00:27:46,835
There was an eerie silence there.
406
00:27:46,835 --> 00:27:49,963
There were a few people
who hadn't flown the mission,
407
00:27:50,589 --> 00:27:53,216
and nobody seemed to approach us.
408
00:27:53,216 --> 00:27:55,135
We were sort of left by ourselves.
409
00:27:55,135 --> 00:27:57,637
It was a very strange feeling.
410
00:27:59,222 --> 00:28:04,311
We certainly felt the loss
of the people that had been shot down.
411
00:28:04,311 --> 00:28:10,942
I especially lost my very best friend
on the Münster mission.
412
00:28:14,529 --> 00:28:17,991
When Bucky Egan and Cleven
were shot down,
413
00:28:17,991 --> 00:28:21,036
it was really a tremendous morale factor
414
00:28:21,036 --> 00:28:24,831
because everybody just assumed
they were invincible.
415
00:28:26,625 --> 00:28:30,587
The Münster mission was
the greatest air battle up to that time.
416
00:28:30,587 --> 00:28:33,381
Not just a raid, but a titanic struggle
417
00:28:33,381 --> 00:28:37,052
between two large
and murderous air armies.
418
00:28:37,052 --> 00:28:40,931
The 100th had arrived in England
four months before Münster
419
00:28:40,931 --> 00:28:43,850
with 140 flying officers.
420
00:28:43,850 --> 00:28:48,897
After Münster, only three of them
were still able to fly and fight.
421
00:28:49,397 --> 00:28:52,108
{\an8}This kind of record got around,
422
00:28:52,108 --> 00:28:54,402
{\an8}and people became worried about us.
423
00:28:54,402 --> 00:28:56,404
{\an8}They called us the Bloody Hundredth.
424
00:28:58,740 --> 00:29:00,450
When you're an airman, and you go out,
425
00:29:00,450 --> 00:29:02,577
you have four hours of pure terror.
426
00:29:02,577 --> 00:29:04,996
All of a sudden, you get on your bicycle,
go to the local pub,
427
00:29:04,996 --> 00:29:07,999
drink a beer, go out with a local girl,
go back to base,
428
00:29:07,999 --> 00:29:09,334
sit nice and peaceful.
429
00:29:09,334 --> 00:29:12,504
Then, the next day, you're up,
and you're back into the terror again.
430
00:29:15,090 --> 00:29:22,055
This had the ultimate result,
in some cases, of causing people to crack.
431
00:29:25,642 --> 00:29:27,143
After Black Week,
432
00:29:27,143 --> 00:29:30,313
morale in the Eighth
plummeted to a new low,
433
00:29:30,313 --> 00:29:32,899
and commanders worried about crew revolts.
434
00:29:33,441 --> 00:29:35,944
There were distressing reports
from flight surgeons
435
00:29:35,944 --> 00:29:40,949
and air force psychiatrists
of abnormal behavior among crewmen
436
00:29:40,949 --> 00:29:46,621
as combat insidiously shook the moorings
of airmen's self-control.
437
00:29:46,621 --> 00:29:48,707
I have seen instances
438
00:29:48,707 --> 00:29:54,004
where they weren't in control enough
to just walk out of the airplane.
439
00:29:55,005 --> 00:29:57,716
Those were individuals
that were on the verge
440
00:29:57,716 --> 00:30:01,094
of what we called
victims of combat fatigue.
441
00:30:03,388 --> 00:30:06,141
We have learned that
many of these men with neurotic reactions
442
00:30:06,141 --> 00:30:07,392
can recover quickly
443
00:30:07,392 --> 00:30:10,312
when the battle situation
has been left behind temporarily.
444
00:30:10,812 --> 00:30:13,440
Fundamentally, we must depend
for this recovery
445
00:30:13,440 --> 00:30:16,151
on the patient's own recuperative powers.
446
00:30:16,151 --> 00:30:19,988
But these powers can best be
exercised away from a hospital atmosphere.
447
00:30:22,198 --> 00:30:26,703
We would try to get them
out of the wartime environment
448
00:30:26,703 --> 00:30:30,540
for a few days and sent to the rest home.
449
00:30:30,540 --> 00:30:32,500
We called it the Flak House.
450
00:30:33,543 --> 00:30:37,631
Oftentimes, it was effective.
Sometimes it was not.
451
00:30:39,132 --> 00:30:42,010
This was a problem that all commanders
had to deal with
452
00:30:42,010 --> 00:30:46,473
because there are some people
whose chemical and mental makeup
453
00:30:46,473 --> 00:30:49,184
is such that
they just can't stand this sort of thing.
454
00:30:49,851 --> 00:30:53,355
We had to immediately remove those people
455
00:30:53,355 --> 00:30:56,483
from the crew and from the base
456
00:30:56,483 --> 00:31:00,654
because that sort of attitude
was contagious,
457
00:31:00,654 --> 00:31:04,491
and we couldn't afford to have it affect
the morale of the rest of the people
458
00:31:04,491 --> 00:31:08,703
that were going out every day
and continuing to perform their duties.
459
00:31:10,997 --> 00:31:13,875
You can argue not only
has the Allied air forces
460
00:31:13,875 --> 00:31:17,045
don't have any sense of air superiority
over Germany and Europe,
461
00:31:17,045 --> 00:31:19,005
you could argue
they're losing the air war.
462
00:31:20,465 --> 00:31:23,843
You know, we did not drop into
a pickle barrel all the time.
463
00:31:23,843 --> 00:31:27,138
{\an8}We would scatter bombs
even on good, clear days,
464
00:31:27,138 --> 00:31:29,683
{\an8}several miles from the intended target.
465
00:31:30,767 --> 00:31:32,394
They couldn't hit their targets,
466
00:31:32,394 --> 00:31:35,981
and they were much more,
themselves, a target
467
00:31:35,981 --> 00:31:39,693
{\an8}for German fighter defense.
So the force was being slaughtered.
468
00:31:40,443 --> 00:31:43,822
Every few cubic feet
of this pile contains a plane,
469
00:31:43,822 --> 00:31:46,241
22,000 hours of American labor.
470
00:31:47,200 --> 00:31:50,912
Every yard of it means
ten American boys dead or captured.
471
00:31:56,251 --> 00:31:59,838
Probably the most dreadful thing
that one could expect was to be shot down.
472
00:32:00,463 --> 00:32:02,257
We always knew it was possible.
473
00:32:02,257 --> 00:32:05,218
Being young
and thinking that we were immortal,
474
00:32:05,218 --> 00:32:07,721
we always figured that
they might get everybody else,
475
00:32:07,721 --> 00:32:09,055
but they wouldn't get us.
476
00:32:09,973 --> 00:32:12,726
I knew how much
my mother worried about me,
477
00:32:12,726 --> 00:32:14,644
and I knew that she would be getting
478
00:32:14,644 --> 00:32:18,648
a missing-in-action telegram
from the War Department,
479
00:32:18,648 --> 00:32:21,192
and she would not know
what happened to me.
480
00:32:23,570 --> 00:32:26,865
Airmen were given parachutes
but not trained how to use them,
481
00:32:26,865 --> 00:32:31,077
and they were given only scant training
in escape and evasion tactics.
482
00:32:31,077 --> 00:32:35,290
Nor were they properly warned
when civilians in bombed-out towns
483
00:32:35,290 --> 00:32:38,710
began to attack downed airmen
in increasing numbers.
484
00:32:40,837 --> 00:32:43,215
Cleven, he goes down,
485
00:32:43,215 --> 00:32:46,760
and he can see
that farmers are gathering all around.
486
00:32:46,760 --> 00:32:47,886
The next thing he remembers,
487
00:32:47,886 --> 00:32:51,514
a farmer has a pitchfork
a ninth of an inch in his chest
488
00:32:51,514 --> 00:32:52,682
and wants to press down on it.
489
00:32:53,350 --> 00:32:56,269
Some local Luftwaffe police show up.
490
00:32:58,355 --> 00:33:01,733
I was taken to a German Air Force airfield
491
00:33:01,733 --> 00:33:03,109
that was a collection point
492
00:33:03,109 --> 00:33:06,279
for all of the American flyers
who had been captured that day.
493
00:33:11,743 --> 00:33:13,620
I got interviewed by this guy,
494
00:33:13,620 --> 00:33:17,332
and he congratulated me on my promotion.
495
00:33:18,250 --> 00:33:22,420
I had just gotten first lieutenant
about three days before.
496
00:33:22,420 --> 00:33:25,006
That sort of took me by surprise.
497
00:33:25,006 --> 00:33:27,759
And he hands me a 3-by-5 card,
498
00:33:27,759 --> 00:33:33,056
and there's my name and birth date,
my parents' name, and my address.
499
00:33:34,808 --> 00:33:37,686
The Germans had spies
in the United States
500
00:33:37,686 --> 00:33:40,188
send them their hometown newspaper.
501
00:33:40,188 --> 00:33:41,356
So, they relax you
502
00:33:41,356 --> 00:33:43,984
to get this sense that
you're having a conversation,
503
00:33:43,984 --> 00:33:46,152
and they know everything about you.
504
00:33:46,152 --> 00:33:48,280
This cagey interrogation technique
505
00:33:48,280 --> 00:33:51,950
was sometimes effective
in persuading unsuspecting airmen
506
00:33:51,950 --> 00:33:55,495
to give up information
they considered inconsequential,
507
00:33:55,495 --> 00:33:58,415
but which master interrogators prized.
508
00:33:59,332 --> 00:34:02,669
The next morning, they put us in a boxcar.
509
00:34:02,669 --> 00:34:05,839
There were 30 or 40 of us in the boxcar.
510
00:34:07,132 --> 00:34:09,092
None of us knew what was gonna happen.
511
00:34:15,599 --> 00:34:17,601
I can remember walking through the gate,
512
00:34:17,601 --> 00:34:19,978
and there were big, wooden stakes there,
513
00:34:19,978 --> 00:34:22,731
and there was barbed wire
all over the place,
514
00:34:22,731 --> 00:34:25,775
and there were guard towers
at all the corners.
515
00:34:25,775 --> 00:34:30,195
And there was about a 10- or 12-foot space
between the big fence,
516
00:34:30,195 --> 00:34:32,365
and then there was a smaller fence.
517
00:34:32,365 --> 00:34:35,367
We were told not to
go over the small fence, or we'd be shot.
518
00:34:36,620 --> 00:34:38,954
The American POWs who were there,
519
00:34:38,954 --> 00:34:41,499
many of whom
were members of the 100th Bomb Group
520
00:34:41,499 --> 00:34:44,544
who had been shot down
before I was shot down.
521
00:34:44,544 --> 00:34:46,421
The minute they saw us come in,
well, they--
522
00:34:46,421 --> 00:34:49,132
Some of them laughed and said,
"Well, we've been expecting you.
523
00:34:49,132 --> 00:34:50,217
You're finally here."
524
00:34:51,635 --> 00:34:56,139
{\an8}Cleven and Egan arrived at
Stalag Luft III within days of each other.
525
00:34:56,139 --> 00:34:59,726
Cleven was immediately wisecracking
with the injured Egan,
526
00:34:59,726 --> 00:35:02,312
and soon, the two were roommates again
527
00:35:02,312 --> 00:35:05,607
and quickly assumed leadership roles
inside the camp.
528
00:35:05,607 --> 00:35:08,318
We lived together, cooked together,
529
00:35:08,318 --> 00:35:11,279
washed our clothes together,
showered together.
530
00:35:11,279 --> 00:35:14,824
Showers were once a week,
maybe, if you were lucky.
531
00:35:15,825 --> 00:35:18,286
Life inside the Stalag Luft camps
532
00:35:18,286 --> 00:35:19,996
was very, very regimented.
533
00:35:19,996 --> 00:35:23,291
Everything was done in a military way
to keep their minds busy,
534
00:35:23,291 --> 00:35:26,378
to keep discipline,
and basically to keep everybody alive.
535
00:35:31,925 --> 00:35:34,135
At a secret meeting
at the Tehran Conference
536
00:35:34,135 --> 00:35:36,137
in late November 1943,
537
00:35:36,137 --> 00:35:41,810
Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin agreed to
a second front against Nazi Germany
538
00:35:41,810 --> 00:35:45,564
to be planned and executed principally by
the Americans and the British.
539
00:35:47,065 --> 00:35:49,526
There was to be
a massive amphibious assault,
540
00:35:49,526 --> 00:35:51,027
the greatest in history,
541
00:35:51,027 --> 00:35:55,699
across five beaches in Normandy, France,
code-named "Overlord."
542
00:35:55,699 --> 00:36:00,954
It was scheduled for May 1944,
just six months away.
543
00:36:01,830 --> 00:36:04,374
General Eisenhower
has been brought to London.
544
00:36:05,709 --> 00:36:09,880
He said that we can't launch the fleet
until you knock out the Luftwaffe.
545
00:36:09,880 --> 00:36:12,424
That is our mission now.
546
00:36:12,424 --> 00:36:17,846
We were aware
that no land invasion can occur
547
00:36:17,846 --> 00:36:20,765
unless air superiority has been achieved.
548
00:36:22,309 --> 00:36:25,145
The ultimate goal
was to shoot down so many fighters
549
00:36:25,145 --> 00:36:27,689
that the Germans could no longer
put up a fighter defense.
550
00:36:30,901 --> 00:36:36,781
{\an8}We had been having
very high losses due to fighter action.
551
00:36:37,449 --> 00:36:42,704
{\an8}And so, a rush program at home
began to get us more and more fighters.
552
00:36:43,413 --> 00:36:46,374
Late 1943,
a fighter aircraft arrived in England,
553
00:36:46,374 --> 00:36:49,377
and it was the fighter plane that
the Eighth Air Force had been waiting for.
554
00:36:49,377 --> 00:36:51,213
It was the P-51 Mustang.
555
00:36:52,214 --> 00:36:54,466
{\an8}The Mustang. The P-51.
556
00:36:54,466 --> 00:36:56,927
The longest-range fighter in the world.
557
00:36:56,927 --> 00:37:01,348
Speed, fast climb, quick dive, tight turn.
558
00:37:01,890 --> 00:37:03,934
When P-51s came over,
559
00:37:03,934 --> 00:37:08,688
they had the range to accompany us
to the target and back.
560
00:37:08,688 --> 00:37:11,900
And they also fixed up the 47s
561
00:37:11,900 --> 00:37:15,528
and put wing tanks on them
so that they could accompany us.
562
00:37:17,656 --> 00:37:21,534
When we went to Emden,
and I saw all those gorgeous P-51s,
563
00:37:21,534 --> 00:37:23,912
I thought, maybe for the first time,
"I'm gonna get through."
564
00:37:25,789 --> 00:37:26,915
The primary mission
565
00:37:26,915 --> 00:37:28,833
is not to protect the bombers
and get 'em home safely.
566
00:37:28,833 --> 00:37:33,129
It'll be to go after the Luftwaffe
in the air and on the ground.
567
00:37:37,551 --> 00:37:40,178
Sunday morning 20 February,
568
00:37:40,720 --> 00:37:42,973
we prepared for the heaviest assault
569
00:37:42,973 --> 00:37:46,851
in the history of the American
Strategic Air Forces up to that time.
570
00:37:48,019 --> 00:37:50,772
This was the prelude to invasion.
571
00:37:52,065 --> 00:37:57,070
They planned a succession of
continuous raids one day after the other.
572
00:37:57,070 --> 00:37:59,030
This is gonna decide the whole war.
573
00:38:05,787 --> 00:38:07,831
Day after day, month after month,
574
00:38:08,331 --> 00:38:13,503
Mustang, Thunderbolt against
the Me 109s and the Fw 190s.
575
00:38:13,503 --> 00:38:16,673
Our fighters attack, attack, attack.
576
00:38:17,382 --> 00:38:20,635
Our victory column soared
at the rate of 4-to-1.
577
00:38:21,928 --> 00:38:25,265
The casualty rate for
German pilots on the western front
578
00:38:25,265 --> 00:38:29,769
between January and May 1944 was 99%.
579
00:38:29,769 --> 00:38:31,855
I mean, they just get butchered.
580
00:38:34,024 --> 00:38:36,693
It wasn't until
the Mustang really got involved in the war
581
00:38:36,693 --> 00:38:39,946
that America and England
gained air superiority over Germany.
582
00:38:41,281 --> 00:38:42,908
If you want to go
to the heart of the enemy
583
00:38:42,908 --> 00:38:47,245
{\an8}and be sure the Luftwaffe will be
pulled into the sky, you go to Berlin.
584
00:38:48,288 --> 00:38:50,832
{\an8}When they had the briefing,
and they pulled the curtain back,
585
00:38:50,832 --> 00:38:53,501
{\an8}and the tape went all the way to Berlin,
586
00:38:54,211 --> 00:38:57,797
first it was just stunned silence
and then just a shout.
587
00:39:01,468 --> 00:39:03,470
You can't hear what's going on down there
588
00:39:03,470 --> 00:39:05,138
five miles below you,
589
00:39:05,680 --> 00:39:09,726
but marshaling yards
and chemical tanks, ships and warehouses,
590
00:39:09,726 --> 00:39:14,356
spare engines, and ball bearing factories
are disintegrating in molten chaos.
591
00:39:15,565 --> 00:39:20,153
This would be the American's
first foray into bombing Berlin.
592
00:39:20,153 --> 00:39:23,240
It would be the toughest target
the Eighth ever attacked,
593
00:39:23,823 --> 00:39:25,158
but it had to be done.
594
00:39:27,285 --> 00:39:29,496
I can say that if I had been in Germany
595
00:39:29,496 --> 00:39:35,126
and witnessed, everyday, hordes of bombers
coming over and dropping bombs,
596
00:39:35,126 --> 00:39:37,796
it would have had
a very adverse effect on my morale.
597
00:39:37,796 --> 00:39:41,841
It must have had an adverse effect morale
on the civilians and military alike.
598
00:39:47,806 --> 00:39:51,017
One of the worst things
about being a prisoner of war
599
00:39:51,518 --> 00:39:54,771
is that you don't know how long
you're gonna be held captive.
600
00:39:54,771 --> 00:39:57,774
It's not as if you've been given
a fixed sentence.
601
00:39:57,774 --> 00:40:01,444
You're going to be there
until you either escape or it's all over.
602
00:40:02,237 --> 00:40:03,947
I did start a tunnel.
603
00:40:04,447 --> 00:40:07,492
They had an old toilet
that had a tile floor
604
00:40:07,492 --> 00:40:10,370
and I figured, well,
let's see if we can do something here.
605
00:40:10,370 --> 00:40:14,708
And my object was
to have these removable tiles
606
00:40:14,708 --> 00:40:16,209
and we could start digging.
607
00:40:16,209 --> 00:40:18,670
The guards caught that almost immediately.
608
00:40:20,213 --> 00:40:25,176
{\an8}Some 76 British prisoners
tunneled out of the compound
609
00:40:25,176 --> 00:40:28,889
immediately adjacent to us
through a tunnel that they dug.
610
00:40:28,889 --> 00:40:31,182
It was known as the Great Escape.
611
00:40:31,182 --> 00:40:37,355
All but two were recaptured,
and 50 were executed by the Germans.
612
00:40:38,440 --> 00:40:41,401
What little decent relations
we had with the Germans
613
00:40:41,401 --> 00:40:43,361
evaporated completely after that.
614
00:40:46,698 --> 00:40:49,993
One day I received
a telephone call and they said,
615
00:40:49,993 --> 00:40:52,245
"General LeMay would like
to speak to you."
616
00:40:52,245 --> 00:40:55,332
He said,
"Jeffrey, I need a group commander
617
00:40:55,332 --> 00:40:58,251
at the 95th Bomb Group
and the 100th Bomb Group.
618
00:40:58,251 --> 00:41:00,003
You can take your choice."
619
00:41:00,670 --> 00:41:03,215
The 95th could essentially do no wrong.
620
00:41:03,215 --> 00:41:05,217
They lost the minimum number of airplanes.
621
00:41:05,217 --> 00:41:09,512
Their bombing record was good,
and I figured that I could do more
622
00:41:09,512 --> 00:41:11,473
for the 100th than I could for the 95th.
623
00:41:11,473 --> 00:41:15,185
So, I called him back
and I told him with his permission,
624
00:41:15,185 --> 00:41:17,312
I would accept the 100th Bomb Group.
625
00:41:17,312 --> 00:41:19,439
And I asked him,
"When do you want me to report?"
626
00:41:19,439 --> 00:41:20,732
And he said, "This afternoon."
627
00:41:25,237 --> 00:41:30,367
My first action was to ask General LeMay
if he would take the 100th
628
00:41:30,367 --> 00:41:33,912
off of operations
for two days and he granted that.
629
00:41:33,912 --> 00:41:35,664
And so, over the next two days,
630
00:41:35,664 --> 00:41:37,749
four hours in the morning
and four hours in the afternoon,
631
00:41:37,749 --> 00:41:42,128
we flew every airplane
in the 100th Bomb Group in formation.
632
00:41:42,963 --> 00:41:49,344
Tom Jeffrey, he was dynamic,
charismatic and knowledgeable,
633
00:41:49,344 --> 00:41:53,181
not only about the aircraft,
but about combat flying.
634
00:41:54,724 --> 00:41:56,768
I had people in the lead airplane
635
00:41:56,768 --> 00:41:58,103
photographing the formation
636
00:41:58,103 --> 00:42:01,565
so that we could identify
who was flying good and who wasn't.
637
00:42:01,565 --> 00:42:05,402
And then I took an old airplane
and circled around the formation,
638
00:42:05,402 --> 00:42:08,446
back and forth,
and tried to herd 'em into position.
639
00:42:08,446 --> 00:42:11,032
{\an8}The commanding officers
were just blue in the face
640
00:42:11,032 --> 00:42:14,035
{\an8}about us keeping our formations tight.
641
00:42:14,035 --> 00:42:16,830
You think you're tight
and they say tighten 'em up more.
642
00:42:17,831 --> 00:42:19,874
At the end of two days,
643
00:42:19,874 --> 00:42:24,004
the 100th was flying the best formation
that I have ever seen.
644
00:42:25,130 --> 00:42:30,343
It was not until Jeffrey came
did we become a superb group.
645
00:42:31,136 --> 00:42:33,722
I think the best group in the air force.
646
00:42:37,809 --> 00:42:42,314
An Eighth Air Force bomber crew
had a tour of duty of 25 missions.
647
00:42:42,314 --> 00:42:44,357
Once you completed your 25 missions,
648
00:42:44,357 --> 00:42:46,484
you were rotated back home
to the United States.
649
00:42:47,736 --> 00:42:52,365
Upon completion,
I was told that I could either remain
650
00:42:52,365 --> 00:42:58,163
and accept command of a squadron
or rotate back to the States.
651
00:42:58,163 --> 00:43:04,419
I concluded that
I had been extremely fortunate
652
00:43:04,419 --> 00:43:09,799
and lucky to have survived
and that I shouldn't push it any further.
653
00:43:09,799 --> 00:43:13,094
So, I elected to return.
654
00:43:14,888 --> 00:43:17,265
Rosie Rosenthal completes his 25 missions
655
00:43:17,265 --> 00:43:21,186
on March 8th, 1944, on a raid over Berlin.
656
00:43:21,895 --> 00:43:25,649
The crew urged me
to buzz the field when we returned.
657
00:43:25,649 --> 00:43:29,152
I was a very conservative pilot
and I said, "I don't think so."
658
00:43:29,903 --> 00:43:33,406
But on the way back,
I said, "What the heck."
659
00:43:33,406 --> 00:43:38,078
And headed right for the tower
and everybody hit the deck there
660
00:43:38,662 --> 00:43:42,457
and I buzzed the field
three or four times and then came in.
661
00:43:42,457 --> 00:43:44,459
And then somebody approached me and said,
662
00:43:44,459 --> 00:43:48,547
"Rosie, did you know
that General Huglin was there?
663
00:43:49,047 --> 00:43:52,467
And he hit the deck and he--
his clothes are all messed up."
664
00:43:52,467 --> 00:43:56,263
And there coming into the debriefing room
was General Huglin.
665
00:43:56,263 --> 00:43:58,640
He came over and grabbed my hand
666
00:43:58,640 --> 00:44:01,434
and he said,
"One hell of a buzz job, Rosie."
667
00:44:02,519 --> 00:44:05,480
Everyone knew
that D-Day was on the horizon
668
00:44:05,480 --> 00:44:10,235
and finishing off the Reich
was a big objective for Rosie.
669
00:44:10,735 --> 00:44:14,656
To leave here is to
leave the center of the universe.
670
00:44:14,656 --> 00:44:18,034
And that's when I decided
to continue flying,
671
00:44:18,034 --> 00:44:22,664
and ultimately,
I was assigned to be a squadron commander.
672
00:44:23,582 --> 00:44:27,752
On this day,
650 American flying fortresses
673
00:44:27,752 --> 00:44:31,506
inflicted severe damage
on German defenses along the coast.
674
00:44:35,886 --> 00:44:39,180
I had flown over to France
to drop some bombs on some target.
675
00:44:39,180 --> 00:44:42,559
And when I returned,
I was met at the airplane
676
00:44:42,559 --> 00:44:48,315
and told that I was to report to
General LeMay's headquarters that evening.
677
00:44:49,566 --> 00:44:54,988
{\an8}General LeMay marched in
and announced to us that the Allied Forces
678
00:44:54,988 --> 00:44:58,783
{\an8}would land on the beaches of Normandy
the next morning.
679
00:44:58,783 --> 00:45:03,163
{\an8}But he said in order for you
to thoroughly understand
680
00:45:03,163 --> 00:45:06,458
{\an8}the importance of this occasion,
681
00:45:06,458 --> 00:45:11,463
that the Eighth Air Force will expend
every airplane that it has
682
00:45:11,463 --> 00:45:14,925
in its inventory to be sure
that these people got ashore.
683
00:45:16,176 --> 00:45:18,386
{\an8}I remember coming to the briefing
684
00:45:18,386 --> 00:45:22,766
and when they moved the curtain
from the map and there were cheers.
685
00:45:22,766 --> 00:45:25,769
I had never heard
this kind of thing from the crews.
686
00:45:25,769 --> 00:45:27,687
Finally, D-Day had arrived.
687
00:45:31,775 --> 00:45:34,319
Soldiers, sailors and airmen
688
00:45:34,319 --> 00:45:36,404
of the Allied Expeditionary Force,
689
00:45:37,948 --> 00:45:41,034
{\an8}you are about to embark upon
the Great Crusade
690
00:45:41,034 --> 00:45:43,703
{\an8}toward which we have
striven these many months.
691
00:45:44,621 --> 00:45:46,581
The eyes of the world are upon you.
692
00:45:48,041 --> 00:45:50,168
Your task will not be an easy one.
693
00:45:51,044 --> 00:45:54,631
Your enemy is well trained,
well equipped and battle-hardened.
694
00:45:55,131 --> 00:45:56,800
He will fight savagely.
695
00:45:57,676 --> 00:46:02,764
I have full confidence in your courage,
devotion to duty and skill in battle.
696
00:46:03,723 --> 00:46:07,018
We will accept
nothing less than full victory.
697
00:46:10,480 --> 00:46:12,065
As we flew over the channel,
698
00:46:12,065 --> 00:46:16,903
we looked down and saw thousands of ships
in an armada down there.
699
00:46:18,613 --> 00:46:25,495
It was so thrilling one of the crew
started to pray, and we all joined in.
700
00:46:30,584 --> 00:46:34,379
This is Robert St. John
in the NBC newsroom in New York.
701
00:46:34,379 --> 00:46:37,382
This is a momentous hour in world history.
702
00:46:37,966 --> 00:46:42,220
The men of General Dwight Eisenhower
are leaving their landing barges,
703
00:46:42,220 --> 00:46:45,932
fighting their way up the beaches
into the fortress of Nazi Europe.
704
00:46:46,766 --> 00:46:48,560
They are moving in from the sea
705
00:46:48,560 --> 00:46:52,314
to attack the enemy
under a mammoth cloud of fighter planes.
706
00:46:53,565 --> 00:46:56,192
The fury from the air went on and on.
707
00:46:56,192 --> 00:47:01,156
Our airmen in tactical support of
the ground forces took no rest that day.
708
00:47:01,156 --> 00:47:05,577
Back from one sortie, they gassed up,
loaded their bombs and ammunition belts
709
00:47:05,577 --> 00:47:08,872
and grimly went out again and again.
710
00:47:12,250 --> 00:47:16,630
There was hardly any
air intervention by the Luftwaffe
711
00:47:16,630 --> 00:47:17,923
when we invaded Normandy.
712
00:47:19,132 --> 00:47:21,509
The Air Force really paved the way
713
00:47:21,509 --> 00:47:24,804
for the invasion
across the English Channel.
714
00:47:28,516 --> 00:47:31,061
Germany now had to fight on two fronts,
715
00:47:31,061 --> 00:47:35,357
{\an8}against the Anglo-American allies
in the west and the Russians in the east.
716
00:47:35,357 --> 00:47:39,361
In August 1944,
the Red Army discovered Majdanek,
717
00:47:39,361 --> 00:47:44,574
an abandoned Nazi concentration and
extermination camp near Lublin, Poland,
718
00:47:44,574 --> 00:47:50,247
indisputable evidence of Hitler's program
to exterminate the Jews of Europe.
719
00:47:56,127 --> 00:47:58,880
Our invasion forces are on the offensive
720
00:47:58,880 --> 00:48:03,927
against Nazi troops who have been
ordered to die rather than retreat.
721
00:48:03,927 --> 00:48:08,139
However, die or retreat they must,
for this attack is being made
722
00:48:08,139 --> 00:48:12,727
with all the strength
the Allied Command can throw into battle.
723
00:48:12,727 --> 00:48:15,313
{\an8}The army camp had
these clandestine radios
724
00:48:15,313 --> 00:48:19,401
{\an8}and we knew just about
everything the BBC knew.
725
00:48:19,401 --> 00:48:23,405
When the invasion started in June of '44,
726
00:48:23,405 --> 00:48:25,740
we knew that we weren't
gonna be there forever.
727
00:48:27,033 --> 00:48:30,620
Downed airmen
were still streaming into Stalag Luft III.
728
00:48:30,620 --> 00:48:32,455
Among them, a number of Black pilots
729
00:48:32,455 --> 00:48:36,918
{\an8}including Second Lieutenants,
Alexander Jefferson and Richard Macon,
730
00:48:36,918 --> 00:48:41,715
{\an8}who were with the renowned
332nd fighter group, the Red Tails.
731
00:48:41,715 --> 00:48:45,051
The Tuskegee pilots painted
a deep red on the tails of their planes.
732
00:48:45,051 --> 00:48:48,221
{\an8}Even when people didn't know that these
were Black pilots flying the planes
733
00:48:48,221 --> 00:48:50,599
{\an8}they recognized that they were Red Tails.
734
00:48:51,099 --> 00:48:54,811
We didn't have any concern
about running into the enemy
735
00:48:54,811 --> 00:48:57,856
because we knew that
we were better flyers than they were,
736
00:48:57,856 --> 00:49:00,483
{\an8}and I would "Ready, aim, fire."
737
00:49:02,319 --> 00:49:04,696
These courageous
Black flyers had been waiting
738
00:49:04,696 --> 00:49:09,618
to contribute to the war effort, and
they distinguished themselves brilliantly.
739
00:49:11,828 --> 00:49:15,665
Within the Air Force,
and especially among the bomber crews
740
00:49:15,665 --> 00:49:20,337
that are making those long dangerous runs,
say that they appreciated the Red Tails
741
00:49:20,337 --> 00:49:23,965
{\an8}more than any of the other squadrons
that they flew with in the war.
742
00:49:24,758 --> 00:49:27,177
Macon and Jefferson
had been racially segregated
743
00:49:27,177 --> 00:49:29,846
on Air Force bases in America and Italy,
744
00:49:29,846 --> 00:49:31,431
and were shocked to discover
745
00:49:31,431 --> 00:49:34,893
that the barracks
at Stalag Luft III were integrated.
746
00:49:34,893 --> 00:49:36,645
There were approximately 150 men
747
00:49:36,645 --> 00:49:40,065
who had come in to this camp,
and we were lined up.
748
00:49:40,065 --> 00:49:45,487
{\an8}Finally, down the line
came a long, tall Kentucky hillbilly
749
00:49:46,238 --> 00:49:51,034
{\an8}and he walked back and says,
"By cracky, I think I'll take this boy."
750
00:49:51,034 --> 00:49:54,371
Colonel walked across and said,
"Lieutenant, you go with him."
751
00:49:55,205 --> 00:49:56,206
"Yes, sir."
752
00:49:57,207 --> 00:49:59,042
The Germans took me into the room
753
00:49:59,042 --> 00:50:03,129
and showed me where I was going to be,
on the third bed up.
754
00:50:03,672 --> 00:50:06,383
I didn't realize
how badly I had been injured.
755
00:50:06,383 --> 00:50:09,052
I was paralyzed from my waist down.
756
00:50:09,052 --> 00:50:11,638
So, once they saw that I couldn't move,
757
00:50:11,638 --> 00:50:14,474
the Germans tried to tell them
758
00:50:14,474 --> 00:50:17,602
who will give up his bottom bunk
for this man.
759
00:50:17,602 --> 00:50:19,062
Nobody moved.
760
00:50:19,062 --> 00:50:23,275
And finally, the guy from Texas said,
"He can have my bunk, I'll go up there."
761
00:50:23,900 --> 00:50:26,486
He and I became the best of friends.
762
00:50:27,404 --> 00:50:30,198
These men had to come together
to survive the prisoner camp.
763
00:50:30,198 --> 00:50:34,744
They let whatever racial attitudes,
racial animosities go or at least lessen
764
00:50:34,744 --> 00:50:37,414
because they had to work together
to keep up each other's spirits
765
00:50:37,414 --> 00:50:38,623
to survive that experience.
766
00:50:40,625 --> 00:50:44,796
One of the last Air Force
operations was to starve the Reich of fuel
767
00:50:44,796 --> 00:50:47,924
by bombing German synthetic oil plants.
768
00:50:47,924 --> 00:50:52,137
The Allies also would need to hit
transportation and storage facilities
769
00:50:52,137 --> 00:50:55,432
for the coal
that powered jet production plants.
770
00:50:55,432 --> 00:50:58,935
This air blockade
would cripple the Reich's war machine
771
00:50:58,935 --> 00:51:01,646
and leave the German army
without adequate air cover
772
00:51:01,646 --> 00:51:04,357
in the culminating battles of the war.
773
00:51:04,357 --> 00:51:07,152
{\an8}We were in the officers' club
until 1:00 or 2:00 a.m.
774
00:51:07,903 --> 00:51:10,155
{\an8}Suddenly we heard the announcement:
775
00:51:10,155 --> 00:51:12,157
"Be prepared
for a mission in the morning."
776
00:51:15,076 --> 00:51:18,413
We put up 2,000 heavy bombers.
777
00:51:18,413 --> 00:51:22,417
All you could see was
four-engined bombers to the horizon.
778
00:51:24,961 --> 00:51:27,047
To knock out one plant in World War II,
779
00:51:27,047 --> 00:51:29,257
a place called Leuna near Merseburg,
780
00:51:29,257 --> 00:51:35,305
it took 6,000 bombers flying
about 40 missions to knock that plant out.
781
00:51:36,640 --> 00:51:40,435
Our group
led one of the biggest raids on Berlin.
782
00:51:40,435 --> 00:51:42,229
It was a very beautiful day.
783
00:51:42,229 --> 00:51:44,981
The sun was shining, not a cloud in sight.
784
00:51:45,649 --> 00:51:49,819
As we approached the target,
the plane was hit,
785
00:51:49,819 --> 00:51:52,906
but we continued and bombed the target,
786
00:51:52,906 --> 00:51:56,243
knowing that we couldn't
return to our base.
787
00:51:56,826 --> 00:52:00,580
There was smoke and fire in the plane,
and I knew I had to get out.
788
00:52:00,580 --> 00:52:03,166
And when I got out,
I thought I was in heaven.
789
00:52:04,417 --> 00:52:07,879
And suddenly,
I hit the ground and I looked up,
790
00:52:08,672 --> 00:52:11,716
and I saw three soldiers
coming at me with guns.
791
00:52:12,717 --> 00:52:16,846
One of the soldiers raised his gun
and was about to strike me,
792
00:52:16,846 --> 00:52:21,810
and I noticed that he had,
on his hat, the Red Army symbol.
793
00:52:22,477 --> 00:52:25,522
And I yelled, Amerikanski, Roosevelt,
794
00:52:25,522 --> 00:52:28,066
Stalin, Churchill, Pepsi-Cola,
795
00:52:28,066 --> 00:52:31,528
Coca-Cola, Lucky Strike.
796
00:52:32,696 --> 00:52:36,491
The Berlin raid
was Rosie's 52nd and final mission.
797
00:52:36,491 --> 00:52:39,869
The most raids
flown by a pilot in the 100th.
798
00:52:39,869 --> 00:52:42,539
After recuperating in a Russian hospital,
799
00:52:42,539 --> 00:52:44,874
Rosie made his way back to Thorpe Abbotts,
800
00:52:44,874 --> 00:52:49,337
where he had flown his first mission
a year and a half earlier.
801
00:52:52,632 --> 00:52:55,886
The Russians were knocking on the door.
802
00:52:55,886 --> 00:52:58,013
We could hear artillery
803
00:52:58,013 --> 00:53:01,474
and other sounds of combat
in the distance.
804
00:53:02,100 --> 00:53:03,602
Hitler debated back and forth:
805
00:53:03,602 --> 00:53:07,230
{\an8}should we march the prisoners
out of the camp or kill them?
806
00:53:07,230 --> 00:53:09,316
{\an8}That was a real possibility.
807
00:53:10,025 --> 00:53:11,276
And suddenly, one night,
808
00:53:11,276 --> 00:53:14,946
our American senior officer
was told by the Germans
809
00:53:14,946 --> 00:53:17,407
that we were going to be
evacuated immediately,
810
00:53:17,407 --> 00:53:22,037
and we would be leaving the camp
within an hour to march out on foot.
811
00:53:22,954 --> 00:53:25,707
They just said,
we're moving you for your safety.
812
00:53:26,291 --> 00:53:28,668
That was what they said,
but we all knew better.
813
00:53:30,545 --> 00:53:32,547
The airmen had no idea
where they're going.
814
00:53:32,547 --> 00:53:35,508
They feared Hitler
was going to take American airmen
815
00:53:35,508 --> 00:53:37,719
and use them as human shields.
816
00:53:37,719 --> 00:53:41,097
And it's the worst European winter
in 100 years.
817
00:53:42,474 --> 00:53:44,059
It was bitterly cold.
818
00:53:44,059 --> 00:53:46,603
The snow was about knee-deep,
819
00:53:46,603 --> 00:53:51,024
and they walked us all that night
until late the next afternoon
820
00:53:51,024 --> 00:53:52,108
with just brief stops.
821
00:53:57,072 --> 00:53:59,282
{\an8}At Spremberg, they put us on a train.
822
00:53:59,282 --> 00:54:01,785
{\an8}We were locked inside of these boxcars.
823
00:54:01,785 --> 00:54:04,371
{\an8}They jammed in 60 to 70 men.
824
00:54:04,371 --> 00:54:06,122
Didn't have room enough to sit down.
825
00:54:06,122 --> 00:54:07,499
It was hell.
826
00:54:08,208 --> 00:54:10,710
{\an8}That one,
we were packed in tighter than heck.
827
00:54:10,710 --> 00:54:13,713
{\an8}Anybody falling down would get stomped on.
828
00:54:13,713 --> 00:54:14,965
When the train pulled in,
829
00:54:14,965 --> 00:54:17,592
men were banging on the door
to get out of the cars.
830
00:54:17,592 --> 00:54:19,803
The guards finally opened the doors.
831
00:54:20,428 --> 00:54:22,597
It's as bad as you can imagine.
832
00:54:27,894 --> 00:54:31,189
It was a camp
that apparently had been designed
833
00:54:31,189 --> 00:54:34,568
to hold 8,000 or 10,000 people max.
834
00:54:34,568 --> 00:54:36,987
There was over 100,000 there.
835
00:54:36,987 --> 00:54:38,863
Camp Hell would be a good word for it.
836
00:54:40,782 --> 00:54:43,076
There were no barracks,
people camped outside.
837
00:54:43,076 --> 00:54:44,536
The conditions were horrible.
838
00:54:44,536 --> 00:54:46,288
No one knew what was gonna happen to them.
839
00:54:49,791 --> 00:54:52,335
{\an8}One day,
we were walking around in the camp.
840
00:54:52,335 --> 00:54:55,463
{\an8}Somebody says,
"There's a tank. There's a Sherman tank."
841
00:54:55,463 --> 00:54:57,215
And then we looked and, surely enough,
842
00:54:57,215 --> 00:54:59,676
there was a Sherman tank on the horizon.
843
00:55:00,677 --> 00:55:02,804
Patton's Third Army came through.
844
00:55:02,804 --> 00:55:07,642
I saw Patton on a tank when he came
through the main gate of Stalag VII-A.
845
00:55:07,642 --> 00:55:08,727
We'd been liberated.
846
00:55:10,979 --> 00:55:15,984
The men went to the flagpole
and rung down the swastika
847
00:55:15,984 --> 00:55:21,197
while they opened up Old Glory
and raised it, and we came to attention.
848
00:55:21,197 --> 00:55:24,284
We weren't in uniforms.
Tattered clothes and all that stuff.
849
00:55:24,284 --> 00:55:26,953
And I guess that was the greatest salute
I ever gave.
850
00:55:29,873 --> 00:55:31,708
It was very emotional.
851
00:55:31,708 --> 00:55:33,793
We were finally going to be freed
852
00:55:33,793 --> 00:55:38,673
after all those months and years
of having been held as POWs.
853
00:55:38,673 --> 00:55:42,677
In many ways, it was hard to believe that
we were finally gonna be able to go home.
854
00:55:43,803 --> 00:55:45,972
This is London Calling.
855
00:55:45,972 --> 00:55:48,016
Here is a news flash.
856
00:55:48,516 --> 00:55:53,313
The German radio has just announced
that Hitler is dead.
857
00:55:55,273 --> 00:56:00,153
On May 1st, 1945, the day
the world learned of Hitler's suicide,
858
00:56:00,153 --> 00:56:02,489
the 100th flew one final mission,
859
00:56:02,489 --> 00:56:05,533
part of what was called
Operation Chowhound.
860
00:56:05,533 --> 00:56:09,788
The crews would be dropping,
by parachute, food, not bombs.
861
00:56:09,788 --> 00:56:12,999
Relief for nearly five million
starving people in the Netherlands,
862
00:56:12,999 --> 00:56:15,752
still occupied by die-hard Nazis.
863
00:56:16,253 --> 00:56:19,631
As the bombers reached
the outskirts of Amsterdam,
864
00:56:19,631 --> 00:56:23,843
{\an8}they passed over fields
of brilliantly colored tulips.
865
00:56:23,843 --> 00:56:25,512
{\an8}In one of them, the heads of the flowers
866
00:56:25,512 --> 00:56:29,432
{\an8}had been clipped to say,
"Many thanks, Yanks."
867
00:56:37,857 --> 00:56:39,693
{\an8}The war in Europe was over.
868
00:56:39,693 --> 00:56:43,071
The crews of the 100th
packed up their duffels,
869
00:56:43,071 --> 00:56:46,116
and the local folk
from the villages around Thorpe Abbotts,
870
00:56:46,116 --> 00:56:48,285
dressed in their Sunday finest,
871
00:56:48,285 --> 00:56:51,663
gathered to see them off
for their long journey home.
872
00:57:00,130 --> 00:57:02,591
When I got to Atlanta,
I went to the public telephone
873
00:57:02,591 --> 00:57:05,719
and called my mother
and told 'em I was home.
874
00:57:06,261 --> 00:57:07,888
Course, she immediately broke down,
875
00:57:09,556 --> 00:57:11,224
and they came out--
876
00:57:11,224 --> 00:57:15,812
They drove out to Fort McPherson,
and they picked me up and I got home.
877
00:57:18,481 --> 00:57:20,108
We got back to California.
878
00:57:20,108 --> 00:57:22,027
My dad and mother were there.
879
00:57:22,027 --> 00:57:25,739
There was a big reunion, of course,
and I was halfway to the moon.
880
00:57:26,865 --> 00:57:30,327
And then I saw my wife-to-be, Barbara.
881
00:57:30,327 --> 00:57:33,121
And three weeks later, we were married.
882
00:57:34,831 --> 00:57:38,001
The men of the Bloody Hundredth
were finally home,
883
00:57:38,877 --> 00:57:41,129
reunited with their families
884
00:57:41,796 --> 00:57:43,173
and their wives
885
00:57:44,049 --> 00:57:45,717
and their sweethearts.
886
00:57:46,218 --> 00:57:49,763
Some for the first time
since leaving for war.
887
00:57:50,805 --> 00:57:54,851
When I left the service, I was exhausted.
888
00:57:54,851 --> 00:57:57,229
I'd been through these trying experiences,
889
00:57:57,229 --> 00:58:00,815
and I wanted to put that behind me
and I wanted to resume civilian life.
890
00:58:02,025 --> 00:58:05,695
I went back to work
at the same firm that I had been with,
891
00:58:05,695 --> 00:58:09,241
and I was not ready, really,
to go back to work.
892
00:58:09,241 --> 00:58:12,702
And finally,
after being there for six months,
893
00:58:12,702 --> 00:58:18,166
{\an8}I heard about an opportunity
to go to Nuremberg as a prosecutor.
894
00:58:20,627 --> 00:58:23,588
On the ship over there,
I met this beautiful woman
895
00:58:23,588 --> 00:58:27,592
who was also a lawyer
and was going over as a prosecutor.
896
00:58:27,592 --> 00:58:31,221
And within 10 days,
we were engaged to marry,
897
00:58:31,763 --> 00:58:33,765
and we were married over in Nuremberg.
898
00:58:35,600 --> 00:58:40,480
I saw these defendants there
who were powerless now,
899
00:58:40,480 --> 00:58:44,192
sitting abjectly
and being tried and being convicted.
900
00:58:44,734 --> 00:58:48,822
And when I saw that,
that, in fact, ended the war for me.
901
00:58:53,910 --> 00:58:57,497
World War II was the most
devastating event in human history.
902
00:58:58,707 --> 00:59:02,168
More costly in lives
than any war ever fought.
903
00:59:03,169 --> 00:59:08,174
In it, the Eighth Air Force
suffered the highest casualty rate
904
00:59:08,174 --> 00:59:11,219
of any of the American Armed Forces.
905
00:59:14,347 --> 00:59:16,808
Now that I've survived it
906
00:59:16,808 --> 00:59:22,397
and can look back on it
for all these intervening years,
907
00:59:23,356 --> 00:59:25,567
it was a life changer for me.
908
00:59:27,068 --> 00:59:28,361
If, in this time,
909
00:59:28,361 --> 00:59:32,532
there's a feeling of excitement
and romance and mythology, it's there.
910
00:59:32,532 --> 00:59:37,037
My friends that I made then
saved my life any number of times.
911
00:59:37,037 --> 00:59:40,123
They were the friends of all friends.
912
00:59:40,707 --> 00:59:43,627
The people we served with,
they were dedicated,
913
00:59:43,627 --> 00:59:46,630
they sacrificed, they had great courage.
914
00:59:47,172 --> 00:59:50,091
We shared heartbreak and hilarity.
915
00:59:50,091 --> 00:59:54,554
We saw our comrades go down
and being killed,
916
00:59:54,554 --> 00:59:57,891
being wounded, become prisoners of war.
917
00:59:57,891 --> 01:00:02,938
{\an8}And we developed a tremendous respect
for each other and we shared a victory.
918
01:00:03,438 --> 01:00:07,234
{\an8}And I think this was
the experience of all of our people.
919
01:00:07,234 --> 01:00:09,945
Miraculously, people came together.
920
01:00:12,739 --> 01:00:16,284
You have to give all the credit
to the men and the women
921
01:00:16,284 --> 01:00:21,289
that sacrificed their lives and basically
saved the world from fascism.
922
01:00:23,792 --> 01:00:28,421
The freedoms that we enjoy
did not come about by accident.
923
01:00:28,421 --> 01:00:32,092
They were bought and paid for
by my generation
924
01:00:32,092 --> 01:00:35,345
and the generations that preceded us.
925
01:00:35,345 --> 01:00:36,763
And for that reason,
926
01:00:36,763 --> 01:00:42,644
I think the World War II generation
deserves to be remembered.