Comments
reaverdude t1_jchbjlx wrote
Insane that he was 24 at the time piloting a massive bomber. As if that wasn't impressive enough, he had the composure to save the lives of his crewmates while sacrificing his own.
warpedaeroplane t1_jche5qs wrote
It’s cliche and obviously there’s more nuance here but…they’re called the Greatest Generation for a reason. The things those men…boys, a lot of em really, did, saved humanity as we know it. I’m not a real “patriot” or anything but WWII and the men who fought in it fill me with a very intense and awesome reverence and pride.
[deleted] t1_jciix9s wrote
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CptES t1_jci7utc wrote
The bomber crews in particular suffered an absolutely ferocious rate of losses. The UK's RAF Bomber Command had a 44% fatality rate through the war while a full 50% of the USAAF's casualties were in the Eighth Bomber Command alone.
It's a good job those men were bomber crew, no other aircraft would have been able to carry the sheer size and weight of their balls in the first place.
Dedpoolpicachew t1_jcj0rr1 wrote
On the German side it was the U-bootwaffe that had the highest casualty rate 75%. For the US it was the Submarine force, 20%.
Miserable_Law_6514 t1_jcjl7z9 wrote
You had a better survival rate on the ground in France or Germany than you did in the air in a bomber.
[deleted] t1_jcib2rg wrote
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SideburnSundays t1_jcizwdm wrote
Today’s fighter pilots are just as young.
reaverdude t1_jcj11p0 wrote
Not really, the average age of fighters pilots in the U.S. is 40+.
Fighter pilots in their twenties exist, but it's a really low percentage, 11%.
SideburnSundays t1_jcj2bzo wrote
40s is nearing retirement (from flight status) age for fighters due to the physical toll of flying them. Those statistics make no sense when you consider the cutoff age for flight training is 26.
That salary is wrong too. For Navy pilots it’s $65k on average, but salary is adjusted to the living standards of where you’re stationed, which is going to skew any averages.
Reviewer_A t1_jclsz81 wrote
My British mom (84, with dementia now) still cries when she talks to me about these airmen and how many died. She lived on the SE coast with a view of France during WW II (except when she was evacuated to Scotland) and she saw some things. Like a parachuter who did not make it.
The pain of WW II is still fresh for some old people.
DICHOTOMY-REDDIT OP t1_jcmadmt wrote
God bless her. Your last sentence “The pain of WW2 is still fresh for some old people.” As the winds of war and saber rattling become more pronounced, we should listen much closer to those who lived it like your mum. History does repeat itself if we decide not learn from the past.
sausyboat t1_jcop6bh wrote
I wonder why there was such difficulty retrieving remains from a farm in Sussex? Surely the terrain is flat there.
DICHOTOMY-REDDIT OP t1_jcoyu95 wrote
Reading the linked article below, it appears the bomber was a ball of flames before impacting the ground. At the time only one body of the three were found. Sgt Crowther was recovered at the time but nothing was ever found of his two American colleagues, apart from an identity bracelet belonging to Montgomery. The other two crew members we were considered missing in action “MIA”.
Just a absolute guess, the intense fire and impact destroyed most of any remains.
It wasn’t until a local aviation archaeology group attempted to excavate the crash site in 1974 after historian Andy Saunders located the most likely area of the crash.
However, it wasn’t until 2019 the site was throughly checked for the remains of Lt Montgomery and Sgt John Holoka.
After multiple excavations, finally the remains of Lt. Montgomery were found. It took years to confirm his identity. https://www.aerotime.aero/articles/mystery-of-lost-ww2-pilot-solved-after-remains-identified-79-years-after-crash/amp
sausyboat t1_jcp37u8 wrote
Thanks for the explanation
[deleted] t1_jchbier wrote
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[deleted] t1_jchy9ro wrote
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Taman_Should t1_jcirkjq wrote
I read that in Robert Stack’s voice.
DICHOTOMY-REDDIT OP t1_jcgc9ng wrote
Today Ukrainians are fighting for their life and freedom. It wasn’t that long ago Americans we’re doing the same in Europe.
During WW2 over 26,000 airmen died while with serving in the European theater of the 8th Air Force (47,000 casualties).
When I was 24 I was lucky to not fall off a bar stool. Lt. Montgomery and his crew was bombing Germany. Much respect, I couldn’t hold his jock strap.
Hope his extended family finds closure.
Below is from the article.
“Lt. William B. Montgomery, a 24-year-old from Ford City, Pennsylvania, died in the summer of 1944.”
“Montgomery's remains were among those eventually found during a DPAA investigation conducted in 2021”
“Montgomery was killed on June 22, 1944, when the aircraft he was piloting a B-24H Liberator bomber, carrying 10 crew members including himself. It went down near the coast of the United Kingdom. At the time, he was assigned to a bomb squadron within the Army's Eighth Air Force.”
“Montgomery's crew was struck by anti-aircraft that damaged the plane. But the lieutenant was still able to fly the aircraft until it reached the U.K., a feat that officials say was possible because of Montgomery's "piloting skill." He then ordered the crew to exit the plane before it crashed into a farm in West Sussex, England.”
“Seven of the airmen parachuted successfully while the other three crew members, including Montgomery, were still on board. Two of the crew witnessed the aircraft crashed into a farm in West Sussex, England."