At Eighth Air Force reunion in Omaha, fighters share their stories

[Omaha Steve]

X post from GD.


CHRIS MACHIAN/THE WORLD-HERALD
Mitch Bertrang, left, talks about the B-25 to Homer Piper, center, and Don Holmes, both of whom served in the Eighth Air Force. The “Mighty Eighth,” which saw heavy action in the skies over Europe in World War II, is hosting a reunion this weekend at Omaha’s Doubletree Inn.


http://www.omaha.com/news/military/at-eighth-air-force-reunion-in-omaha-fighters-share-their/article_9c49e436-7485-11e5-ae93-433aa74c4c4c.html

POSTED: SATURDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2015 1:00 AM | UPDATED: 3:00 PM, SUN OCT 18, 2015.
By Steve Liewer / World-Herald staff writer

Two B-24 bombing runs. Two crash landings. Fourteen months in a German prisoner-of-war camp. Two Purple Hearts.

For Joseph Reus, that was World War II in a nutshell.

“I only flew two missions and got shot down on both of them,” said Reus, now 92 and living in Titusville, Florida.

Reus served with the storied Eighth Air Force, which bore the brunt of the aerial action — and losses — during World War II and still operates from its headquarters at Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana. He is one of about 300 people, including 50 air-combat veterans from the World War II and Cold War eras, attending a national reunion of the Eighth Air Force Historical Society at Omaha’s Doubletree Inn this weekend.

FULL story at link.


CHRIS MACHIAN/THE WORLD-HERALD

Max Neiden, who served on a B-24 in the Eighth Air Force, examines the bomb bay of a World War II-era B-25 at the Council Bluffs Airport.

[The Polack MSgt]

1. Thanks for posting these articles Omaha Steve

I always enjoy reading about the USAAC-USAAF-USAF
My Uncle Robert (the Polack Capt.) was a navigator in B-17s
My Father (the Polack TSgt) was a reciprocating engine mechanic until they retired the last WB-29s (B-29s outfitted as weather observation platforms) he then cross trained into avionics
I was a dirt rat for for 23 years myself. 43 years of the USAF's 68 years of existence included a member of my family. Throw in Robert's 3.5 years in the USAAF and i would call our roots deep.
Aim High O.S.