#mission report: 1945

[iwasmadetobeasoldier]

Mission Report: 1945, April 30th

AN: I understand the timeline is inconsistent with Bucky's capture and mind wipe, but I think the concept is interesting and wanted to write.

Hope you enjoy!

Warnings: none, all ages

____________

Of all the missions H.Y.D.R.A. forced me on, not many stay detailed in my mind.

All except one.

Date: April 30th, 1945

Target location: Berlin, Germany

Name: Adolf Hitler

I was taken out of cryo-freeze a week before the day. They shoved all the info about the mission they could into the programming. Then I was dropped off at the borders of Berlin at sunrise, the Allies were to march on Berlin that midday.

Yes, history said that he committed suicide, but history has been changed for the better. H.Y.D.R.A. had more power than even the Axis powers.

But- anyway, there was an agent in the room, peeking out the glass-less window through binoculars, confirming wind speed, direction and distance. My footfalls were almost silent but he turned at my approach, nodding in greeting.

I did not return the gesture but started to set up the M1892/30 Mosin Nagant bolt-action sniper rifle. Russian made.

Crude and bulky but accurate.

I could hit anything as long as the weapon was accurate.

The agent left after alerting me of the stats, closing the door behind him. I was alone. My mission one thing: to kill the Allies', and most of the Axis' powers, worst enemy. That-..that they knew of.

Resting the gun on my left arm, I watched through the scope, the target pacing back and forth in his room. His mistress trying to comfort him.

I waited, and waited. That one moment was almost here, I watched him put a pistol, most likely a German Ruger, to her head.

There was a shot.

She fell to the ground.

Another shot.

His expression was almost cold as his dog yipped loudly before it died.

Nearly there...

The firing pin to his pistol should have been dust by now, the H.Y.D.R.A. agents had set this all up.

I watched as he put it to his head and squeezed the trigger...

--------

Well, then it was back home. Home as in the compound, as Zola called it. And soon what Zemo would call it.

And now you know what really happened.

Just-...Don't let it leak out

[usafphantom2]

17th August 1943. The most ambitious attack planned by the USAAF’s Eighth Air Force to date was launched against the Messerschmitt factory at Regensburg and the vital ball bearing plants at Schweinfurt. Over 370 aircraft were to take part. 146 would bomb Regensburg before flying on to North Africa in the first ‘shuttle mission’ of its type, while the rest would strike Schweinfurt and return to base, There was to be a half hour interval between the two groups, not enough time for Luftwaffe defences to regroup.

However, the British weather was to play havoc with this complex plan from the outset. Thick cloud delayed the takeoff of the Regensburg force, while the bombers bound for Schweinfurt then waited several hours longer. This meant that instead of having to counter two simultaneous raids, Luftwaffe fighters could strike one formation, then refuel and rearm before engaging the next. The consequences would be severe.

Though the Regensburg formation was accompanied by P-47 Thunderbolts and RAF Spitfires, they were relatively few in number and had to turn back at the German frontier, the limit of their range at the time. Losses to Luftwaffe fighters and flak soon mounted, with 24 of the 139 bombers which crossed the Dutch coast being lost. On reaching North Africa, 55 more were found to be too badly damaged for immediate repair by the limited facilities available and were left behind; many never flew again.

The experience of the Schweinfurt force was no less painful. Though some Bomb Groups escaped relatively unscathed, others were badly mauled, in one case losing 50 percent of its strength. Escort fighters fought hard to protect their charges, but again had to turn back at the German frontier. Attacks by Luftwaffe aircraft continued throughout the inbound and outbound legs. 36 B-17s of the 230 on the Schweinfurt mission were shot down, while a number of other aircraft were written off on return to base.

The attack on Regensburg was judged a success, with the first bombs being particularly accurately placed. Many factory buildings were severely affected, while an unknown consequence was the damaging of construction jigs for the Me 262 jet fighter. At Schweinfurt, the bombing had been less concentrated, though German reports still showed a substantial drop in ball bearing production. Nonetheless, in both cases production swiftly recovered, while efforts to disperse factories to less vulnerable locations were accelerated.

Armaments minister Albert Speer later stated that immediate follow-up attacks would have had far greater consequences, but this didn’t happen. The loss of so many aircraft - and 600 trained aircrew killed, missing or captured - meant that no deep penetration raids were flown until early September. It was becoming clear that the USAAF’s faith in self-defending bomber formations was badly misplaced, and long-range escort fighters were desperately needed. Yet it would take a further devastating mission against Schweinfurt in October to bring about a pause in Eighth Air Force operations against Germany.

Pictured:

1) Smoke rising from the Messerschmitt factory at Regensburg on 17th August.

📷 American Air Museum FRE 7719

2) B-17s of the 379th Bomb Group over Schweinfurt.

📷 American Air Museum UPL 19606

3) B-17 of the 100th Bomb Group, force landed near Dübendorf, Switzerland, on 17th August. The aircraft had fallen out of formation on the run in to bomb Regensburg with two engines damaged by fighter attack. The entire crew were interned for the rest of the war. More than 70 B-17s and B-24s would land or crash in Switzerland by April 1945.

📷 American Air Museum FRE 4095

4) Airmen of the 385th Bomb Group meet civilians in front of B-17 Flying Fortress nicknamed "Shack Bunny" at Telerghma airfield, Algeria, following the Regensburg raid. Serviceable bombers later flew back to Britain, conducting an attack on Bordeaux airfield en route.

📷 American Air Museum FRE 1345

@JamieMctrusty via X

[owlclawstudios]

ink demonth day 17th : sailor

tw : mentions of uss indianapolis, ww2 and mention of the shark attacks on the uss indiapolis survivors.

march 8th 1942 the us had entered ww2 a few months ago after the bombing of pearl harbor henry was skimming through the mail he grabbed a letter and opened it,

it was a letter from the us navy.

Henry read carefully for a moment before he realized what the letter was. He had been drafted into the Navy. His stomach dropped to the floor as he read the words. Join the US Navy today!

"I'm being sent to war..." he whispered to himself as he sat down at their kitchen table, letter still in his hands, staring at it blankly. Linda walked in to see him. "What's wrong Henry?" She asked.

henry spoke quietly, his voice betraying his

feelings. "The Navy's drafted me." He muttered, looking back down at the letter.

Henry put the letter down with a shaky breath. "They want me to report at the base tomorrow morning.." he said.

-the next morning, henry put on his navy sailor uniform that was sent to him through the mail, he

Henry packed a small bag and, after giving a final hug and kiss to Linda.

he spoke lovingly.

" i'lll be back as soon as i could....i love you very much...."

linda looked up holding back tears.

" i love you too sweetie... i'll be here waiting for you " linda said.

henry soon got on

headed to the base, leaving her at home.

He had to do his duty, even if that did mean fighting in a deadly war .

Henry reported to the base and soon began his training. He learned how to use and maintain equipment, how to respond quickly to orders and various other things that came with the job. He began to bond with the other navy men around him as he went through the training.

soon Henry was assigned to the USS Indianapolis, a heavy cruiser with a great reputation for her service. He was sent to this ship with many of the men who went through training with him.

linda would work in a factory during ww2 to not only help with the war effort but help pay the bills, henry would write to linda as much as he could

Henry would sit and write in his bunk, on his bed with other sleeping men around him. He would write letters to Linda almost every night, telling her of what had happened each day and how much he missed her and hoped to return to her soon.

he would list the many battles and missions the Indianapolis had been in, detailing all the events that went on. He explained how he and his comrades had formed a strong bond and looked after one another, and just how difficult the battles could be.

soon on july 16th 1945, the USS Indianapolis and Henry we’re on a vital mission. They were transporting an important element for the construction of an atomic bomb, which would be used later in the war

The whole ship’s crew was on high alert, the job was extremely important and there could be no mistakes. it was carrying cargo and This cargo was a classified secret, as the atomic bomb had not been announced and used at that point. The Indianapolis would travel to Leyte Gulf and begin preparing to deliver the cargo, unknown to the crew of the Indianapolis as to what exactly the cargo was.

-Once arriving at Leyte Gulf, the crew spent most of the time working on and off the ship to make any last minute preparations to deliver the important cargo, with many not understanding the true importance of this specific cargo.

-By the time August was already a few days underway,

but then... Linda had not received a letter since july 27 . This worried her, but she could only hope that he was fine and that he had been unable to find any time to write.

By the time the 15th of August rolled around, she had not received any letters from Henry, and would read the news paper and learn of the Indianapolis's sinking, her eyes widening in horror.

she soon got a letter,

Linda's heart skipped a beat as she read the letter. Henry had survived, but was badly injured, with several issues that he was being treated for. She was thankful for the fact that he was alive, but at the same time worried about the severity of his injuries.

henry was hospitilized at the

Naval Base Hospital No. 20 in Peleliu,

henry had suffered deyhydration, salt water poisoning, starvation and inffected wounds, and shark bites, The letters described the struggles that Henry faced, including the many times that he'd nearly been killed by the sharks that attacked him. He had tried to fight back, punching and kicking at the sharks' gills to try and get them to release him, but he had suffered many injuries in the process, though he still managed to survive.

-Henry spent 11 days in the hospital, being fed and given fluids to help with his dehydration. His wounds from the sharks' bites and the sharp metal pieces that had injured him were cleaned and bandaged, and he was given medical care to help him recover properly.

once he was declared well enough, Henry was discharged from the hospital and the Navy. He was awarded the Purple Heart for his bravery and for his efforts in saving the other sailors from the sharks' attacks.

With his time in the Navy now over, Henry finally returned home to Linda.

but Henry found himself suffering from the effects of the ship being torpedoed, the ship sinking and the five days spent floating in the shark-infested water. the shark attacks He was plagued with PTSD, trauma, and many other issues from the incident.

Henry's experiences had left him with numerous phobias, including a fear of sharks galeophobia, a fear of deep bodies of water thalassophobia and a fear of explosions ekrixiphobia, He also developed a fear of loud noises phonophobia as well, The memories and the sounds of the other sailors screaming, thrashing in the water and being pulled under by the sharks were seared into Henry's mind. The image of the torn and bloodstained life jacket bubbling to the surface remained a vivid reminder of the horrors he had endured. -Due to his phobia of sharks, Henry found it very difficult to visit aquariums, especially those with large shark exhibits. The sight of a shark would trigger strong negative reactions and memories of the traumatic experience he had endured.

Linda would comfort Henry whenever he struggled with the memories and phobias that his experience had left him with. She would do what she could to calm him down and make him feel relaxed and at ease, helping him cope with the traumatic memories that still plagued him.

In January of 1949, Linda discovered that she was pregnant with their first child. The news brought joy and excitement to the couple, who had been looking forward to starting a family together, soon in october of that year their only daughter, jacqueline was born, which brought joy and happiness to both of them especially henry, Henry saw his wife and newborn daughter as a source of comfort and healing from the trauma he had endured. The sight of his family and the love they shared helped to soothe his memories and fears, reminding him of the good things in life and giving him a reason to keep moving forward.

[prettyinlimegreenboots]

Taking Comfort (In Your Arms) - Chapter 17

April 28, 1945, 1000 Hours

“Captain Baker, please join us.” Jeffrey called from his office as Addie’s eyes drifted from the report she was typing up. Sighing, she pushed away from her desk, giving Josie a nervous look before walking into the CO’s office.

Stepping into the office, Jeffrey motioned to her to shut the door, pointing to a seat in front of his desk. She looked between Buck, Rosie, and Charlie, all who had big grins on their faces before looking at Jeffrey taking a seat. “Whatever they said I did, I most definitely did not do.” 

Buck, Rosie, and Charlie had to hide their chuckles, while Jeffrey merely raised an eyebrow. “Guilty are we, Captain Baker?” 

“With those three grinning at you, yes. I have been keeping my nose clean for the last few weeks.” She looked over her shoulder at the three, giving them a menacing look. “Whatever this is about, I assure you I’m innocent. It must’ve been the ground crew.” 

Jeffrey chuckled, shaking his head. “You’re not in trouble, Addie. Though I assume there’s something that I’m not aware of yet.” 

“So, what did you want to see me about, sir?” She asked, trying to stop herself from digging a hole. She heard the three men behind her chuckle. Since Buck’s return to base, the jokes had returned and picked up. Though Addie had steered clear of getting herself into any prank wars, she might have been the brains behind some of them. 

Jeffrey looked between the four pilots, wishing he was away from the antics, clearing his throat, wanting to get down to business. “The Allied forces have put out two calls for different missions - one will be a humanitarian food drop for the Dutch while the other is ferrying POW men and women to different bases. Now I’m nominating you four for the missions, but I thought I would see if any of you have a preference on which mission I sign you up for.” 

“When are these missions slated to take place?” Rosie asked, looking between Addie and Jeffrey. Addie bit her lip, attempting to figure out what questions she needed answered before she decided which mission she wanted on.

“May 1 will be the first one for both. The RAF starts their drops tomorrow and we’ll drop on May 1 - we’ll be hitting different areas than the RAF groups. The POW camps have started to be liberated so we’ll have a list of where to go, most likely Germany to start.” Jeffrey explained. 

Addie shifted in her chair. “What will we be flying into Germany?” 

“Lemmons and his crew are currently stripping down a B-17, big enough to fit 25-30 POWs. You might be running two to three missions before you land back here. I’ll get more details in the coming days, but I’ve gotten word there could be more than 4500 people in just one stalag. Allies aren’t sure what you’re going to be walking into.” Jeffrey gave the four of them looks. “Now, are there any other questions?” 

Addie shook her head. She didn’t dare get up hope that John and Elizabeth could be at one that they were planning on landing at. She bit her lip as she looked at the men behind her. “Sir, I’d like to be on the rescue mission.” 

Jeffrey nodded. He knew she would want on that mission. “Charlie, are you okay going with her?” 

“Yes, sir.” Charlie parroted back, while Addie grinned at her big brother. “Is there anything else we need to know before we take off?”

“We’ll do a debriefing in two days, by then I should have more information.” Jeffrey looked between the siblings. “One other thing, you’ll have to fly below 10,000 feet due to not fitting the plane with oxygen tanks. We don’t have the room for them.” 

Charlie and Addie both nodded. “Yes, sir.” 

“One more thing, the rescue mission is highly confidential - no one on this base outside of us five know this is happening. Of course, our infirmary will be ready for any wounded, but not a word of this until that plane touches down on May 1st.” Jeffrey eyed them, seriousness in his eyes as they came to attention and saluted him. “Alright, dismissed.” 

Leaving the office, Addie’s eyes went wide as she took a seat at her desk. Taking a deep breath, she exhaled slowly. 

She couldn’t believe what she had been waiting for could finally become a reality. John and Elizabeth could finally be coming home.

May 1, 1945, 0500 Hours

Throwing her bag into the stripped-out B-17, she made her way up into the belly of the plane, taking a moment to see just how empty the back of the bird was. There were stacks of extra blankets in the middle of the plane but other than that, the space was empty. Knocking her knuckles along the tin side, she made her way to the yolk. Grinning, she hopped up, seeing Charlie in the co-pilot seat. 

“Morning!” She smirked, watching him jump as she collapsed into the pilot’s seat. “You saved my seat!” 

Charlie grinned at her. “Didn’t feel like fighting you this morning. That 0330 wakeup call came earlier than anticipated.” 

“Get fired up, Charlie. We’re going to rescue some people today.” 

Charlie grumbled to himself, something about there’s not enough coffee, making Addie giggle. 

Fighting off a yawn, she started her pre-flight checklist. Soon the engines were turned on and they were taxiing down the tarmac. “You know we are getting the raw end of the first part of the deal?” 

“How so?” She asked, ferrying down before they were airborne, pushing the bird through the low-hanging clouds. The still dark sky made her smile. 

Charlie brought the landing gear up, before looking over at her. “Buck and Rosie didn’t have a 0330 wakeup call like we did. Their wake-up call was happening at 0800 hours.” 

“Awww, does Charlie need his beauty sleep?” She teased, adjusting their airspeed. “Besides, they’re going to be making more runs than we will - they’ve got two runs today. I’ll take the longer run and the earlier start time.” 

Charlie shook his head. “You’re just happy you got to be in the yolk today.” 

“Damn right, Charlie.” She adjusted in the seat, knowing they had another 3 hours of flight before they would land in Munich Germany. 

They were told that these POWs were transported from Poland to Munich days before. Allied Forces had gotten them out of the Stalag, brought to a processing center, where they were triaged and grouped, depending on the base they needed to get back to. Those that were more seriously injured were already sent to English hospitals. Those that remained just had to wait for planes to come pick them up. Addie couldn’t imagine the anticipation they had - they had survived the most awful thing, and all those men and women were told just to wait a bit longer.

She didn’t know if it was anticipation or wishing time would go by faster that made the three hours pass by more quickly than she realized. But soon, Charlie was radioing the base’s tower for landing instructions. 

She groaned hearing the distance of the tarmac and how tight of a landing it was going to be. She had done worse but not since her ATA days. Charlie followed her instructions and soon enough they were on the ground, pulling onto the designated hardstand. 

Shutting the engines off, Charlie made the first move to exit the plane, with her right behind him. Swinging out of the plane, landing softly, he looked up at her still in the plane. “Do you remember the name Jeffrey gave us to give?” 

Slipping out of the plane, she reached for her little notebook. Flipping it open, Addie shielded her eyes from the sunshine. “Colonel Owens?” 

Nodding, Charlie looked around the little airfield, with people seemingly taking up every square inch. “I’m going to see if I can track him down.”

Following behind him, she heard various accents as they passed groups of men. There had to be hundreds, if not thousands of men across the vast space. She kept her head swiveling as she attempted to keep up with Charlie for anyone that she may know. 

Charlie came to a stop, standing at attention before introducing herself and him to the Major. “Major Charlie Baker, and Captain Adelaide Baker, sir. We’re with the 8th Bomb Group - Colonel Jeffrey sent us.” 

“Ahh, yes, Jeffrey.” Colonel Owen gave them both looks, shaking Charlie’s outstretched hand. “8th Bomb Group you say?” 

Addie tuned them out as she looked around the space. Worn out faces stared back at her. She tried to keep a smile on her face but found it hard at what she was witnessing. “Addie?” 

Charlie softly called her name as she whirled around to face him. “Sorry, caught up in my thoughts.” 

“No problem, ma’am.” Colonel Owens gave her a curious look, holding out his hand for her to shake. “Just asked what’s a woman like you doing out here?” 

A bright smile crossed her face, eagerly shaking his hand. “Want to do my part to bring our boys home, sir.” 

“I see.” He looked at her suspiciously. “Well, let me get your flight manifest, then you can get on your way.”

Charlie motioned that he would follow the Colonel, leaving her alone. She pushed herself to move forward. She had to at least look, though it would take her hours to look at every man and woman within the space. 

Seeing men on stretchers, she headed that way. Carefully making her way up and down the makeshift aisle, she was glad when she didn’t recognize anyone. Turning, she started to make her way back towards where she left Charlie. But before she could make her way back there, something barreled into her. She fought to get her balance, wrapping an arm around whatever it was that barreled into her.

Addie couldn’t see anything. A body clung to her, tears streaming down their face as Addie looked. Once the face pulled back, Addie instantly recognized the eyes, causing tears to well up in her own eyes as she hugged the person. “Oh, tell me you’re not a mirage.” 

“Elizabeth!” Addie tightened her hold on her sister, as Elizabeth’s arms tightened slightly. “Oh, you’re okay!”

The two sisters stood, hugging one another, not saying a word, relishing in the fact they both made it. Elizabeth was alive and okay. She was safe and sound, and Addie wasn’t letting her go anytime soon. “Oh, it’s so good to see you, Elizabeth. How are you?”

“Much better than most of the men here! Who came with you?” Elizabeth asked, pulling back to stand beside Addie. 

Addie grinned, reaching down to link her hand with Elizabeth’s, giving it a squeeze. “He’s with Colonel Owens, getting our flight manifest for the trip back.” 

“Addie, I have to tell you something.” Elizabeth’s eyes scanned the area, before landing on her sister’s. “Buck . . . Buck escaped back when we were still doing night marches. Him and two others made it out but I don’t know where he ended up.” 

Hugging her sister to her tightly, Addie carted a hand through her hair. “Buck’s okay. He’s doing a humanitarian run today. He made it back to Thorpe April 2nd. He’s okay, I promise.” 

Elizabeth’s shoulders sagged in relief at the news. “That’s good to hear. There’s something else you should know. I don’t know where John is. I haven’t seen him since we left the stalag. As a nurse, I left earlier than he did once the Americans came to liberate us. I haven’t seen any of the boys in the five days I’ve been here.” 

Addie could see the anguish on her sister’s face as the prospect of not keeping her promise of watching out for John, making sure he got home safe and sound. Tears streamed down Elizabeth’s face as she looked up at her sister. “I’m so sorry, Addie.”

“Hey, hey, you have nothing to be sorry for.” Addie cooed, pulling her sister into her arms. “God, Elizabeth, John and I will be reunited at some point but right now, you’re here with me, safe and sound. I can’t ask for anything more - you’re here, back by my side, safe.” 

Pulling back, Elizabeth wiped the tears from her face as Addie scanned the area. She knew Charlie would be coming back any time and she wanted to make sure she saw him in the mayhem of the place. “You said you’ve been here for 5 days. How many planes have been coming and going?” 

“I think the first land at 1000 hours and the last at 1800 hours. It’s nonstop - they’re trying to get everyone out of here and back at a base before sending them home.” Elizabeth sighed. “The guys I flew out with have already been sent back to England - they wouldn’t send me back as I’m an American and had to wait for my own forces to bring me home.” 

Addie smiled. “Well, I think I can make room on my plane for you. I think I can get my co-pilot to agree.” 

“Speaking of who is this grand co-pilot of yours?” Elizabeth asked as a man caught Addie’s attention. 

Turning her sister towards the hut Charlie was coming out of, she pointed. “Recognize him?” 

Before Addie could say another word, Elizabeth had gasped, and the tears started flowing all over again. “He’s back?” 

“Yeah, he got transferred back to Thorpe just before you were captured. He’s teaching at Thorpe and the only missions he’s gone up have been with me - two now.” She grinned, watching Charlie make his way towards them, reading the papers in his hand. As he looked up, he scanned the area looking for her. Addie pushed Elizabeth forward, motioning her to go surprise their brother. 

Addie stood there as Elizabeth walked up to Charlie and watched her two siblings reunited with hugs, laughter, and tears. She let them have their moment, crossing her arms, biting her lip to ward off another round of tears. 

Sniffling, she reached up and wiped away a few stray tears. Hearing a plane fly overhead, she looked up, shielding her eyes from the sunshine as she watched the P-51 fly effortlessly across the sky. A grin crossed her face as she felt herself relax a bit. Despite the emotions, she was happy to have her brother and sister both by her side.

“ADDIE!” 

She whipped her head from left to right trying to figure out who called her. She didn’t recognize the voice until she saw the man a few feet away from her. A smirk crossed her face as she crossed the distance between them. “DeMarco!” 

Throwing herself into his arms, she squealed when he picked her up and swung her around. As her feet touched the ground, he pulled her into a tight hug. “Addie Baker, as I live and breathe. It’s so good to see you.” 

“You as well, Benny! How are you doing?” She looked him over, head to toe. Besides being a bit skinnier and a new cut on his face, he looked well. 

Laughing, Benny shook his head. “Cannot complain. Heard from a little birdy you’re flying us home.” 

“Charlie is holding the manifest list hostage so I don’t know exactly who I’m flying home but I’m sure I can make space for you, if you’re not on the list.” She grinned. 

Benny threw his head back and laughed. “Appreciate that, Addie. How’s your dog doing?” 

“Meatball? Last I checked, he’s your dog. I was just keeping an eye on him.” She deadpanned, giving him a look. 

Shaking his head, Benny smiled. “Nope, he’s yours. He won’t even recognize me at this point - you take him home. He’s your dog, Addie.” 

“Agree to disagree; at least for a little bit longer.” She said, holding out his hand for her to shake. “We’ll see how he reacts when you come back.” 

Benny gave her a look. “I already discussed it with Egan. You two are taking him home with you when you go back to the states.” 

“You discussed this with John?” She asked, eyes wide with amusement. “Wasn’t there anything else better to discuss?” 

Benny chuckled. “There were days all we did was talk. You’d be surprised by what was discussed.” 

“Benny, don’t you remember the rules? What was discussed in the Stalag, stayed in the Stalag.” A teasing voice called as Addie squinted to see who was teasing her friend. 

Gasping, Addie squealed a bit, spotting Murphy, Crank, Brady and two other men she didn’t recognize coming closer to where her and Benny stood.  She eagerly gave them all hugs, letting them know it was good to see them. 

“Since these dodos don’t know how to introduce us, I’m Captain Adelaide Baker, formerly of the ATAs. You can call me Addie.” Addie held out her hand, introducing herself. 

“Second Lieutenant Alexander Jefferson, you can call me Alex.” He held his hand out for Addie to shake. 

She accepted it with a big grin. “It’s very nice to meet you, Alex.” 

Looking over his shoulder, she grinned at the other man standing there. “Second Lieutenant Richard Macon.” 

Addie shook his hand as the two men looked between Addie and the others around them. “Wait, is this Bucky’s Addie?” 

“In the flesh. I’m guessing that bigger dodo didn’t stop talking about me, did he? Or did you learn a lot about me from Elizabeth?” Addie looked at the two men curious. 

Richard laughed. “Between the two of them along with the rest of the men in the barracks, we heard plenty about you.” 

“Bunch of little hens - don’t know when you keep your mouths shut.” Addie mocking glared at all the men around her. “I’m guessing they told you all the secrets. For that, I apologize.” 

“Hey, we kept you in good light, Addie.” DeMarco huffed, giving her a look. 

Raising an eyebrow, Addie returned his look. DeMarco soon deflated, sighing. “Damnit Addie, there were a lot of downtimes in the barracks so storytelling was the only way to kill time.” 

Groaning softly, Addie shook her head. Turning to Alex and Richard, she grinned. “Do I want to know which of the stories they told you made you all laugh the hardest?” 

“The box you gave Douglass of course.” Alex chuckled, scratching his chin. “Bucky’s retelling might have made the entire barrack laugh pretty loudly that the Germans came and shut off the lights.” 

Addie smiled. Despite the storytelling, she was happy they were able to have some levity within the barracks. Laughter was a powerful tool and she was happy everyone seemed to hold onto it. 

She relaxed as she eyed at each of the men in their little circle. Despite the hell they had been through, they were smiling and relaxed in the moment. Raising an eyebrow, she looked at Brady, who seemed to shrink under her gaze. “Guilty about something, Brady?” 

“No, no Addie.” He stammered as he avoided her gaze, by looking behind her where Charlie and Elizabeth were standing, talking. “Glad to see your sister, Addie?” 

“I am. It’s good to see you all made it.” She crossed her arms, looking at Brady carefully. “Brady, a little birdy told me that there may be something going on between you and my sister - care to clue me in?” 

Brady sighed, running a hand through his hair. “Did this information come from a letter or a big bird named Buck?” 

“Possibly both of those sources.” She replied gently, giving him a smile. 

“Buck made it?” DeMarco exclaimed, giving Addie a look, reaching out to slug her arm. “Why didn’t you lead with that?”

She looked at them with a guilty look on her face. “Sorry, forgot you all don’t know that. Yes, Buck made it out alive. He arrived in Paris on April 1st, and I went to pick him up to bring him back to Thorpe on April 2nd.”

“You picked him up?” Elizabeth cried as she and Charlie joined the group. 

Nodding, Addie smirked. “It was my second mission since you went down. The Air Force reluctantly let me fly a couple of times.” 

“I expect a full rundown of everything that you did while we were in the Stalag.” Elizabeth gave her a knowing look, which Addie winked at. 

“I’ll tell you all about it.” She promised, turning to her big brother. “Were we given a wheel up time?” 

Charlie flipped through the papers, nodding. “They want us up within the hour. We have our manifest and they were going to start guiding people towards our bird. We should probably start to head over there.” 

Charlie started to lead the group back to their plane. Addie sighed, following them. She knew it was a long shot to find John amongst the hundreds of men. She shouldn’t have gotten her hopes up. And now, she was potentially going to leave him behind. But she had friends and family surrounding her as she started to make her way back to the plane. 

Taking a deep breath, she pushed the tears away, willing herself to be brave until she was on the plane. She would let Charlie be the pilot on the way back. Only when they were airborne, she promised herself that she would let herself feel the anger and let down of not finding the one person she was so desperate to see. 

One foot in front of the other was her mantra as she made her way closer to the plane. She listened to her boots hit the ground, one after another. The rhythm pattern grounded herself as the voices of men around her pushed her forward. 

“Addie Baker.” 

Looking over her shoulder, she could have sworn she heard her name being called but not seeing anyone there. She shook her head, she was hearing things. She just needed to close the distance between her and the plane. The early morning and the adrenaline easing were catching up to her. 

“Adelaide Baker.” 

Again, she thought she heard someone calling her name. Looking in front of her, she watched DeMarco, Murphy, Alex, Richard, Brady, Crank, and Elizabeth follow Charlie up into the plane. There was a line at the plane of other men that were being helped up inside. She watched the line, scanning the faces of the men to see if she recognized any. 

Shaking off the delusion of hearing her name, she took a step forward, only for something to make her pause. “ADELAIDE BAKER.” 

This time she wasn’t going crazy. Her name was clearly being called from behind her. Whirling around, her eyes shifted from the left to the right until they landed on a man. A grin burst across her face as she took him in. Eighteen months it had been. Eighteen months of no hugs, kisses, affection from the man, only his letters letting her know he was okay. And there, standing right there in front of her, was Major John Egan. A wide grin on his face as he took two steps forward, just as she ran directly into his arms. Throwing her arms around his broad shoulders, she felt him tug her up. She felt her feet leave the ground as he twirled them around. “Addie, baby.” 

“John.” She choked past a sob. “You’re here!” 

Leaning back, she put her hands on either side of his face, eyes scanning his face. Leaning down, she pressed a soft kiss to his lips. Putting her back down on the ground, she threw her arms back around his waist, pulling him closer to her. “You’re here.” 

“I’m here, Addie. I’m not leaving you again, sweetheart.” He murmured, tilting her head up so he could look at her. “You’re absolutely beautiful, Addie. I can’t believe I'm here.” 

Pushing to her tiptoes, she pressed another kiss to his lips, as his hand came up to her neck, deepening it. Hoots and hollers rang out around them as they pulled back, dazed looks in their eyes. Reaching up, she cupped his cheek, running her thumb over the stubble that was on his cheek. “I love you, John Egan.” 

“I love you too, Addie Baker.” 

With those words, tears ran down her face. Eighteen months it’s been since she heard his voice, those words, directed at her. John’s thumb ran its way across her jaw, a smile tugged on his lips before reaching up and wiping the tears away. “God, you’re a sore sight to see, Addie. Don’t think I’m ever going to stop looking at you.” 

Reaching up, she squeezed his hand. “I’m here, John and I'm never going anywhere.” 

His eyes trailed over her face, as if to memorize it as he smiled happily. The biggest grin she had ever seen was on his face, as if to remember that he had made it and came home to her. “One thing I have to tell you, Buck made it home. I picked him up in Paris a few weeks ago.” 

“You flew to Paris?” John’s eyes went wide, before laughing loudly. “Whatever happened to Buck swearing he would never fly with you again?” 

She giggled. “He didn’t have much choice. Charlie and I picked him up and brought him back to Thorpe. He’s alright - he’s actually on his own mission today, delivering food with Rosie to the Dutch.” 

“Him and Rosie? Delivering food to the Dutch?” He shook his head, reaching down to lace his fingers with hers. “I feel like there’s so much you need to catch me up on.” 

Nodding, she grinned. “We have all the time in the world. C’mon, I fear my co-pilot is getting antsy.” 

“Co-pilot?” John echoed, looking at her with wide eyes. “You’re flying us home?” 

Squeezing his hand, she nodded, eyes lit up with excitement. “Of course, handsome. I’m not leaving you here. Come on, let’s go before the Colonel gets word that we’re not wheels up yet.” 

Tugging him along, she felt him untangle their hands before throwing his arm around her. Stepping right up to the plane, her eyes lit up seeing Elizabeth and Charlie standing in the door of the plane watching the two of them. “Welcome back, John!” 

Charlie hopped down from the plane, holding his hand out for John to shake. Addie felt Elizabeth wrap her arms around her tugging her close, giving her a side a squeeze. “Happy?” 

“Feeling all the emotions currently. I shed tears when I saw him. I don’t know how I feel right now.”  She rested her head on Elizabeth’s shoulder. “I can’t believe he was standing right in front of me. Eighteen months.” 

Elizabeth smiled, pressing a kiss to the side of her head. “Believe it - your family is back together and we’re all safe and sound. Shall we head back to merry old England?” 

“As soon as you all get your butts on the plane.” She smirked, detangling herself from Elizabeth’s hold, starting her pre-flight checks. 

Running a hand on the belly of the plane, she watched Charlie and Elizabeth hop up into the plane while John waited for her. “Go on, get up in the plane. I’m right behind you - just have to finish the last checks.” 

Continuing on with her checks, she paused, watching him jump up in the plane. Finishing everything up, she pulled herself up into the plane, slamming the door behind her. Walking through the plane, she saw several men that she didn’t recognize but gave them big smiles, welcoming them aboard. 

Making her way through the plane, she pulled herself up into the yolk, collapsing on the chair adjacent to Charlie. “Are we heading straight home, or do we have to make a stop along the way?” 

“We have to stop at Radcliff before we touchdown at Thorpe.” Charlie grinned, watching Addie’s eyes rise. 

“Do they know we’re coming?” 

Charlie shook his head. “Nope, just that we’re going to be dropping off a few POWs there before heading back to our base.”

“Add that to our to-do list. Have a long discussion on where we’re going after the war is over - not sure if you want to go back to Michigan or somewhere else.” Addie looked over at her brother before starting the first engine. The other three were quickly started and before long, Addie was radioing the tower requesting take off instructions. Soon she was calling for tail wheel up and reaching cruising altitude just before 10,000 feet. 

Charlie shook his head. “Haven’t even thought that far ahead. Depending on where Anna wants to go - we still have a wedding to plan.” 

“I’m right there with you - depending on where John wants to go. I’m sure we’ll be back in Wisconsin before too long.” She chuckled. “And a wedding to plan - a crazy thought for sure.” 

Charlie nodded. “Ever think what mom would think?” 

“All the time. She would be so ecstatic to meet John and Anna. And Brady from what I heard.” She smirked, watching her brother’s eyes narrow. “She would be just excited that we were all coming home.” 

She bit her lip, attempting to ward off another round of tears. Throwing her head back, she looked up at the ceiling of the plane before laughing loudly. “I’m going to get sick of all these tears really quickly. The last thing John is going to want to deal with is a weepy gal.” 

“Don’t be too quick to think that, Bluebird.” His smooth voice broke through her laughter as she looked over her shoulder at him. 

“What are you doing up here, John? Don’t you know that you’re not supposed to be walking around in a plane while it’s in flight?” She teased, raising an eyebrow at him. 

Leaning a hip against her chair, he pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “Had to see my girl in action, flying the plane.” 

Charlie looked between the two. “I can let you have the yolk, and I’ll go in the back by the men.” 

Addie glared at her brother as John cracked up laughing at the two. John put his hands up, turning to head back down to the navigator’s area. “No need, I’ll go back. Just had to watch Addie work as I will probably never see her in the pilot seat of a big bird any time soon.” 

“All your barrack dreams just came true, huh Egan?” Charlie called as John poked his head back in with the biggest grin.

“You know it, Charlie.” 

Addie rolled her eyes at the two. She did hope the two of them would become really good friends, and at that moment, she was regretting her wishes. “I have nothing - always thought you’d hate whomever I brought home.” 

“John Egan is a pretty great guy, and he treats you really well.” Charlie gave her a look. “You should be ecstatic that we get along so well.” 

Addie nodded, slowly. “I do but not when you two gang up against me. But rather you two get along than fight with each other.” 

“It’s the start of a beautiful life as one big happy family.” Charlie quipped, just as Addie reached over and slugged his arm. 

The rest of the flight was smooth and when Charlie radioed into the tower for landing instructions, she knew she was going to cry some more tears as soon as they landed. Landing softly, she navigated the plane onto the hardstand, killing the engines. Walking to the back of the plane, she looked at all the people in the belly. “We made a stop at Radcliff - if this is your base, you’re more than welcome to head out now. Elizabeth, wait here for a moment. Dad’s on his way out - we’re not staying long as we have a timetable to stick to but figured he’d want to set eyes on you.” 

Following those that were staying at Radcliff out, Addie joined Charlie as they watched the approaching jeep make its way onto the tarmac. Once the jeep was parked, Addie grinned seeing Anna and her father make their way to where they stood. Anna all but collapsed into Charlie’s arms as her dad pulled her into a big hug. “Good flight?” 

“Yeah, can’t complain. It was mayhem at the processing center in Munich. Brought you back 10 pilots.” She said, hugging her dad back. “We have one last surprise for you though.” 

Whistling, Addie turned towards the plane, watching the hatch open as Elizabeth tumbled out with a flourish, attempting to land gracefully. “I don’t know how you all do that so gracefully.” 

“When you’ve done it hundreds of times in your career, you just get good at it.” Addie called back, as she watched her dad’s eyes sweep over his daughter. 

“You’re home.” Her father said quietly, before pulling Elizabeth into a tight hug. 

Tears flowed down Addie’s face as she watched her dad and sister reunite after being apart for so long. Arms wrapped around her, tucking her close. Leaning down, John pressed a kiss to the side of her head. “Good tears?” 

“The best kind of tears. Hello tears, instead of goodbye tears.” She whispered, reaching up to wipe the stray tears away.  Lacing their fingers together, she gave his hand a squeeze, pressing a kiss to the back of his hand. 

Watching her family reunite with one another, she cleared her throat, a frown at her face. “While I hate to do this, we do need to get back to Thorpe. Dad, Anna, want to come over later this week? I think we need to have a big family meeting, now that we’re all back.” 

Hugs were exchanged, welcome back greetings for John and Elizabeth before promises to see everyone later that week. Soon, Charlie, Elizabeth, Addie, and John were back in the plane, and they were taxiing down the runway, heading back to Thorpe. “What’s with the sudden urge to get back to Thorpe?” 

“Well, Charlie. It’s currently 1300 hours and Buck and Rosie are supposed to be back around 1500 hours. I want to make sure we’re back first so that another reunion can happen, and I want a front row seat to that one.” She said, giving him a look, watching as his eyes went wide and he chuckled. 

“Ahh Buck and Bucky’s reunion?” He asked as she silently agreed. “That’s going to be a great reunion

Nodding, she got them airborne, pushing the throttle a bit to ease into their ascent. “I know just the way John can welcome Buck back.”

“Not sure I like that evil grin you have on your face.” Charlie quipped, giving his sister a look. 

Waving him off, she smiled. “It’s going to be a great reunion, and I’ll probably shed tears again.” 

Before long, the descent to Thorpe’s started. Addie confirmed with Charlie that the landing gears were coming down and they radioed to the tower for landing instructions. Soon enough, they were back on the ground, with a gentle bump, Addie easing the plane to a stop on a hardstand. She could hear everyone rustling around in the back and she couldn’t wipe the grin off her face. 

Her found family had made their way back home to her. Through unexpected odds, they survived, and they were all home. 

Gathering up her items, she made her way through the plane, smiling when she saw John standing there waiting for her. “Back to where it all began.” 

“The plane or the base?” She grinned up at him, standing by his side.

“Both, I guess. But I was thinking about the belly of the plane, when you were having one of your sad nights.” He said, sighing. “How far away that feels but that night solidified it for me - you’re it for me Addie. I’m the luckiest man in the world because I have you by my side. I love you.” 

Reaching out, she punched him as the tears crowded her eyes. Sighing, she looked up at the man that made her fall hopelessly in love. Sniffling, she shook her head. “I love you too, John. I’m going to have to put a limit on how many times you make me cry.” 

“I’ll be there to wipe your tears away every single time. I promise.” He leaned down, capturing her lips in a kiss as a throat cleared behind them. 

“How about you let the rest of us leave the plane, then you two can do whatever you want in an empty plane?” Charlie smirked, as John tugged Addie out of his way. As he passed them, Addie slugged him. 

“Should’ve left you at Radcliff for Anna and dad to deal with you.” Addie gave him a look. “Also, leave me alone - I’ve got 18 months of lost kisses, hugs, and sweet sentiments to make up for, pain in my butt.” 

Charlie held up his hands in surrender. “Alright, I’ll leave you two lovebirds alone. Just remember, you have just over an hour before you need to be up in the tower.” 

Saluting him, Addie smiled at him, watching him duck out of the plane, leaving her and John alone. “An hour? What’s going on up in the tower?” 

“You’ll see. Not going to give that surprise away.” She smirked, lacing their hands together. “What do you want to do? Like Charlie said, you’ve got about an hour.” 

Scratching the back of his head, he grimaced looking at her. “I could really go for a shower.” 

“Ok! Shower for you it is.” She said before stepping on her tiptoes, throwing her arm around his shoulder, pulling him in for a steamy kiss, one that left so much to promise. “We have to make a pit stop at my hut first.” 

Dazed from that kiss, John didn’t even question her as he followed behind her. Hopping out of the plane, Addie watched as he spoke quickly to the ground crew before hopping into the jeep left for them. He tugged her right hand off the steering wheel, lacing their fingers together. Looking at her, he noticed something. “Is that the fake engagement ring I gave you before London?”

“It is. I started wearing it after you went down. More as a physical reminder of your promise. Haven’t taken it off.” She whispered the last part, focused on the road in front of them, and avoiding his gaze. 

He let her avoid him as they pulled up to her hut. Getting out of the jeep, she motioned for him to wait as she checked the hut before motioning him to follow her inside. Walking down the aisle, she paused in front of her bed. “Two things were given to me when we got word that you went down - one was your jacket, which for the record, I have worn almost every day since Kidd gave it to me. Two, they gave me your footlocker, and I’ve kept it safe for you.” 

“They gave you my stuff?” John said, crouching down, opening his locker. “Did you look through this?” 

Sitting down on her bed, she placed a hand on his shoulder. “I did. We found out you were in the POW camp on December 5th, and I went through it Christmas morning as I was missing you badly that morning. I may have found a letter that you wrote but I’ll be completely surprised when you give it to me officially.” 

He chuckled. “I wrote that letter after finding you in the big bird that night. There was something about you that drew me in and I wanted to know more.” 

“Well, whatever it was, I felt it too. I wanted to know more about you.” She whispered, squeezing his shoulder. “Come on, you need a shower, and we have places to go and people to see.” 

She watched him pick up his footlocker and haul it out of her hut, placing it in the back of the jeep. Driving him towards his old hut, she watched him take in the surrounding area. “Things haven’t changed much, have they?” 

“Not really - new faces are about the only thing that has changed. Everything else has pretty much stayed the same.” She pulled to a stop outside of his hut. “Go get a shower, freshen up, then meet me at my desk when you’re done. I’ll clue you in about your surprise.” 

Getting out of the jeep, he leaned across the seats, placing a gentle kiss on her lips before pulling back winking. “I’ll see you soon, Bluebird.” 

He grabbed his footlocker from the back. She watched him walk away, the smile tugging at her lips as he paused, winked at her again, before disappearing into his hut. She shook her head, happiness flowing through her as she drove to the tower. She should have made sure Elizabeth had everything she needed before she left the plane but her sister knew the base like the back of her hand, so Addie wasn’t too concerned. 

Walking up the stairs, she threw open the door, not sure what she was expecting, but a quiet office wasn’t it. Walking into the main part, she saw Elizabeth sitting behind her desk with a smirk. “Oh, you finally realized that I was here, huh?” 

“Well . . .” Addie hesitated, grinning at her older sister. “I’m sorry. You probably need clothes and somewhere to bunk, huh?” 

Elizabeth giggled at her sister. “I wasn’t going to interrupt whatever you and Bucky got up to. Luckily for you, I had a shower this morning, but I won’t say no to clothes or a bed.” 

“You can bunk with me. As for clothes, I’m sure we can scrounge up something - if nothing else, there’s a few extra nurse outfits that’ll work.” Addie added as she avoided Elizabeth’s swat to her arm. 

“Where did you leave John?” Her sister pushed away from her desk, coming to stand next to Addie at the windows. 

She watched old friends catch up with one another. Josie and DeMarco were walking hand in hand down the tarmac. Looking around for the canine of the base, she failed to see him. “He’s getting a shower. Did you happen to see Meatball around anywhere?” 

“He is in Jeffrey’s office. Never heard a CO baby talk to a dog before but that’s what I heard when I walked in a few minutes ago.” She smirked, nodding to the closed door. 

Addie rolled her eyes, successfully swatting her sister. “Lovely. What are your plans for the day?” 

“Avoiding you and Bucky as long as humanly possible. You two are going to be lovesick idiots now. I managed to avoid it the first time but I don’t think I’m going to be so lucky this time.” She gagged, exaggerating a shutter. 

Crossing her arms, Addie gave her a long look. “And you and Brady? What’s the story there?” 

“That, my dear sister, is a story for another time.” She grinned. “Let’s just say he’s very talented with his hands.” 

Addie put her hand on her mouth as she pretended to gag at the news. “Things I didn’t need to know about my friend. Thank you, Elizabeth.” 

“I was only saying he’s talented with his hands because he’s a musician, Addie.” Elizabeth rolled her eyes. “Goodness, Egan has corrupted you, Ads.”

Quickly shaking her head, Addie pursed her lips. “He did not, the look on your face is what horrified me. Do I need to give Brady a talk about if he hurts my sister?”

“John may have already done that - double check with him. But if he did not, then feel free to do so.” Elizabeth smiled, pushing off the wall. “I’m going to head back to your hut, maybe take a nap. Will you come grab me when you head to dinner?” 

Nodding, Addie tugged her sister into a hug before kissing her cheek. “If I haven’t said it, it’s really good to have you home. Sister catch up soon?” 

“Absolutely. Need to know what badass stuff you got up to in the 18 months we were gone.” Elizabeth smirked, returning her hug before heading out of the tower. 

Pushing herself off the wall, she walked over to Jeffrey’s office, knocking quickly. “Enter.” 

Pushing open the door, Addie smiled seeing Meatball jump up from the floor to circle her. Reaching down, she gave him a few pats and scratched before looking up at her CO. “Thank you for watching him today.”

“Not a problem. You were right, he is a pretty chill dog.” Jeffrey smiled, seeing the dog sit at Addie’s feet. “Everything go alright with the mission?” 

Nodding, she felt Meatball lick her hand. “We brought home 30 men, 10 of which we dropped off at Radcliff before bringing the other 20 men here. I’ll make sure you meet them properly soon.” 

“Was your Major Egan one of them to return?” Jeffrey asked, watching a light blush cover his secretary’s cheeks. 

“He was.” She smiled. “Thank you for giving me the opportunity to bring him and the men home. It was a great honor to fly them back.” 

Jeffrey stood, making his way over to her. “I am glad you got the opportunity. You do so much for the base, it was the least I could do to have you fly that mission. Now, take the rest of the afternoon off - I’m sure there will be some celebrations to welcome the men back.” 

Nodding, her and Meatball left his office, she stopped at her desk. She needed to send a telegram to Harding but finding the words was difficult. She figured simply saying that Buck and Bucky had made it back. She finished it with her signature before promising herself she’d send it later that afternoon. 

She was caught in her thoughts that she failed to hear the door open, until she saw a bouquet of wildflowers in front of her. Looking up, she grinned seeing Bucky standing there with the flowers, just as he had done countless times. “John, they’re gorgeous.” 

“Luckily, they didn’t mow down my field.” He handed them to her, Addie inhaling them before putting them in her makeshift vase, adding a bit of water from the cooled tea kettle. 

Addie turned, shaking her head at him, watching him greet Meatball. “They tried but I wouldn’t let them. Even got Jeffrey to write up an executive order that put the kibosh on that.” 

John chuckled, a grin on his face as he continued to pet the dog. “Oh, I missed you too, Meatball.” Looking up at Addie, he chuckled. “Of course you would. Now what’s my surprise?” 

“Come along, then.” She laced their hands together, leading him up the stairs in the tower, Meatball trailing behind them. Opening the door, she motioned John to go in ahead of her. “Maddie moo!” Addie cried just as the door shut behind her. 

“Hey, you! Good flight today?” Maddie asked, twirling around in her chair, only to stop when she saw John standing next to her friend. “Bucky! Welcome back!”

“I had to pick up a few men who had lost their way, including this one.” She smiled, taking a seat next to Maddie. “We’re here to surprise the crew coming back in a bit.” 

“Hi Maddie. Did my girl get my missives?” John asked, sitting in a chair beside Addie. 

“She did - left them on her desk after we got word. And you’re right on time, they should be calling into the tower any second.” Maddie said, giving the two of them a look. “He does know about that, doesn’t he?” 

Addie looked over at John, who was confused at the two. “Buck and Rosie are coming back from their mission. Thought you’d like to be the one to give them landing instructions.” 

John laughed. “Are you trying to give my best friend a heart attack?” 

“Something like that. Just think, it’ll be payback from something.” She teased, hearing the radio static come through. 

“Clearup Tower, this is Chowhound One requesting landing instructions, over.” Gale’s strong voice came through the radio as Addie watched the grin cross Bucky’s face. 

“Chowhound One, you are clear for overhead approach. Runway 281 at 1,200 indicated. Winds are 300 at 12. Altimeter, 29.96. Over.” John reported back, a smirk on his face at hearing Buck’s voice for the first time in weeks.

Addie shook her head at John. This was the perfect way to let Buck know he had returned to base, safe. John reached over, grabbing her hand, and squeezing it. 

“Clearup Tower, please repeat. Over.” Buck’s confused voice radioed back as they all bit back a laugh.

The smile was clear in his voice as he radioed back. “Oh, you heard me the first goddamn time, Gale”

“Well, I’ll be damned.”

Throwing down the earpiece, John pushed back from the desk, giving Addie a look. “Want to go meet him at the hardstand with me?” 

Nodding, Addie turned to Maddie. “Thank you for letting us crash the Tower for a bit.” 

“Anytime. Always happy to have you here with me.” Maddie grinned, watching the two of them head out of the tower, with Meatball hot on their heels.  

John tugged her down the stairs, making sure she didn’t trip. He hopped into the driver’s side of the jeep, waiting for her to get in. Meatball hopped in beside Addie before John tore off down the runway. She pointed to Buck’s plane as it landed softly on the tarmac. 

John waited for the plane to turn to the hardstand, before pulling up alongside the plane. Honking the horn, he smirked as Buck caught sight of him in the jeep.  Buck’s face was worth all the agony and pain they had been through. Addie watched Buck’s grin widened as he saw his best friend. 

“Look who it is. Stone in my shoe!” Buck called out, shaking his head at his best friend.

“Oh, I’m back!” All Bucky could do was laugh as he continued to follow the B-17 to the hard stand.

Putting the jeep into park, John jumped out, antsy to be face to face with Buck in a handful of weeks. Addie stood back, Meatball by her side, as she waited for the reunion. 

Soon enough, the hatch was opened and Buck dropped out, a big grin on his face. Immediately John tugged him into a hug, a few back slaps exchanged before they pulled back. Buck looked over his shoulder grinning at Addie. “Had a hand in bringing him back?” 

“Sure did. Didn’t think he was even there until literally the last 5 minutes we were on the ground.” She smirked looking between the two friends. “He found me though.”

“Had to yell her name three times before she saw me.” John teased. 

Addie smiled. “Well, it was an emotional morning. Elizabeth, DeMarco, Brady, Murphy, Crank, Alex, and Richard all came home with us too.” 

Buck grinned. “You brought them all home. I’m sure they were glad to see you.” 

“Too true, Buck.” John smiled, seeing more people come up to them. Lemmons, Rosie and Crosby joined them with handshakes and welcome backs. 

Addie reached down, petting Meatball, attempting to remind herself that they had made it, all safe and standing her on the hard stand like it was any other day. But it wasn’t and that day was one for celebrations. 

“What’s the plan for the rest of the day?” Rosie asked, looking between the group. 

Addie shrugged. “I have the rest of the day off. Jeffrey mentioned something about a celebration, so I’m guessing the club will be loud tonight.” 

The men hopped into the jeep, leaving Addie and Meatball to walk back. Addie needed some time to wrap her head around the day. Caught up in her thoughts, she didn’t realize Meatball had torn off down the way until she heard laughter. Looking up, she saw Meatball had noticed DeMarco and was excitedly jumping up and down, lapping up the attention from the man. 

Walking towards Josie, Addie grinned at her friend. “Good day?” 

“The best. You brought him home.” Josie looked over at her. “Thank you.” 

Addie chuckled. “No thanks needed. John and Elizabeth are both home too. Did he find you in the tower?” 

Nodding, Josie smiled. “I’m glad they’re back. As for Benny, he walked in, door slamming behind him and rushed up to my desk, pulling me to a stand before kissing me. Jeffrey kicked us out and we’ve been catching up since. He mentioned Meatball is yours and John’s now.” 

“Yet to be determined. I told him Meatball remembers him but Benny said he’s mine now. So, we agreed to disagree for the time being.” Addie grinned, watching DeMarco scratch Meatball’s belly. “Told you he didn’t forget you.” 

“Yeah, yeah but he’s still your dog.” DeMarco called back, vigorously scratching the dog. 

Giving them a few more minutes, she slapped her thigh, watching the dog come to her side. “I don’t know what the plans are, but there is a celebration in the club tonight.” 

Leaving them, her and Meatball continued their walk towards her hut. She didn’t know where John had gotten to but figured she would see him at the mess hall for dinner. 

Walking into her hut, she smiled seeing Elizabeth in the bed next to her, sound asleep. Collapsing on her own bed, she settled in, Meatball curled up at her feet. Sighing, she let the emotions of the day hit her. Her makeshift family was all back on base. Everyone was in high spirits and excitement was palpable. 

“What did I miss?” Elizabeth’s sleepy voice called to her. 

Addie smiled at her sister’s messy hair. “Good morning, sleeping beauty. Buck and Rosie came back. John was on the radio to welcome them back. A celebration later in the club is all I know. Everything else is yet to be determined.”

A yawn escaped Elizabeth’s mouth. “Sounds like a typical Tuesday.” 

Addie laughed. “The first one that’s felt normal in over a year.”

“You doing okay, Addie?” Elizabeth pushed herself up before coming to sit beside her, wrapping an arm around her. Meatball nudged his way between the two, both girls giving him pets. 

Sighing, Addie shrugged. “I should be asking you that question.” 

“You’re avoiding it.” Elizabeth softly sang, giving her sister a knowing look. 

“Maybe I am.” She sighed softly. “I don’t know what I feel, Lizzie. I’m over the moon excited that you all are back but how do I explain to you and John what happened over the 18 months? I mean, how do I tell you that I helped plan out the missions this base did with the D-Day after Crosby collapsed from exhaustion. I saw Ryan and called him an asshole to his face. I took Rosie for a ride in Daffodil. Rosie went down then came back then I went to pick Buck up. And somehow, I made it through, one foot in front of the other for 570 days. Thank goodness for Rosie and Crosby - they made sure I ate and took care of myself while you all were away.” 

Tears fell as she whispered the last part. Elizabeth wrapped her arms around her sister, much to the dismay of Meatball. Elizabeth cooed as she ran a hand through Addie’s hair. “Let it out, Ads. Just let everything that you’ve been holding in out. Shh, I got you now.” 

She cried, cried until she couldn’t cry any longer. Slumped against her sister, she snubbed, hastily reaching up to wipe away her tears. “You’re so strong, Addie. So strong but you don’t have to be strong for anyone any longer. Your family is back, and we’re not going anywhere.” 

Sniffling, Addie hugged her sister tight. “Love you, Lizzie.” 

“Love you too, Ads.” 

2200 Hours

Stumbling out of the officer’s club, John by her side, she was wound up from a night of drinking and dancing. Tugging on John’s hand, she led him to a fort, standing in front of it with a grin. “We always end up here, don’t we?” 

“You led us here. I just followed.” He joked, an easy on his face. “I’m surprised you’re not more tired, you’ve been up since 0330.” 

At his words, a yawn escaped her mouth. She gave him a look. “Didn’t want to go to bed early on your first night back. Quite honestly, I don't want you out of my sight but what can we do?” 

John looked at the fort before looking at her. “C’mon, let’s go up.” 

Opening the hatch, he got up as she followed behind him. Grabbing a blanket, she threw it over her shoulder, hoping to ward off the chill, as he pulled her into his arms. “This, this right here, is what I’ve been looking forward to most. Being alone with you, without anyone around.”

“Me too.” She gave him a shy look, taking a deep breath. “You still smell like you did before you went down.” 

“You’ve smelt me before?” He teased, causing her to knock her shoulder into his. 

“Your jacket - I wore it before it smelt like you. Tobacco, sandalwood, and mint.” She gave him another shy look, eyes looking at their connecting hands instead of him. He reached over and rubbed his thumb on her jaw before tilting her head up. 

John locked eyes with her. “Where has my Addie gone? Why are you so shy?” 

“It’s been 18 months, John. We’re both different people.” She smiled softly. “What if what we had before you went down is now completely different?” 

John nodded, leaning over and gently kissing her. “The thought crossed my mind but Addie, what we have is real. I get it, you’re nervous, hell I’m nervous. Eighteen months is a long time to be a part, but you’re it for me baby. Yes, I asked you to marry me but when we get married is up to you.” 

“I want to marry you, John. There’s no question there. Just - I want to tell you everything that happened in the last 18 months. And I’m sure there’s things that you’ll need to tell me.” She paused, sighing. “I just don’t know where to start. I hated that you felt like you needed to go back up - and it took me a long time to realize that you needed not to feel so hopeless. Like I said in a letter, I forgave you for that a long time ago. I faced my ex-fiancé and called him an asshole. I helped plan around 200 D-Day missions for our boys to make, I did a few things that may make you roll your eyes, and I did a lot of other things that probably made a difference in the war. I took Rosie up in Daffodil on Thanksgiving. Rosie and Crosby watched over me to make sure I was eating and taking care of myself. And somehow, I managed to put one foot in front of the other and we made it, John. And now we’re free to start our lives together.” 

John nodded, leaning over and kissing her. His voice dropped to a whisper. “Addie, what can I say? You did it, baby. We made it through. I’m in awe of you and everything you had to endure while I was gone. But I’m home now, and you don’t have to endure that any longer. You can lean on me, through the tough days.” 

“But you’re working through your own stuff.” She said, picking up his hand, lacing their fingers together. 

John placed a finger under her chin, tilting it up so she locked eyes with him. “We’ll work on our own stuff, together, side by side, Addie. This will be the last time you're on your own. I’m not leaving you.” 

Squeezing his hand, a few stray tears fell down her cheeks. John reached over and whipped them away, rubbing his thumb along her chin, soothingly. “I love you, John.” 

“I love you too, Adelaide.” 

Nestled against John’s chest, she listened to his heartbeat. He was here, sitting beside her. The only thing she wanted the last 570 days. She just wanted him by her side, and finally, her wish came true. 

“John?” She asked, lifting her head to look over at him, a grin crossing her face. 

“Hmm?” He hummed, continuing to play with the ring on her finger before looking up at him. 

“I don’t want to wait . . . I want to marry you as soon as possible.” Her eyes lit up at the prospect. “Will you marry me, just as soon as we can pull things together?” 

John’s jaw dropped at her words. “But you just said . . .”

“Forget what I said. I don’t want to wait.” She squeezed his hand. “I want to be Mrs. John Egan, just as soon as we can make it happen. And if we need to wait until we get back to Wisconsin, so your mom and sisters are there, then so be it but I want to be your wife.” 

Grinning, he leaned in and kissed her soundly. Throwing her arms around his shoulders, she deepened the kiss. Tugging her, he helped her settle on his lap as they continued to kiss. “Addie, baby, yes, I will marry you. Wanna marry you just as soon as we can.” 

She didn’t say anything, just leaned forward to kiss him. He groaned at the heat behind the kiss. “Been dreaming of this, Bluebird.” 

“Make love to me, John.” She whispered, against his lips. Looking at him, she watched him bite his lip as she nodded. “I want you John. So unfair that I only had you for a night before you went down.” 

Leaning closer to his ear, her hot breath sent shivers down his spine. “Love you, John.” 

“Love you too, Adelaide.” Pushing her gently off him, he guided her back on the blanket, kneeling over her. Leaning over her, his kiss, sealed a promise between them. This, this was just the beginning for them. 

Thank you for reading!!! 10,379 words to round out chapter 17. They've reunited and Addie's found family are all back at base. There's one more chapter, a wrap-up and a look into the future. I have (currently) 4 scenes that were nixed when I originally updated chapters that I'll be posting once they're all cleaned up. But if there's anything else you'd like to see, feel free to send me a message or comment below. As always, feedback is welcomed and appreciated.

Chapter 18

[justforbooks]

Daniel Ellsberg, a US government analyst who became one of the most famous whistleblowers in world politics when he leaked the Pentagon Papers, exposing US government knowledge of the futility of the Vietnam war, has died. He was 92. His death was confirmed by his family on Friday.

In March, Ellsberg announced that he had inoperable pancreatic cancer. Saying he had been given three to six months to live, he said he had chosen not to undergo chemotherapy and had been assured of hospice care.

“I am not in any physical pain,” he wrote, adding: “My cardiologist has given me license to abandon my salt-free diet of the last six years. This has improved my life dramatically: the pleasure of eating my favourite foods!”

On Friday, the family said Ellsberg “was not in pain” when he died. He spent his final months eating “hot chocolate, croissants, cake, poppy-seed bagels and lox” and enjoying “several viewings of his all-time favourite [movie], Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid”, the family statement added.

“In his final days, surrounded by so much love from so many people, Daniel joked, ‘If I had known dying would be like this, I would have done it sooner …’

“Thank you, everyone, for your outpouring of love, appreciation and well-wishes. It all warmed his heart at the end of his life.”

Tributes were swift and many.

Alan Rusbridger, the former editor-in-chief of the Guardian, said Ellsberg “was widely, and rightly, acclaimed as a great and significant figure. But not by Richard Nixon, who wanted him locked up. He’s why the national interest should never be confused with the interest of whoever’s in power.”

The Pulitzer-winning journalist Wesley Lowery wrote: “It was an honor knowing Daniel … I’ll remain inspired by his commitment to a mission bigger than himself.”

The writer and political commentator Molly Jong-Fast said: “One of the few really brave people on this earth has left it.”

The MSNBC host Mehdi Hasan said: “Huge loss for this country. An inspiring, brave, and patriotic American. Rest in power, Dan, rest in power.”

The Pentagon Papers covered US policy in Vietnam between 1945 and 1967 and showed that successive administrations were aware the US could not win.

By the end of the war in 1975, more than 58,000 Americans were dead and 304,000 were wounded. Nearly 250,000 South Vietnamese soldiers were killed, as were about 1 million North Vietnamese soldiers and Viet Cong guerillas and more than 2 million civilians in North and South Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia.

The Pentagon Papers caused a sensation in 1971, when they were published – first by the New York Times and then by the Washington Post and other papers – after the supreme court overruled the Nixon administration on whether publication threatened national security.

In 2017, the story was retold in The Post, an Oscar-nominated film directed by Steven Spielberg in which Ellsberg was played by the British actor Matthew Rhys.

Ellsberg served in the US Marine Corps in the 1950s but went to Vietnam in the mid-60s as a civilian analyst for the defense department, conducting a study of counter-insurgency tactics. When he leaked the Pentagon Papers, he was working for the Rand Corporation.

In 2021, a half-century after he blew the whistle, he told the Guardian: “By two years in Vietnam, I was reporting very strongly that there was no prospect of progress of any kind so the war should not be continued. And that came to be the majority view of the American people before the Pentagon Papers came out.

“By ’68 with the Tet offensive, by ’69, most Americans already thought it was immoral to continue but that had no effect on Nixon. He thought he was going to try to win it and they would be happy once he’d won it, however long it took.”

In 1973, Ellsberg was put on trial. Charges of espionage, conspiracy and stealing government property adding up to a possible 115-year sentence were dismissed due to gross governmental misconduct, including a break-in at the office of Ellsberg’s psychiatrist, part of the gathering scandal which led to Nixon’s resignation in 1974.

Born in Chicago on 7 April 1931, Ellsberg was educated at Harvard and Cambridge, completing his PhD after serving as a marine. He was married twice and had two sons and a daughter.

After the end of the Vietnam war he became by his own description “a lecturer, scholar, writer and activist on the dangers of the nuclear era, wrongful US interventions and the urgent need for patriotic whistleblowing”.

Ellsberg contributed to publications including the Guardian and published four books, among them an autobiography, Secrets: A Memoir of Vietnam and the Pentagon Papers, and most recently The Doomsday Machine: Confessions of a Nuclear War Planner.

In recent years, he publicly supported Chelsea Manning, the US soldier who leaked records of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, who published Manning’s leaks, and Edward Snowden, who leaked records concerning surveillance by the National Security Agency.

On Friday, the journalist Glenn Greenwald, one of the Guardian team which published the Snowden leaks in 2013, winning a Pulitzer prize, called Ellsberg “a true American hero” and “the most vocal defender” of Assange, Snowden, Manning and “others who followed in his brave footsteps”.

Steven Donziger, an attorney who represented Indigenous people in the Amazon rainforest against the oil giant Chevron, a case that led to his own house arrest, said: “Today the world lost a singularly brave voice who spoke truth about the US military machine in Vietnam and risked his life in the process. I drew deep inspiration from the courage of Daniel Ellsberg and was deeply honored to have his support.”

In 2018, in a joint Guardian interview with Snowden, Ellsberg paid tribute to those who refused to be drafted to fight in Vietnam.

“I would not have thought of doing what I did,” he said, “which I knew would risk prison for life, without the public example of young Americans going to prison to make a strong statement that the Vietnam war was wrong and they would not participate, even at the cost of their own freedom.

“Without them, there would have been no Pentagon Papers. Courage is contagious.”

Three years later, in an interview to mark 50 years since the publication of the Pentagon Papers, he said he “never regretted for a moment” his decision to leak.

His one regret, he said, was “that I didn’t release those documents much earlier when I think they would have been much more effective.

“I’ve often said to whistleblowers, ‘Don’t do what I did, don’t wait years till the bombs are falling and people have been dying.’”

Daily inspiration. Discover more photos at http://justforbooks.tumblr.com

[lboogie1906]

Alexandre Biyidi Awala (June 30, 1932 – October 8, 2001) known as Mongo Beti or Eza Boto, was a Cameroonian writer.

He spent much of his life in France, studying at the Sorbonne and becoming a professor at Lycée Pierre Corneille.

The son of Oscar Awala and Régine Alomo, he was born in Akométan, Cameroon. He was influenced by the currents of rebellion sweeping Africa in the wake of WWII. His father drowned when he was seven, and he was raised by his mother and extended family. In 1945 he entered the lycée Leclerc in Yaoundé. He came to France to continue his higher education in literature, first at Aix-en-Provence, then at the Sorbonne in Paris.

He turned to writing as a vehicle of protest. He wrote regularly for the journal Présence Africaine; among his pieces was a review “Afrique noire, littérature rose” about Camara Laye’s novel The Dark Child. “He takes Laye to task for pandering to French metropolitan readers with false images of Africa that efface colonial injustice.” He began his career in fiction with the short story “Sans haine et sans amour” (“Without hatred or love”), published in the periodical Présence Africaine, edited by Alioune Diop, in 1953. Beti’s first novel Ville Cruelle (“Cruel City”), under the pseudonym “Eza Boto”, followed in 1954, published over several editions of Présence Africaine.

In 1956, he gained a widespread reputation; the publication of the novel Le pauvre Christ de Bomba created a scandal because of its satirical and biting description of the missionary and colonial world. This was followed by Mission terminée, 1957 (winner of the Prix Sainte Beuve 1958), and Le Roi miraculé, 1958. He worked during this time for the review Preuves, for which he reported from Africa. He worked as a substitute teacher at the lycée of Rambouillet.

In 1959, he was named certified professor at the lycée Henri Avril in Lamballe. He took the Agrégation de Lettres classiques in 1966 and taught at the Lycée Pierre Corneille in Rouen until 1994. Following Nyobe’s assassination by French forces in 1958, he fell silent as a writer for more than a decade, remaining in exile from his homeland. #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence

[comicsart3]

Glory Forbes was another fine example of Fiction House Publishing featuring strong female characters in the war years and the immediate postwar period. Glory was a private detective in the best hardboiled tradition, running her own agency on the west coast, and was equipped with good unarmed combat skills, a talent for undercover work and an overall fearlessness as displayed in the pages here. Glory’s back story however was really quite unique. The daughter of a senior engineer who was designing the USA’s latest bombers during the war, Glory was kidnapped by a sinister Japanese spy ring called The Scarlet Crab, who brainwashed Glory and tasked her with killing her own father. Her terrible mission failed, but once cured of the Scarlet Crab’s mental grip, she vowed to help the FBI to smash the spy ring and, after the war, took this determination to fight wrongdoers into the realm of the female private eye. In this role, in which she was often as much vigilante as detective, she took on the familiar cast of late 1940s villains: gangsters, blackmailers, kidnappers, embezzlers and spies.

Despite Glory’s bravery and skill as an actress and make up artist, she was continually having her cover blown and ending up in peril, but there was usually some lantern-jawed good guy on hand to rescue her. Despite almost becoming a scantily-clad comedy character, particularly in her earlier stories, at heart, with her Southern bravado, overt sexiness and overall sass, Glory was a good example of a tough female comic book character able to mix it with the men. Interestingly she went into her adventures unarmed.

Glory made some forty appearances in Rangers of Freedom comics and later Rangers comics. Confusingly she often completely changed her appearance depending on her artist and actually moved from being a redhead to a brunette to a blonde, without ever obviously dyeing her hair. Glory Forbes featured in Rangers of Freedom/Rangers Comics issues #5-48 (October 1945- August 1949). The stories were written by Bob Hickok. The pages featured above are from Glory’s last ever adventure, Report on Thoren’s Case, which appeared in Rangers Comics #48 (August 1949).

Sources: Public Domain Super Heroes for the detail and comicbookplus for the comic pages.

[daydreamerdrew]

A report handwritten by Bill Blass about the merits of using chicken feathers for camouflage.

The sharp cultural divide in the unit was obvious to many. Bill Blass marveled that he could hear Beethoven’s Fifth at one end of the barracks and “Pistol Packin’ Mama” at the other.

Bob Tompkins (left), Bill Blass (second from right), and buddies at a French cafe.

Sergeant Bob Tompkins was a jeep driver in the 603rd and close friends with Private First Class Bill Blass. Tompkins was the younger of the two, but Blass felt that "with his confident manner and dashing good looks, set off by a thin Errol Flynn moustache, he seemed somehow more worldly." Against all security regulations, Tompkins kept a secret diary in a tiny address book. He believed that if he was caught with it, he'd "be shot on the spot." He wrote as small as he could because he was afraid he would run out of space before the fighting was over. After the war Blass's mother typed it up to preserve it for posterity.

Bill Blass (left) and Bob Tompkins in a dugout left by the Germans; Bill Blass by Victor Dowd, 1945.

For the next few months they lived disjointed lives, shuttling back and forth from dangerous operations near the front to the relative calm of Luxembourg City. They racked up the miles, traveling north as far as Malmedy, Belgium, and south as far as Metz, France. Sometimes they were in all three countries in one day. "Man, we used a lot of fuel," recalled Corporal Al Albrecht. "We traveled more across Europe than any other army unit." Much of the travel was done at night to avoid notice by spies. They drove with covers on their headlights that left only a tiny sliver of light: "cat's eyes," they were called. "We were getting to sleep at two or three o’clock in the morning,” recalled Private First Class Bill Blass, “often in a tent or mud hut flooded with rain.” […] Sergeant Bob Tompkins summed it up in his diary: “It’s muddy as shit, by the way, and very cold.”

Wartime diary of Bob Tompkins, approximately twice the actual size.

Maintained items - tore them down at 9 PM. Moved up 500 yards to new area and set up new tanks. Willy [Blass] and I set up our tent with our feet sticking out in the pouring down rain and passed out around 3 AM.

August 24, 1944

- Diary of Sergeant Bob Tompkins

Corporal Jack Masey decided to use the time between missions to caricature the men of his company. "I'm going to capture every one of these crazies," he told himself. He put them all together in a book called You on K.P.! (KP, or Kitchen Patrol, was a dreaded duty that often was given out as a punishment; it involved such tasks as peeling potatoes or washing dishes.) He collected money from his buddies and found a printer in Luxembourg City who ran off a copy for every soldier in Company B of the 603rd. They autographed one another's books and saved them as souvenirs. These are from Private William Sayles's copy.

Bill Blass in his jeep.

The cover and one page from one of Bill Blass’s wartime sketchbooks.

One of the most memorable Ghost Army artists was Private First Class Bill Blass. Originally from Indiana, Blass moved to New York at age seventeen to pursue a career in fashion design. His fellow soldiers took to him immediately. "A fine fellow in every sense of the word," wrote Harold Dahl in a letter home. "Very flamboyant, very outgoing, very cheerful," said Sergeant Bob Tompkins, who was close friends with Blass during the war. "He would never shirk a duty," recalled Private William Sayles. "If it was cleaning trash cans, he was right there with a smile and beautiful teeth." In his autobiography, Bare Blass, written with New York Times fashion reporter Cathy Horyn, Blass admitted he was in a "bubble of delight" during the war. "For me, the three and a half years that I spent in the army represented absolute freedom. I was truly on my own for the first time in my life. So, naturally, in that exuberant state of mind, I didn't always notice how bad things were."

Jack Masey remembered Blass reading Vogue in his foxhole. "The rest of us are a bunch of slobs, but not Blass— he's always dressed to the nines. We all had the same uniforms, but leave it to Blass to have his pressed or something." Certainly, outside of his army duties, his focus was almost entirely on fashion. He filled his notebooks with ideas for women's clothing. In Paris, Luxembourg, and elsewhere, when he saw an outfit he liked, it went down in the notebook. On the cover of one notebook he drew the mirror image Bs that would become the logo for his fashion-design house.

Making curfew signs at one of the [DP] camps. Clockwise from top left: William Sayles, Frank Geary, Bill Blass, Gil Switzer, and David Taffy.

Bill Blass became a fashion superstar. In 1970 he purchased the company where he worked as a designer and changed the name to Bill Blass Ltd., taking as a logo the mirror-image Bs that he had once sketched on his wartime notebook. His clothes were known for their casual elegance and were worn by luminaries such as First Lady Nancy Reagan and New York socialite Brooke Astor. Blass's name became a household word, eventually appearing on everything from cars to boxes of choco-late. He was also a major fixture in New York society and known for his witty repartee and impeccable attire.

In 1945 he helped his fellow Ghost Army veteran Jack Masey get his first job. In 1967 Masey prevailed upon him to design uniforms for the United States Pavilion guides at the Expo 67 World's Fair in Montreal. Blass attended a White House dinner for Queen Elizabeth II of England in 1976, where President Gerald Ford introduced him to the queen as our "King of Fashion."

Bill Blass died in 2002 at age seventy-nine.

—

Bob Tompkins became an ad agency art director and design consultant. He remained lifelong friends with Bill Blass. He died in 2011 at age eighty-eight.

excerpts, photos, and artwork from The Ghost Army of World War II: How One Top-Secret Unit Deceived the Enemy with Inflatable Tanks, Sound Effects, and Other Audacious Fakery by Rick Beyer and Elizabeth Sayles

[scotianostra]

Aberlady Bay’s midget submarines.

I took a trip out to Aberlady last night to catch the low tide where these relics from World War Two are left decaying as the tide comes in and out.

In the spring of 1946, two midget submarines were towed to Aberlady Bay and tethered on either side of an anchor point made of one old concrete anti-tank block set on top of four others. There, over two days of trials in the first week of May, they were fired at by aircraft including Mosquitoes and Seafires (the naval version of the Spitfire) in an experiment to judge the effectiveness of 20 mm cannon shells against the submarines’ steel hulls.

The story of the Aberlady Bay midget submarines was uncovered brilliantly by a researcher named Alison Boutland in a report for the Nautical Archaeology Society. She was able to identify the submarines as XT-craft, a training variant of the X-craft mini submarine.

X-craft were about 16 metres (52 ft) long and powered by a diesel engine when on the surface and an electric motor when underwater. They had a crew of four: a commander, a pilot, an engineer (known as the engine room artificer, or ERA) and a specialist diver. They were used in September 1943 in a daring raid on the German battleship Tirpitz in a fjord in the far north of Norway – a mission that inspired the 1955 film ‘Above us the Waves’, starring John Mills.

The XT submarines, built by Vickers Armstrong at Barrow-in-Furness, were used not just for training X-craft crews, but also to stand in for full-size submarines in training exercises in which they were hunted from air and sea. The XT-craft were simpler than X-craft, since they did not need as much equipment. In particular, they did not have a retractable periscope; the periscope was fixed in a fin-like housing on the top of the submarine. The distinctive eye-shaped attachment point for this periscope housing was clearly identified by Boutland on the two Aberlady Bay wrecks.

Six XT-craft were built, named Extant, Sandra, Helen, Excelsior, Extended and Xantho. When the war in Europe drew to a close, they were no longer needed, and in June 1945 all six were sent to the Naval Construction and Research Establishment in Rosyth. Boutland was not able to figure out which of the six were used for the target trials, although she did conclude that the better-preserved wreck is probably not XT-5, Extended, which, as its name suggests, was modified to be a little longer than the others.

The cannon-fire trials took place on May 1, 1946 and, after the subs were patched up and re-floated, May 6, 1946. The website East Lothian at War, which has the dates as May 2 and May 7, says that the first trial involved armour-piercing shells and the second high-explosive shells, and that the latter proved more effective. Surviving documentation includes annotated photos of the subs showing the damage after the attacks.

Aberlady Conservation and History Society was recently given movie footage of the trials, filmed by a naval officer from the deck of a boat from which the operation was observed, and in 2019 the footage was digitised and posted on YouTube, the footage, although in colour, is not great, I will post it below for you to have a wee look at.

An interesting addition to the story of the submarines comes from Coastkid, a local blogger and Surly fat bike enthusiast, who has evidence that the subs continued to be used as targets for live firing practice by aircraft based at Drem. He recalls working as a greenkeeper at Gullane in the 1980s and finding dozens of spent 0.5 inch shell cartridges as well as 20 mm cartridges, and he was told by a retired tractor driver that aircraft used to line themselves up using a marker pole behind the seventh tee on Gullane No 3 course, and fire when over the rows of anti-tank blocks, near the green of the twelfth hole on No 2 course.

[queen-of-the-avengers]

Captain Marvel: Part Eight

Pairing: Carol Danvers x Female!Reader

Word Count: ~2.4k

Warnings: canon violence and angst

Author’s Note: For the sake of the rewrite, Howard and Maria Stark dies on December 16, 1997 instead of 1991. Tony is 23 when they die.

x

You leave her side and find the 'T' section for Tesseract. If they have knowledge about it, what else do they have about it? The box is pretty empty since there isn't a lot of information on it, but you go through it with a fine-tooth comb. The only thing they know is that it's a box with an insane amount of power that can create portals. They got it from Howard Stark after Steve went into the ice. They tried testing it as a weapon, but it had a mind of its own, so Dr. Lawson took over and used it for her light-speed tech.

You're about to put the box back when you notice something at the very bottom. Interdimensional Republic. That's the company Markus owned. There isn't much on the company except that when the Tesseract opened a portal, they saw that name on a huge building before the portal closed. You sigh in relief and put the box back knowing that Markus will never find this place... if he's even out there.

You leave Vers to keep researching while you walk into the hallway to give yourself a breather. You're alone for maybe ten minutes before the sound of shoes clicking on the glossy floor sounds. You look up and see a man in his fifties walking toward you. You make the mistake of looking him in the eyes as he passes by you, and he stops and walks back over to you.

"I recognize you."

"Excuse me?"

"1945. Your face is plastered all over the newspapers from that time, and you even have your own section in the Smithsonian. You fought with Captain America."

"I'm sorry, you must have the wrong person."

"Well, then you won't care if I tell the authorities you're here."

"No!" you say too quickly. "What do you want?"

"I'm here to give you an opportunity. SHIELD is made up of dicks who only care about money and the power they hold. If you want to do something good in this world, join my side." He takes out one of his business cards and hands it to you. "I could use someone like you."

The mysterious man walks off without another word, and you look at the card he gave you. Dr. Hank Pym with Pym Technologies. You're not sure what he's up to, but you already have a big problem on your hands. Still, you put the car in your pocket and head back inside the archive's room.

Vers is over by the phone on the wall with her wrist device attached to the wires like she did when you first landed on Earth.

"Vers, what are you doing?"

"The only way we can know for sure about what happened is to talk to Maria. We need to contact Yon-Rogg. He will know what to do."

"Why? We've already gotten so much progress here ourselves because he's not here to screw it up. Do you see what using your powers can do? He's trying to manipulate you like every other Kree does."

Vers is confused about who to believe and who to trust, but she goes ahead and makes contact with Yon-Rogg despite what you've said.

"I know Lawson was Kree," she says before he has a chance to say anything. "She was here on C-53 and died in a plane crash. Do you know anything about this?"

"I just discovered a mission report sent from C-53. There's only so much I'm cleared to tell you Vers and Y/N, but Lawson was an undercover Kree operative named Mar-Vell. She was working on a unique energy core and experimenting with tech that apparently could help us win the war."

"Does it say anything about me? Or us?" you ask.

"Anything about you two? No, of course not. Why would it?"

"I found evidence that I had a life here," Vers confesses.

"On C-53?" he stutters.

"Mar-Vell is who I see as the Supreme Intelligence. I knew her, and I knew her as Lawson."

"This sounds like Skrull simulation, Vers."

"No, don't try and spin this off as some twisted delusion of your own," you growl.

"I remember I was here!"

"Stop! Remember your training. Know your enemy. It could be you. Do not let your emotions undermine your judgment."

"Go to hell." You hang up the phone. "Do not listen to him, Vers. He's manipulating you!"

"Where's Fury?"

"He's probably lost or captured. Come on."

You two leave the records room and head for the stairs. Just upon reaching the landing, you hear voices coming from above. You pull Vers into you and cover her mouth with your hand to let her know to be quiet.

"Fury's colluding with the target."

"Then why did he call us in?" a man that sounds like Agent Coulson asks.

"All I know is that we take him in too. Dead or alive."

Fury might have called them in, but you can't leave him here to get captured by who he thought was on his team. You wait for the two men to leave before heading back to the archive's room. Inside is Fury and his director fighting each other. You don't think someone's boss will pull a gun on their employee, which can only mean that the director is a Skrull looking for you and Vers. Vers blasts the director away from Fury, and he looks grateful for the save. She blasts the ceiling to use as a quick escape, and this is where you come in. You grab both of them and fly them through the hole Vers made.

"You called them in?" you scold.

"My bad!"

You find the staircase and yank the door open only to see Agent Coulson with a gun pointed at you. Vers' fists glow orange, but you put a hand to her hand to stop her from hurting Phil. Fury and Coulson have a silent conversation with their eyes, and Fury begs him not to give you away.

"Coulson, do you have eyes on them?" an agent says from above.

He takes five seconds to speak.

"They're not down here. Let's try another floor."

You three pass him on your way down to the hangar where all the airplanes are. Vers grabs a long metal pole and shoves it through the handlebars so that if someone were to try to use the door from the other side, it won't open. Once she knows it's safe, she holds her hand out as if she expects something from Fury. When he makes no move to acknowledge her, she hits his arm and holds out her hand again.

"What?"

"Give me your communicator. You obviously can't be trusted with it."

Fury sighs and hands over his pager to her just as agents slam into the locked door next to you.

"Come on!" you urge.

There isn't much to hide behind, but you manage to hide behind some large boxes that are ready to be shipped out. Agents break the door down to get inside the large room, and you weigh your options of escaping this unharmed. Vers spots one of the planes that can be used as a quick escape, and she nudges you and Fury.

With a mutual agreement, you stay hidden as you make your way over to the plane. Vers got behind the wheel, Fury took the passenger seat, and you got in the seat behind Vers. She begins messing with the controls as if she knows what she's doing. If what her memories show is true, then flying something like this is second nature to her.

"Do you know how to fly this thing?" Fury asks.

"Uh... we'll see."

"That is a yes or no question," Fury gasps. 

Whatever Vers is doing is right because the engine roars to life and the doors close behind you. She pushes the lever forward which causes the plane to hover in the air.

"That's what I'm talking about!" Fury laughs.

When the agents below hear the plane take off, they start shooting at it aimlessly. It does nothing and allows Vers to fly out of the underground tarmac area, and over the open desert before gaining altitude very quickly. Suddenly, a small meow comes from the back of the plane where a meow shouldn't be. All three of you look back and see Goose pushed against a crate.

"We've got a stowaway," Fury says.

"Hang on, Goose."

Vers straightens the plane, allowing Goose to push off the crate and onto the ground. She happily walks over to Vers and jumps onto her lap, and your girlfriend moves her over to Fury.

"Who's a good kitty huh? Huh, Goose? Yes, that's right. Who's a good kitty, Goose? You're a good kitty," Fury coos.

Vers reaches into her pocket and takes out the photograph she stole of Wendy, Maria, and her in the background, and hands it to Fury.

"Do you see anyone you know? Six years ago, I arrived in Hala, near dead with no memory. I think I'm the pilot that went down with Dr. Lawson, and if not, then the last person to see them both alive is Maria Rambeau."

"How do we get to Louisiana?"

"Due East and hang a right at Memphis," Fury jokes.

"You must have taught Agent Coulson right because I appreciate the way he stuck up for us."

"Yeah, he's the new guy. I guess he doesn't hate me yet."

"Give him time," you joke.

"I guess he had a feeling and went with his gut against orders. It's a really hard thing to do. That's what keeps us human."

"I get in trouble for that. A lot," Vers sighs.

"Yeah by an ignorant asshole who gets off on manipulation," you comment.

"I can see that about you, and even you too, Y/N. Rescuing the guy who sold you out to the Skrulls. I guess that's not standard Kree operating procedure."

"Well, I won't tell your boss if you don't tell mine."

"He won't be hearing about this from me," you smirk.

Vers flies the aircraft all the way to Louisiana where Maria Rambeau is. She is very isolated from most of the population, but it's nice to see such big trees and open fields around her house. Next to her house is a shop used to fix cars, or in her case, planes. When you get a closer look at the shop, you can see a woman tinkering on a two-seater plane. This is Vers' moment since she knew Maria back in the day.

"Excuse me, I'm looking for Maria Rambeau."

The woman jumps in surprise and a little girl identical to the older woman jumps out of the plane. She runs over to Vers with an excited look on her face as if she knows who she is.

"Aunty Carol! Mom, it's Aunty Carol. I knew it! Everybody said you were dead but we knew they were lying."

The little girl hugs Vers who is apparently named Carol. Your girlfriend stands awkwardly, unaware of who this child is. Maria walks closer to Vers with an unsure look on her face like she can't believe what she's seeing.

"I'm not really who you think I am," Vers says.

Maria isn't sure if this is her friend or not, but she wants to hear what Vers has to say. Monica, Maria's daughter, and Maria are sitting with you, Vers, and Fury in the living room so you can explain to them what happened after the plane crash. Vers' name isn't even Vers. It's the name that the Kree gave her to help conceal her identity.

Her real name is Carol Danvers.

"That is the craziest shit I've ever heard," Maria chuckles once you're done explaining.

"Green-transforming aliens? There's no such thing," Monica says.

"I'm an alien," you shrug.

"You're absolutely right, young lady. There is no such thing because if there were, we would want to keep that to ourselves," Fury says and looks at you accusingly.

"You want proof?"

Carol gets up and walks over to the tea kettle on the stove in the kitchen. She grabs the sides of the kettle and uses her powers to heat the tea inside. You raise your hand and use your air powers to open the cabinet and float one of the tea cups over to where Carol is. Maria and Monica stand up in fascination and curiosity.

"No way. That is so cool," Monica grins. 

"They can do a lot more than just make tea with those hands," Fury scoffs.

"Like what? Show us."

"Maybe later," Carol chuckles.

"I kept all your stuff, I'll go get it," Monica says and rushes out of the room.

"You want to give her a hand with that?" Carol asks Fury who nods.

He leaves the room to give Carol and Maria some time alone together, and you get up to leave when Carol grabs your hand. This is all so new to her, but you're her safety net. She trusts you with her life, so she needs you here in case something goes wrong.

"So, her name is Carol?" you ask Maria.

"Yeah. You don't remember anything?"

"I see flashes of little moments, but I can't tell what's real. If I could just piece together what happened that morning, maybe it'll all make sense."

"You were banging on my door at dawn and woke me up. I didn't think anything of it because that's what you normally did. Back then, we had to get up so early. The Air Force wasn't letting women fly in combat, so testing Lawson's planes was our only shot at doing something that mattered. That morning, you wanted to race to the base but your old Mustang was nothing compared to my Camaro. You cheated and took a shortcut," Maria laughs at the memory.

There are tears in Carol's eyes at the thought of her stolen life, but she doesn't let them fall.

"Since when is a shortcut cheating?"

"Since it violates the predetermined rules of engagement."

"I definitely don't remember those."

"Mmm, of course, you don't." They both laugh like old friends. "When I got to the hanger, Lawson was agitated, because she had lives to save. She was trying to take the Aces up herself, but you said—"

"If there were lives at stake, I would fly the plane," Carol finish for her.

"Yup. Big hero moment. The kind of moment we've both been waiting for. The Doc was always unique. That's why I liked her, but now you're saying she's from another planet."

"I know this must be hard for you," you comment.

"What, this part right here? No. Do you know what's hard? Losing my best friend in a mission so secret they act like it never even happened. Hard is knowing you were out there somewhere, too damn stubborn to die. Now you come up in here after six years with your super-charged fire hands and magical friend, and you expect me to call you... I don't even know what... 'Vers'? Is that really who you are now?"

"I don't know," Carol sighs.

x

Follow my library blog @aqueenslibrary​​​​​​ where I reblog all my stories, so you can put notifications on there without the extra stuff :)

[argyrocratie]

"The pattern in Greece was largely the same as in Italy, with the National Liberation Front (EAM) — under pressure from both the communists and the Soviet Union — surrendering its gains to the British. The only difference was that, when pressed far enough, they eventually defied Stalin by fighting back.

The EAM, after virtually possessing most of Greece and besting the British forces in combat, willingly surrendered its arms and staked its future on the reliability of British promises and their small and anxious local allies. This abdication was possible only because the Communists in the EAM dictated it over a movement they could barely control.[169]

But despite the Greek Communist Party (KKE) and the communist ELAS guerrillas going out of their way to appease the British — surrendering arms and staying outside Athens in accord with the Varkiza agreement — Churchill, following a long series of betrayals, packed the Greek army with prewar monarchists and wartime Nazi collaborators. The conservative government it installed, facing a reality in which the communists would likely come to power in an unfettered electoral system, ignored its own obligations to ELAS and the communists under Varkiza and resorted to an escalating series of repressive actions.[170] “The terror that ensued was ruthless, and ultimately self-defeating. It began immediately after the January 1945 truce and mounted in intensity.”

The regime systematically purged the army and political bureaucracy of pro-EAM elements. There was casual terror of random assassinations and beatings, and systematic repression by security committees and courts-martial that simply arrested EAM supporters and detained them without trial. The government tightly controlled trade unions, and charged former EAM underground government tax collectors with robbery and looting. The regime now judged ELAS executions of collaborators as murder. Outside the Athens area the government-proclaimed martial law lasted until August. The police and their supporters beat up EAM and Communists news-vendors, even arrested purchasers at random, and shot leftist reporters. Right-wing bands roamed many districts, doling out retribution at will. When the British Parliamentary Legal Mission visited Greece at the end of the year they reported that wholesale terror filled the filthy, crowded jails with a very minimum of 50,000 prisoners, and by comparison the excellent, even comfortable, prisons for some of the worst fascists were comparatively empty.[171]

Yet as late as May 1945, Communist Party Secretary Nikos Zachariadis — newly returned from imprisonment in a Nazi concentration camp — attempted to purge the Party of militants and enforce continued cooperation with the British and the rightist regime.[172] But despite pressure from Britain and from Stalin for the Communist Party to function in electoral politics as just another party, given the likelihood of communist victory in free elections the rightists in power felt they had no choice but to intensify the terror and repression.[173]

The result, from mid-1946 on, was a growing civil war in which maintaining the government in power was beyond the resources of the British, and the United States assumed Britain’s interest in Greece and saved the regime from collapse with U.S. funds and military advisors.[174]

-Kevin Carson, "The Undeclared Condominium: The USSR As Partner in a Conservative World Order" (2023)

[conspiracytheoriesposts]

The Bermuda Triangle

For my 5th and final blog post, I am going to talk about a conspiracy theory that has baffled people for decades – The Bermuda Triangle, also known as The Devil’s Triangle. The Bermuda Triangle is a section of the North Atlantic Ocean where ships, planes, and people have mysteriously vanished. The three points that make up the triangle are in Miami, Puerto Rico, and Bermuda.

With a series of unexplained explanations, the phenomenon of the Bermuda Triangle has dumbfounded the world for years. In 1964, the story of the Bermuda Triangle took place. It was officially named The Bermuda Triangle when American author Vincent Gaddis created the infamous name when talking in a magazine about an area in the shape of a triangle just off the coast of Florida. This area became later known as the “Devil’s Triangle” due to the strange disappearances of at least 50 ships and 20 aircrafts. To this day, many still do not know exactly what happened to the ships and aircrafts, the mystery of the Bermuda Triangle has caused many conspiracy theories about the triangle-shaped area.

Stated before, the hype of the Bermuda Triangle can be linked back to the mysterious disappearances of ships and aircrafts. In 1945, a routine training exercise went wrong when five US Navy planes and 14 men disappeared in the area. The US Navy investigated and explored the area only to announce back that the incident was reported “cause unknown.” From that time on until the 1980s, there were 25 small planes that disappeared in the area known as the Bermuda Triangle, the small planes were never seen again, and no wreckage of the planes were ever found. Rescue missions of the small planes were sent out; however, it is also reported that some of those rescue trips vanished as well. Multiple abandoned ships were discovered and some never sent out any distress signals. Some people have concluded that something unnatural occurred for all these ships and aircrafts to vanish.

The deadliest unsolved mystery in the Navy is the USS Cyclops. Built as a fuel ship in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, it was later commissioned to support American Forces in France during World War I. However, in the early morning in March of 1918, Cyclops disappeared with all hands while returning from a voyage to Brazil. The ship and its crew made an unscheduled stop in Barbados on March 3, 1918. However, the crew and passengers were never seen again, and it is still a mystery over 100 years later. To this day not a single piece of the ship has been found. Which led to many asking, “how did such a large ship carrying 293 men just disappear without a trace?” The theory is that the infamous Bermuda Triangle claimed their lives since the USS Cyclops reportedly went down in the Bermuda Triangle. Numerous ships were sent out to locate the Cyclops as it was thought to have been sunk by a German submarine. No one for sure knows what exactly happened to the ship which caused many stories and theories.

The stories of the mysterious area captivated the public. Some theories were created to explain the mystery of the Bermuda Triangle. One theory is that wormholes explain the conspiracy behind the Bermuda Triangle. Wormholes are like a tunnel between two points in our universe that cut the time travel down between one point to the other. It’s essentially where space and time come together to allow for time travel. Now this theory may seem insane to many but many think this explains as to why the wreckage from the shipwrecks or plane wrecks were never recovered or why upon discovery of some wreckage, no person was found from these wrecks. 

The US Navy and the United States coast guard insist there are no supernatural explanations for the disasters at sea. They suggest it is purely just environmental reasoning why these ships and aircrafts have wrecked. Majority of tropical storms and hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean pass through the Bermuda Triangle. Dangerous storms like these have claimed many ships that get in the way. Another environmental theory of what claimed the missing vessels are gigantic, deadly waves called Rogue Waves. These waves can reach heights of up to 100 feet, greater than twice the size of surrounding waves. 

These extreme storm waves theoretically could be powerful enough to destroy all evidence of ships and aircrafts, thus explaining why some ship and aircraft wreckage were never found. The ocean has and will always be a mystery to humans, no matter how experienced you are to sail a ship or fly an aircraft the deep ocean can be a very deadly place. 

           There are numerous theories as to why vessels disappear in the Bermuda Triangle, some theories as insane as some claiming that aliens take the shipwrecks and plane wrecks, and this explains why some wreckages never get discovered or some just say the ocean is a very dangerous place and the ocean all over have claimed lives before. Whatever you may believe, the wrecks in the Bermuda Triangle have and will always be a mystery. 

[usafphantom2]

A Flight of Four Mustangs Celebrates WWII Fighter Pilot’s 100th Birthday

March 20, 2024 Vintage Aviation News Warbirds News 0

The formation of four Mustangs flying over Lake Lanier, north of Atlanta.

United Fuel Cells

Mission accomplished! On Tuesday, March 19, World War II pilot Paul Crawford fulfilled his dream of flying in a P-51 Mustang like the one he commanded 79 years ago in China, where he flew 29 missions until he was shot down in 1945. Now 100, Buckhead resident Crawford was delighted when the Liberty Foundation and Inspire Aviation Foundation took him up in a TF-51D on a perfect blue-sky day for flying.

TF-51 “E Pluribus Unum” piloted by owner Bob Bull with Paul Crawford in the back leads the formation over Lake Lanier. The camera ship was a Bonanza piloted by long time Liberty Foundation’s pilot Cullen Underwood.

For the occasion, four P-51 Mustangs landed at the Dekalb-Peachtree Airport and parked at Atlantic Aviation, the FBO that supported this unique event. Mr. Crawford lovingly touched the nose and wing of one of the Mustangs when he first walked up to it, reuniting after a 79-year separation. LtCol Ray Fowler, Liberty Foundation Chief Pilot, and pilot Bob Bull helped Crawford into the back seat of the TF-51 and gave him an exhilarating 30-minute ride.

The organizers envisioned the participation of only one P-51, but a quick round of calls sparked the interest of other owners who enthusiastically decided to participate in the event. Bob Bull, Steve Maher, and Rodney Allison flew their Mustangs to Atlanta bringing the total number to four:

P-51D “Old Crow” (N451MG) – Pilot Ray Fowler – Liberty Foundation P-51D “Rebel” (N3BB) – Pilot Rodney Allison P-51 “E Pluribus Unum” (N351B) – Pilot Bob Bull – P-51 “Ain’t Missbehavin” (N51K) – Pilot Steve Maher

The Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and Paul graduated six months later, during which time Congress passed the law to draft 18-year-olds. “I knew that I was going to be drafted so I went to Atlanta to talk with the Army Air Corps [sic] and the Navy about flying,” shared Mr. Crawford. ”The Navy said they would accept me for flight training but wanted me to go right then to their Great Lakes training center. The Air Corps told me they would accept me, but to go on back to college and they would notify me when to report.” said Crawford. Paul went back to Americus, entered Georgia Southwestern College, and shortly thereafter he received his draft notice to report to Fort McPherson in Atlanta on January 2, 1942.

Paul Crawford in his P-51 ‘Little Rebel’ ( photo by Paul Crawford Collection)

Paul had an older brother, Tim, who had gone into the Air Corps before Pearl Harbor and was flying B-26s, a medium bomber. He ended up flying combat in the B-17 Flying Fortress out of North Africa. The older brother influenced Paul’s choice, convincing him that the Air Corps had better aircraft, “I thought the water was, as they say, too deep and too wide to swim!” said Mr. Crawford.

With about 100 hours on the P-51 and 250-275 hours total, Mr. Crawford was sent off to Chengtu, China assigned to the 311th Fighter Group, 529th Fighter Squadron protecting the B-29 bases. As these B-29s transferred to the Pacific Theater, his squadron was transferred to Hsian headed for combat. At the time, Mr. Crawford was estimated to have only accumulated another 60 hours of flying time.

On his 29th mission, Mr. Crawford was shot down by ground fire while strafing a small railroad facility. After getting hit, he bailed out and was picked up by Chinese Communist guerillas. A few days earlier one of his housemates had been shot down and captured by the Japanese who cut his head off and put it up on a gate post. After a 200-mile-long walk, chased by the Japanese a couple of times, yet still evading capture, Mr. Crawford ended up at a compound owned by a wealthy family. A few miles from the compound was an airstrip where the OSS (U.S. Office of Strategic Services) brought downed airmen out. After the flight, Mr. Crawford talked about his experience: “When I recall my time in World War II, I always start by saying, I was not a hero! I was just there! That is not false modesty because it is the way I have always felt. I flew the P-51 Mustang.”

Mr. Crawford who has time in P-40, P-47, A-24, and P-51C, believes that the P-51 was the best fighter plane of its day. “There’s nothing in the world like that airplane,” Crawford said. “I loved doing the maneuvers again.” Paul Crawford was surrounded by several friends, his son-in-law, Tommy, and dozens of Liberty Foundation and Inspire Aviation Foundation members eager to have their pictures taken with him, shake his hand, and thank him for his service.

Ezoic

After serving in WWII, Paul Crawford finished college at Georgia Tech with a degree in Industrial Management. That’s also where he met his wife, Jean. They had a daughter and were married for sixty-one years when Jean passed away. Paul worked in the paper industry and for the U.S. Envelope Company until he retired in 1988. Paul currently lives in Atlanta and participates in aviation and historical WWII events.

This special event was made possible thanks to the support of Bob Bull, Ray Fowler Chief Pilot of The Liberty Foundation, Steve Maher, Atlantic Aviation FBO, Cullen Underwood with Vintage Flights, and Inspire Aviation Foundation.

Paul Crawford after the successful flight with (L to R), Cullen Underwood (Camera ship pilot), Bob Bull, Ray Fowler, and Rodney Allison.

[macla539ac]

does anyone know anything about the green dragon and the tibetan-nazi connection

HAHAHAHAHAHH

>soviet soldiers report finding a group of dead tibetans lying in a circle around another dead Tibetan hanging from a hook, all wearing SS uniforms, presumably a mass suicide (1945)

>the fuhrer reportedly escaped to tibet to be hidden by those whose alliance he had sought.<

>at the urging of the soviets, china invades tibet to try and contain the evil there. many nazi attachés were still in the country, they write books and movies are made about them without ever revealing their true mission (1950)

HAHAHAHHAHAH²

some yrs ago: an odd dna study appears which pushes the theory that the Iranic peoples (the aryans) originated from tibet in the paleolithic, based on rare haplogroups that are only found in ancient sumerian dna and modern tibetan populations

>successful late paleolithic settlement on the tibetan plateau was an interplanetary hoax and the middle euphrates valley never existed

[bobmccullochny]

History

January 27, 1943 - The U.S. 8th Air Force conducted the first all-American bombing raid on Germany as 55 bombers targeted Wilhelmshaven, losing three planes while claiming to have shot down 22 German fighters. The success of this first mission encouraged U.S. military planners to begin regular daylight bombing raids, which eventually resulted in high casualty rates for the American crewmen involved.

January 27, 1944 - Russian Army General Govorov announced the lifting of the Nazi blockade of Leningrad. During the 900-day siege, an estimated one million Russian civilians inside the city died of disease, starvation and relentless German shelling.

January 27, 1945 - The Russian Army liberated Auschwitz death camp near Krakow in Poland, where the Nazis had systematically murdered an estimated 2,000,000 persons, including 1,500,000 Jews.

January 27, 1967 - Three American astronauts were killed as a fire erupted inside Apollo 1 during a launch simulation test at Cape Kennedy, Florida.

January 27, 1973 - U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War ended as North Vietnamese and American representatives signed an agreement in Paris. The U.S. agreed to remove all remaining troops within 60 days thus ending the longest war in American history. Over 58,000 Americans had been killed, 300,000 wounded and 2,500 declared missing. A total of 566 prisoners-of-war had been held by the North Vietnamese during the war, with 55 reported deaths.

Birthday - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) was born in Salzburg, Austria. From the age of five, through his untimely death at age 35, this musical genius created over 600 compositions including 16 operas, 41 symphonies, 27 piano and five violin concerti, 25 string quartets, 19 masses, and many other works.

Birthday - British novelist Lewis Carroll (1832-1898) was born in Daresbury, Cheshire, England (as Charles Lutwidge Dodgson). Best known for Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. He also lectured in mathematics and was a pioneering photographer.

Birthday - Labor leader Samuel Gompers (1850-1924) was born in London. He emigrated to America at age 13, worked in a cigar factory, eventually becoming head of the Cigar Workers' Union. He later brought together several national unions under the name American Federation of Labor and became its first president.

Birthday - German Kaiser Wilhelm II (1859-1941) was born. He was a grandson of England's Queen Victoria and ruled Germany from 1888 through World War I. Although he had military training, he left conduct of the war mainly in the hands of Generals Paul von Hindenburg and Erich von Ludendorff. In 1918, amid the defeat of Germany, he abdicated and fled to the Netherlands where he lived in seclusion until his death. He was given a military funeral by Hitler

[bedlamsbard]

500 words written today.  Kind of a weird day in general, which my weekends tend to be; my power company has suddenly started texting me, so I woke up to a text from them about the power being out (which was fine, since I was still in bed and just went back to sleep), but that threw me a little for the rest of the day even though it was back by the time I actually got up. Had a big mood drop earlier, so that was...terrible, and then it evened out.  Not a fan.

Snippet from Of Home Near chapter 3.

They destroyed my birth certificate, so I reinvented it, she heard Yelena’s voice whisper in ghostly memory.  My parents still live in Ohio.  My sister moved out west.

“Your parents’ names?”

“Alexander and Melanie Romanoff.  My mother’s maiden name was Voss.” Natasha was sticking as closely to Anglicizations as possible, since that was least likely to raise eyebrows.  It might be a little paranoid, but paranoid was just a shorter way of saying better safe than sorry.  She was also uncomfortably aware that within the next few days she and Steve might have to come back and say, sorry for all the blatant lying, but you’ve got a trained Soviet assassin in the SSR and I know because I used to be one too, but they had agreed to burn that bridge when they came to it.

The questioning continued for another two hours, by which point Peggy was starting to look a little frustrated and Natasha was mentally compiling a report about the SSR’s current mission capabilities, ongoing operations, and political problems.  Peggy was a decent interrogator, but Natasha had been doing this for longer than Peggy Carter had been alive – in 1945, anyway – and she usually did it from this side of the table, too.  Two hours of this, plus their brief meetings over the past few days, told Natasha exactly why the Special Operations Executive, desperate as it was for qualified operatives, had been willing to second Peggy Carter to the SSR.  She had the skills for black ops and the willingness to do most, if not all, that that entailed, but she was so straightforward that it became a liability in the field.  That was fine in a regular fight; it got people killed in covert operations.  Usually other people, and the wrong kind of other people.