This is a 15 minute video I got from a friend in an email. Pretty neat stuff about the greatest generation. I never realized how deadly the air combat was until about 10 or 15 years ago. At one time, there was serious consideration of halting it because of the heavy losses. My uncle was a fighter pilot and was shot down over Germany, spent the last year of the war in a POW camp. He talked a little about it, but not much. The following is from the email.
Did you have a Uncle Jack?
All - I think you will find this worth watching.. Also has beautiful film of a modern B-17 in flight. E.
The 8th Air Force suffered 30,000 airmen lost or missing during WWII--more casualties than the Navy and Marines combined. Only one airman in three survived the air battle in Europe.
If you were lucky enough to survive 30 missions (like Uncle Jack), you became a member of the "Lucky ********
club".
If you have a sharp eye, you may have noted that the B-17 in the video is a late model that had a remote controlled gun turret (rather than two manually operated 50 cal machine guns) in the nose.
Let us never forget what Uncle Jack and these brave men did for our country.
Gary is one of a few actors who has supported the troops and done a lot for veterans. Support him.
This is great! Sit back and relax and enjoy a piece of American history. It may even bring a tear or two to your eyes. Wish we had more people in the entertainment industry like Gary Sinise.
"Uncle Jack" featuring Gary Sinise and his uncle:
http://www.sleepingdogtv.com/reel/Uncle-Jack.aspx