Posted 10 years ago
Belltown
(241 items)
My wife's dad, Delbert Miller, was a ball-turret gunner on a B-17 at the end of World War II. Here's his training diploma, plus a cartoon that a colleague drew of him. Del was an amazing piano player, so this cartoon depicts him trying to bring a grand piano on his plane when he stationed at Gulfport Field in Mississippi. Del was a short, wiry guy, which is why he was chosen for ball-turret duties. He had a jacket with lots of bombs on it and a couple of swastikas, so apparently he was good at his job.
We have always wanted to know who I. Groupp was, or if that was just the name of his outfit. Anyone know?
I would think it is the guys name. I checked with WW2 enlisted records and found ONLY 1 man named "GROUPP". His first name was Sol, but his middle initial was "I"-- maybe he went by that name.
Here are his records:
http://aad.archives.gov/aad/record-detail.jsp?dt=893&mtch=1&cat=WR26&tf=F&q=groupp&bc=sl&rpp=10&pg=1&rid=4193968
scott
Thanks for the info, Scott! And thanks agh, rob, and vet for the loves.
Ben
More enemy planes were shot down by bomber gunners than by fighters. Makes one wonder why none seem to have been given the title of "Ace".