# WW II vet takes to the skies for one final flight.



## Hooligan Dan (Apr 11, 2011)

Today in Sacramento a restored WW II-era B-17 bomber was at a decommissioned Air Force base giving rides($400 for people who were not the press-yikes!). So last week we found a local WWII vet who served on a B-17 during the war and we brought him a long for the ride.

He had not been on a B-17 since his final mission on June 20, 1944. These guys were suppose to fly 25 missions and their duty was done. His 25th mission was the day before D-day. So he had to fly a few extra missions on D-Day and the following two days. 

He was a tail gunner. Flew 31 missions in all. Bailed out once and crashed during one of the post D-day missions.

Great guy. And still sharp as a tac. 

Here are the shots from today. Lots of em. I normally only post a couple and link to my blog, but most people are as lazy as I am and my traffic suggests people don't like links. Let me know what you think. It was a lot of fun shooting. 
 All shots taken with Nikon D3s w/17-35 2.8

1.






2.





2 1/2. *accidentally skipped a photo





3.





4.





5. The view





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8.





9.





10. A photo from his final day. "Cigars and scotch" written on the back. Said "That was the first time I ever remember being drunk."





11. Looking onto the tail gunner turret. 





12.





13.





14. Signatures from other B-17 vets.


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## NayLoMo6C (Apr 11, 2011)

:salute:

BTW, great set of shots.


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## imagemaker46 (Apr 12, 2011)

That must have been a very emotional day for him, nice to have the pictures to go along with that day.  I really like the one of him holding the photo. Well done on that.


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## altitude604 (Apr 12, 2011)

great series!

captured the emotions quite well.


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## spacefuzz (Apr 12, 2011)

excellent shots


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## Hooligan Dan (Apr 13, 2011)

Thanks for the kind words, folks!


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## bazooka (Apr 13, 2011)

Man, that's awsome, nice work.


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## droiddev (Apr 28, 2011)

I love these photos.  Im a sucker for WWII photos and anything related to it.  I love especially the fact that these photos capture the notion that the man actually knows how to move about the B-17.


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## loopy (Apr 28, 2011)

Very nice series!


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## JBArts (Apr 28, 2011)

Great photo series. It shows on the man's face that he's really happy seeing the B-17 bomber. It must have brought a lot of memories to him. And by the way, that B-17 bomber was restored nicely. Just by looking at the first image, the plane looks brand new. Thanks for sharing!


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## Hooligan Dan (Jun 13, 2011)

Well, the Liberty Belle crashed and burned in Chicago today. I guess i won't be flying around on it anymore. Sad loss for all those vets who were given the opportunity to fly again. 

WWII bomber that crashed underwent maintenance over weekend - Chicago Breaking News


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## amandalee (Jun 13, 2011)

These are AWESOME! and thats so sad about the crash


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## bigboi3 (Jun 13, 2011)

Awesome set!!


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## cuezombies (Jun 13, 2011)

What a FANTASTIC series... speaks to the heart!


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## ghache (Jun 13, 2011)

I just love this. good job


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## BlackSheep (Jun 13, 2011)

That's really too bad about the crash.
Wonderful photographs though - thanks for sharing them with us! Two of them (#10 and the last one) aren't visible anymore - would you be willing/able to put them back up? I'd love to see them.


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## orb9220 (Jun 13, 2011)

Well Done and loving the Series. Hope to get out to our Air Show in Aug.
Love those old planes. And always wanted a P-51D Mustang to fly around in.
.


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## Butter Jeweler (Jun 13, 2011)

Wow, the loss of a great legend from a time long ago..... I bet it feels great to be the author behind a little preservation of history. It's stories like the one you told in these pictures, with this gentleman and this beautiful aircraft, that will help the memories and the sacrifices live on. Seeing the aircraft again through the expressions on his face give empathy to the times past he holds in his mind. 

Thank You!


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