Dodging Flak and Fighters in the Wild Blue Yonder: A B-24 Bombardier’s Story

Mr. Richard Scott was born in 1924, graduated High School at the age of 16, and enlisted in the United States Army Air Corps at the age of 17 in 1942. Being too light to pass the physical, the doctors told him to drink a lot of water and report back at noon to be weighed. Once he was inducted into the Air Corps, he discovered that he was too short to be a pilot and so he became a bombardier. As the honor graduate in his class, he thought he would remain in the states to help train new recruits and so his high school sweetheart took a train to Texas and they were married. Unfortunately, he received orders to deploy and soon after his wedding, he shipped out for Italy. His crew was a replacement crew in the group after the disastrous Ploesti raid on August 1, 1943. Scott’s crew survived 16 missions and multiple close calls before being redeployed to the United States at the end of the war in Europe. They were scheduled for B-29 training in preparation for deployment to the Pacific when the war ended and he was discharged. In this interview, Mr. Scott discusses his training, the hazards of flying over the Alps, and his hopes of becoming a B-29 pilot before the war ended. Stay tuned at the end of this interview for a brief talk with his wife, Mrs. June Scott, about her train trip to Texas with her future mother-in-law for the wedding. A special surprise waits at the end of the video when the Scott’s and two of their children sing the Army Air Corps song.