SOME  MYSTERIES OF WAR IN THE HOSTILE SKIES OF WWII

by Forrest S. Clark
44th Bomb Group, 67th Squadron

A WWII memoir by one who was there. I submit to include in your Web Site of warbirds and personal experiences.

My crew lost two members, our bombardier Lt. Edmonds and radio operator T/Sgt Sofferman. I dedicate these accounts to them and to their honor and courage. One of our crew was grounded and two were wounded in action. The pilot got the Silver Star and almost all of us finished our missions. We were lucky. I don't push my luck anymore these days.

Why did my best friend, T/Sgt Abe Sofferman get shot and killed by German troops in an ambush when he and others could have escaped from Belgium in 1944?

Why did he go with the crew that got shot down while I went with another and survived?

Why did I survive a savage attack by enemy fighters and bail out when an unexploded 20mm shell in one good engine did not blow us to pieces?

Why did I manage to escape from Nazi Europe in Dec.1944 when others were captured?

It was luck and has left me with a guilty feeling ever since. These things cannot be explained and have not in the past 50 years.  I am going back to Belgium in September to be at the memorial for my friend at the crash site and to make my final tribute to that friend.

When you pass an old warbird, give it a salute and give it a friendly pat for reassurance. It is retired but it did it's duty and it is a proud old bird that like we who flew in them it has aged gracefully and is now ending its days. The mere sound of the radial engines, the surge of the pressure is enough to give us reels of memories.

Old friend farewell.

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