Overview

"Through his letters home, combat reports, and extensive interviews with author Bill Cullen, Bob Harper describes his harrowing experiences on board the Flying Fortresses of the Eight Air Force. At 5 feet, 4 inches tall and weighing just 110 pounds, Bob Harper was below the minimum size requirements for US military service. As the demand for manpower increased, rules were bent, Harper's deferment was retracted, and he was drafted into the Army. Harper was deployed to the European front and survived 35 combat missions as a B-17 ball turret gunner. Based at airfields in England, Bob and the 381st Bomb Group flew brutal missions over heavily defended industrial centers in Germany. Harper was shot down twice and awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. Bob recounts amazing stories, from bailing out of a battle damaged bomber, to the bomber near perfectly landing itself in a nearby field, to a battle fatigued crewmember departing a taxying (for takeoff on another mission) aircraft on the runway, and attempting to flee the scene. Through his letters home, combat reports, and extensive interviews with author Bill Cullen, Harper describes his harrowing experiences on board the Flying Fortresses of the Eighth Air Force. Cullen's interviews with Harper, who is still alive as of the completion of the manuscript, took place over a period of years, and it is the anecdotes from the interviews that drive the majority of the narrative. The ball turret was located underneath the aircraft and was a confined, intense, and unique environment from which to experience combat during the Second World War. Readers will find Harper, who went on to a successful business career after the war, to be an insightful, witty, and engaging storyteller. AUTHOR: Bill Cullen graduated from St. Lawrence University with a BA in political science, and a course concentration history in military history. He has written in the investment field of regenerative medicine and stem cell research and ran an associated blog for doctors and scientists called Writing Fact and Fiction. A short story of his, ""Valentine's Day,"" was published by the Saturday Evening Post in Best Short American Fiction 2016. He lives in Portland, Oregon. SELLING POINTS: . Bob Harper was shot down twice and survived 35 combat missions as a B-17 ball turret gunner . At 5 feet, 4 inches tall and weighing just 110 pounds, Bob Harper was below the minimum size requirements for US military service . Through his letters home, combat reports, and extensive interviews with author Bill Cullen, Bob describes his harrowing experiences on board the Flying Fortresses of the Eighth Air Force 40 b/w and colour photos"

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9780764367069

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"""Around the time of his 100th birthday, Bob Harper finally read ""Flying Fortress Gunner"". Though he and the book’s author, Bill Cullen, shared a close personal bond, it was the story of Harper’s wartime service that brought the two closer together still. When the author suggested the two collaborate on a memoir, Bob Harper could only modestly reply, “well, if you think anyone would be interested in reading it.” The result is a book everyone should read, regardless of interest."" -- Paul Bingley, author, ""Bomb Group"""

Author Information

"Bill Cullen graduated from St. Lawrence University with a BA in political science, and a course concentration in military history. He has written in the investment field of regenerative medicine and stem cell research and ran an associated blog for doctors and scientists called Writing Fact and Fiction. A short story of his, ""Valentine’s Day,"" was published by the Saturday Evening Post in Best Short American Fiction 2016. He lives in Portland, Oregon."

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