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I Was An Aerial Photographer by Jim Van Nostrand - 765th Bomb Squadron The last lines of the article on mission #1 in the October, 1988 issue of The Liberaider read: "bomb strike photos give incomplete coverage of bursts". Those words may have been what started a series of actions that led to the creation of an added crew member called "Aerial Photographer" - my job. I remember the day very well that Big G strode over to the photo lab and lined us all up out front and said, "Men, we're not getting bomb strike pictures of the target, so we're adding a man just to get those pictures. I can't order you but I'm asking for volunteers". Just like somebody pushed me from behind, I stepped forward and several others followed. That put me on flying status. As I was the first one to volunteer, I flew the first mission as "Official Photographer" and extra crewman. As I recall, I wasn't very well accepted. I could understand that as the regular crews were very close. Only after I'd flown five or ten missions did I begin to feel at home. Since I flew with a different crew almost every time, it took a while to fit in but things got better. I recall the first mission vividly as I'd had no check-out or training as a flight crew member, I didn't really know how to hook up the oxygen until a waist gunner helped me; then there was the flak suit and so on. I learned gradually. Once I got started I wanted to finish my missions as did everyone else, but it took me almost a year to complete my tour. I'm glad I volunteered, though, as it was much more exciting than the photo lab could ever have been. |
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