BOOKS
The Youngest Crew
This is the story of my three years in the United States Air Corps during World War II. As pilot of a B-17 Flying Fortress I had eight men assigned to me as my flying crew. The title is a tribute to the fact that we believe we were the youngest bomber crew to train and to fly all their missions as a unit during the air war in Europe.
The book briefly describes my early years, my enlistment in 1942 at the age of 18 to earn my pilot's wings and my learning to fly as an Aviation Cadet in the U. S. Army Air Corps. Once I had my wings, my first orders were to learn to fly the B-17 Flying Fortress, the backbone of our bombing offensive in the air war both in Europe and in the Pacific. As a Command Pilot my next duty station was Panama City, Florida where it was my responsibility to teach newly graduated pilots how to handle the B-17.
Late Summer of 1944 saw my assignment to an operational training unit in Tampa, Florida where my crew was assigned. On December 27, 1944 (my 21st birthday) we flew over the north Atlantic Ocean to England. Once there we joined the 398th Bomb Group of the Eighth Air Force with which we flew twenty-five combat missions, all deep into Germany, as part of the final offensive in Europe. In the book are stories of my visits to the neighboring English towns, tales of trips to wartime London and reminiscences of friendships and romances. Memories of the air raids we flew and the terrors and tragedies we suffered flying in combat are described in detail.
Following the cessation of hostilities in Europe we flew into Russian-occupied Germany and repatriated American flying officers who had been prisoners of war at Stalag Luft I and flew them to Laon, France. A few weeks later, we flew back to the U. S. expecting to be sent to the war in the Pacific, however, while we were waiting to be reassigned, the war ended. - Paul Wagner
Paperback. Signed by Paul Wagner.
