Met a Real Hero Today

Today I had my normal Tuesday noon Kiwanis meeting, and we had a remarkable speaker join us.


Gene Brawner, a long time Kiwanian, and all around awesome guy, (he's the one on the right in the picture) invited his neighbor Clarence Hightshoe (on the left wearing the hat) to speak about "A Navigator and Bombardier's Memorable Mission Over Germany".


Turns out Clarence was a navigator/bombardier on a B-17 Flying Fortress in World War II. He ran 29 missions and, frankly, is very lucky to have survived them all. This man is a true hero.


He spoke to us specifically on his "mission number 6", were he and the rest of his crew were ordered on a bombing run to Ludwigshaven, Germany. While in the air, he and other B-17's encountered heavy flack and his plane was severly damaged and crash landed in a field and came to rest behind enemy lines. The crash should have killed them all, but they were able to escape the plane and run off into the woods in groups of two and three. Clarence's job was to push a series of buttons before leaving the plane that would render the equipment inoperative so the enemy wouldn't get a hold of the technology.


Click for a Picture of Clarence's B-17 where it crash landed in a French field.

Clarence, lower right, and his crew.

He and another crew member were eventually picked up by an American tank squadron and taken to an area close to the front lines where a french saw mill was located, which was entirely run by women. He told us that the "Scottish ladies" from the mill would bring them food and drink because they were so thankful that the Americans were there fighting for them and their country. He also told us that his crew mates were very thankful to see the women, but that they weren't quite what they were expecting as "any one of them could scrimmage for Iowa". :)

Piece of flack that split his headset band in two.

This is a piece of flack that tore through the B-17, severing the metal headband on Clarence's radio head set, before lodging itself into the side of the plane. Another millimeter lower and it would have pierced his skull, killing him.

Quoting the Associated Press: "Once 16 million strong, U.S. veterans of World War II are dying at a rate of more than 1,000 a day and now number about 2.5 million, the Department of Veterans Affairs estimates."

So if you have the privilege to meet, or if you already know one of these American Heroes, take the time to learn their story... And please, remember to thank a veteran every chance you get.