Tail Markings for the 7th Army Air Force

Just thought these were interesting.  I picked these up off of B-24 best web.

Flying Mamma

Contributed to b24bestweb by Alan Griffith

Wow!  I can't believe somebody had a copy of the Pistol Pakin Mamma in flight.   Well, actually I can, but I didn't know if one survived or existed.  This is from b24bestweb.com and was contributed by Alan Griffith.  I thank him for posting it and I thank my brother for bringing it to my attention.  Before anyone gets too excited,  our guy's probably aren't on this plane at this time as this photo shows 40 bomb missions.  Keep in mind the Mamma had 3 different crews who flew her...Ours was the last and final.

Mag-nificent

Okay everyone, get out your magnifiers!  After following the link on this blog to the 38 Bombardment Squadron, I clicked on their link to Kwajalein. On the Kwajalein site there is a photograph taken of B-24's on Kwajalein, June '44.  Almost immediately I picked out two planes I recognized.  The first was "Come Closer" which is right of frame and 2nd in line.  As mentioned in the Rene Brabender Mission Logs, the crew was assigned to Come Closer May 16, '44 and by May 28 they were flying the Pistol Pakin Mamma. Since this picture is dated June 1944, I bet the seats were still warm from our guys in Come Closer.  Note, the first plane in line (right of frame) is "Dottie Anne".  Dottie Anne went down on September 3, as mentioned in the Brabender logs; with one man (T/Sgt. Richard L. Williams) KIA by drowning. One noteable fact about Dottie Anne's crash, is that 2nd Lt. Benjamin R. Cook, Jr. was aboard as an observer. Cook had been Co-Pilot for the Pistol Pakin Mamma during the their 19th mission (the "Fruit Juice Mission") on August 14, 1944.


Kwajalein, June 1944http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:B-24_liberators-_Kwajalein-June_1944.jpg

I really like this photo.  It shows the living conditions they dealt with and the coral runway they flew from.  The "Mamma" is parked 4th down in the left row.  I'd like to think that maybe one of our guys are in this picture.

Planes in order on right are: Dottie Anne, Come Closer, Chambermaid, Fools Paradise
4th on left:  Pistol Pakin Mamma

How to Fly the Consolidated B-24 Liberator

Fantastic video's of Preflight inspection and  How to fly the B-24D model.  I know this is for the "D", I doubt they actually made a film for the "J" model since they were probably similar at inspection and start.  If you've got an hour and a half, I highly suggest these videos for viewing.

http://www.zenoswarbirdvideos.com/B-24.html

Destiny or Fate......eventually, in the end, it's all history

Growing up did you have dreams or aspirations of becoming something specific?  When you were young, did people say,  "You'll make a great leader or follower someday"?  Retrospectively, did actions or events in your former days lead to an expected or unexpected outcome in the future? Whether you believe in destiny or fate, the path in life you follow, eventually leads to your destination. 

Below are 2 pages picturing Robert A. Dempster, Jr, the eventual pilot of the Pistol Pakin Mamma, taken from the Freeportian, the Freeport high school (Freeport, Pennsylvania) yearbook.  Do these pages show a man destined to lead others?

It's sad to think that 9 of the crew went to their deaths, never knowing if their great sacrifices ever truly made a difference; they never lived to find that "we won the war".

A man said to me, at my father's funeral in 2003, "You're never forgotten until everyone who's ever known you are also gone".  I'd like to think, that by and from this blog,  we are keeping the memory of these brave men alive for future generations, that they'll never be forgotten.

A Well Endowed Woman: The Mamma Flies Again in color

I've had a dream for quite a while of someday making a copy of the origional nose art from The Pistol Pakin Mamma so I can eventually build a B-24J model and add the authentic art work to it.  Here's a bit map copy I made and colorized as best as I could with a mouse.  I think it looks pretty good.

The lines in her halter top aren't quite right but I think she'd be okay on a little plastic model.



Logs of the Lost: The Rene Brabender personal Mission Logs

More than a year ago I ordered the Missing Air Crew Report of B-24J, 42-72989.  At that time I wasn't sure how to proceed in my search for more information regarding the crew and their loss.  Low and behold the MACR included the crew's addresses and next of kin on the report.  Maybe the hesitation I felt to make cold calls to families of men long passed on came from the cold calls I made during a 6 year stint of selling insurance for a very large and reputable insurance company in Pennsylvania years ago.  But, these feelings were overcome by the lack of feeling in which printed copies of microfilmed accident reports leave one to feel.  Hey, 1944 was a long time ago,  maybe no one would be left?; what was I to do but hit the phones.  Lucky for me, one crewman was from Erie, Pennsylvania; only 2 hours drive from my home.  Looking in the phone book, I found the "Brabender" name in Erie.  I made the call and hit the right family on the first try. Well, not directly, but close enough to be of great help.  From these calls and a Youtube video the [Rene] Brabender family contacted me; they (Tim Brabender) in turn contacted the [Philip] Brodziak family. Also the [Richard] Smith family has found us via the video.  All of these families have been a great help in unraveling this story with and by their contributions. 

Aside from original letters written to my family from my great-uncle, some of the most pertinent information I have in my possession are the Rene Brabender Mission Logs.  These logs, kept by Rene, of the nearly day to day missions truly are the "gem of gems".  I hope that Rene and the crew are looking down and smiling.    These priceless bits of information were graciously provided by the Rene Brabender family.  These logs have been kept as is, except for annotations by me and color-coded links to pertinent information/photographs which I've added to the record. They have been emailed, printed, copied, scanned and posted so I hope they come out clear for you. It is with great honor that I present to you the Rene W. Brabender mission logs.

Please note: "Benjamin R. Cook, Jr.-observer", on the "Dottie Anne" crew roster above. Ben Cook was the co-pilot on the Pistol Pakin Mamma during their notable, harrowing flight on August 14th, '44.  I wonder if he ever suspected, he'd be bailing out of a plane within a months time, on August 3rd?  

Back to the Future

If you're like me, you sometimes have a "black & white" view of history; I blame this on the invention of photography. Your memories of day to day life may be in color, but your "hard copy" was recorded in black & white.  Living in our modern, Kodachrome color-filled days we tend to forget that the people of the past, themselves, really did see in color.  Though color photography has, in essence, been around since the 1860's, it's black & white that has prevailed and captured most of modern mans significant history to date.  I, being born in the early 1960's see my baby pictures in black & white; my first Kodak camera was a black & white model; my memories seem to be in black & white.  [Most] kids today have no idea what a "wringer" washing machine is, nor do they remember having to get off the couch to change the TV channel or adjust the rabbit ears, scratch their 45 or LP records on a phonograph, listen to AM only radio in a car, reel to reel, 8 track or cassette audio tapes and maybe some don't even know what a VHS tape is.  Do I dare say that today, with our "modern" entertainment technologies of Cd's, DVDs, MP3, MP4, E Mail, text messaging and smart phones, that even the wonder of  "color photography" may someday lose its significance? Imagine if the 1939 movie "The Wizard of Oz" were in black & white only.  Color production in its early days was an expensive endeavor; it [color photography] was used for items of high importance, things of significance. 

We've all seen the recent films and photographs of "WWII in color" on TV documentaries; these are a rarity indeed; if they were an item in abundance they wouldn't be marketed as "WWII in color"!  As you can imagine, while doing this study into the history of the Pistol Pakin Mamma, I've viewed thousands of photographs and videos of air planes in black & white only.  To me, it's of great wonder then, why?; of the thousand of photo's of B-24 bombers, that I know of only one offering in color photography; not colorized, but color.  It just so happens that the only color photo I've ever seen of a B-24 just so happens to be of Our B-24 ( I do know others exist).  The photo at the top banner on this blog is the one.  I found it on the web site B-24 best web from contributor: Robert Livingstone , author of at least 2 books pertaining to WWII aircraft.  I can't say who, where or why this particular photograph was shot in color, but I assume it was of/for some significance.  We must appreciate the fact that this is one of the few color photo's of a WWII plane. In my mind I'll believe, it was because she was a plane of significance with a crew of importance; one memory I'll always see in color.



An additional note: I now believe this photograph was likely taken at Wheeler Field, Hawaii as it had a modern concrete runway.

A letter for the Lost: Lt. Richard M. Smith account of crash

At the time of the downing of the Pistol Pakin Mamma on September 11, 1944, Lt. Richard M. Smith was able to bail out from the burning plane.  Approximately 45 minutes later, while floating in the waters off Marcus Island, he was taken prisoner by the Japanese.  I can't honestly say if my great-uncles widow or any of my family ever received a copy of this letter but I'm sure that Lt. Smith certainly mourned the loss of his crew mates, "his brothers".  This letter was graciously provided to me by the Brabender family.  Below is his [Smith] account of the tragedy to the best of his knowledge. 

Written to Rene Brabender's mother on November 6, 1945:

Dear Mrs. Brabender:

["I feel the loss of all my friends on the crew as much as though they were my brothers.  I wish I could offer you some hope and encouragement.  All I can give is my very deepest sympathy."]

Sincerely yours,

Richard M. Smith
2nd Lt., A. C.

"As nearly as I can remember, the following is an accurate account of what happened on the morning of September 11, 1944:

We arrived over Marcus Island at 1035 on the 11th of September and since there was no shipping there, we decided to drop our bombs on the island installations.

Almost at the time of bombs-away, we received practically a direct hit from anti-aircraft fire and started burning immediately.  The worst fire was below and forward of the flight deck.

Sgt. Brodziak, our engineer, left his turret position at once and we tried to put the blaze out with the extinguisher from the flight deck but the thing did not work and by that time we were just a mass of flames in the forward part of the plane.  I had torn off my flak suit, ear-phones and oxygen mask to get to the fire so I do not know if any "bail-out" instructions were given or not.

While I was getting my chute on, both Lt. Dempster and Sgt. Brodziak left the flight deck and I never saw either of them again.  Lt. Chambers, who was flying his first mission as co-pilot never left his seat.  I am certain he was killed instantly.

I ran down the catwalk and stepped out of the left-rear bomb-bay door which was still open.  Just a few seconds later, our bomb-bay gas tank exploded and the plane nosed over and dove straight into the water.  I watched it all the way down and not another man got out.  The whole thing was over from beginning to end in less than two minutes time.

I was in the water about 45 minutes when a landing barge came out from Marcus Island searching for survivors.  I tried to avoid them but they saw me and took me aboard.  They searched the area for an hour or so but no one else was about in the water.  At the island the Japanese told me three had bailed out, but one's parachute did not open and the third man drowned.

I had seen one other chute floating down below and behind mine, but I could not get near him.

I was held on Marcus for a week and then a plane was sent form Japan for me to take me to[Yokohoma (assumed due to blurred print)].  From there I was sent to a prison camp named Ofuna, about 20 miles southwest of the city.  There I was questioned and imprisoned until July 25th of this year (1945).  A group of us were then transferred to Omori prison camp where we were held until liberated on August 29th by Navy and Marine personnel.

The preceding paragraphs are absolutely all I know to tell anyone of what happened and I am absolutely sure I am the only survivor of "Pistol-Pakin Mamma"."  


 





 



B-24 cockpit video tour

This is one of the finest descriptive explanations of the Pilot and Co-Pilot flight controls for the B-24 on video that I've seen.  Please watch and appreciate the complexity of flying this heavy bomber and imagine flying this while under heavy enemy fire.

The Search mission

Below are scans of the Search Mission which was carried out after the time of loss for the Pistol Pakin Mamma.  This is another bit of information I obtained from the MACR.  I don't believe there can be any blame cast upon anyone for lack of trying in this situation.  It appears all was done that could be in the era prior to satellites and helicopter rescues.  Sorry for the poor quality of these copies; I've tried to clarify and improve the quality of them.

Fantastic Photographs

Above are photographs I received from Phil Brodziak, nephew and namesake of Philip Brodziak (top gunner on the Pistol Pakin Mamma).  At the beginning of my search into this history I was naive and believed that my great-uncle Bob, being the first-pilot of PPM at the time of their loss, had named the plane and that [it]was the only one he ever flew.  Well, with information provided by the Brabender  and Brodziak families, I was schooled quickly on the subject. As you will see in these photo's, they were taken at various bases/locations.  First and what I assume to be the "original crew" is at Hamilton, Florida, 2-10-1944. Second was taken in Hawaii, 3-1-1944, likely at  Hickam  [air] Field during "gunnery school".  The third, from 5-16-1944, taken in front of the "Come Closer" plane is taken at Kwajalein in the Marshall Islands. This is the day they got the "Come Closer". In my opinion, this 3rd photo is one of most fascinating.  You will notice that Lt. Davies is missing and he's replaced by Victor Petroff.  First-pilot, Lt. Davies, must have been one hell of a good guy as he was killed on another plane 4-10-1944 over Truk.  According to the Rene Brabender logs: Lt. Davies "went just so he could let the rest of know what to expect when we start our missions". Davies was killed on that mission with "Lt. Larsons crew. The whole plane blew up and there wasn't a chance of anyone getting out".  Also, from the Brabender logs I gain that Victor Petroff was assigned to the crew on 5-5-1944.
Another interesting point about "Come Closer" is that she had at least 3 crews in her time and according to the book "Log of the Liberators" she'd flown at least 91 missions and was a contender in the 30th bomb group to be one of the first to obtain 100 missions.  Gee, things may have been different for us if they'd stayed on that plane?; it's all history now.  The topper of all toppers is that I now own this book which I inherited from my Grandfather Dempster (Robert's brother).  It [Log/Liberators] clearly mentions the "Come Closer" and never in my life did I ever hear mention of this plane.  I highly doubt that my grandfather ever even knew his brother flew on this plane.  More photo's can be found of Come Closer at this link: http://www.flickr.com/groups/319369@N20/pool/with/4477778926/  This link is also listed to the right of this page as Liberator and Privateer fan club.

Enjoy,

Brant

Hero's forged by fire



In your day to day life do you  experience stress?  Maybe you had a near miss during your commute to work; maybe a business project isn't going well  or possibly your profession does require you to be in a life threatening situation daily?  If you're alive and reading this then I know that you've experienced or can relate to, at least once in your life, a gut wrenching, muscle tensing, high adrenalin situation where you've questioned the survival of you or others.  It's amazing that we survive as long we do!  It's our small, insignificant experiences of high stress moments in life that give us a basis, a foundation to feel, in a vicarious way, what someone else must have been feeling during a harrowing, life threatening moment.  These are the reasons we feel emotion when we read a story; the feelings that bring a tear to one's eye.   Below is a copy of a story I obtained from the "Missing Air Crew Reports (MACR)"  the US government has on microfilm.  This truly is an amazing story of survival.  I'm sure that many, many air crews experienced this or worse;  "Our guys" ultimately did.  This story was released to the papers for print and may possibly been printed in the New York Times. I know for a fact that this story was recalled in the book "One Damed Island After Another, The Saga of the 7th".  The existence of this book was brought to my attention by Phil Brodziak, nephew of Philip Brodziak,  top gunner of the Pistol Pakin Mamma.  The book is quite expensive but I will own it some day  (I own it now. $50.00 at Amazon for a good used copy. Fantastic book!).  It is my personal feeling that the photograph of the whole crew in front of the PPM was taken just after this "fruit juice" occurrence.  My reasoning for this is:  there are 11 men in the picture and I think Sgt. Temple is the man who is peeking over a shoulder and only showing his face.  Another reason is: I assume the tank with the hose (bottom center) in the photo is actually some type of hydraulic system purge pump or hydraulic filling pump; why else make it the center of a photograph? (also: Philip Brodziak is painting the 54th mission bomb. I've been able to count the missions by comparing photo's of the Mamma.  So, I believe the story is incorrect by stating "a veteran of 55 missions")  Read on and appreciate.  I've done the best I can do identifying the crew in the photo.  Most I'm sure of, with help of labeled photo's from the Brodziak family, but some I'm not.  If I'm incorrect, please let me know so I can correct any errors.

One note: Benjamin Cook (co-pilot) was not on board the PPM at the time of loss (9-11-44), William Chambers was co-pilot at that time; I'm not certain why at this moment.

Also,  If you click on the text and photo's they should enlarge for better viewing.

To start I'll name the men in this photo that I'm reasonably sure of:

Rene Brabender, standing, right elbow against prop.

Philip Brodziak, standing, painting bomb on fuselage

Robert Dempster, Jr., kneeling w/"pith helmet"

George Thompson, kneeling, right of R. Dempster, left of frame

Richard M. Smith, standing, right hand on right knee, "crush hat"

Warren Leland, sitting, right of frame, right arm to "tank"

Robert McGee, sitting, right of frame, by ladder

John Robb, standing, right arm against fuselage

Martin Sisko,? standing, head in front of painted bombs, left of frame

Benjamin Cook,? standing, holding gallon can, wearing shorts, sleeveless shirt

Bernard Temple,? face only, over [Cook's?] shoulder

A B-24 is lost but not forgotten

The first post to this blog is a tribute video I made some time ago in honor of the crew and crew's of all B-24 Liberators with the nose art theme/name: "Pistol Packin Mama".  There were many variations of  artwork and spelling of the name as you will see in the video.  As I understand the story, Al Dexter and his Troopers wrote and played the popular song Pistol Packin Mama in the early 1940's.  This catchy little tune celebrating honky tonk debauchery inspired the artist Alberto Vargas to paint the infamous Pistol Packin Mama; a popular pin up girl for the troops at war during that time.  Here is an excellent link to a site listing some B-24's, B-17's and other types of aircraft of the era named Pistol Pakin Mama:  http://www.usaaf-noseart.co.uk/theme-pistolpackin.htm
When you view the link above, you may notice that the nice gentleman who owns the site was gracious enough to supply a link to the PPM tribute video.

I sincerely hope that this blog is well received by the families of the Pistol Pakin' Mamma.

Cheers,

Brant Dempster, grand-nephew of  Robert A. Dempster, Jr., Pilot of the Pistol Pakin' Mamma