JeanneRickey.com

…with a little help from photoshop

Tillamook is about one hour from Portland.  Recently some loggers discovered a Navy WWII plane.

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For those of you interested in a how-to.

Here’s a fun video to watch:

http://zenoswarbirdvideos.com/B17.html

Recent correspondence from Charles L.  :

My grandfather was the pilot for the B-17 “Flak Shak” (42-97307) until it’s forced landing in Sept. of ‘44 in which the plane was no longer flyable. He was also the last to fly Relcutant Lady in which his crew was forced to bail out a couple of weeks later. I know that many crews “shared” B-17s depending on which were flyable.

I have some files from an 8th Historian named Bill Varnedoe (who was also a navigator I believe) that documents crews, their missions, the B-17s they flew and on what dates.  I helped Bill piece together Flak Shak’s serial number and also sent him my grandfather’s crew photo for his records.  We have some other things from when my grandpa was in POW camp that are pretty interesting including a book in which different men signed, drew, and contributed stories and poems to.  Other than that, the pic below is all I’ve ever seen besides a drawing my grandfather did in the aforementioned book of the Flak Shak.

My father is Edward Waters from Washington DC. He was stationed at Great Ashfield with The 385th Bomb Group. He was assigned to the B-17 serial #42-31237 Alexanders Rag Time Band. On May 8th 1944  the misson he was on was a bombing run on Bremen Germany . Because he wanted to increase his missions to go home he volunteered for the mission with another plane the Jeanne Rickey (Gin Rickey) serial #42-31786. The Ball Turret gunner on this crew was sick and my father was the last minute replacement. My father told us he loaded the plane seconds before taking off and he knew no one on the crew. He asked the crew what the target was but no one told them. The MACR was 4563 that only states that the plane was shot down over Bremen Germany and he was a Pow at Stalag Luft 3 Sagan Silesia Bavaria .I hope you can shine more light on the missing crew members on the May 8th 1944 bombing raid to Bremen

Jim Waters Aka Mudue8

03/31/43 Enlistment
03/22/44 Special Orders
03/23/44 Orders
03/24/44 Ordnance
04/18/44 First Mission-Berlin

Jeanne Rickey II
From Lt. Ihlenburg, Pilot.
“The B-24’s and B-17’s have started a buzzing feud of late – so – o – o, being as I didn’t fly a
mission today, I paid a B-24 field a visit. I think I settled it today. I made a six-foot hedge five feet
in four places and brought back home part of their wind sock.”

From Matt:
I remembered the story… apparently the day he did that there was someone on
the ‘24 base that happened to have a camera out. They took the shot of Pop
over the tower. Pop didn’t even know it was taken. Anyway, several weeks later
the photo comes to the base care of “The Pilot” who was flying this plane. How
funny is that? Pop used to love that story. It’s amazing what you can forget… it’s
also amazing what will bring it back.
Additional Notes on this plane from Matt:
Just found out an interesting tidbit… the “Jeanne Rickey II” was painted with the
name on it. My grandfather writes in a letter dated July 6,1944,
“Too bad I haven’t got the old Jeanne Ricky II any more for the picture with the
name on it. I guess not though, ’cause I wouldn’t want to fly that ship again even
if they could fix it. It makes me so mad we didn’t take some pictures of her after
we landed, as we had both a bomb bay camera and a waist hand camera that
day, but in the excitement and confusion, all was forgotten.”