Georgia Magazine - May 2018 - 35

In search of the uncle I never knew
BY LAURA RAINES

Laura Raines flew in a B-17

never knew Uncle James, but as a uncle and the bonds of the Mighty
Flying Fortress in October.
child, I felt his absence. There were Eighth.
the sad, hushed tones in grown-up
Reading books about the "bombMay 28 is Memorial Day. Please take
voices and the high school pener boys" and soaking up desome time to honor those who made
the ultimate sacrifice for their country.
nant still flying in his childtails from the National
hood bedroom.
Museum of the Mighty
My mom told me her
Eighth Air Force in navigator's desk from the outside. I
older brother died in
Pooler, I learned could imagine the terror of suddenly
World War II. Growing
about the impossi- seeing a fighter plane coming straight
up, I wasn't that interble flying condi- at you or flak exploding all around.
ested, but when I intions, the dangerous
I did feel a strong connection
herited the locket he'd
objectives, the many when the wheels touched down on
given her from trainlosses and their in- landing. That thunk-thunk sound
ing camp, I wanted to
valuable contribu- must have meant safety, another misknow more. I went
tion during World sion notched and rest-for a night,
searching for details.
War II. Without their anyway. It was a sound my uncle's
James V. Goss
James V. Goss (1921taking out the German crew never heard on their 33rd flight.
44) learned to fly close to
air force, or Luftwaffe, beStatistics tell me that 12,677 B-17
home at the Rome airport before
forehand, D-Day would have Flying Fortresses were made during
enlisting in the Army Air Corps. He been a very different operation.
the war. Only about 10 are still flying,
became a first lieutenant and navigaOn Oct. 1 last year, my husband according to the Liberty Foundation,
tor with the U.S. Eighth Air Force and made it possible for me to fly in a so my flight was a rare and vanishing
flew with the 100th Bomb Group, B-17 Flying Fortress, like my uncle. experience. I'm grateful to have had a
known as the "Bloody Hundredth" for Only, flying in the Liberty Founda- glimpse of my uncle's flying life, but
its heavy losses. In a letter, he fondly tion's B-17G "Madras Maiden" over even more grateful and proud that
called my mom "old gal."
Chattanooga, Tenn., on a sunny day he, like so many others, answered his
She wasn't. She was 17 when her wasn't all that similar. We flew at country's call.
family received the telegram that he 1,500 feet, not the 20,000 or more
Laura Raines lives in Mableton
was missing in action as of Nov. 10, they flew. The unpressurized, un- and is a member of GreyStone Power
1944. In his last letter home, he wrote heated cabin wasn't minus 10 to mi- Corp. She frequently writes freelance
that he'd completed 32 of his required nus 70 degrees, as it often was for articles for GEORGIA Magazine.
35 missions.
them. They had heated suits,
News of James' death came but they didn't always work.
through a letter written by co-pilot
It was too loud to talk,
Clark Dickerman to his mother from a but the pilot wasn't revving
German prisoner of war camp and the engines with a squadron
forwarded to the Goss family. The co- or loaded with thousands of
pilot had bailed out with the crew gallons of fuel and heavy
near Wiesbaden, Germany, but James bombs for an eight- to 10had been killed by flak that also had hour mission. The interior
taken out three engines. Their mission was cramped and dim, the
to bomb the railroad marshalling furnishings military-grade.
yards had been considered relatively But when I crawled through
easy-a "milk run," in flying lingo.
the opening and stepped
The crew made it home after the down into the nose, the
war. Three came to my uncle's funeral world opened up on three
in 1949. Whenever any of them passed sides. Only a thin sheet of
through Rome, he visited my grand- Plexiglas separated the
parents. That tells me a lot about my bombardier's seat and the This is the view from a B-17 navigator's seat.
May 2018

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Georgia Magazine - May 2018