Book tells the story of a B-17 crew in Europe

Published 5:00 am Wednesday, November 20, 2002

World War II stories don’t get much more informative than the one written by Coupeville resident Edward C. Carr.

Carr, like many of his generation, decided it was time to write down his wartime adventures. But what he turned out is more than a first person accountable, admirable as such efforts may be. Instead, Carr, a bomber pilot, wrote from the perspective of his entire crew in the U.S. Army Air Force’s 381st Bomb Group. The reader comes away knowing something about everyone on board this particular B-17, their thoughts and recollections, and how they fared both during and after the war.

The story takes the crew from April 14, 1944, when they were activated for training to the fall of 1944 and early 1945 when they flew bombing missions from their base in England.

In the author’s words, the story explains “how our survival from the perils and dangers of the air war, from our own blunders and some command blunders, has given us a bond and a common memory of events that has endured over many years.”

The B-17 Flying Fortress was the symbol of American air power and industrial strength during the later war years. It was the first weapon to strike Hitler’s homeland, and it was the backbone of the Eighth Air Force. Affectionately called The Fort or simply The Big Assed Bird, it was a pleasure to fly, according to Carr.

“The B-17 had graceful design lines,” he writes. “It was a very forgiving plane, probably one of the most rugged ever built. We who flew in the Fortress knew that, in part, our chance of survival was enhanced by our plane. Against all odds, the B-17 got crews back to England when other aircraft with similar damage would have gone down. Our crew, as others, became emotionally attached to the 17.”

Carr’s book introduces the reader to each flight member, guys like Bob Whitaker, Rudy Staszko, Al Hines and Dave Phillips, addresses the phases of training, and describes the harrowing flight from the U.S. to Britain. It’s far more than just scary war stories, although it has plenty of those those, too. It tells the reader how the air groups were formed, what life for them was like, and how they were trained in a remarkably short time to fly into battle.

Carr’s crew flew 35 missions from Ridgewell, Essex, England over Europe, but the bulk of the book deals with how they ended up high over Germany, surrounded by enemy flak and looking for their target. “This is also the story of our start as a crew, our big adventure or misadventure of getting there in a new, fresh-off-the-assembly line Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress,” Carr notes in the preface.

The book has a good scattering of photographs as well as interesting documents, including Carr’s mission check-off calendars from 1944 and 1945 and excerpts crewman Gen Nelson’s diary. “Aug. 30, heavy flak — ship hit in nose wings, one engine out. Rough mission — 7 hours,” notes one diary entry.

The book contains humorous anecdotes as well, and describes the non-fighting life of U.S. military personnel in England. The reader comes away knowing the human element that is so often lost in stories about World War II.

Carr said the book’s popularity on Whidbey Island has surprised him. The first printing of 100 copies sold out, so he printed another 150. He gave at talk at Coupeville Library that was standing room only. “I was amazed, every seat was taken,” he said.

Carr said the book idea originated at his air crew reunions. “Somebody ought to write this down,” was the consensus. “As the pilot, I was elected,” he said.

Carr said he found research intriguing, and the best way to find information is through local libraries rather than government sources. “They’re interested in providing help,” he said. “You ask a question and you’ve made their day, they love it.”

With one book under his belt, Carr is thinking about another one. He was station at Fort Worden before the war broke out and he’s helping officials there with their 100th birthday history project. “I was a 19-year-old sergeant in the National Guard when Pearl Harbor happened,” he said. After Pearl Harbor, he went to the Coast Guard and then to the Army Air Force.

Carr has lived on Whidbey Island since 1988.