The Bomber Boys Heroes Heroes Who Flew The B-17s In WW II
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The Author's Next Book Project:
Unblemished Honor - The Life and Times of James H. Berry.
To learn more about this upcoming book and to see a Photo Journal of Travis L. Ayres' recent research trip to the Civil War battlefields in Arkansas, Mississippi and Louisiana...click on: "Reader Feedback and News" (above)
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IN TRIBUTE:
WW 2 Hero Pilot Passes:
Jerome J. Chart passed away on March 31st, 2010. During the last days of his life he was surrounded by those who meant the most to him...his wife of 57 years, Terri and his daughter, sons (and fishing buddies), grandchildren. J.J. would have quickly told you that he had lived a wonderful and rewarding life.
After World War II he had been a successful research biologist and pharmacolo- gist and then he and Terri had retired to Montana to be near "the kids." They spent the past 25 years in Helena. J.J. loved to fish the cold, clear Montana streams and loved restoring old chairs that others had given up on.
When The Bomber Boys book was first published in 2005 many more people learned something else about the good-natured J.J. Chart...he was a real American hero. Back in 1945, at the age of 21 he had been the pilot and commander of an Eighth Air Force B-17 bomber that dodged enemy fighters and flak for 35 missions over Germany. Some missions, like the one to Berlin, had been so dangerous that J.J. could not dodge enemy fire.
That day he brought his aircraft back to England with 168 holes in her. His life and the lives of his nine crewmen depended on J.J.'s skill and coolness. Those nine men survived that mission...and survived the war, to go home, and raise wonderful families of their own. Tony Teta, J.J.'s navigator and now the only living crew member, said it simply: "He was the old man. He took us through some tough stuff."
I will always be grateful to J.J. Chart, a modest man, for his willingness to share his wartime memories. My thoughts and prayers go out to the Chart family as they remember their J.J. with love and pride.
Travis L. Ayres, June 25, 2010
P.S. J.J. Chart's wartime experiences are featured in the story "The Lucky Bastards Club" in the book The Bomber Boys - Heroes Who Flew The B-17s In WW II. His crew is pictured in he photo at the bottom of this wedpage...Lt. J.J. Chart is standing in the back row, far left. Read The Bomber Boys for free (then buy a copy for a friend at B&N) at great libraries across America...like these: University of Arkansas Special Collections (Fayetteville, AR) (Lyndonville, NY)
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