Pilot, Four-Engine Aircraft
Pilot - Two-Engine
Navigator
Bombardier
Airplane Mechanic-Gunner, Flight Engineer
Radio Operator- Mechanic-Gunner, AAF
Airplane Armorer-Gunner
Aerial Gunner
Four digit MOS numbers are for Officers, and three digit MOS numbers are for Enlisted.
Notes:
Alpha Designation of MOS
1. P
Pilot
2. CP
Co-Pilot
3. N
Navigator
4. B
Bombardier
5. AEG
Aircraft Engineer Gunner
6. ROG
Radio Operator Gunner
7. ARMG
Amorer Gunner
8. MU
?
9. MU
?
10. CT
?
Rank
1. 2nd Lt.
Second Lieutenant
2. 2nd Lt.
Second Lieutenant
3. F/O
Flight Officer (Warrant)
4. 2nd Lt.
Second Lieutenant
5. Cpl.
Corporal
6. Cpl.
Corporal
7. S/Sgt.
Staff Sergeant
8. Pfc.
Private First Class
9. Pfc.
Private First Class
10. Pfc.
Private First Class
Duty
1. Hillard E. Johnmeyer
Aircraft Commander
2. Orlin H. Benedict
Co-Pilot
3. Vincent Gonzales
Navigator
4. Fred Bsharah
Bombardier
5. Jack T. Pottle
Top Turret Gunner
6. Edward J. Bamerick
Waist Gunner
7. Calvin R. Johnson
Ball Turret Gunner
8. Lester H. Kobylarz
Nose Gunner
9. William E. Lattanzi
Waist Gunner
10. Nevin W. Staley
Tail Gunner
6.
At the end of the war the USAAF removed the lower ball turret to reduce weight so they could carry more bombs. Then Bamerick went back to his radio table and. . .
7.
. . .Cal manned the other waist gun. Cal armed the bombs before they were dropped. Each bomb had a cotter key holding the little propellor to keep it from turning. The propellor had to turn a particular number of revolutions before it was armed. As soon as they were on the bomb run, Cal went through the bomb bay and pulled the pin on each bomb.
Serial Numbers:
3.
Vince's starts with a 'T' instead of an '0' since he had a warrant instead of a commission
The first digit of the enlisted men's was a '3' to indicate they were drafted or a '1' indicated enlistment
The second digit indicated the area of the country they came from
Installing the fuses.
Jack Pottle5
Was born in south central Missouri in a little place called Burnham where his parents were farmers. They all moved to Denver when he was three. His father was a shoe cobbbler in Denver. In high school when the war started, he tried to enlist in th USAAF for pilot training but couldn't
pass the physical because of a minor heart murmer and fast heart rate when taking one of the physical tests. Jack went on to college while waiting to be drafted and finished most of a year before being drafted and sent to the USAAF. Jack went back to college after the war on the G.I. bill and became a teacher and then an administrator eventually
becoming the Executive Director of Instruction for the
Denver schools.
Several of the crewmembers were Catholic, and evidently, there was a Chaplain on the base that seemed to enjoy making the guys feel extremely guilty about their nocturnal activities in town. Considering their age and that for most of them this war was really their first time away from home and Mom and Dad, it wasn't very hard to work on their consciences. Anyway, this chaplain wasn't well liked and the guys would cringe when they saw him coming.
Now, the chaplains on base would sit in a jeep on the edge of the runway at takeoff on every mission with the padre crossing and blessing each plane. Jack, as flight engineer, would be between the Pilot and Co-Pilot on takeoff to help watch the gauges. But, he would take time to wave and (of course, nothing could be heard over the sound of the engines) holler out at him,
"THAT'S MY JOB IN THE NEXT WAR, YOU SOB!!"
Cal Johnson7
I don't know much about what Cal did before the war although I do know he was from Wisconsin (Appleton?). After the war I think he had a couple of different jobs but eventually went to work for a concrete forms company (Gates Concrete Forming?). He traveled all over for the company and got a pilots license in order to cover more territory. The first reunion that my Dad organized Cal flew his own plane to the reunion. As one of the crew members said, "His wife was very religious and was a good influence on him." Cal became a lay minister for LDS? latter in his life and traveled all over the world in his ministry.
Standing: Freddie Bsharah, Dad, Orlin Benedict and Vince Gonzales. Kneeling: Nevin Staley, Cal Johnson, Edward Bamerick, Bill Lattanzi, Lester Kobylarz and Jack Pottle.
