Why Do I Call Myself "The Bad Egg"?

It’s simple. It was the name of my father’s plane.

In 1942, my dad joined the USAAF (United States Army Air Force). After boot camp, gunnery and bomber training in a B-17, he was sent to an 8^thAir Force base near Framlingham, England, where he was attached to the 390^th Bomb Group (Heavy), and the 570^th Bomber Squadron. He was assigned to aircraft number 42-31229S, “The Bad Egg”.

My dad flew 26 missions on “The Bad Egg ”, until the plane was forced to crash land in France on September 9, 1944 after sustaining severe damage when a nearby plane, “Bundles of Trouble” received a direct hit in the bomb bays by German anti-aircraft fire. “Bundles of Trouble” disintegrated in a ball of light, and the shock wave and debris caused 7 other planes to fall out of the sky onto the outskirts of Dusseldorf, Germany. Luckily, my dad was filling in as an engineer on another plane, “Bombay Ann” when the explosion took place. 5 missions later, Dad was on his way back to the States with two Distinguished Flying Crosses (each with oak leaf clusters), two Air Medals and a Purple Heart. He is credited with 7 kills of German aircraft from his gunner positions on “The Bad Egg”.

Along with the medals and colorful mission history, Dad participated in food drop missions in Russia, Poland, and The Netherlands.

Dad passed away in 1999, and received full military honors. His memory and the memory of those that he served with are being kept alive at the 390^thMemorial Museum in Pima, Arizona and at the Framlingham Memorial in England.