B-17 #1

If you have ever had a dream come true that exceeded all your 
expectations, you will enjoy reading the rest of this story because 
recently I had a dream fulfilled that included more excitement than 
even I could imagine.  But first, you need some important details to 
completely appreciate the account.

Luther Forrest Scott was a recent honor graduate from Parrott High 
School in the farming community of rural Terrell County, when on 
September 1, 1939, Hitler invaded Poland and two days later, France 
and Britain declared war on Germany, which officially began World War 
II.

The war in Europe was discussed on the radio and detailed on film 
strips at the theatre but it did not become real until the bombing of 
Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.  Soon young Forrest and his best 
friend joined the US Army Air Corps on the "buddy plan" which promised 
that they could train and serve together, and then did not see each 
other again until after the end of the war.

Forrest had never traveled far away from home and had only seen a few 
airplanes in his life but because he scored excellent at the firing 
range and tested well on countless examinations, he was offered the 
opportunity to attend flight school.  His mom cried when he told her 
he was becoming a "fly-boy" but she nearly fainted when he explained 
that he was going to be firing machine guns on airplanes that carried 
bombs.

Fortunately, once he completed training as a ball-turret gunner, he 
was encouraged to become an instructor and spent the rest of the war 
training air-men at Harlingen Aerial Gunnery School in Texas and 
Buckingham Army Air Field in Florida.  There is no doubt that this 
appointment probably saved his life; the life expectancy of a 
ball-turret gunner when over enemy lines was measured in seconds if 
they took on enemy fire and the problems of frost bite and frozen 
oxygen lines were an ever present danger.

I did not understand what daddy did during the war until he finally 
began to talk about his mission, and we realized how dangerous it was 
and how blessed we were that he was not a war casualty.  As an eighty 
five year old veteran he gave minute details about the inside of a 
B-17 bomber and stories of the crew members he knew over those years.

Brother David and I purchased pictures of B-17 bombers and daddy’s 
walls were decorated with memorabilia but we never toured a bomber.   
When I saw the announcement that a B-17 was coming to the Baldwin 
County Airport, I knew it might be my only opportunity to touch a 
piece of our family history.

I am forever grateful to the airport authority that brought this 
opportunity to our community; I thank you and appreciate your 
dedication to history and your hard work.  The tour was absolutely 
amazing and I even found a new friend; thank you Maryllis Wolfgang for 
documenting this monumental event.

To be continued.

 

Brenda S. Brown 

 

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