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