September 8, 1944
Mission: Ludwigshaven, Germany (again)

We did not have good results previously. We bombed the same chemical works at 26,000 feet. The temperature was –44 degrees. We encountered much heavier flak this time. It was very intense and deadly accurate. My buddy, Don Colbert, the tail gunner was killed instantly by flak. We had number four engine shot out, and the pilot feathered it. Then the number 2 engine failed, but the pilot could not feather it. We were losing altitude when our oxygen system was shot out. The pilot put the plane in a dive. We hooked-up to portable oxygen bottles. The pilot leveled the plane at 16,000 feet. The pilot had ordered us to bailout, but then number 2 engine picked up a little, and he was able to hold a little better altitude.

Then I went back to see if Colbert was all right, as he was not answering our interphone checks. I removed my parachute, oxygen mask, and flak suit. I then hurried thru the tail section. Colbert was dead when I got there. Lucas came back later, and tried to revive him by breaking the cap off an oxygen bottle and placing it in his mouth. He had no pulse, nor color. We did not want to give up on him, so we dragged him back to the waist and covered him. We had to get back to monitoring the tail guns in case of a rear attack by enemy fighters. We were lucky that no fighters appeared.

We limped back and crossed the English Channel, after we had taken a vote whether to go for home or land in France. We had lost the formation over the target. Good pilot Hastings brought the plane home on 2-1/2 engines, and with 150 flak holes. We had 5 Tokyo fuel ranks hit, but miraculously had the fuel to make it home. We bombed the target visually, and the Germans gunners also saw us visually. We all kissed the ground when we landed, except Don. This was a mission I hope to God that I never have to go through again.