posted 06-12- 01:33 PM               

Scotty told me a story about how he got his medal. The crew were returning from a bombing mission and the bomber was damaged by flack. The flack had taken out most of the wireing located in the bomb bay area. This wiring damage caused the engines to run poorly and they were losing altitute. The damage also kept the bombay open.

Scotty said he did not want to walk all the way home and that he carried a 45 in case they ditched. He was supposed to grab a local and get them to walk him back to a safe area and if he did not like the way things were going, to get another.

Scotty decided to see if he could fix the wireing instead of the long, dangerous walk. The bombadier was ordedred to get into the still open bombay and realease the bombs manually. He tried but was shaking so bad he could not step on the catwalk. He was in full gear with chute.

Scotty pushed him away and crawled out and released the bombs with out a chute. He said it was 10,000 feet and a bit chilly.

He than attacked the broken wires. He said all the wires were white and not coded so he had to go by texture and size. He fixed all the wires, got the plane flying correctly again and they made it back safely.

I just am amazed by Scotty. He is 77 years old and has more energy than me at 55. He is a Ski instructor (Yes he skis and instructs) and a retired machining company owner.

Scotty liked the way the RC B-17 flew but said I climbed out to fast so I will adjust my rate of climb next time. Oh yes, Scotty also eventually flew B-17's at home and became an instructor flying many famous warbirds.

Paul Grubich
RC Warbirds