The Commemorative Air Force (CAF) is a living history museum that restores WWII aircraft to flying condition. They own two B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bombers. One of them, Sentimental Journey, is in town for a week.
My Dad was a tail gunner on a Flying Fortress. He flew 16 combat missions over Europe during WWII before the war ended. This mannequin sits where he sat, facing rearward, protecting the plane from enemy fighters attacking from behind.
If Dad was here (he passed in 2005) I would have noted that the mannequin was both better looking and more lifelike than him. He would have laughed at that, and probably agreed.
My dad was a navigator on a B-24 & flew 35 missions over Germany. I recently read "Masters of the Air" by Miller. It's an amazing book that covers all aspects of the American high-altitude daylight bombing campaign, with focus on the experience of the men, and also the folks who got bombed. It gave me a whole new respect for what everyone involved went through.
