My Grandfather was a Belly Gunner. he was 72 when he passed away in 2000 he told me a few things but wouldnt talk much about it. Miss him dearly. thanks for your service Mr Mills.
My Father was a Ball Turret Gunner on a B-17. He flew 23 missions before he was shot down on April 11, 1944. He was a P.O.W. for 13 months and was liberated by Patton’s 3rd army. He returned home, married, raised 2 sons, worked for 45 years to provide for his family. He passed in 2006 at age 86. This man was my Father and my hero. There will never be men like this ever again. They were the Greatest Generation.
i’ve seen footage and heard stories of many ball turret gunners who died horribly, it is great to see one who survived and is still able to tell the tale! thank you, Earl!
I have no words to explain the deep admiration for this and many men like him who offer their welfare for the free world. The most bravest men. Deep regards to their families.
Earl I am proud to have called you my friend. I enjoyed every time I would stop in on duty to see you. May you rest in peace Earl. It was an honor tot have known you.
I know this is an old comment, but do you know what unit he was in? My grandpa was a B-17 turret gunner in the 97th Bombardment Group, 414th Bomb Squadron out of Foggia. Flew 52 combat sorties, including the first shuttle raid to Russia and back
seriously, America's greatest generation has afforded me the ability to go to work and back home at the end of my day! so many thank yous , my hat is off to that generation and much more, all my absolute respect. Thank you for all of your personal sacrifice ! Freedom is never for free!
Amazing generation of men… my grandfather was a b-17 turret gunner in the 5th bombardment group heavy, (bomber barons) during the start of the pacific war… the stories he told were incredible… the ones he didn’t speak of I cannot imagine…
I would like to add, I think of these guys when I think I'm having a bad day at work, and that normally corrects my attitude. My dad was a gunner on B-29 so that might give me more appreciation than others watching this. I make it a point to go to an airshow every year (EAA in Wisconsin) to remember what these people gave to our country (USA). EAA in 2006 had a big bomber reunion with 17's, 24's and a Lancaster. The propwash blew away most of my tears from my face.
B-24 turrets could be retracted into the fuselage, but not on a 17. Several B-17 ball turret gunners ended up as a smudge on the runway when the plane had to land gears up. Andy Rooney witnessed it happening, and you could tell that the memory had haunted him all his life after.
@@busteraycan they also had a manual crank system so the turret could be rotated into position if the electrics/hydraulics were shot, so other than damage to the gearing or something I’m not sure how the circumstance of landing on the ball gunner would arise, always baffled me a little.
i recently went to an air museum and they were nice enough to open the side door of a B-17. those men had courage like no other to fly on those vehicles and the ball turret gunner had balls of steel to do their job.
Mr. Mills contacted me after a news article that I was doing veteran interviews. I can still remember his comment on the phone .. "You need to hurry and tape us now .. we are dying like flies out here!!" (in that gravely voice- a semi yell - demanding I interview more vets). So many video cameras out there and it bothers me that so few people will pick one up and interview these folks.
Imagine every day you go to work, you stand in front of a brick wall and let 5 guys take pot shots at you from 20 feet away. That is what these poor men went through - for years. I can't believe he survived mentally enough to talk about it now. Now that is a true hero!
Thank you Mr. Mills for your valiant efforts and your personal sacrifices. You are an inspiration to us all. Your brave fight was honourable and just, and we live as we do today because of millions of men and women like you. Thanks again. Greetings from Newfoundland, Canada
It's so crazy what these men had to go through, things they did stuck with them for the rest of their lives, my grandfather was a paratrooper in ww2, I remember him saying "I don't know how any of us survived"
My Grandfather was a ball pit gunner in a B17. He never did talk about the war. I imagine all of his comrades were shot to pieces inside. It was a tough time for desperate measures.
I saw a video where they interviewed a vet whose job was to clean the gore out of our tanks, so that they could be put back into service. The replacement crews hated these machines. He said there was a smell that would never go away.
The daily pressure of living on edge and going into danger is enough to break a man. Like Mr Mills many in WW1 suffered from mental trauma known as shellshock. That he and others would get back up there and do it all again is a testament to their character. My father served as a ball gunner inB24s in the Pacific and often said how isolated you felt from the rest of the crew and your parachute kept inside the plane as there was no room to wear it over the target. These men, (like todays servicemen and women) are worthy of our respect.
I don't know what country you're from, but if men like him hadn't fought in that war, you'd be under that ruthless nazi regime. Or you may never have been born. You should watch your ungrateful mouth.
@me3tv thank you sir for uploading this video. I always loved the b-17,and think we need to honor those brave men who flew in them. going against the odds to do a very dangerous job. thank you sir
You are doing a great service to this country getting these guys on camera. I made a documentary featuring my uncle who was also a ball turret gunner, called True Gunner. It took me 4 years. I attached it as a response to your vid.
All U.S. WWII airmen were my childhood heros during my youth during the 1960s. I became a CH-47 Flight Engineer in the 1980s but never will compare to these BRAVE airmen. I oftened wondered if I would of been one of them if I would of been born in the late 1920s...
The full video with Mr. Mills he talks of his eventual return to the USA and years of psycho therapy. He began eating his nails. Then the skin off the back of his hands and then his arms. He remains to this day 100 pct. neurologically disabled. His full interview was very colorful and he was quite interesting to interview. me3tv.
Did he say he was shot down over 63 years ago? Also I always wondered about the centrifugal force thing he was speaking about. What a heck of a way to die. Great respect for this man.
He was just mistaken to call it centrifugal force - he just meant the g-force of the B-17 in a powered dive meant they would all be pinned to the back of whatever was around them... hence they couldn't move...
So grateful such amazing heroes and men of steel nerves stepped up for us to have it so good now. Such a National treasure!! Hearing this is so sobering to understand more of what my Step-Father went through as a navigator on B-24 over Germany....thanks for posting this!!!
Can you just imagine swiveling in that ball like a big eyeball? That ball was fascinating. The mechanism was quite a thing. The ball turret gunner was all hands and feet. The the thing traversed and elevated and how it combined the two movements by the hand and foot pedal controls....you had to be like a drummer; pat your head and rub your tummy and tap your toe, all at the same time. The ball turret guy had to watch for the luftwaffe planes flashing down and past. You had to rotate the combination movement to get a line or deflection on the interceptors speeding past on a dive.
If you only knew. I taped about an hour of his story. He is still a mental case but functional. 100 pct disability for nervous condition. in the months after his service in the air he gnawed all the hair off his arms and hands -- after he ate his fingernailes to pulps.
Bomber crews were brave men, the odds were one in three for completing 25 missions, after number nine, you were flying on borrowed time , when you're battling fighters, flak, frostbite, and lack of oxygen . Fighting a war from mommas belly , is the worst position in the armed forces , and size mattered when it came time to see who's going in the ball, and he would also have the hardest position to bail out of. The statistics are painful, 75 percent of all airmen failed to make the magical and seemingly impossible 25 missions. Thank a vet , any vet, freedom isn't free.
Someone did an interview of my grandfather, a P-38, P-47, and P-48 fighter pilot out of New Guninea, who's still alive. I need to upload it sometime. Its amazing how plain talking and no-nonsense these guys are.
@cobrachoppergirl Correction, I meant P-49, the AIrcobra, not P-48. The P-38 was his favorite. Part of his interview is featured in a short movie, "Injury Slight, Please Advise", where he was wingman of his buddy who went down in the jungle and had to hike is way out. He had one P-38 engine shot out and dove to the deck; had another plane blow up on him in flames on the runway; bailed out of another and hit the silk, aka parachute.
Many a young Anerican airman lost their lives over that hell that was Europe .. being shot to bits and being burned many surviving these deadly raids only to crash in the green fields of kent in England and loose their lives .. England remembers them and long may their graves be a reminder of what Freedom really costs.. God bless them all... USAAF By Day... the RAF by night... the word brave does not do them justice'... It would have been a real honour to meet this man and here his storys... God bless lads you were of the Finest generation.
The United States had blocked the sale of oil and other raw materials to Japan to curb its expansionism, Japan was an empire that controlled much of Asia. It was also crazy to attack the United States, it is like going and kicking a lion that is sleeping
Thank you for posting this. I have so much respect for WW Vets. It's great to hear the stories. Also, i disagree that Kamakazee were brave. They were forced to fly a plane with only enough fuel to complete that crazed mission. Foolish honor is the only credit they deserve in my opinon.
FWest, yes. It is very common. Note, they IMAGINED a machine gun in their hands. They are IN position in their dream to use the weapon they are dreaming that they hold. Common for all types of combat and other stressful situations to have nightmares like that.
Here is what he is talking about: LUFTWAFFE FW-190 and BF-110 FIGHTER KILLS GUN CAMERA FILMS 1944 43724 ua-cam.com/video/0yMT0H8qe9k/v-deo.html At 00:45 you will see an FW at point blank range hitting the cockpit. I don't know how that FW got that close.
My Grandfather was a Belly Gunner. he was 72 when he passed away in 2000 he told me a few things but wouldnt talk much about it. Miss him dearly. thanks for your service Mr Mills.
My Father was a Ball Turret Gunner on a B-17. He flew 23 missions before he was shot down on April 11, 1944. He was a P.O.W. for 13 months and was liberated by Patton’s 3rd army. He returned home, married, raised 2 sons, worked for 45 years to provide for his family. He passed in 2006 at age 86. This man was my Father and my hero. There will never be men like this ever again. They were the Greatest Generation.
Rest in Peace, Mr. Mills. Your interview has reached many people and raised awareness of the great things your generation did. God Bless.
Thank you for getting their stories recorded & available so people can know of their heroic sacrifices.
Thank you for sharing these stories, I deeply admire what these men did.
Mr Mills, you did your job. Much respect. I hope you are in a better place. God bless.
i’ve seen footage and heard stories of many ball turret gunners who died horribly, it is great to see one who survived and is still able to tell the tale!
thank you, Earl!
I have no words to explain the deep admiration for this and many men like him who offer their welfare for the free world. The most bravest men. Deep regards to their families.
....and they went back time and time again... so brave..so grateful.
Look into the Hell's Angels. 48 combat missions without a single loss.
Earl I am proud to have called you my friend. I enjoyed every time I would stop in on duty to see you. May you rest in peace Earl. It was an honor tot have known you.
This man has gone through terreor we cant imagine.Living legend
America is still in _two_ wars and we cant imagine it?
skat1140 WW2 is still seen by many, even historians, as the most brutal war in history.
God Bless. My Dad flew 50 in bal turret in a B-17 he also was 100% from nerves - 15th AF Foggia...
God Bless him.
I know this is an old comment, but do you know what unit he was in? My grandpa was a B-17 turret gunner in the 97th Bombardment Group, 414th Bomb Squadron out of Foggia. Flew 52 combat sorties, including the first shuttle raid to Russia and back
What a lovely old gentleman...so amiable,amusing and modest...attributes not often seen in our subsequent generations.
The more shit you've been thru the more humble you are.
seriously, America's greatest generation has afforded me the ability to go to work and back home at the end of my day! so many thank yous , my hat is off to that generation and much more, all my absolute respect. Thank you for all of your personal sacrifice ! Freedom is never for free!
Amazing generation of men… my grandfather was a b-17 turret gunner in the 5th bombardment group heavy, (bomber barons) during the start of the pacific war… the stories he told were incredible… the ones he didn’t speak of I cannot imagine…
The sacrifices of our men and women who ensured our freedom should never be forgotten
I would like to add, I think of these guys when I think I'm having a bad day at work, and that normally corrects my attitude. My dad was a gunner on B-29 so that might give me more appreciation than others watching this. I make it a point to go to an airshow every year (EAA in Wisconsin) to remember what these people gave to our country (USA). EAA in 2006 had a big bomber reunion with 17's, 24's and a Lancaster. The propwash blew away most of my tears from my face.
Well.. God almighty, hats off to these guys! Courage exemplified so many times over. We salute you, Mr. Mills. RIP.
You cannot put into words the dept we owe these brave men🎖️🎖️🎖️
to Earl and all the servicemen, thank you for your service. let us never forget the sacrifice.
B-24 turrets could be retracted into the fuselage, but not on a 17. Several B-17 ball turret gunners ended up as a smudge on the runway when the plane had to land gears up. Andy Rooney witnessed it happening, and you could tell that the memory had haunted him all his life after.
B17 turrets did not retract but the gunner can go in and out of the turret in flight.
@@busteraycan they also had a manual crank system so the turret could be rotated into position if the electrics/hydraulics were shot, so other than damage to the gearing or something I’m not sure how the circumstance of landing on the ball gunner would arise, always baffled me a little.
A great example of the "Greatest Generation". Tough men.
i recently went to an air museum and they were nice enough to open the side door of a B-17. those men had courage like no other to fly on those vehicles and the ball turret gunner had balls of steel to do their job.
Mr. Mills contacted me after a news article that I was doing veteran interviews. I can still remember his comment on the phone .. "You need to hurry and tape us now .. we are dying like flies out here!!" (in that gravely voice- a semi yell - demanding I interview more vets). So many video cameras out there and it bothers me that so few people will pick one up and interview these folks.
Thank you for my freedom.
True warriors, thank you for service.
This man is a star. He was brilliant !
Imagine every day you go to work, you stand in front of a brick wall and let 5 guys take pot shots at you from 20 feet away. That is what these poor men went through - for years. I can't believe he survived mentally enough to talk about it now. Now that is a true hero!
Seems like the only way he could do his job was accepting he was ALREADY DEAD.
God Bless this man. I am glad you had a chance to know your uncle.
This man is fantastic
Big respect to all these guys from WW 2!
Thank you, Heroes all,
Dad was a B-24 ball turret gunner.I agree they are all heroes.
Thank you Mr. Mills for your valiant efforts and your personal sacrifices. You are an inspiration to us all. Your brave fight was honourable and just, and we live as we do today because of millions of men and women like you. Thanks again. Greetings from Newfoundland, Canada
Brave, brave Man. Thank You.
It's so crazy what these men had to go through, things they did stuck with them for the rest of their lives, my grandfather was a paratrooper in ww2, I remember him saying "I don't know how any of us survived"
Sounds like he convinced himself he was already dead. Just so he could focus on the job at hand.
True super hero
My Grandfather was a ball pit gunner in a B17. He never did talk about the war.
I imagine all of his comrades were shot to pieces inside. It was a tough time for desperate measures.
+CrispyTurtl3 Can't imagine having to clean/replace a pit gunner/ball turret after it get's hit. Especially in the heat of battle.
I saw a video where they interviewed a vet whose job was to clean the gore out of our tanks, so that they could be put back into service. The replacement crews hated these machines. He said there was a smell that would never go away.
The daily pressure of living on edge and going into danger is enough to break a man. Like Mr Mills many in WW1 suffered from mental trauma known as shellshock. That he and others would get back up there and do it all again is a testament to their character.
My father served as a ball gunner inB24s in the Pacific and often said how isolated you felt from the rest of the crew and your parachute kept inside the plane as there was no room to wear it over the target.
These men, (like todays servicemen and women) are worthy of our respect.
You are so totally right.
How can we possibly attempt to imagine or fantasize putting ourselves in their shoes?
he taught in ww2
These men are true heroes of the skies
Thank you for recording this for the VHP.
I have a relative who served in Vietnam as a B52 bomber pilot. I wonder if he went through things like this man. God bless our Vets
Serious respects sir.
Thank you!
And many, many woman and children, who never raised their right arms were burned and burried alive...
Real heroes
I don't know what country you're from, but if men like him hadn't fought in that war, you'd be under that ruthless nazi regime. Or you may never have been born. You should watch your ungrateful mouth.
@me3tv thank you sir for uploading this video. I always loved the b-17,and think we need to honor those brave men who flew in them. going against the odds to do a very dangerous job. thank you sir
You are doing a great service to this country getting these guys on camera. I made a documentary featuring my uncle who was also a ball turret gunner, called True Gunner. It took me 4 years. I attached it as a response to your vid.
Excellent piece!
God Bless Mr. Mills !
Undefined PTSD back then.
These vets saw true horrors and unimaginable piss yr pants things humans can do to each other.
THINGS THEY COULD NEVER UNSEE
All U.S. WWII airmen were my childhood heros during my youth during the 1960s. I became a CH-47 Flight Engineer in the 1980s but never will compare to these BRAVE airmen. I oftened wondered if I would of been one of them if I would of been born in the late 1920s...
had did you get your big balls in the turrent? wow much respect sir!
Godspeed, airman Mills!
The full video with Mr. Mills he talks of his eventual return to the USA and years of psycho therapy. He began eating his nails. Then the skin off the back of his hands and then his arms. He remains to this day 100 pct. neurologically disabled. His full interview was very colorful and he was quite interesting to interview. me3tv.
a good man for sure!
FULL RESPECT, FULL RESPECT!!
love seeing this footage! RESPECT*****!!
Did he say he was shot down over 63 years ago? Also I always wondered about the centrifugal force thing he was speaking about. What a heck of a way to die. Great respect for this man.
Interview about 2007 I think
He was just mistaken to call it centrifugal force - he just meant the g-force of the B-17 in a powered dive meant they would all be pinned to the back of whatever was around them... hence they couldn't move...
thanks for your service and your memories the worst position on the plane, but hell what do I know
Glad I've got to this
*The damn plane is not moving.* LOL
last generation of real men. I am lucky I was raised by my grandparents my grandfather a Guadal canal vet.
earl mills thank you for your service
A very brave man. Thank you sir. RIP.
A true hero!!! Thank you Earl ❤
I salute that man and all the bomber crews of B-17Gs and B-24s. They were the bravest of all the airmen.
My Dad would have told you " No , we just did our job " .
God Bless your family...
Greatest generation 👍
God Bless this man and all those who served, God Bless America, Happy 4th of July.
Damn Heros Every one. God bless'em
So grateful such amazing heroes and men of steel nerves stepped up for us to have it so good now. Such a National treasure!! Hearing this is so sobering to understand more of what my Step-Father went through as a navigator on B-24 over Germany....thanks for posting this!!!
Thank you for your Comments. His full ingterview went to the national archives. I am just glad I was able to capture this moment of time.
Greatest Generation
Sometimes you feel compelled to say something, but you just don't know what to say.
someone get this guy a drink, on the house.
I think he's dead my friend
Can you just imagine swiveling in that ball like a big eyeball? That ball was fascinating. The mechanism was quite a thing. The ball turret gunner was all hands and feet. The the thing traversed and elevated and how it combined the two movements by the hand and foot pedal controls....you had to be like a drummer; pat your head and rub your tummy and tap your toe, all at the same time. The ball turret guy had to watch for the luftwaffe planes flashing down and past. You had to rotate the combination movement to get a line or deflection on the interceptors speeding past on a dive.
If you only knew. I taped about an hour of his story. He is still a mental case but functional. 100 pct disability for nervous condition. in the months after his service in the air he gnawed all the hair off his arms and hands -- after he ate his fingernailes to pulps.
I love his humor!
How in the hell did we go from the greatest generation to the self absorbed selfie entitlement generation in 60,70 short years.
Rome stood for how long? British Empire? None lasts.
None of your buisness absolutely disgusting today’s generation free speech is gone
Liberalism and the victim mentality
this false assumption greatly disrespects the armed forces fighting in iraq and afghanistan.
social media
This man was a hero
Bomber crews were brave men, the odds were one in three for completing 25 missions, after number nine, you were flying on borrowed time , when you're battling fighters, flak, frostbite, and lack of oxygen . Fighting a war from mommas belly , is the worst position in the armed forces , and size mattered when it came time to see who's going in the ball, and he would also have the hardest position to bail out of. The statistics are painful, 75 percent of all airmen failed to make the magical and seemingly impossible 25 missions.
Thank a vet , any vet, freedom isn't free.
Family relative EDGAR WILKINSON.. same job.. TOWN DRUNK. died alon on his couch.. Thank
The pain was forever. We salute them.
What a job to have to do ,much respect 🫡
Someone did an interview of my grandfather, a P-38, P-47, and P-48 fighter pilot out of New Guninea, who's still alive. I need to upload it sometime. Its amazing how plain talking and no-nonsense these guys are.
Why the fuck did one person dislike this video?!?!? This man is a hero.
What a hell of a sense of humor, laughing about straight up suffering from fucking shell shock.
@cobrachoppergirl Correction, I meant P-49, the AIrcobra, not P-48. The P-38 was his favorite. Part of his interview is featured in a short movie, "Injury Slight, Please Advise", where he was wingman of his buddy who went down in the jungle and had to hike is way out. He had one P-38 engine shot out and dove to the deck; had another plane blow up on him in flames on the runway; bailed out of another and hit the silk, aka parachute.
Jesus Christ these guys were fxcking heroic.
All brave men! True hero's. RIP
Salute.
Many a young Anerican airman lost their lives over that hell that was Europe .. being shot to bits and being burned many surviving these deadly raids only to crash in the green fields of kent in England and loose their lives .. England remembers them and long may their graves be a reminder of what Freedom really costs.. God bless them all... USAAF By Day... the RAF by night... the word brave does not do them justice'... It would have been a real honour to meet this man and here his storys... God bless lads you were of the Finest generation.
And when i died they washed me out of the turret with a hose.
If God doesn't bless men like this he isn't a God I want to know.
Brave, brave men.
Still confused why japan attacked Pearl Harbor and got this beautiful country involved in a bloody ruthless war
The United States had blocked the sale of oil and other raw materials to Japan to curb its expansionism, Japan was an empire that controlled much of Asia. It was also crazy to attack the United States, it is like going and kicking a lion that is sleeping
Thank you for posting this. I have so much respect for WW Vets. It's great to hear the stories. Also, i disagree that Kamakazee were brave. They were forced to fly a plane with only enough fuel to complete that crazed mission. Foolish honor is the only credit they deserve in my opinon.
It's crazy... i'm a german pilot and i fly at the city braunschweig
Joker wow! Theses guys were fearless!
@partingbead Really though? Tthinking about doing it would be fun but actually doing it would be very, very scary.
Great!
FWest, yes. It is very common. Note, they IMAGINED a machine gun in their hands. They are IN position in their dream to use the weapon they are dreaming that they hold. Common for all types of combat and other stressful situations to have nightmares like that.
I wish someone could add subtitles to that vid. My hearing is so bad, I don't understand a single word of what he's saying. :(
Here is what he is talking about: LUFTWAFFE FW-190 and BF-110 FIGHTER KILLS GUN CAMERA FILMS 1944 43724 ua-cam.com/video/0yMT0H8qe9k/v-deo.html At 00:45 you will see an FW at point blank range hitting the cockpit. I don't know how that FW got that close.
@buckrorie I second that.
Did I hear the Ball turret at 7:30? buuurrrrpppppphhh
hahaha