INTRODUCTION TO THE BOMBARDIER
BOQ
rooms had 4 steel cots for the crew’s officers. Three officers
for my crew hadn’t yet been assigned. My bunk was made up but
the other three only had mattress and pillow. I really was not
prepared for what I saw when I walked into my room. There, lying
on my made up bed, was a tall skinny kid, staring at the ceiling
and smoking a cigarette. His bedding was piled in the middle of
the floor. His first remark without taking his eyes off the ceiling
was “Well, I guess you’re Harper.” “You’re sure as hell right
about that,” I shot at him. Without changing his ceiling stare
he demanded to know my date of rank. I said “it’s really none
of your business but for the sake of seeing where this conversation
is going, it’s 22 April, 1943. At that, he stood up, ground out
the cigarette butt on my floor, yawned, stretched and announced
that since I outranked him I could have my bed back. He went over
and picked himself a cot and started unrolling the mattress when
I asked “Just who in hell are you?” His reply was that his name
was Cox and that he was my bombardier. 
I made a bee-line to the adjutant’s office. I blurted out that
I didn’t want any part of that bombardier he had just issued me.
The adjutant told me that a whole graduating class of them had
been sent to us that day and they were all assigned but if any
of the other pilots got their drawers in wad over their bombardier
we could swap. I told him to put me at the top of the list. He
also advised me that Cox was top man in his class and that I might
want to think it over before letting someone else get their hooks
on him....
Next...The Crew Of The Buffalo
Gal
Continued...
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