A B-17 Flying Fortress (serial number 42-5718) nicknamed “The Widow Maker” of the 94th Bomb Group in flight (Wikimedia Commons) written by Todd DePastino “What a marvelous plane that was and beautiful to fly.” That’s what WWII 15th Air Force pilot Tom Wiley said about his B-17 several years ago at a
Earlier this year, actor Austin Butler appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and said the best part of starring as “Buck” Cleven in Masters of the Air was getting to meet John “Lucky” Luckadoo. “I’m sorry—what’s his name?” asked Colbert. 102-year-old Luckadoo flew 25 missions as pilot and co-pilot of B-17 in the
Photos by Gary Yon Rarely do we post photos of our recent VBC storytelling events, but, then again, we don't usually have a photographer of Gary Yon's caliber taking them. Gary joined us once again at Grist House Brewing in Millville, PA, near Pittsburgh, for our annual VBC Burgers & Craft Beer event. Gary's
Written by Bill Barber Bill Barber served with the First Force Reconnaissance Company, Third Reconnaissance Battalion in I Corps Vietnam in 1965-1966. He stayed in the Marine Corps after returning from Vietnam and went on to serve in Desert Shield/Desert Storm and Panama Invasion. Bill write the following poem, "All Purposed to Glory," while
An aerial view of a hangar area at RAF Upper Heyford (USAF) Written by Bob Von Bargen I was at Upper Heyford RAF Base near Oxford in England. My KC-97 air refueling combat crew was pulling an alert tour to support operations in Europe during the Cold War. Our alert crew building
Written by Todd DePastino USAF Master Sergeant Al Claycomb has written five children's books dealing with life's big issues: loneliness, loss, faith, and friendship. Al served an astounding 44 years, from 1979 to 2023, working on, then later managing, the mighty Lockheed C-5 Galaxy, the largest aircraft in the world. But as a young
