B 17 Copilot Ray Schar

Ray Schar was a B-17 Copilot from the 490th Bomb Group based in Eye, England. His aircraft was shot down by flak and he spent the last months of the war as a POW before being liberated by Gen. George Patton.
This interview was recorded on Sept. 16, 1997 at a 490th Bomb Group reunion. If you enjoy videos in this format, please subscribe. I've got over 200 more like this!

[@realwealthproperties5671]

That was great interview. Thank you for sharing. It’s nice to see that he lived a long full life. He never said what happened to the last crewman Dean Smith.

[@AirCombatJournal]

I have a second interview of Ray that I recorded the following year (he has a mustache in that interview.) He might have said something about Dean in that video, but I don't remember. I will eventually get to it. My goal now is to start getting out some interviews of the other crew positions. I don't want to make this just about the pilots! You had responded to my first two videos. What are your thoughts regarding Ray's interview with less intense music? I don't want the music to detract from the narrative. Thank you for watching!

[@sevysnape]

@@AirCombatJournalLoud and annoying music can be detracting especially for those of us with some hearing loss but this video was fine. Thanks for sharing 👍

[@AirCombatJournal]

Thank you for your input regarding music. I thik the music for Larry and Dwight was very overpowering and actually detracted from the narrative, but maybe that is what happens when you get a sound man to edit the audio. I mixed the sound on Ray's narrative. I will dial back the background music and effects from here out. Thank you again, for your input!@@sevysnape

[@drj.r.cooper2493]

​@AirCombatJournal THANKS FOR THE GREAT VIDEO! My apologies for 'inviting myself' into the conversation, but since I'm here.... REGARDING music, it's nice of you to ask. I was taught to shoot and hunt ~ age 6. So after >60 years of vigorously exercising my 2nd Amendment... Add to that some artillery fire (& similar explosives) and healthy use of rock-n-roll, and I'm pretty dad-burn hard of hearing! I'm guessing many of your audience are boomers, so low/no music might be preferred. I hardly noticed the music in this video, as the jar-flies in my head made them barely noticeable. 🙉👍

[@AirCombatJournal]

Thank you for your constructive feedback. I'm hoping that the music mix I have been doing on my own has been better suited to the mood of the videos. My philosophy on mixing music is that once the music becomes noticeable, it is too loud. I concur with your hearing woes. I've got a 30% hearing loss in my right ear and tinnitus from videotaping F-16 afterburner takeoffs for F-16 pilot and maintenance training videos when I was in my 20s. I wish I had been smarter back then. I was able to spare my left ear by covering it with my left hand. Earplugs in both ears didn't do the job...@@drj.r.cooper2493