Lunchbox Lecture: Seth Paridon - "70th Anniversary of 8th Air Force Black Week"

[@HarrisandSons1]

Thank you! This was a beautiful lecture and a great memorial. My G. Uncle Vardon Ione Butler was shot down on his 25th mission on March 1944 (Belly Gunner) with the David L. Miner crew over-- toward Berlin on a day light raid.

[@stephengranger9019]

Hey I really want you to know how much I love your videos about the Pacific Theater of WW2. My Dad was in the Pacific in 1944 to 1946. He was on the USS HYDE ( APA / LPA - 173). It was a Haskel class attack transport. My Dad said it was a brand new ship when he boarded her. I took him to San Antonio for his first ship reunion and it was the first time it was held there. At 86 years old I would say he was in fair shape. So what really got to me was that we arrived at the hotel that was next to the Alamo and is where the crew would meet up and stay. So I'm getting our luggage and I walk in watching my Dad make it to the counter. I noticed he kept looking at this man and knew him but couldn't remember his name. So he got the man's attention and said I know your face but can't remember your name so then the man replies with I know who you are and said my Dad's name Tommy Granger and the hand shake and hugs began. It put tears in my eyes. 50 years since they've seen each other. There were 16 left and my Dad knew every one of them. My Dad was an Boatswain 1st class on a Higgins boat. I ended up with the ships log that we received at the reunion. After his Dad was severely hurt from an accident they had came back to San Diego loading supplies and Marines to take back to the Pacific island hopping campaign. When he received the word about his Dad they put him on a train to Orange Texas which took 3 days. He was on leave for a month. He then went back to San Diego and was put on the USS ATTU CVE- 102 jeep carrier full of TBM Avengers, F6F's and F4U Corsairs ferring them to the carriers as they were needed. That's where he fell in love with aircraft. When he got out of the service he got his pilot license on the G I bill and bought a Navy surplus PT 19 trainer. He had a total of 5 different planes through the years till he sold out in 1964. Sorry for the long story but just sitting here listening to you and your co-host podcast on KZbin. Just amazing me more of all the details that I've never heard of before and that y'all come out with is teaching me more. The Brewster Buffalo came up about the Fins were kicking butt with it. I just laughed and thought about the new Top Gun movie where Rooster said it's not the plane it's the pilot. Makes sense 😁. So I'm going to keep watching you guys. God Bless 🇺🇸🇨🇱

[@buzzml8123]

Great presentation, sir. I don’t understand why Eaker was allowed to continue the madness when it was clear it wasn’t working. Madness

[@Thumpalumpacus]

Great presentation, Seth.

[@samphillips8322]

Our uncle Harry was in the 95th, same wing as the 100th and 390th I believe. He was on his 22nd or 23rd mission when he flew with Rodney Snow's crew to Munster in "Herky Jerky II" on 10-10-43. They were hit, uncle Harry was badly wounded but survived. Originally he was in Johnnie Johnson's crew. By October many of the original 95th crews were depleted and filling in with other crews. This was uncle Harry's last mission.

[@robsan52]

After reading extensively about Bomber Command and the 8th I don't understand why they didn't just go to mental institutions and jails and recruit inmates to be kamakazie trips to Germany. Why not, that's what they did anyway. The next thing is; there was questionable results. Basically we murdered the best and the brightest. My uncle scored high on the the tests in the army so was pressured into the air Corp. He decided to get into the medium bombers because in mid 44' everyone knew the Lancasters, B17's and 24s were murdered cannon fodder. In my opinion Harris, Tedder and the rest should have been court martialled then shot.

[@jamesallen8418]

I like your style and pace.

[@DavidSmith-ss1cg]

The US system for replacing losses was VERY slack; my Dad was a B-17 copilot - a replacement - on the 2nd Schweinfurt raid and spent the next year and a half or so as a guest of the Luftwaffe in Barth, part of East Germany after WW2. It's not certain what morale or cohesion could've helped against the fury of the strong Luftwaffe of that time, though. Dad was in one of those Time/Life books about WW2 POW camps. He was at Stalag Luft 1 and made arrangements for athletic contests among the POWs, including boxing matches involving the guards; which the Germans were keen to get involved in, for PR reasons - not many on the Allied side knew about the bloodshed at the Katyn Forrest, then. The Germans knew that Stalin - who'd been embarrassed by the Poles in the 1921 war that the USSR lost to Poland, having to give concessions to the Polish - had it out for the Poles after that. Dad didn't say much about WW2; his war lasted only one mission, for only one day. And the end of the war was like after a concert or a US sports event - a bunch of tired, cranky folks trying to sort themselves out and get back home without bumping into one another. They really did call it the Black Week for a good reason.

[@davehallett810]

God bless your father, love from Liverpool England 👍🇺🇸🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

[@primaryrage]

That intro music made me think I was watching a Food Wishes video.

[@nicholashomyak2473]

Explain the leap frog fighter escort system P-47-P-38 P-51 the distance is almost the same or is so its stress level not fuel capacity?

[@MrOhdead]

cruising speed i believe, when they get to the bombers the aircraft are flying less efficiently as they have to slow down

[@ashsmith1448]

The 100th was actually made up of a bunch of "misfits".They almost got broken up and required a lot more training

[@call0031]

Were you there? That's easy to say from a comfortable armchair. You are repeating something you probably heard or read somewhere and probably from one of the leaders (like LeMay who came from a different Bomb Group) at the time who were trying to cover their butts because they still believed in the mistaken doctrine that unescorted bombers could adequately defend themselves if they would just fly in a tighter or different formation. You weren't there and don't know what you're talking about so keep your overly broad and slanderous hearsay comments to yourself. An entire Bomb Group is never a bunch of "misfits." These were brave men who died trying to do dangerous bombing raids against targets heavily defended by fighters and antiaircraft. Don't blame the victims for an error in their leaders' thinking who were testing a doctrine which they eventually acknowledged was wrong.

[@ashsmith1448]

read a history book. im not disrespecting them. they just almost got broken up because they were not ready as far as skill was concerend. i admire them a great deal cause my pop fought over there skies as well, so don't lecture me on respect. they did become fierce and deadly fighters as time went on. i know all about our bomber boys as i have spent years researching them. i dont need a cheap speech

[@anthonygreener3843]

I am looking for one plane In particular no I read the story and never forgot it

[@anthonygreener3843]

O ya I for got to tell u my father served in all 4 branches of the military

[@anthonygreener3843]

Hey you are the guy I am looking for !! Can u please e mail me back ?? I am looking for information on a bomber a B 17 and I have a book that has all the blue prints of fighters and bombers I am a huge history fan huge!!! So can u help me ??

[@nickhomyak6128]

No lesson learned; as war is now economy, and our Air Force has not real opposition..so WW2 war as economy has continued..Sad no lesson learned in History