A TRIBUTE
Leonard Herman, Bombardier, 335th Squadron
(Originally published in Courage, Honor, Victory)
S/Sgt Donald Crossley
Tail Gunner,
335th Bomb Squadron
There is not the slightest doubt in my mind that had our bomber's crew been less proficient and had our gunners been less skilled and accurate, I would not be alive today to write this memorial tribute.
Donald Crossley was a handsome young devil and had a charming yet wicked smile. He had the spirit and verve of a young stallion. The girls all loved him!
Better still, our crew all loved him. And why not? After all, he was a really excellent shot, and he kept us alive on a number of occasions. He certainly knew how to handle his guns in our tail turret position.
Donald Crossley's picture graced the front cover of the 10 October 1943 issue of the New York Times Magazine. The article was headlined "Sharp Shooter of the Air." Other news clippings said, "Gunner Honored as Best in Europe," (dated 17 September 1943, London, U.P.) "He has been credited with having shot down 22 German fighters in 20 missions." (A later article stated that Donald Crossley now had 12 German planes to his credit.)
Don completed his combat tour at about the same time as I did, and I left Horham very soon afterward for the United States but I later learned that Don did not come home at that time. Evidently, he'd been transferred to the 100th Bomb Group at Thorpe Abbotts as a gunnery instructor, crashed into a brick wall while driving a jeep, and died in the base hospital as a result of his injuries.
I will always remember him.
A voice from the past – a happy ending: Sometime during May 1984, several months after we started our quest for wartime experiences and other relevant information in order to compile this group history, I contributed the small dedication to our tail gunner, Donald Crossley. It was sent to Ian Hawkins in England.
Shortly before our group's annual reunion at Las Vegas in September 1984, I received a telephone call from the west coast. The caller stated that he was Don Crossley and he wished to speak to Leonard Herman to ask if he was the same person who flew with the crew of a B-17 named "The Brass Rail," 95th Bomb Group, Eighth Air Force, during World War II.
I took the call and told the gentleman that I thought it was a very sick joke to use a dead airman's name in order to have a phone conversation. "Leonard," the voice exclaimed, "I am Don Crossley and I'm damned if I'm dead!"
Apparently, Don had read the small article I'd written in the Disabled American Veterans Magazine, requesting information from 95th Group veterans for our anthology.
Knowing Don Crossley, I should have asked him where he was calling from. Most certainly science has advanced tremendously and of course communications are now being received from all parts of outer space.
It transpired that after crashing into the wall and being rushed to the hospital the medics had given Don up, and he was not expected to live more than twenty-four hours. Thus the story was circulated that Don had passed away. In fact, I checked with many people and they'd all heard the same sad story. Well, it was Don Crossley on the phone, he was alive, and he was going to attend our 95th Group reunion. As a result of my conversation with him, I was able to contact a few other crew members of "The Brass Rail" whom I hadn't heard from since 1943.
The reunion took place in Las Vegas, and it was a great emotional experience. Randall Cowan, our top-turret gunner and his wife appeared, and I was finally reunited with Don Crossley at about midnight at the hotel bar. We reminisced into the early morning hours, drinking toasts to each other and to all the members of our crew.
So now my dedication is to a real living person. Nothing changes that dedication except, by the grace of God, he is alive. Donald Crossley has beaten the odds again, and he can still talk about it. Here's to you, Don!