GENTLEMEN SONGSTERS OFF ON A SPREE ...

Trammel ("Ace") Hollis, Waist Gunner, B-17F, "Fritz Blitz,'' 335th Squadron
(Originally published in Courage, Honor, Victory)

Trammel "Ace" Hollis,
Waist Gunner
335th Bomb Squadron

On the afternoon of15 August 1943, four of us crewmen of "Fritz Blitz" decided to go to London. It was raining very heavily and we all felt that there was absolutely no chance that we would be flying the next day. So we proceeded to write out our passes (which was slightly against regulations), went to Diss railway station, and boarded the train for London. 

We registered at the Hamilton House Hotel, near Hyde Park where we always stayed, and the party was on. The next morning the sun was shining from a clear blue sky, and we felt then that we might be in just a little bit of trouble. 

Our suspicions were confirmed on our arrival at the "Rainbow" Red Cross Club. There on the bulletin board was a notice that meant Uncle Sam had caught up with us and that the party was well and truly over: "LT. BROMAN's CREW REPORT TO BASE IMMEDIATELY." 

We knew for sure that we'd goofed up because Major David McKnight, 335th squadron commander at that time, had warned us that he didn't care what we got up to, within reason, just as long as we were on base at mission time, and that if we ever missed a raid through absenteeism he promised he would "burn us off a really hot new one." 

By the time we arrived back at Horham it was in the very early morning hours of 17 August. As we were walking back to our barracks we ran into our crew, with four replacement gunners, heading for the trucks to take them to the hardstand where "Fritz Blitz" was parked. 

I said to Lieutenant Willie Fowler, our navigator, "What's up?" and he replied "You ought to be glad that you're missing this one. We're to hit Regensburg and then fly on to North Africa. It's the first shuttle mission." 

They made it all right and hit Bordeaux on the way home several days later. Meanwhile, the four of us were court-martialed, immediately grounded, and reduced to the rank of private. Then we were given the most menial jobs such as garbage and "honey-bucket" detail, keeping the base neat and tidy, and clearing and building concrete walkways through the woods. 

Our original crew went on subsequent raids with the four replacements filling in for us. They were on their twenty-third mission when "Fritz Blitz" was shot down over Munster in October 1943. All the crew managed to bail out except for one of the replacements Technical Sergeant Roy Rightmire, who was killed during a fighter attack. 

Eventually we were assigned to another replacement crew, and we all completed our tour of combat missions safely.