Hunting Bombers

We got a B-25 over here at John Wayne airport (SNA) and we get a few bombers a year flying over my house which is in the glide path. I always run out and look up when I hear radials flying overhead. My neighbor Gale Cunningham (RIP) was a co-pilot in a 24, told me of a Italy mission once that made him shake to this day, said the flak was like flying into a black cloud and their were more holes in his Lib than he could count, got him home though he said chuckling. I also had a customer that flew P-51D's in WW2 Europe. His was a wingman to a 5+ ace, himself had 1+1/2 kill. Amazing old men, just in their early 20's when it all went down. My great uncle, USMC was a Jap POW for the ENTIRE war, was a embassy radio operator in China and was taken prisoner 12-07-41 and was liberated 2 weeks after the war ended..the guards just disappeared one day and 2 weeks later the Americans arrived to find everyone POW that was still alive just standing around, not knowing what the hell was going on...Got an appendectomy (?) with nothing but a double shot of sake from an English POW doctor, that was one hard core Marine! Ooh Rah!

Our grandfathers probably knew each other. Mine was an embassy gaurd in Peking. Look at the North China Marines website. You might find him listed there and see where/what he went through.