Nose Art Story - Part Two

Ok, so now you’ll see why Dad didn’t want to show me the nose art from his B-24 “Bomb Baby”. Pretty tame by today’s standards but it did cause a stir in its day.

Dad and his crew trained in Utah and Nevada. When they were ready to head to Europe they started across the country. The nose art became an issue on that trip. I’ll let Dad himself tell you the story. This is an excerpt from a short autobiography I urged him to write.

“Shirley (my Mom) returned to California and we flew the first leg of the journey, to Herrington Kansas AFB. A Major from MATS at the base objected to our nose art, saying that it was offensive, and we were told to paint it over. We got some olive drab chalk and covered the nose art. Unfortunately during the night, a big rain storm washed it away. The Major sent a crew with paint and had it repainted. It stayed covered till we got to England and had it repainted.”

I don't yet know how to post a photo here. You can see the picture on my facebook page. Thank you for your patience.

My Dad was a quiet man. I never saw him raise his voice in anger. Not even at some of the stupid teenaged stuff I threw at him. I had an image of him when I was young as a straight laced nice guy. When I saw this picture it helped me understand that Dad was more than a Dad, more than my Dad. He’d been a part of something very big and participated with flair. He had an edge. I thought that was very cool, and even though he’s gone now I remember him as one of the finest people I have ever known.