B24 gunner's bracelet returned home to sister after 65 yrs.

[Enforcer57]

I hope this link works and you can see it. This guy was obviously a gunner methinks from the photo his sister has in the background. The average history ignorant journalist writing this said he was a fighter pilot......in a B24.

[BadAim]

Wow, great story. One of my church buddies is going to try to get the government to issue his father in-law's wings to him after 60+ years. He had taken the training and showed good aptitude, but never got his commission (he was a sargent) so he never got his wings (even though he flew combat missions as a crewman in B29's). Fortunately our former Governor also attends our church, so he knows the channels. I hope it all works out.

[Enforcer57]

Yea, he should get them. Early in the war, their were a fair number of sgt pilots in the Pacific due to the fact that they had finished pilot training but not the commissioning process. I can't remember many facts on that, but there were a fair number. I know it was due to the severe need of pilots.

So there is plenty of precedent to use there. Im surprised they didn't go ahead and issue them. Maybe by that point they thought the need wasn't quite as much.

Many air arms have used non commissioned pilots in desperate times, especially in WW2.

[BadAim]

I don't know the whole story, but I do believe it was late in the war (B29's and all) so I imagine the need for trained crewmen was greater than the need for pilots by that time.