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by Bill Ibelle.
Hardback (6.2×9.2 inches). 185 pages. 2025.
Subtitle: The Story of a B-17 Gunner Over Nazi-Occupied Europe
Towards the end of his life, WWII B-17 gunner Bert Ibelle gave his son Bill a manuscript of his WWII service, which was a complete disappointment to Bill. As Bert was a psychologist in charge of an institution, Bill expected a book full of feelings about how his father and fellow airmen felt about flying missions, the war, and dropping bombs on soldiers and civilians.
Instead, this original manuscript was mainly a collection of dry recounting of day-to-day life in the 15th US Army Air Force in Italy. For example, four pages were devoted to building a aviation-fuel powered heater for his tent out of a 55 gallon drum and joining cans for a stovepipe. As his father told him in person, he did what had to be done and hoped he could get home after the war was won.
Then Bill found a collection of letters his father kept from his then sweetheart and post-war wife. He also had a stash of letters received from a friend serving in the Pacific. Bill went hunting for more and eventually wrapped all of these into a biography of his father, mother, their friends, and the squadron.
It reads like a charm. While you don’t get a lot of feeling about being at war, you do get a lot of feeling as Bert pursued Mary Jane “Red” Pierce (his auburn-haired future wife), who was soon dating Bill Harney, but torn up about ditching Bert. So, running through the ins and outs of basic and advanced training is this love triangle within the war triangle of the European Front, the Pacific Front, and the Home Front. Nicely layered and compiled.
The book contains 37 black and white photos, 27 black and white illustrations, and one black and white map.
Here is one case where I read all the excerpts from the letters — a surprising twist for me, but the payoff was fantastic.
Enjoyed it.
— Reviewed by Russ Lockwood
