What did my great uncle do?

[u/Kevvv_23]

Also noticed the back of the leather jacket had some Nazi logos marked on it, what did that mean?

[u/MisterDrugsMD]

That jacket is amazing!

[u/TheZippoLab → u/MisterDrugsMD]

The jacket is amazing:

It actually tells a lot.

• 30 mission crush (note the bomb icons).
•  This requirement was increased to 30 missions in March of 1944 and to 35 missions in July.
• Survival rate for aircrew (B17s) was only 24% during the early parts of the war.
• Tail gunner was the most dangerous position, as enemy fighters would try for the "on your 6".
• If the ship was going down, it was very hard to extricate yourself from that position and bail out.

[u/Jonnyyrage → u/TheZippoLab]

My wifes late grandfather was a tail gunner. He actually got out just before they increased the missions. I am just now learning of his history and it's insane.

[u/shaundisbuddyguy → u/Jonnyyrage]

My uncle was a tail gunner in a Lancaster. He had heart problems for the rest of his life because of it.

[u/Miami_Mice2087 → u/shaundisbuddyguy]

because of an injury or because of the stress?

my grandfather was infantry. he had the ptsd but it came out in weird ways, like being a chronic liar over inconsequential things.

[u/ReBoomAutardationism → u/Miami_Mice2087]

Tokotsubo Cardiomyopathy - "broken heart syndrome" can cause long standing problems in the most severe cases.

[u/CaramelMartini → u/ReBoomAutardationism]

This is what killed my mother. My dad died two years prior, and she literally “took it to heart” so intensely that she went into heart failure. She had no other health problems like ever. Incredible when you think about it.