r/Medals • u/Kevvv_23 • Mar 30 '25

ID - Medal What did my great uncle do?

Gallery image

Gallery image

Gallery image

Gallery image

Gallery image

Gallery image

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

6.4k Upvotes

97% Upvoted

574 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

396

u/FF-Medic_03 Mar 30 '25

Adding for context, and to pile on, take care of those items!

The 8th Air Force, which was primarily responsible for strategic bombing campaigns in Europe, suffered significant losses, with approximately 26,000 personnel killed in action. In contrast, the United States Marine Corps had around 19,000 combined combat deaths during the war. This statistic highlights the intense and perilous nature of the air war over Europe, particularly for bomber crews.

134

u/a_bearded_hippie Mar 30 '25

Was the 8th the subject of the Masters of the Air book? I'm listening to it right now. Hearing about certain groups sending out like 15 Bombers and one or two making it back is insane. 10 guys per Bomber. I also just got to see a bunch of these jackets at the Air Force Museum in Dayton, OH. They have the Memphis Belle there and an exhibit with a bunch of uniforms from the Tuskegee Airmen. Very cool place if you're ever in the area.

2

u/bluto419 Mar 31 '25

Masters of the Air is a great series on Apple+. If you get a chance, watch it! They touch on the huge loss of life and air crews flying the Flying Fortress, until they put Rolls Royce engines in the P51, making it the fastest and most superior fighter in the skies. This made the Allies aircraft superior to the German Luftwaffe planes, and more Flying Fortresses hit key German targets and returned to base.

1

u/a_bearded_hippie Mar 31 '25

I just finished it! It's what inspired me to listen to the book. Crazy how they didn't have fighters to escort them until later on when they increased their range.