Medal of Honor for Acts of Bravery

War makes men do terrible things to their fellow mankind. But through all the horror and sometimes insurmountable odds, courage and bravery shine through. Two gallant young men both in the same B-17 were awarded the Medal of Honor for acts of extreme bravery in the face of certain death.

Just who were these two brave young men?

metzger gott

A ‘truant’ and ‘runaway’, it was unimaginable he would pilot a B-17

“Kermit D. Wooldridge’s future looked dim as a teenager. The troubled youngster was described as truant, incorrigible, and a run-away. He dropped out of high-school. Born to deaf-mute parents who could not control him, he was raised by an uncle in Lubbock and Abernathy, Texas.

Bored and headed for trouble, on July 12, 1934, Kermit Wooldridge, age 17, joined the US Army. No one would have predicted that a few years later he would find himself in the midst of the most important war America would ever fight. It was unimaginable that he would pilot the formidable four-engine heavy bomber – the B-17 Flying Fortress.”

Read about 2nd Lt. Kermit D Wooldridge’s life though his diary. http://wp.me/P4xjD9-oo

Lt. Wooldridge After His Last mission on December 13th 1943

Interactive map, airfields, museums and memorials

I have added a new interactive map to the blog showing all the airfields, museums and memorials that appear in each trail. Clicking on the relevant icon will reveal a link and photo where available, giving an additional dimension to the site.

As more places are visited additional plots will be made giving further  opportunities to share trails and experiences.

Due to the nature of the map, it is unfortunately optimised for large screens, and so may cause viewing issues on small phones and tablets, this is part of the map design and cannot regrettably be changed at present. By putting your device in ‘landscape’ mode, you may be able to overcome or reduce some of these issues but it is recommended that you use a PC monitor or large screen to view the map.

I hope you enjoy the new map, please do leave feedback, suggestions and comments, so I can continue to improve and update the site.

See the new page here