Warbird Information Exchange

Slightly off topic, but I was just reading about Clifford Roy Wherley who passed in 2013. He was a B-26 mid-upper gunner who enlisted in the AAF when he was 14. I was just wondering what the Luftwaffe would have done with him if he’d have been shot down and captured and they discovered they had a fifteen-year-old kid on their hands?

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Defending Stearmans on WIX since Jeff started badmouthing them back in 2005.

I "gar-on-tee" you he would have been exploited for propaganda purposes. "Just look at this CHILD! Exploited and forced into the US Army. He should be home, in school. Instead, he was set against the Fatherland. These are the Untermensch being set against us." Or some such, imitating Nazi propaganda tropes is beyond my experience and skills. I recall the old "12 O'Clock High" TV show had a episode with an underage airman as the subject.

Propaganda value notwithstanding, I'm sure other combatants had underage soldiers and sailors.
I'm sure the Royal Navy had sailors that young (based on their history) and both Germany and Russia had underage members out of necessity.

I'm a bit more surprised about the USAAF having an underage aircrew. I would have thought given their rank/NCO status, there was less a chance of it happening.

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Remember the vets, the wonderful planes they flew and their sacrifices for a future many of them did not live to see.
Note political free signature.
I figure if you wanted my opinion on items unrelated to this forum, you'd ask for it.

To pile on my previous post: recall the "sturm und drang" from the Nazi propaganda machine when aircrews were captured wearing provocative aircraft names on their uniform jackets. In particular early in the campaign a crew from a B-17 named "Murder Inc" was shot down and the photos of said jackets were widely utilized for their propaganda purposes.

I have read that the "Murder, Inc" (a media nickname for a gangster group) incident led to "the powers that be" requiring aircraft names to be approved, by whom and what level (at the squadron, group, wing or NAF), I don't know.
If any original documents survive, that would be interesting research.

Another propaganda - related name issue. We have all seen the photos of (then) Princess Elizabeth with a B-17. Originally they were going to name the aircraft after her. But someone (probably the Royal staff) objected because it would look bad if the aircraft was lost in combat. So it was named "The Rose of York" after her instead. IIRC, the aircraft was indeed lost.

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Remember the vets, the wonderful planes they flew and their sacrifices for a future many of them did not live to see.
Note political free signature.
I figure if you wanted my opinion on items unrelated to this forum, you'd ask for it.

Somebody didn't get that memo in the 352nd FG. P-51B 42-106449 HO-W William Whisner pilot

Yes, I've always wondered about that.
Probably a case of "what they don't know won't hurt them".
The royal staff were involved because of her visit to the base and probably thought of it as royal sponsorship or something.

Or perhaps Whisner's wife or daughter was named Elizabeth.

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Remember the vets, the wonderful planes they flew and their sacrifices for a future many of them did not live to see.
Note political free signature.
I figure if you wanted my opinion on items unrelated to this forum, you'd ask for it.

I've read a narrative (maybe from "Fighter Group" by Jay A Stout) that Whisner was off base when the paint up was done and he was none-to-happy when he saw it. I think it stayed on until shorty after the Royal visit.

On a related aspect I found this story in "Bluenoser Tales". Tried to scan it but of course the part of the page I wanted to scan was hard up against the binding.

Since I have decals for both planes mentioned it might make for an interesting diorama in 1/48th scale.

I know of a few documented cases of American servicemen during WWII who embellished their ages to meet the minimum age requirements, but never have I heard of one being as young as 14. Allied and Axis servicemen I’m sure this could have happened (especially the Axis side) but never an American. Even if this veteran looked much older than 14, that’s still incredibly young to get by the authorities granting approval to serve. But anything was possible in those days so could very well be a fact in this case. Glad he survived to live a full life.

As for being captured at that young an age, I would assume this serviceman would have kept his age at what he embellished it to be.

Not aircrew, but: One of our volunteers at War Eagles Air Museum had been an apprentice mechanic at Biggs AAF when he was 13. He lied about his age and went in the Navy at 15 and served aboard a mine sweeper. His ship was one of the first (if not the first) to enter the waters at Hiroshima after the bombing. Carl then came home and worked as a mechanic for my grandfather. He was a wonderful person to work with and was somewhat of a mentor to me, but sadly passed away in 2014.

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Had God intended for man to fly behind inline engines, Pratt & Whitney would have made them.

CB

http://www.angelfire.com/dc/jinxx1/Desrt_Wings.html

Not USAAF, but the youngest American service"man" in World War II was Calvin Graham, a gunner onboard the USS South Dakota. However, if you're looking for USAAF examples, there's apparently an organization for them:

(Source: Smithsonian Magazine)

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