World War II Database

We Came to Fight a War: The Story of a B-17 Radio Gunner and His Pilot is an autobiography of a Radio Gunner on a B-17 bomber in the European Theater of Operations. Although it is Jack Flynn's own story, it is also the story of his entire crew with certain chapters dedicated to some of the members, especially his pilot.

It starts off with the typical early childhood memories and why he joined the military. The early chapters describe training, meeting the crew and studies on the various aspects of flying. There were a couple of points in the book that I actually burst out laughing. Being in the military myself, I could picture exactly what was being described, and I could actually envision what happened; the training flight with the entire crew asleep was certainly one of them.

The chapters roll into various bombing missions, brief descriptions of other crews and how they handled various missions, friends made and lost, and the inevitable German actions to counter the bombing missions. He also describes what it was like for the plane to be hit by flak and also what happens when crew members were hit and how they handled it. The last chapter talks about the post-war years and how the bonds between the crew remain tight. He describes how his pilot was charged at the war's end and what became of him; it was not the military higher-ups' best hour on how they handled it or the reason the charges were laid.

There are pictures throughout the book which adds to the chapters being read.

This book is easy to follow along and easy to read. I recommend it.