Notification

[PWC]

During the VN war, there was a low life segement of society that liked to cause pain and suffering to those waiting left behind, by anti-GI cat calls and false death notifications.

I know during WW2 and Korea the war dept used Western Union as official notification of death or missing. What did they do during VN and now? I don't mean this to seem insensitive, I just hope the low lifes have crawled back into the dark where they belong.a

[Vern Humphrey]

During the VN war, there was a low life segement of society that liked to cause pain and suffering to those waiting left behind, by anti-GI cat calls and false death notifications.

I know during WW2 and Korea the war dept used Western Union as official notification of death or missing. What did they do during VN and now? I don't mean this to seem insensitive, I just hope the low lifes have crawled back into the dark where they belong.a

During Viet Nam, we used face-to-face notification by an officer (wounded was a telegram.) Since a lot of colleges had ROTC detachments, a lot of the notifications were carried out by those officers.

[PWC]

Was it officers for officed notification and NCOs for enlisted?

[Vern Humphrey]

Was it officers for officed notification and NCOs for enlisted?

As best I recall, it was officers across the board, although when there was no officer readily available, a senior NCO might have been assigned.

There were actually two officers, the Notification Officer, who carried the bad news, and the Survivor Assistance Officer, who delivered the solatium check, and assisted in settling the deceased's estate, filing insurance and Social Security claims and so on.

[PWC]

Thank you, Vern, that is what I believed would have happened. Tho I had friends and a cousin that didn't return, this was never brought up. I knew at least one of the casualty folks was assigned to help the survivors thru the required maze during the emotional time.

[Vern Humphrey]

Thank you, Vern, that is what I believed would have happened. Tho I had friends and a cousin that didn't return, this was never brought up. I knew at least one of the casualty folks was assigned to help the survivors thru the required maze during the emotional time.

It's a tough job -- I volunteered to come back on Active Duty for Desert Storm, and that would have been my assignment,

[togor]

I have the telegram that the War Department sent to my mother.

[PWC]

Togor; telegram notification for what?

[m1ashooter]

A notification team coming to my door is one of the few things I fear.

[togor]

Togor; telegram notification for what?

Actually rechecked.... telegram was to my grandfather's second wife. My mom got it from her later. Death notice, KIA in European theater. Also some condolence letters from the army.

[PWC]

Sorry to hear. I hope you have memories of him.

[togor]

Sorry to hear. I hope you have memories of him.

Thank you. Actually there are a lot of photographs of him from an album. After divorcing my grandmother (he liked the bottle too much) he joined and un-joined the RCAF, and then ended up in the USAAF as a 30-year-old enlisted man with retail sales experience. The Depression era represented a decade of lost work opportunities for many working men of a certain age. It was in California with a new bride that he enlisted, and he ended up spending a lot of time training for B-26 aircrew duty at the big base in Nebraska. I believe she was with him then, that there was housing for married couples. Once he deployed to England she went back to California. Among the surviving photos are some he took in England and France of Luftwaffe wrecks. Naturally French bases were previously inhabited by the Germans with some junk left behind. The entire crew was KIA in a midair collision on a mission. The loss rate for B-26s was credibly low, but mistakes still happened. According to the letters, he got 20 missions in himself.

Here he is, sorry about the image size. Caption could be, "Hey, put that .50 on your shoulder and look relaxed!"

https://i.imgur.com/FPDxVDR.jpg

[PWC]

My father in law was a tailgunner on a B-26, bailed out over Breast.

[togor]

My father in law was a tailgunner on a B-26, bailed out over Breast.

The medium bomber guys never got enough credit, IMO. None of this flying above the flak business. And the Marauder was supposed to be hard to catch, but it didn't work out that way.

[Fred]

I’m probably mistaken, but that weapon appears to me to be .30 caliber because the receiver appears narrower than what I remember a Ma-deuce’s to be.
But then, they would’ve only used .50 cal. on those aircraft, wouldn’t they.
Its been 37 years since I’ve messed with a Browning M-2. Some of you guys would have a better memory.
His goggles are the same type that I found in my Grampa’s house and then used when TC’ing my tank. I also wore them on my motorcycle.
They were very comfortable! They had Glass lenses and so didn’t scratch.

[PWC]

First model B-26 had 2 30 cals forward firing and after reinforcing the plex nose, all were 50's. 4 on the A, 6 pn theB and B-4, 10 on the B- 10 to B- 55, 12 on the C, 11 on the F and G

The A was fastest at 315 mph but as the bomb load was incressedfrom 4800 lbs to 5200 it went down to 274 mph.

[togor]

I've wondered about that myself. The receiver does seem kind of narrow.

It's also possible that for the "glamour" shot they used the .30. No doubt there were plenty around. If I look close at the pick, maybe a little sweat on the upper lip. Nebraska summer.

[Fred]

It’s a Great photo! Really Neat!
I can’t see the familiar Butterfly triggers between the handles that I remember an M-2 has.

[PWC]

As you say, the "glamour" shots were not always true. The professional aircrew shots were made by setting up the camera in front of a plane, then running in the crews for the pic.

Probably the same for the gunners; eazier to shoulder a 30 than a 50

[rayg]

Also the uniform looks like one of those early blue fatigue coveralls. Not a regular uniform, Unsure if they would fly in them? Ray