We show you the final gravesites of Masters of the Air at Arlington National Cemetery. We’ll talk about Major John “Bucky Egan, Colonel Neil Harding, Colonel Harold Huggins, Major Gale Clevens, Colonel Neil Harding, and even the Enola Gay Weaponeer Willam Parsons.
We also give you a brief peek inside a B-29, which you can view in full in another one of our videos here: https://youtu.be/lffauSa-tWs
Intro: 0:00
The Mighty 8th Air Force: 0:29
The B-17: 2:04
First Commander of the Bloody 100th: 3:39
Major John “Bucky” Egan grave: 4:53
Major Gale Cleven: 7:24
Second Commander of the Boody 100th: 8:31
Enola Gay Weaponeer William Parsons grave: 9:02
The Enola Gay: 10:35
Inside a B-29: 11:20
Transcript
Masters of the Air at Arlington
[00:00:00] Join me today on walk with history as we honor masters of the air at Arlington National Cemetery and the Smithsonian in Washington, D. C. Let’s rack them up and knock them down
[00:00:20] When you look at it, you don’t pay attention to what’s really going on It’s kind of beautiful Here
[00:00:30] at Arlington National Cemetery, you’ll walk around and you’ll find little plaques like this to certain groups. This is to the mighty 8th, 1942 1945. This, the mighty, the 100th bomber group from masters of the air are part of the mighty eight air force. And this is a memory of the 350, 000 men who served in the mighty eight and The over 47, 000 of them who lost their lives, who were killed in action, missing in action.
[00:01:03] It shows the different aircrafts that flew in the Mighty Eights. And of course it has a wreath here for Wreaths Across America. But when you think of the Mighty Eights, it encompasses a bunch of different groups and the hundredth bombardment group. What a part of the mighty came from every corner of the country with a common purpose
[00:01:29] to bring the war to Hitler’s doorstep. These daylight visits.
[00:02:04] So behind me is to be 17 flying fortress. This is just the fuselage of it here at the Air and Space Museum. But when we talk about the masters of the air. The B 17 is the third most produced aircraft during World War II, and this is mostly what they fly, are B 17s. These are initial bombers, the original bombers.
[00:02:26] As you can see, it’s a smaller bomber, but this is what they have right now before they restore it, and I think they are in the process of fully restoring it. But it’s just awesome to see. This is going to be such a focus after that Masters of the Air come out. This aircraft is what everybody’s going to want to see.
[00:02:58] So I want to give a little background about this 100th bombardment group. Two thirds of the men would expect to die in combat or to be captured by the enemy. Only 14 percent of flyers assigned to Major Egan’s bomb group when it arrived in England of May of 1943 made it to their 20th. The 25th mission, so only 14 percent of flyers made it.
[00:03:24] to their 25th mission. That’s insane. That’s 86 percent would not make it.
[00:03:40] I’m here in Section 11 with Brigadier General Harold Hugglin. Harold Hugglin is a master of the air. I have the book here with him. He was the commanding officer of the Honduras Air Force. from june 6 1942 to july of 1943. And so during World War Two, he served in the eighth Air Force, commanded the 100th bombardment group, the 13th command bombardment wing, the fourth combat bombardment wing and the 92nd Bombardment Wing.
[00:04:12] He flew nine combat missions, he earned the Distinguished Flying Cross, and then he was buried here at Arlington with his wife, his wife Desiree. But we want to honor General Hugglin for his command of the 100th. Uh, Bombardment group. He will be in the mini series. Master of the Air. He will be portrayed and we will talk more about what it takes to command a group like this.
[00:04:35] When we talk about the next commanding officer.
[00:04:55] I’m here at a very, very special grave. This is one of the Masters of the Air. This is one of the Main characters you’re going to see in the series, Masters of the Air. I’m here with Colonel John C. Egan, United States Air Force, 1915 1961, and his wife, Josephine, who was a WASP pilot. And I just gotta, I gotta give her credit too, that’s pretty amazing.
[00:05:23] So, Masters of the Air, the book, it opens up with Egan’s life. The prologue will start. about Egan as a major at the time. Major John Egan, his name was Bucky. He’s part of the 100th Bombardment Group, 418th Bombardment Squadron. He is part of the In June of 1943, he becomes the first member of the hundredth to participate in a combat mission.
[00:05:52] He is born in Wisconsin, September 9th, 1915. He enters the military in March of 1940. He’s winged in November of 1940, and he just has an amazing, amazing career. In the book, Mass of the Air, it says John Egan was commander of a squadron of B 17 flying fortresses. One of the most fearsome killing machines in the world at the time.
[00:06:16] He was a bomber boy. Destruction was his occupation. And like most other bomber crewmen, he went about his work without a quiver of conscience. Convinced he was fighting for a noble cause. He also killed not to be killed.
[00:06:40] By the end of the war, the 8th Air Force would have more casualties, 26, 000, than the entire United States Marine Corps. 77 percent of the Americans who flew against the Reich before D Day would wind up as casualties. As commander of the hundreds, squadron. Johnny Egan flew with his men on all the tough missions.
[00:07:04] When his boys went into danger, he wanted to face it as a pilot, as a commander. I get it and I commend him for it. And I think he’s a hero. And I think this is why You’re going to see him as one of the main characters in Masters of the Air. One of the
[00:07:25] other characters you’re going to see in Masters of the Air will be his co pilot, Cleveland. Gale Cleveland is from Wyoming. And if you know anything about me, I grew up in Wyoming. He was extravagantly alive. And one of the best storytellers on base. I love that about him. Cleveland was recommended for the Medal of Honor.
[00:07:45] He did not receive it. And he felt like he didn’t deserve it. He did receive the Distinguished Service Cross, but never went to London to pick it up. And I think this is so funny, he said, Medal, hell, I need an aspirin. which I think after flying all these missions and surviving it, I can understand why he would say that.
[00:08:05] Egan will be somebody that we’re going to see in masses of the air as Gail Cleveland will be as well. And we are honored to be here today to honor him and his wife and their service here at Arlington National Cemetery. I love how it has his wings. and her wings right below.
[00:08:37] So I’m here with Master of the Air Colonel Neil Harding, and you’re going to see him in the show, Masters of the Air, because he will be the commanding officer of the 100th from July of 1943 to March of 1944. And he will have taken over for Hugglin. who we also visited. So you get these leadership men who are in charge of these volunteer groups who are going out on these impossible missions and coming back devastated and then having to re in.
[00:09:14] every time to get back out there and to do it again. So their mission was almost as impossible as the mission that they sent their men out on, but they did it. They did it with leadership. They did it with conviction and We’re honored to be here today to visit him. It’s always an honor to come here and to talk about them.
[00:09:42] I’m here in section three of Arlington. I’m here with Rear Admiral William Sterling Carson. You might know him better as the Weaponier on the Enola Gay. He is actually the one who will arm the bomb that day that drops over Hiroshima. A 1922 graduate of the Naval Academy, he participated in the bombing of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, flying on an Enola Gay as the Weaponier and Senior Military Technical Observer.
[00:10:14] Shortly after takeoff, he clamored onto the bomb bay and carefully carried out the procedure he had rehearsed the night before. It was Parsons, not Tibbetts, the pilot who was in charge of the mission. He approved the choice of Hiroshima as the target and gave the final approval for the bomb to be released.
[00:10:33] The bomb was finally released exactly at the designated hour and the explosion occurred as planned.
[00:10:46] For his part in the mission, Parsons was awarded the Silver Star and promoted to the wartime rank of Commodore. And for his work on the Manhattan Project, he was awarded the Navy Distinguished Service Medal. We’re here to honor him today for his part in being a master of the air and for his part in flying the Enola Gay to carry out its mission for World War Two.
[00:11:20] What’s interesting about this aircraft is that the Enola Gay was personally selected by Colonel Paul W. Tibbetts, the commander of the 509 Composite Group on May 9th, 1945. While it was still on the assembly line. Now remember, Paul Tibbetts, whose mother, Enola Gay Tibbetts, is who the aircraft is named after, but he personally selected this aircraft.
[00:11:43] As it was on the assembly line in May of 1945. So remember when I am in the cockpit at the Pebble Air Museum and I climb all around a B 29 Superfortress. This is what this is, a B 29 Superfortress. It’s a huge aircraft. Usually 10, there’s 12 when they drop the bomb on Hiroshima because Parsons comes, Parsons arms the bomb, he’s the weaponier, he takes control of the mission.
[00:12:12] But All through this aircraft are different personnel. Gunners, Weaponeers, Bombardiers, Pilot, Co Pilot. So, every area, you know, they got a tail turret back here, they have a middle turret here. So, for defense as well. But that’s why these aircraft usually had to fly with fighter planes because they acted as defense for these aircraft.
[00:12:41] But it’s just amazing. This is beautifully restored. The one at the Pueblo Air Museum is being restored, but there’s very few B 29s that still exist today. So if you have the opportunity to see one, make sure you take that opportunity up. That’s the actual aircraft,
[00:13:00] actually sat.
[00:13:10] It looks beautiful.
[00:13:27] Standing here with the Enola Gay right behind me, I just want to say thank God for these masters of the air. Thank God for these men and the women who flew these aircraft in, uh, and ferrying them across America. But these men who learned to fly and then answered their country’s need. And did things that were just above and beyond.
[00:13:52] It is the reason they are the greatest generation. I am happy to honor them. I’m happy to be here. I’m honored to stand here with this aircraft and its place in American history. Join me again on my next Walk with History. Thank you.