Radioman on a Flying Fortress
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 3 ต.ค. 2024
- Rodney "Dean" Hodgson was a radioman on a B17 bomber. He survived 35 harrowing combat missions. He describes in detail a radioman's job on a bombing mission. During his interview, Hodgson describes the infamous mission to Merseburg, Germany to hit the synthetic oil refinery - 260 flak holes in his plane. The bravery, sacrifice and patriotism of this man from North Carolina is the embodiment of the Greatest Generation.
A generation that will never be repeated thank you
I could watch these old soldiers all day reminiscing over their experiences.
What a character and great storyteller. Thank God we had such men to fight the good fight.
Here is a gentleman who’s life was always a green light. He had a few yellows but he squeaked through. 35 mission with 3 missions on his last day in the air. Attitude is everything. I’m certain Dean had/has a wonderful family and a great life. Thanks so much for your sacrifice.
My father was a B17 pilot and was shot down over Dieppe, France a month before D-Day. He never talked about it. He’s long gone now. Thanks for these wonderful interviews Ray. Please keep them coming.
You're very welcome and thanks for watching.
@@raymondmcfalone26 Thank you for doing these.
My dad was a bombardier on B-17s and B-29s in the S Pacific. He never talked about it either. Even when I asked him, he'd mostly just wave me off. Once he did talk about firebombing missions and how horrible it was to have to watch.
Fascinating account from veteran airmen
“Done my duty to protect the nation”!! Thank you sir!!
Gone a year later…2007!! Not forgotten Sir!!
Rodney Dean Hodgson: September 18, 1919 - October 19, 2007. 87 worthwhile years for us.
What a great storyteller !
I new when I was interviewing Dean that this guy was pure gold. We interviewed him at a veteran's reunion. 3 other crew members were at the reunion. They convinced him to do the interview - thank goodness. He somewhat reluctantly agreed. I was told to enunciate the questions clearly and loudly because Dean's hearing was not the best - you can hear it in the way I ask the questions. Anyway, Dean was amazing. As always, thanks for watching.
Fun to listen to. His father set a good example.
Dean has a great attitude and a good sense of humor which must have helped him through the ordeal, we thank him for what he went through to see us safe.
What a wonderful man. I'll bet he brightened many lives with his smile and his positive attitude.
Perfect example of the mentality of the men back then. I hate to leave my newborn and wife but it's my duty, let's go get this done. All hero's back then, every one of them. My dad was a stout man and joined/lied when he was 16, entered the Army Air Corps as an MP at the age of 17 he was in Germany. I can't even imagine him at 17 being in WW-II in Germany at the tail end of it all. He was also part of the Berlin Airlift which of the 35 years in the Air Force, I believe that was his most proud moment helping the German people out like that.
The greatest generation , my dad was a navigator with the RAF on the B 25, B26 when he was told about the Jets, they had no props he said he didn’t believe it
Great man
These interviews are great and I love to listen to them, just have to turn on mono so I don't just get audio on the right channel
What a wonderful guy. Thanks for your service.
So good you did these interviews for posterity. These brave men will be remembered forever.
Thanks for watching.
Best one i've seen to date . Would be great company in a pub over a few beers , relating his experiences.
I'm 83 and met many vets , Army , Navy and Airforce , always eager to hear what they endured , And it wasn't Hollywood..
I love how he says "Nineteen and Forty-Four" haha... hes one of the rare interviewees who wasn't shot down before he completed his tour
Thanks I was glued to the screen listening to this it was enjoyable
Thanks for listening
@@raymondmcfalone26
I haven't checked your channel out yet but I intend to. But I wanted to add that you are a good interviewer if that is the right word and if not I apologize because to me you were asking all the right questions to bring his thoughts to words and I caught right away. Thanks again n' Cheers
Raymond Mcfalone 🎵🎵
Absolutely love these interviews. You are spot on with questions and I LOVE the introduction song.👍🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
Glad you enjoyed it and thanks for watching.
One of the better and nicer and funnier recollections from the AF during WW2.
Thank You for your service SIR!
This is one of the best! A gifted storyteller with a super-sharp recall of events! Thank you for sharing this!
Glad you enjoyed it!
That was so funny!
Q: "What were you doing on VE day?"
A: "Dodging bullets. The boys was shooting their guns ever where!"
I could listen to this guy all day. Great story Teller..
Excellent interview and what a jovial personality. Thanks so much.
Thank you.
Quite a nice interview. I could chat with him for hours.
My next door neighbor flew in square D as a radio operator, Fireball 8 . Shot down over Poland.
Great interview Great guy
You did a great job Sir, I thank you.
Great story from an Old Tarheel Boy!
Thanks for this great interview. Of all those I’ve watched of your interviews, this airman lived closest to me. If he ever got a ham radio license after the war it’s possible I’ve talked to him. No matter what service or where they lived, WW2 radio operators were the best. Thanks again!
You're very welcome. You've watched many of our videos. What is your first name?
Respect!
Have you ever thought of a current up to date accounting of who is left among these amazing Vets?
Other than 3 veterans who appear in The Flying Fortress - In Their Own Words video, they have all passed on, which is hard to get my head around.
I would have been interested in hearing what IMC school was like, what was the washout rate?
The whole interview was a topnotch history lesson. His description of one of combat aviation's earliest battles between a jet fighter & a heavy piston engine bomber should be in the Smithsonian. The Third Reich as he so well indicates had lost most of their experienced pilots but not scientist so it seems.
Now THAT'S heroism!
You post interesting videos Raymond, thank you. The title of this piece struck me; A Time to Remember. To me that engenders thoughts of green pastures, blue skies and pure white clouds, not at all what these men endured. My father's brother was killed during landing operations with the 8th in England. My mother's brother was a naval corpsman with the Marines at Iwo. My mother said he was never the same again. His son would later die at Khe San. I was born with a birth defect that I cursed until it earned me a 4-F in 1968. I'm a lucky duck. Though I've never experienced anything close to the horrors of combat, I was violently assaulted once and it took a long time to recover from that trauma which was nothing compared to what combat veterans faced. So I think discussing our heroes from past wars deserve something much more than a quaint nostalgic stroll down memory lane which the title suggests. Just a minor beef from an old geezer with too much time on his hands. Thanks.
This man is very likely gone to the Lord, but I want to pay respects to his family for his service.
great man
@raymond- did you ever ask your interviewees how they got selected for the 390th versus another group when they got to Stone or the Replacement area. Would be curious to know how that went. Versus just got to Stone and went to 390th.
When you joined the Army Air Corps - you were assigned to a group - no choice. Thanks for watching. Ray
1000 respect 2022 i do not think they USA. Could field a army equal two them. Think. I know. They saved us
I just had an ARC 5 stolen but I still have a microphone.
My uncle Burly Burns, my daddy's younger brother. I'm interested in learning about his service history he was a radioman on a B-17 during WWII. I would like to know if this man might have known my uncle. Is there anyway I could get in touch with him? Or do you know how I could find my uncle service records?
👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
So many millions of soldiers in uniform and we only hear the stories from those few that flew. What about all the other GI's? Why don't they get interviews? What was it like to be in the finance corp during the war? What was it like to be a mechanic, or a parachute rigger? Zero interviews from them yet support troops outnumbered combat troops by almost 20:1.
Eric, we have about 150 interviews on our channel. There are quite a few ground crew interviews. I think our favorite is Carmine DiChiaro, who worked a crane in the bomb dump. He had so many stories we had to tape him twice. His interview is called "You Can't Believe It" and "Part 2 You Can't Believe It" - here's a link if you're interested: th-cam.com/video/p9W2uxhFEFk/w-d-xo.html