Preserving The Oral HistorIES of Combat Veterans
4:35 | Once, when the B-17 he was responsible for was heavily damaged, crew chief George Keating stayed with the plane for 72 hours until it was fixed. His job on the ground crew was tough, but he had a really good commander and a so-so assistant.
Keywords : George Keating aircraft mechanic Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress ground crew Table of Organization and Equipment (TOE) Tom Pugh Brooklyn NY Milton Applebaum Sgt. Bilko Bronze Star battle stars
His boyhood hero was Lucky Lindy, Charles Lindbergh. When the boy was grown, there was a war to fight and George Keating enlisted in the Air Corps one step ahead of the draft board. They made an aircraft mechanic out of him.
George Keating shipped out on the Queen Elizabeth. There was no escort fast enough to keep up with her, so they traveled alone to England where his B-17 was waiting for him. He was on the ground crew and was not destined to be on the front lines, but there was that one time a lone German plane slipped through.
The B-17 could take some serious damage and still fly. Crew chief George Keating describes two miraculous returns after direct hits from the dreaded German 88. The plane was superb, yet the young pilots suffered from inexperience and there were mishaps.
