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Gene Frazier

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Gene Frazier had been part of the huge mission on March 9-10, 1945 when a large part of Tokyo was firebombed and approximately 100,000 Japanese people were killed. On the ground was an eleven year old boy, who would miraculously survive and meet the B-29 pilot years later. (3:44)

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The nose art on World War II era planes is fondly remembered by the crews, but B-29 pilot Gene Frazier was put on the spot by his five year old granddaughter when she asked a question about those ladies in the paintings. (2:18)

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B-29 Pilot Gene Frazier flew fifteen combat missions in the Pacific, but he had many more search and rescue missions and ferry flights. On one of these, he nearly lost his life when his flight flew into a huge storm front, in which the entire aircraft was bathed in St. Elmo's fire. (4:03)

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After the war, B-29 pilot Gene Frazier had a supply drop over a POW camp in Korea. Unable to locate the camp, he headed back and dropped his barrels over Hiroshima, his secondary supply target. Leukemia deaths after the war made some of the crew wonder, had they been exposed to radiation? (2:02)

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In preparation for his interview, B-29 pilot Gene Frazier wrote down some thoughts about his role in the war as compared with his friends who fought and, in some cases, died. He feels he had it easy. He then reveals the technology link between himself and the modern pilot that is unchanged by the decades between. (2:10)

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Unlike the airmen in Europe, who were over enemy territory most of the time, the men in the Pacific who were bombing Japan were over enemy territory for a fraction of flight time. B-29 Pilot Gene Frazier points out that most missing planes were lost to the vast Pacific Ocean rather than enemy action. Another big danger was crashing on take off. (3:42)

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When B-29 pilot Gene Frazier got to the Pacific theater, he joined the 58th Bomb Wing, the original B-29 unit. It was just as Gen. Curtis LeMay was changing tactics in the campaign to bomb Japan. At a briefing for a Tokyo mission, the men were told they would be going in at 7000 ft. "You mean 27, 000 ft., right?" For Frazier, it was the scariest mission he ever had, but it was effective. (7:09)

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Why was their ground speed so low? B-29 pilot Gene Frazier thought he may have to abort the mission when he figured out they were in the jet stream. If you could catch it just right on the way back, you could really make time. They saw many kamikazes in the distance and had to evade one themselves. Considering the date, that would have been really unfortunate. (2:36)

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B-29 pilot Gene Frazier tells the story of a secret war crimes trial held on Guam in 1946. It concerned atrocities on the island of Chichi-jima, where his cousin Glenn Frazier was captured. The incident was documented by author James Bradley in the book Flyboys. (5:33)

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The B-29 was pressurized, like modern airliners, which allowed the crew to fly at 30,000 ft. without oxygen. Pilot Gene Frazier says they had to depressurize over the target because a hit would explode the plane. To relieve boredom on the long flights, they played bridge. (3:16)