Memphis Belle

The other day there was a documentary on Arte (a French-German cultural television station) on the Memphis Belle, about the first US bomber crew to complete a full 25-mission tour of duty in Europe during WW2.

I missed the show, but thanks to the Internet (and YouTube) I could trace the original William Wyler documentary: Memphis Belle – A Story of a Flying Fortress. You can watch it in four parts here, here, here and here.

When I was younger I read (or rather watched the pictures) in his Time-Life books of WW2. The B-17 always grasped my imagination. Already its name “Flying Fortress”, appeals to a little kid, raising images of cowboys defending their fortress with ,50 machine guns against the Indians circling around.

As I grew older and read more about WW2, I realized that flying above Fortress Europe, was no piece of cake. Several bomber crews paid with their blood to prepare Europe for its liberation from Nazi oppression.

As the veterans of WW2 die, these aircraft like the Memphis Belle, remain the living testimony of the sacrifices they made for us.