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| JR, Sy Ellenhorn, Nicolle, and Nancy |
One of our latest interviews has been by far one of the most
exciting for me out of all of the interviews I have done so far. Sy Ellenhorn, a waist gunner on a B-24 based
out of Italy from 1943-45. During his service in the Second World War he flew
40 missions over Germany, Austria, Italy, Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia. During
one of his missions between 1943 and 1944, he and the rest of the crew were
forced to bail out of their plane over the Adriatic due to battle damage. He
was picked by a British convoy and given temporary rest before going back to
fly again. It was shortly after his return to flying that he was informed that
he was now a member of the Caterpillar Club, which was joined by having
successfully bailed out of an inoperable plane using a parachute. He was given
a pin and certificate that he showed us during the interview. Along with the pin and certificate he showed
us many of the photos that were taken during his service as well as his service
medals and his leather flight jacket. After the interview he posed for photographs
in his Army Air Corps jacket and even gave us the tour of his 1850’s home. I
have to say that Sy is one of the funniest and most hospitable people I have
ever met in my life.
After our interview with Sy our group managed to get him in
contact with William Landis, who was our first interviewee and also a B-24
crewman.
--JR Bauer
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