The Mighty Eighth - Coming Home by Robert Taylor

From their first inauspicious raid on German airfields on 4th July, 1942, to their ultimate air supremacy over the skies of Europe in 1945, the men of the U.S Air Forces never wavered in their determination nor flinched from the frightening odds they faced. The vindication of their policy of high altitude daylight precision bombing came with the ultimate victory of the Allied forces in 1945.

In three years of continual combat, the bomber crews of the USAAF overcame the worst odds. They often flew in atrocious weather, they ran the gauntlet of the Luftwaffe fighter Aces, and they pressed on through all the flak that anti-aircraft gunners could throw up at them. They paid the heavy price of war, but in so doing carved out a niche in history, and created a legend that will live so long as man takes to the skies.

Released in 1992 to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the arrival in Europe of the men and machines of the Mighty Eighth, Robert Taylor portrays the valiant bombers of the Eighth Air Force coming home from a mission. Set in a majestic panorama of evening sunlight, a battle-weary bomber force approaches the coast of Belgium. A B-17 Fortress sheds debris as it struggles to stay with the group, while three B-24 liberators have joined the formation for the North Sea crossing. A lone P-51, low on fuel, flies close escort.

Signatures:

Major General BOB LANDRY

Colonel WILLIAM LAWLEY - Medal of Honor recipient

Colonel EDWARD MICHAEL - Medal of Honor recipient

Colonel ROBERT MORGAN – Pilot of the Memphis Belle

Major CLIFF PETERSON

Colonel ALBERT SHOWER