Review: Bob Drury & Tom Clavin, Lucky 666: The Impossible Mission. 2016

I'm deeply thankful that Bob Drury and Tom Clavin have thoroughly researched and told the story of the crew of Lucky 666: The Impossible Mission. Old 666 was a B-17 Flying Fortress belonging to the 43rd Bomb Group, Fifth Air Force stationed at Port Moresby, New Guinea. Her name is from her assigned tail number 41-2666. On 16 June 1943 her "eager beavers" of "misfits and screwoffs" flew an epic mission and became the most decorated crew in American history. The pilot Captain Jay Zeamer received the Medal of Honor. The bombardier Lieutenant Joseph Sarnoski posthumously received the Medal of Honor. 

For their valor on that June 1943 flight over Buka and Bougainville, J.T. Britton, William Vaughan, Herbert "Pudge" Pugh, Forrest Dillman, Johnnie Able, Ruby Johnston, and George Kendrick were each awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, the nation's second-highest military commendation for heroism in armed conflict. This gave Old 666's crew the distinction of becoming, as it still remains, the most highly decorated combat aircrew in the history of American military service. (p. 301) [Most of the "eager beavers" also received the Purple Heart.]

Their mission was the longest running dogfight in the history of the US Air Force. For nearly forty minutes the lone B-17 fought off over twenty Japanese fighters that were using coordinated tactics for head-on attacks.  

Their photo-reconnaissance mission provided critical intelligence on the beach conditions of Empress Augusta Bay on the island of Bougainville in the northern Solomon Islands. As the authors relate at the last minute prior to taking off, mission orders changed to include the Japanese air field on Buka Island just north of Bougainville. This addition made Old 666's task a virtual suicide mission. Jay Zeamer ask his crew if they wanted to risk the Buka detour before making the run to Bougainville. To the man, they said "yes." 

Buka Air Field

The mission would have been for naught if the photos were not returned to base. The three hour ordeal of the seriously wounded pilots and crew getting the shot-up and heavily damaged bomber back to New Guinea is in itself an epic of skill, bravery and perseverance.  

Needless to say, the mission has been well documented. It's unlikely that any new information will surface on what happened that day. This book's greatest contribution is researching and telling the controversial back story on Old 666's mission. For example, it is true that when Jay Zeamer was flying his Medal of Honor mission that he had never been officially checked out to pilot a B-17. It is true that George Kendrick discovered Old 666 in the 43rd Group's boneyard awaiting stripping for parts. The plane had a "cursed" reputation of always getting shot up and nobody wanted to fly it. 

Jay Zeamer did collect his own crew of renegades who he molded into one of the best crews in the Fifth Air Force. For volunteering for every rough recon mission, they acquired the name "the eager beavers." They rebuilt the B-17 and simply "appropriated" it for their own use. Zeamer arrived in the South Pacific in March 1942 with the 22nd Bomb Group that flew B-26 Marauders. The authors have verified the story that Zeamer was transferred out of the 22nd for sleeping during a bombing run! The authors also provide fascinating background on both Zeamer's and Sarnoski's childhood and early life before the war. 

The book provides the strategic picture on the mission and why it was so important for the American offensive in the South Pacific. In this section there are a few errors that will irritate the Pacific War nerd. But, these mistakes are not really germane to the main narrative on the mission. I highly recommend this well written and researched work for anyone interested in World War II, aviation or a story of amazing heroism.