This photo shows the crew of a B-24 Liberator which bailed out over China during WWII. The plane that crashed (not pictured) had nose art that said, "Dippy Dave and his 8 Dippy Diddlers."
Dippy Dave was my grandfather, D.L. Willis, who was the pilot (back row, second from left). One of those Dippy Diddlers was Lt. Christopher Williams (back row, far right), the bombardier of the crew. Today's words were written by him, describing the crash of the Dippy Dave and the crew's long walk to safety.
My grandfather rarely spoke of this event, and I only remember him saying that he never wanted to bail out of a plane again because you can only do it wrong once. Williams' son, who found his father's diary after his father's death in 2003, states that no one knew of the existence of the diary. I'm so grateful he found it and took the time to post it online so we could all see the quiet courage and sacrifice of those who served.
Today's post is dedicated to them.
Words, Words, Words by Lt. Christopher Williams
Williams' Full Diary
morning Susan
ReplyDeletewhat an inspiring legacy from your grandfather. My Mother kept a diary during WWII and this is the most poignant entry when my Dad came home from the war: Oh, what joy. Charlie is home.
blessings
patto moffett
Wow--this is really interesting, Susan! So glad your grandfather and all the others from his plane made it!
ReplyDeleteMy thanks to George this Memorial Day weekend!
Amazing story. When we lived in NC, we were fortunate to have a wonderful neighbor...named Tom Peyton... who had served as a bombadier on the B-24 Liberator. My DH flew A4's in the USMC for 8 years. They both had lots of stories....from different wars. Please thank George for his service as well. They are all heroes to me. Susan G.
ReplyDeleteSusan .... I was so blessed by the Memorial Day post you shared with us! My Dad served in the Navy during WWII and received a full disability due to a head wound he received during a battle. Like so many other service members of that generation, he was very shy about sharing his experiences and just felt that he had done a job that needed to be done. May God richly bless all of our veterans past and present!
ReplyDeleteThank-you not only for sharing, but helping us remember the true meaning of Memorial Day.
ReplyDelete