Welcome to the forum Jake !=) And thank you for your service and sacrifices for our country. Way back when I was in my 20's...which sadly seems not that long ago

, I used to Elk hunt each year with a Veteran WWII pilot who flew B-17's with the Armys' 8th Air Force during WWII; his was one of the B-17 crews that somehow completed their 25 bombing missions over Germany, when the average lifespan for B-17 pilots & crewman were only 14 missions. He and several other friends of ours would meet every year, for years, at our Elk camp, typically for a week, and his evening campfire stories were legendary &
soooo incredible. He and his crew also flew on those two disastrous bombing raids (to a Germany target destination - that I recall started with an 'S' - Swienburg?..or something similar) where (60) B-17's (600 crewmen) were sadly shot-down and lost
on each mission. I think it was later referred to as 'Black Thursday'?
I remember frequently having misty, swimming eyes while sitting around the campfire listening to his epic tales of aerial battles with German fighters and the flack artillery attacks after crossing the English Channel—on the way in & out of—their bombing missions over Germany; and the incredible amounts of B-17's that were sadly shot-down and lost.
And I had an Uncle who was a B-17 Mechanic during The War.
They saved the World !