As a B-17 crew member in the Eighth Air Force’s 385th Bomb Group, Technical Sergeant Donald W. Bupp flew on 35 combat missions over Germany between October 1944 and March 1945, first as the ball turret gunner and later as flight engineer and top turret gunner. The back of his leather flight jacket features a recreation of the nose art of his plane, the “Maiden America.” It’s based on a photo of actress and model Anne Gwynne, who was a popular World War II “pin-up girl” (and grandmother of actor Chris Pine).
Bupp, a Wayne County native, kept a detailed log of each mission, noting time out and back, weather, target details, bomb load, any problems with the engines or other aircraft systems, and the amount of enemy anti-aircraft fire encountered. Missions often lasted eight or nine hours and temperatures at high altitude reached -30 degrees and lower.
Mission 5, Nov. 2, 1944: “It was cold as hell…the flak was very heavy…We had some damage but not too bad considering. No. 1 engine was feathered over the target and we couldn’t stay with the formation. That is where and when I sweat the fighters but none jumped us, thank God. I saw a B-17 explode over the target. Followed it down to the clouds but saw no chutes.”
Mission 20, Jan. 16, 1945: “There was no flak over the target but coming back we were hit and hit hard over Schweinfurt. At 22,000 ft. the Jerries really had our range. One burst knocked out our oxygen, hit [top turret gunner Bill] Roop in the leg and Meredith in the arm. I got a piece in the ball turret but luckily it missed me. Our instruments were all out. I took care of Roop and what a mess. Maybe I should have been a doctor. He had a broken right leg and several bad cuts. Am proud of the patching job I did on him. Bombardier took care of Meredith…Our ship looked like a sieve.”
By the time Bupp flew his 35th and final mission on March 26, 1945, he was a seasoned veteran who had worked with several crews. “This is the mission I’ve been looking for,” he wrote, “Fortunately, a ‘milk run’ with distant flak and no fighters. Another new crew, pilot’s first mission as a first pilot. Flew engineer for him. He was very apprehensive and many questions. All was A-OK. Landing a little rough but did that ground feel good!”
In addition to his flight jacket and a copy of his mission log, the historical society has Bupp’s flight suit, ribbons (he was awarded the Air Medal with five oak leaf clusters), his aerial gunner’s wings, and a certificate from his squadron mates inducting him into the Lucky Bastard Club upon the completion of his final mission.
In 2003, the 80-year-old Bupp got to fly one more time in a restored B-17, from Cleveland’s Burke Lakefront Airport to the Wayne County Airport. “It’s so beautiful,” he told a reporter from the Daily Record. “You can take it in so much better when you don’t have enemy fire to deal with.”
Bupp died on Dec. 26, 2004, and is buried in Ohio Western Reserve National Cemetery.
