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Brunson Bolin | 2nd Lt Brunson Bolin Co-pilot of B-17 Flying Fortress 'Lazy Baby'. Brunson Bolin was just 18 years old when he volunteered for the Army Air Force. Within months, he was training to be a pilot and flew the B-17 named the Lazy Baby. 2nd Lt Brunson Bolin was on his seventh mission - flying as a co-pilot. Their mission was to bomb the ball-bearing factory on the Schweinfurt Raid. They had just dropped their bombs when the plane was attacked. The left board engine was on fire, communication systems were destroyed and the navigator was mortally wounded. The situation looked grim and the pilot ordered everyone to bail out. With the plane in distress, Brunson Bolin jumped from the bomb bay - he slammed into one of the doors breaking most of his ribs. As he tumbled towards the earth, Brunson stretched back and noticed holes popping up inside his parachute. He looked down to find a group of German farmers taking shots at him. The only thing that saved his life was a German Army Corporal who got to him before the farmers did. And in the middle of a huge hay field, Brunson Bolin was captured. He would spend the next 18 months at Stalag Luft III in Sagan, Poland as a prisoner of war. When 2nd Lt Brunson Bolin returned after the war he was awarded a Purple Heart and the Air Medal for his service to our nation. After the war, he took a job with Delta Air Lines. |
