"Ever since that trip I get a disturbing tightness in my 'nether regions' whenever I'm asked to volunteer for anything." (Memoir, page 58)

Joseph W. Shuster

War: World War, 1939-1945 Branch: Army Air Forces/Corps Unit: 456th Bomb Group, 304th Bomb Wing, 15th Air Force Service Location: Italy; European Theater Rank: First Lieutenant Place of Birth: PA

In his colorfully written memoir, Joseph Shuster details his World War II experience as a co-pilot aboard B-24s over Europe. Shuster was determined to be in the air during the war, applying for Air Force Reserve pilot training at the age of 18. After some setbacks, he was commissioned on January 1, 1944. Three months later, he and his crew picked up their B-24 in Topeka, Kansas, and a month later they were in Italy, set to begin flying. By October, they had achieved their quota of 50 missions (34 flights, but some counted double). Shuster was in Naples, on his way back to the United States on November 11, 1944, Armistice Day, and made it home on leave in time for Thanksgiving Day. He spent the rest of the war as an instructor pilot.