"You can ditch a B-17. The thing lands just real easy because it's got a low wing... In the B-17 you had a much better chance." (Interview Transcript, page 6).

Norman Dwight Smith

Norman Smith[detail from video] War: World War, 1939-1945 Branch: Army Air Forces/Corps Unit: 420th Bomb Squadron, 90th Bomb Group, 5th Air Force Service Location: Pacific Theater Rank: Captain Place of Birth: CA

Norman Smith enlisted in the Army Air Force in the fall of 1941, figuring he was going to be flying missions over Europe in what he saw was an inevitable war. Instead, he was assigned to the Pacific Theater, and in January 1943, on a mission off the coast of New Guinea, his B-17 was set upon by Japanese Zeros. His memoir offers a harrowing account of the chaotic moments before his plane went down in the water. He spent nine days alone on a raft before reaching land. In his month on a small island, he lived off the land, ingratiated himself with the natives, and avoided capture. Ultimately, he met a trio of Australian plane spotters who helped him gain safe passage 37 days after his ordeal began.