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12 North Shore Towers Courier n November 2016 Bronx Bomber Joe Reveman honored at Yankee Stadium for his incredible service during WWII by Stephen Vratos As a young teen, Joe Reveman used to play baseball in McCombs Dam Park, which lay in the shadow of the old Yankee Stadium in The Bronx. Reveman recalls being a lefthanded pitcher, dreaming one day of stepping onto the field of his beloved Yankees amid the cheers of the fans. Eighty years later on Sunday, August 7, Reveman got his wish, not as a Southpaw on the squad of the Bronx Bombers, but as an honored guest, celebrated for his service to the country during World War II. It wasn’t long after the teen stepped off the mound and into a B-17 Bomber as part of the 398th Squadron. Reveman was only 18 when he was drafted upon graduation from DeWitt HS, but like most Americans during the Second World War, he was eager to fight for his country. “I was excited to be part of a crew that would help win the war,” Reveman said. But Reveman’s military career got off to an inauspicious start. His first mission never got off the ground… literally. Trained in Morse code at a base in Sioux City, South Dakota, Reveman was assigned the job of radio operator and back-up gunner on a B-17 Flying Fortress, a four-engine heavy bomber developed in the 1930s by Boeing. Upon completion of their training, Reveman and the nine other members of his crew took off for Nuthampstead, Hertfordshire, England, whence the 398th Bomb Group flew strategic bombing raids over Germany. Each crew member was allowed to bring a few personal items. Ironically, for someone named “Joe,” Reveman was never one to drink coffee. His beverage of choice was Yoo-Hoo. Without any way of knowing how long he’d be away from The States, Reveman wasn’t taking any chances on running out of his favorite drink, and loaded five cases of the chocolaty refreshment onto his transport plane. Not long into the journey, however, the original plan of stopping over in Reykjavik, Iceland, had to be scuttled due to adverse weather conditions, and Reveman’s B-17 was rerouted to an airbase in Greenland. “‘Greenland’ is a misnomer,” Reveman explained. “there’s nothing but ice!” The steep mountains, which surrounded the Greenland base, made conditions for takeoff and landing perilous for even the most seasoned flyer. Exacerbating the conditions was the length of the runway, which was short due to the terrain. Aircraft had to reach optimal speed and ascend quickly and steeply, while immediately banking, or else risk becoming a smear on one of the surrounding peaks. For heavier planes, like the B-17, this feat was particularly difficult. As Reveman and his team hunkered down during take-off, the engine suddenly stalled. The pilot attempted to abort, but the plane was already airborne, its landing gear stowed. It fell back to the tarmac, skidding down a Fjord in a fireball. Miraculously, Reveman and his crew survived, though Reveman noted one loss… “Adios, You-Hoo!” Eventually, Reveman and crew got to the base in England, from which they completed 24 successful missions, a rare feat, given the casualty loss of the U.S. Air Force was 25%. “That’s a lot of missions,” Reveman asserted. In fact, during WWII the Air Force had the highest rate of mortality. But by the time Reveman entered the European Theatre of Battle in December 1944, the tide of the war had turned. The once mighty German Luftwaffe was decimated and the Allies had gained control of the skies. Still, conditions were dangerous and any moment could be your last. “We had a ‘good luck’ plane, nicknamed “Queenie,” cobbled together from replacement parts,” Reveman said. According to the young radio operator, there could be as many as a 1,000 planes on a mission, all flying in formation. The coordination of so many machines, maneuvering into position, was a remarkable feat in and of itself. And getting into formation was only half the battle. Retaining position, while hell broke loose around you, was nigh impossible. Joe Reveman (standing far left) with his B-17 crew members Reveman hits the big screen at Yankee Stadium


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