My father is standing in the second row on the far left.  I have attached another file of him, taken when he was an aviation cadet.

The plane in the photograph is not the one that this crew was flying when they were shot down.  I believe the crew photo was actually taken in the US just before they left for England.  They had just picked up their new B17 and were ready to leave. 

This B17 was named Patricia after the pilot's wife, Patricia Mutschler.  The crew flew this plane on their early missions, during which time it was heavily damaged.  The crew was then re-assigned to Patches, the B17 they were flying when shot down on August 17.

My information tells me- based on a letter from one of the surviving crew members - that Mutschler had re-named Patches to Patricia, and had actually painted the Patricia name on one side of the nose - leaving Patches on the other.  Evidently, according to the crewman, everyone still called the plane Patches, regardless of what Lt. Mutschler wanted.

Thank you very much for the pictures. 

I have also attached a scan that you may find interesting - It is the original telegram from the War Department notifying my mother that my father was missing in action.  I have been collecting info on by Dad's wartime experience in hopes of putting it into book form.  I can share it with you once I get it organized.

Regards,

Mike

You can find more pics here.