The Crew

Dale Henderson wrote the following biographies in 1945 about his fellow crewmembers:

"These are the eleven men who comprised the crew of the "Jeeter Bug."  Are they unique? I don't really know. I don't think so.  I think they are representative of a unique generation that was forged differently than any other generation because of the Depression and the War.  All I really know is that I consider myself to be most fortunate to be a part of the generation but more importantly to be a part of such a great group of men."
    - Dale Henderson,  "Jeeter Bug" Radio Operator

Captain William Frank Jeter was born March 9, 1923 in Dallas, Texas.  His father was a ceramic tile setter.  Frank went to Sunset High School until the end of his junior year when his father died of leukemia.  Frank left school and took up his father's trade to support the family.  He married Mary Ruth Burkhart on August 3, 1940.  They had a daughter, Marsha Lee.  Frank enlisted in the Army Air Corps August 31, 1942 in Dallas, Texas.  Frank went to a flight academy for basic training.  He was given leave when his son was born in September 1944 before reporting to Hammer Field, Fresno, California where his B-18 crew was assembled.

Lt. Herb Harter, Co-Pilot: A young fellow, I'm pretty sure I am older than he.  I would say that he is the best-liked officer of the crew, also a Texan.  I think his father has a big ranch, anyway there is money in the family.  Also a good pilot and has just as much guts as the old man, and I think is inclined to be just a little bit calmer. Unmarried, a swell fellow to have on a drinking party, stays sober and foots most of the bills.  He was born December 3, 1923 in Edinburg, Texas. One week after Pearl Harbor, he enlisted in the Army Air Corps as an aviation cadet

Lt. Ernest Weller, Navigator:  He is from San Jose and just turned twenty-one.  A damned good navigator and a pretty swell Joe will around.  Not a heavy drinker, just moderate. He will get us there and back.

Lt. Greg Babykin, Bombardier:  I'm still trying to figure this fellow out.  He is married and has a small daughter.  He is the only officer that has had any trouble with the enlisted men.  I think that the whole story is that he is still up in the air over being a shave tail.  Not that that is the highest he will go in life for he is a damned smart guy.  The only thing is that he will have to get over pulling his rank on the enlisted men. I don't care whether he is joking or not.  Combat will straighten him out, I hope.  Might also add up to now he has been the goof-off of the crew.

Cpl. Bob Larson, Engineer:  Larson is well-liked by the rest of the enlisted men.  He is just one hell of a swell guy.  He is twenty-three (the oldest one on the crew), and an ex-farmer from South Dakota.  He has been in California for three years, but his heart is still with the soil.  Larson is a typical farm boy, a lot of sense but just hasn't been around too much.  He'll make some woman a damn swell husband.  I think he has more guts that any man on the crew, and he knows his job well.  I'm mighty glad we are flying together.

Cpl. Victor Crowell, Nose Gunner:  I get a laugh just thinking about him.  Not that he is one of those everlasting comics; it's just that he is the baby of the crew.  Eighteen, yet he is married and to a very sweet girl.  Crowell is a swell kid with plenty of what it takes.  The only trouble is that he is still a kid, but again combat will change that.  He is the assistant engineer.

Cpl. Doyle Ebel, Tail Gunner:  Another hard fellow to figure out, and yet the more I think about it there isn't anything to figure out.  He was once in the infantry and is damned glad to be in the Air Corps fighting the war in a half way decent manner. He is about twenty-two and is married to a very nice girl.  He is also a Texan.  A darn swell boy, plenty steady.  He is the tail gunner and is my assistant.  Ebel is mighty grown up for his age; maybe it is the responsibility of marriage.  Hope he doesn't think too much about his wife over there.  Though I wouldn't blame him.  I would say that he is the most happily married man on the crew.  The fourth Texas.

Cpl. Sammy Tillery, Armorer:  Now, here is a problem, diary.  Combat will have to be before I will truly know Sammy.  He says he wants to get into the scrap very badly, but he has confessed to me that he doesn't know how he will react.  Confidentially I'm not worried about a single fellow on the crew.  Sammy will come through.  He is also the wolf of the outfit.  Women just can't stay away from that guy.  He can walk up to almost any gal on the street and pick her up.  And, he has damn good taste.  The only doubt that he has ever put in my mind is that he is such a tomcat.  He has been on his own for about four or five years and he is only twenty.  That is a bit more that I can say for myself.  The only Arkie on the crew.

Cpl. Ray Fritter, Waist Gunner:  He is Sammy's assistant and the exact opposite.  He is a Catholic and a very religious boy.  Sometimes I actually believe that he thinks there is no wrong in the world. He is a swell fellow and I think a heck of a lot of this guy. Yet, I think just as highly of the rest.  Ray is also from San Jose and is twenty-one. I will see him in actual combat more than any other for he and I are the waist gunners.

Dick David, Radar Operator:  Early in the war, there was a shortage of radio operators and he was pressed into service and flew 20 missions in a B-17.  He flew 13 more missions in the A-20 and many more sea search missions in the old B-18 before joining the 11^th Bombardment Group and the "Jeeter Bug" crew.  At that point the "Jeeter Bug" crew had already flown seven of its missions.

Dale Henderson, Radio Operator:  The reason I am on the crew is that I don't think I will die, and I want to be able to say to myself that I helped in this thing.  I don't think that I want to be a hero.  I just want to go over and do my job and then get the heck back and get my education.  I know I am going to be one damn scared G.I. when that first burst of flack comes up or when that first fighter comes in with guns bearing.  I flew 32 missions with these men.  Our lives were dependent upon one another.  If one fouled up we could have all been killed.  The bond that developed was one built on respect and trust and developed into a deep love.