Frank J. Condreras, b. Brooklyn, NY, 11/16/1924, d. Farmingville, NY, 10/30/2013

Eighth Air Force, 305th Bombardment Group (Heavy), 422nd Squadron
Chelveston Air Field, England, UK

Photo: B-17, October, 1944

Top row from left to right: Frank J. Condreras, Top Turret Gunner- Brooklyn, NY- Flight Engineer; Anthony J. Duplechin, Co-pilot- New Orleans, LA; Herman Henry Laumeier III, Pilot- Washington, DC; Bowman L. Smith, Navigator- Maryville, TN; Alan Merril, Bombardier-Chicago, IL

Bottom row from left to right: Roy J. Smith, Tailgunner- Minneapolis, MN; Windy Winwood, Waistgunner- Pittsburgh PA; James J. Murphy, Waistgunner- Redwood City, CA; John W. Williams, Radioman- Memphis, TN; John R. (Biff) Smith, Ball Turret- Wenatchee, WA

Following a happy upbringing in Brooklyn, NY, Frank was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1942 at age 18. After extensive training in airplane mechanics and gunnery school, he was assigned as a B-17 flight engineer and top turret gunner in the 8th Air Force, 305th Bombardment Group (Heavy), 422nd Regiment stationed in Chelveston Air Field, England.

On March 17, 1945, his heavily damaged airplane crash-landed in Poland and all crew members were rescued by Russians. They were eventually returned to Chelveston via a circuitous route through Poltava, Poland, Tehran, Cairo, Athens and Naples. On August 26, 1945, he returned to the U.S. on the RMS Queen Elizabeth and was discharged on October 27, 1945.

Frank spent his entire adult life until retirement as the pilot crew scheduler for TWA at JFK (formerly Idlewild) in New York and was very highly regarded by everyone, especially the pilots. This was a position that required an encyclopedic amount of esoteric knowledge that few people could have grasped, starting long before the assistance of computers. He was a great and humble man, a one-of-a-kind. Frank was especially proud of his wife Mary and his daughters Linda and Susan.

A memoir of his experiences as a top turret gunner in World War II, "The Lady from Hell: Memories of a WWII B-17 Top Turret Gunner," is compelling and gives the reader a vivid insight into the missions our flight crews experienced during the war. The reader truly walks in his shoes and gains a better appreciation of what they endured.