William R Brice
Military418th Bombardment Squadron
100th Bomb Group (Heavy)
Third Air Division
Eighth Air Force
James W Brice, son of
MAJ William R Brice, Bombadier
418th Bombardment Squadron
My father flew 29 missions with the James S. Seamans' Crew. The nickname for the crew was Seamans' Demons. He was lead bombadier on several if not most missions. He was a good man whom I loved very much. He told me stories of his missions and escapades while in England. The time we spent together while he told those stories are the times I remember most. He told me how the propeller flew off on landing and came through the nose. He told me how a P-51 pilot caught a shrapnel round right in the cockpit right after waving at my father. He told me how some fellows would get flacked up. He told me how cold it was at altitude and how cold his feet would get. He explained the Norden bombsight and how the bombardier would fly the ship on the bomb run and everyone would drop their bombs when they saw my father drop his. There are so many stories.
Connections
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Units served with
- Unit Hierarchy: Wing
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Unit Hierarchy: Division
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
- Unit Hierarchy: Command
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
People
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 418th Bomb Squadron
- Role/Job: Pilot
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Seamans Demons
- Unit: 3rd Air Division 3rd Bomb Division 100th Bomb Group 418th Bomb Squadron
Missions
- Date: 6 October 1944
- Date: 21 July 1944
- Date: 20 July 1944
- Date: 19 July 1944
- Official Description:
- Date: 18 July 1944
Places
- Site type: Airfield
Events
Event | Location | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Died |
Santa Cruz, CA, USA | 26 August 2004 | My father died in August 2004 due to complications from Alzheimer's disease. My father was a good friend of Bill Wilson and was sober for 35 years until he died. The last lucid conversation that I had with him, in fact, was when a month before he died I asked if he wouldn't mind having a beer with me, since I had never drunk one with him. Something inside of him clicked and we talked for about three hours, as if he'd never had Alzheimer's. No one could believe it. That was the thing about my dad. Once he believed in something he believed in it with his whole heart. |
Revisions
James W Brice, son of
MAJ William R Brice, Bombadier
418th Bombardment Squadron
100th Bomb Group
13th Combat Bombardment Wing
3rd Air Division
James W Brice, son of
MAJ William R Brice
418th Bombardment Squadron
100th Bomb Group
100th Bomb Group Foundation Directory, 2000 - 2001 / Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia