Ralph Nasch started as an Aviation Cadet in 1942 in pre-flight training in Santa Ana, CA.  He then went on to Primary Flight Training in Tulare, CA., flying the PT-17, including how to recover from a stall.  Basic Flight Training took place at Chico Air Base in the BT-13, learning to make forced landings.  Advanced Flight Training was at Stockton, CA. on the AT-6, AT-9, and AT-17.  



Ralph graduated in March, 1943, as a brand new 2nd Lieutenant.  He was assigned as a co-pilot to bombardment training in the B-24 Liberator or "Flying Coffin" in Clovis, N.M., because of his 6-foot height. He then transferred to the B-17 Flying Fortress at Blythe, CA., noting this was the best and most capable airplane.  (Per photos, my dad did training in Tulare, Chico, Stockton, Blythe and Clovis, N.M.)



He was assigned to the European Theater of Operations out of Camp Kilmer, New Jersey.  Ralph was one of ten pilots each responsible for 188 men to be trained in a round the clock two-week time period.  



He departed on the Queen Mary on June of 1943, with 16,000 on board.  They slept in canvas hammocks stacked deep.  They arrived in England 6 days later.  



He joined the 92nd Bombardment Group in Alconbury, England (1943-1934).  (Relocated to RAF Podington, Sept. 15, 1943). He found out the bed he was assigned had belonged to a crew member who had been killed in action.  They practiced flying in tight formations.  (A quote on one photos from my dad states, “I was known as one of the best formation flyers in the 92nd bombardment group.”) His first "milk run" was a combat mission bombing German submarine ports. His second mission they bombed Le Bourget Airport near Paris, France.  The third mission made history in the 8th Air Force.  This was the mission to bomb the ball-bearing works in Schweinfurt, Germany.  My dad could see the German pilot's faces as they passed through the formations.  They were shot at by anti-aircraft shells from the ground.  On that day, they lost 60 fortresses and 600 airmen.  It was shocking to my dad to see B-17's explode mid-air.  My dad said he was scared, but busy.  He was also trying to survive the less than -40 degree air temperatures in the sky.  



When they would run low on fuel over the English Channel, the aircraft ditched ammunition, guns, or anything detached to lessen the weight.  In extreme cases, the planes were ditched at sea, with the hope the British Royal Air Force sea rescue would recover the crews.  My dad was more afraid of this outcome because he couldn't swim!  Ralph survived 25 missions over a period of 10 months.  "Our crew never lost a crew member to enemy action while flying together."  His last "milk run," the 25th mission, was flown on his future wife Marie's birthday.  (He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for completing 25 missions).



When he returned to the U.S., he was the only one his ten pilots, at the time, to have completed the mission alive and well.  One pilot was still overseas, and the other eight had been killed or captured as p.o.w.'s.  "God was looking after me," he said.  He returned to the U.S. on the ship Ille de France.  Following that, he was an instructor pilot in the B-17 and B-29 in Gulfport, Mississippi, after marrying my mother.  He retired as a Captain (until the Korean War, flying the B-29 in 29 combat missions).  His Aircraft Commander was David C. Jones, 4-star general and later Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.  Ralph was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross award for completing his 25 missions.  "We were just doing a job we were assigned to do and thankful to have lived through it," he wrote.