My dad, Harold Moran, Sr. tried to enlist right out of high school in 1942, but because he was missing his lower molars they wouldn't accept him. He told the medical personnel, "I don't plan on biting the enemy, I plan on shooting them." He still wasn't accepted. However, in less than six months he was drafted into the army air corps.



He was stationed in England with the 8th air force, 3rd division, 4th wing. He was a radioman and waist gunner. He flew in a B-17 with the last four digits of the plane number 8884. The name of the airplane was Lil' Skippy - named after the pilot's son. The pilot was Howard Rippberger(?) He thinks they flew about 18 missions. About 12 were bombing runs near the end of the war and about 6 POW runs after the war.

They encountered some ground resistance with AAA and air resistance from the German air force. When he wasn't acting as a radioman, he was a waist gunner defending the plane against air attacks.

My dad never talked about the war much. When thanked for his service he simply says, "I just did what 12 million other boys did."

As of January 2020, my dad is still living along with my mother, four sons and their families.