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487th Bomb Group (H)
Short interview with Bruce Gregg - 50th Anniversary of D-Day
Interview of Bruce F. Gregg
Monroe, La. "News-Star""
June 1994
In Commemoration of 50th Anniversary of D-Day
Age then: 22
Age, June 1994: 72
Residence: Sterlington, La.
Branch of service: Army Air Corps
Unit: 8th Air Force, 487th Bomber Group, 837th Sq
Rank: Tech Sergeant
Job Description: Radio operator and gunner aboard B-17 bomber
What do you remember about D-Day?
"It was awesome. I wish every American could see what I saw that day. . . .
There were so many boats in the Channel, from 8,000 feet it looked like you could walk from England to France. The air was saturated with planes. The heavy bombers, like us, were on top. The medium, a couple of thousand feet below us, and the light bombers and fighters, lower than them.
We flew four missions that day, dropping bombs and going right back to load. Our first run, just at daybreak, was right on the beach. On the other ones, we went a hundred or two hundred miles into the interior of France, bombing railroad tracks and junctions to keep the Germans from using them to move troops."
What would you like Americans to remember about D-Day?
"The United States is the most awesome nation in the world. When the good people of the world assemble themselves together to do anything, they can’t be defeated. I had my doubts that we could win the war. Once I saw what we could do on D-Day, putting all those ships and planes and people into motion at one time, I didn’t have any more doubts."