![]() He says the German planes surrounding him were sometimes so thick you could walk on them. The heavy bomber pilots were maneuvering large bomb-loaded cumbersome aircraft to critical mission sites. On the other hand, the Germans had pilots who had flown the European skies for years and had experience engaging the enemy. John Luckadoo 75 years after his last mission Luckadoo says of his time served, “We went over without fighter escort initially.” The One-Hundredth flew missions in broad daylight with young inexperienced pilots. Trying to forget the horror of what he saw, those he lost, and what he experienced. Luckadoo is remembered to have said, “Pastor, with all due respect, the reason we served is to keep you from knowing what it was like.” Luckadoo, by then, was twenty-two and, like most of his generation, had lived a lifetime in his year in World War II. The pastor asked him to say a few words to the congregation about what it was like. ![]() A few weeks later, he joined his parents in church in Chattanooga. Then, he appreciated the nickname “Lucky” from his comrades. Twenty two year old John Luckadoo after completing 25 missions shakes hands with William DeSanders Finally, John Luckadoo finished his twenty-fifth bombing mission. ![]() The trauma and horror on the psyche, he said, was pronounced, but a pilot could not dwell on it as they had to go and do another mission with a clear head. Luckadoo says he watched in terror and pain as aircraft from his formation were blown to bits. He would literally be using one hand on the controls with the other trying to remove ice crystals from his mask. It was so cold (minus fifty to sixty degrees below zero) he said that ice would form in the oxygen masks. Luckadoo remembers once that his foot froze on the pedals of the B-17. The odds against survival were staggering and evident to pilots like Luckadoo, who survived and watched the losses mount. Twenty-six thousand men from the Eighth Air Force were lost in the skies of Europe during World War II, and by the war’s end, over 47,000 of its total 115,000 men were lost. Only one in four members survived the war. At age 21, when he flew a B17 His group, the “Bloody One Hundredth” was so named because it lost so many. John Luckadoo did that, literally making it thru on a wing and a prayer. He and the others who completed flight school were told by their commander before they left for Europe, “You are going to be killed, and you might as well accept it.” Airmen were advised to focus instead on “bringing Germany to its knees.” A B-17 Bomber pilot had to fly 25 missions to complete his service. Once he hit the skies of Europe, it was trial, literally by fire. He was assigned to a heavy bomber group about to go overseas. He says it is sheer luck that he survived. Luckadoo was twenty-one when he took the co-pilot seat of the famous B-17 Flying Fortress. When the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor in December of 1941, Luckadoo joined. Reluctantly he agreed, at least for a time. As World War II heated up, Chattanooga, Tennessee native, and resident at the time, John Luckadoo, wanted to enlist when he graduated from high school. ![]() This year he turned one hundred years old, and the book about his exploits, “Damn Lucky” has been published. He especially enjoys talking to school groups, hoping to instill the value of service in middle school and high school students. Luckadoo has chronicled his experiences and talks to groups about them. In 2020 he was profiled by the National World War II Museum, and his story was preserved for future generations. John Luckadoo during his pilot training In the last few years, that has changed. Like most, he simply wanted to forget the horrors he saw and experienced. Like many of the Greatest Generation, Luckadoo didn’t talk about his experiences for years. He is the last surviving pilot of that group. John Luckadoo was part of the Eighth Air Force “Bloody One Hundredth.” They flew sorties over Germany in World War II. It is a day we celebrate all who have served in our military.
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