Men of steel
Lt. Maynard Dix
Navigator, 'The Little Savage'
B-17 Flying Fortress, WW II

In a recently searched dusty suitcase an old photo of Uncle Maynard's B-17 crew turned up.

He flew 25 missions over Germany. On one of them near the end, his aircraft was attacked by German fighter planes and gunnery from the ground. This was a frequent occurrence. This time they were badly hit. With one engine functioning and surrounded by badly wounded crewmembers Uncle Maynard took the controls and managed to return across the English Channel to his air base, setting down on the runway safely.

He was never one to brag.

Returning after the war, Uncle Maynard settled again in Newton Iowa where he resumed his job as an engineer for the Maytag Co. Hw lived a peaceful life in Newton and did not discuss what he was doing over Germany.

The Flying Fortress bristled with guns, fore, side, top, bottom and aft. Hence the name Fortress. The crew members appear very young, do they not? Their signatures include their position letter, P for Pilot, B for Bombardier, N for Navigator, etc.