It took a crew of eleven men to man the B-29, the plane built especially to fly the long bombing missions from Guam to the Japanese targets some 1500 miles away then back to Guam. The B-29 carried a heavy load of bombs and gas for each mission. Normal fuel consumption per engine at take-off was 290 gallons per hour, 250 gallons for climbing and 110 gallons to cruise. In January 1945 a pool of flight personnel were sent to Lincoln AAF, Lincoln, NE. From this pool the crews of the B-29s were formed. Twenty-four crews were assigned at this time as well as extras crews to serve as replacements. To select the crews, pilot's names were displayed on a bulletin board as "Airplane Commander". I was once such pilot, having been checked out at in B-29's at SHAAF in Salina, KS. Navigators, Bombardiers etc, chose the pilot with which they wished to fly. William M. "Bill" Graves was an instructor for bombardiers while I was flying bombardiers in AT-11s, AT-18s and RB-18s in Big Springs, TX. As Bill signed his name on my board he was heard to remark, "Here's the pilot I'm flying with. He can set it on the ground and get it back into the air." Bill's remark encouraged others to follow his choice and soon I had my crew. Ben Piteo was the first designated as radar operator but tech orders changed that to reassign him as tail gunner with Dan Meister as radar specialist.
Standing (Left to Right)
2nd Lt Daniel Meister, Radar Observer
2nd Lt Harold J. Pfeffer, Navigator
Capt William C. Sullivan, Airplane Commander
F/O Lester K. Geller, Pilot
T/Sgt Gene C. Kolb, Flight Engineer
S/Sgt Benjamin A. Piteo, Jr., Tail Gunner
Kneeling (Left to Right)
2nd Lt William M. Graves, Bombardier
S/Sgt Lyle C. Ossian, Left Gunner
T/Sgt John F. Hicks, CFC Gunner
S/Sgt Donald A. O'Hara, Right Gunner
S/Sgt Andrew J. Vanyo, Radio Operator
