TOP TURRENT GUNNER B-17--Ed Riccio Jr.--In the war-torn sky over Guadalcanal a B-17 bomber limps back to a muddy, ragged landing strip..Within the shrapnel torn aircraft three crewmembers lay fatally wounded.. The pilot lies dead on the floor of the cockpit; at the controls is a wounded young man of 22 who has never flown a plane before. The drone of the approaching aircraft reaches those who have been waiting on the ground, heads turn skyward. It lumbers towards the runway, wavering, unsteady, unsure, the aircraft itself, severely wounded. Fire trucks and their crews stand ready. Two Navy fighter planes had chased away the Japanese Zeros that were attempting to knock down the already crippled bomber. Now, after escorting the gigantic bird back, they circled above, awaiting the final outcome of what has been a long and painful balancing act between life and death...
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The morning of December 7, 1941---Curious as to what all the noise and commotion was about, Sergeant Riccio looks out of his barracks window to see Japanese Zeros strafing Pearl Harbor Naval base..His decision to exit the barracks and investigate further saves his life..Moments later a bomb crashed into the building, and ended the lives of 57 of the 60 soldiers who resided within..And so, on “a date which will live in infamy” began the series of events which placed Sergeant Riccio in his unenviable position..
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During a low pass over a Japanese held island, Sgt. Riccio felt the sickening jolt of the plane as it took a severe hit from anti-aircraft fire..The “Flying Fortress” staggered as wind rushed into the interior..It began a slow dive..He made his way forward and found both the pilot and copilot dead-a great hole blasted through the nose of the plane, wires, gauges, all sort of debris flapping and flying madly about in the howling wind..Having once been an aircraft mechanic, he was somewhat familiar with the controls.. After unstrapping the pilot, he placed himself at the controls and pulled the plane out of its dive..And so, guided by the two Navy fighter planes, he was led back to the sky over Guadalcanal..
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Sgt. Riccio would soon make his first attempt at landing, no practice runs, no instructor, no flight training, and, as he was about to learn,-no landing gear..The 74 foot, 18 ton aircraft made its way to the ground and merged with its shadow for the last time..Propellers kicked up mud and sparks, the plane screeching as the metal grating of the runway ground its belly away..Seconds that must have felt like hours, waiting for all to come to a halt…And the halt came, however, the young Sergeant only realized he had “made it” after he awoke in a hospital.. While there he declined an offer to be sent back to the states, instead opting for flight school..After recovering from his wounds he went on to become a highly regarded airman..He has been honored by the governors of Connecticut, the Connecticut General Assembly, the mayors of our home town and astronaut Alan Bean, who once walked on the moon, has presented him with an original oil painting. He has had a day of the year set aside in remembrance of him, and is one of the few remaining survivors of Pearl Harbor..Those of us who frequent the History Channel have caught occasional glimpses of him..
I thank his daughter JoAnn, and her husband Steve Larson, for arranging my meeting with him..I was VERY honored to have met and talked with this one of a kind man..His den is a mini museum of wartime aviation and nostalgia (his parachute is still packed and rests on a chair-he says he wouldn’t trust it now)..This ninety-one year old gentleman kept me enthralled for over three hours and I was eager to hear more.. Stay tuned for further adventures from this outstanding Airman..This Memorial Day we can all be thankful and proud of men like Ed Riccio Jr.—An exceptional American WARRIOR.
6 comments:
Wow, cool!
Hard to believe that plane could even fly even with an experianced pilot. Interesting story, nicely presented.
A just tribute to a real hero and much enjoyed.
I have had the honor to meet Major Edward Riccio Jr. yesterday at the Wings of freedom tour presented by the Collings foundation. He is an outstanding person with a captivating personality. I had a 1/5 scale museum quality P-38 lightning on display that I have been working on for 4 years. Major Riccio spotted it and came over to our table for a closer look. Once I found out he was a lightning pilot I asked him if he would sign my metal morphed Scale P-38. He did with cameras blazing. I can't tell you how honored I am to have meet him and now that I have read your story I feel even more honored.
Thanks for the visit--actually I thought of Mr. Riccio yesterday when I saw what I thought was a flying fortress doing a slow turn over Bristol..The friend I was with said Mr Riccio was probably inside it..Amazing guy..
I had the honor of working with Mr. Riccio at Pratt & Whitney as a Jet engine mechanic and he is a humble as anyone can be. A real hero and when he told us those stories to a buch of 20 year olds we were huddled around him like he was our dad. god bless this man and every veteran that servies his country.
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