The Drunken Tail Gunner

Heroes Remember

The Drunken Tail Gunner

Transcript

We had problems with our one air gunner. He liked his booze. And a couple of times, when we were at Rabat Sale in Africa, I think, we were on the 3rd floor in this barracks, just briefly. And he went and got some native liquor somewhere, and he got pretty loaded. And he came in his room, pitch dark, and he bashed his shin on a, some little table, coffee table or something. And he was so mad. He was a pretty strong fella. He threw everthing out through the window. All the furniture went out that window. So, we didn’t know that, and so we were ready for takeoff at Rabat Sale. And all of a sudden, this jeep tears down the runway and, “Cut engines!” So we did and - I wonder if I should mention his name - anyway, his name was, his first name was Paul. “Is Paul so-and-so in your crew?” I said “Yes.” “He created damages in his room.” Anyway, it cost us $67 Canadian to pay for the damage he had done. That was pretty cheap, but we had to kick in $67 to pay for all that. So that’s a few things that happened. And that same guy, and this was at Korla, in India, and the British were very strict about discipline. We weren’t, you know, saluting officers and all that. But Paul was a sergeant, a flight sergeant, and he goes by this English major and he just ignores him. And the British major said, called him back, “Hey, sergeant, you know what rank I am?” And he says, “No, and I couldn't care less!” All of a sudden, he calls for the MPs, military police. He wanted to have him arrested. So I talked to the major and convinced him that he was part of our crew and that if we lost him, we'd be short one person and you can’t replace him. You can’t replace an air crew, like, off the street. So I saved him from getting... ending up in the hoosegow.

Description

Mr. Thomarat talks about a gunner on his crew that caused problems for the rest of the men.

Armand E. Thomarat

Armand Thomarat was born on the 19th of February in 1922. His father was a carpenter and a highly decorated first World War Veteran who was awarded, among other medals, the Legion of Honor. Following in the footsteps of his father and four brothers, Mr. Thomarat joined the army in 1941. After serving briefly as a clerk, he transferred to the air force, becoming a bomb aimer and a gunner on the front turret. On long trips, he served as second navigator.

Meta Data

Medium:: Video
Owner:: Veterans Affairs Canada
Duration:: 2:29
Person Interviewed:: Armand E. Thomarat
War, Conflict or Mission:: Second World War
Location/Theatre:: Burma
Battle/Campaign:: Burma
Branch:: Air Force
Units/Ship:: 357 Squadron
Rank:: Flying Officer

Language selection

The Drunken Tail Gunner

Heroes Remember