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Comment by Ron Cooper on February 6, 2014 at 18:24

God bless your dad and all those brave souls who flew those missions over enemy territory. Especially the men, like your father, who climbed into the belly or tail sections of those planes! If you've ever seen what those cramped quarters looked like you would have marveled that anyone could even get into such an area, much-less stay there while taking ground fire from the enemy! You have to be extremely proud of your father and I'm sure you treasure his knives! Thanks for sharing some of his story with us!

Comment by Waggoner, Alan on February 6, 2014 at 12:18

Oh yea I forgot to add he did get a purple heart for being wounded with flack while in the sling in the turret!

Comment by Waggoner, Alan on February 6, 2014 at 12:16

Ron,

your view is shared by many. My Dad had several knives that I inherited and it is easy to tell which ones he carried because there was always a broken blade in the ones he tossed in his chest of drawers. There is one in particular that I would like to hear talk because it is a stag trapper made in Sheffield England. I think he bought it during the war. He was stationed in England during WWII where he flew 35 missions over Germany and was shot down twice. He was a belly gunner on a B-17! He survived all that and made it back to the states safely. The master blade is broken off and who knows how or where, I only wish I had asked dad about the knife while he was living! There is another old greenbone Schrade large stockman that has all its blades and I wonder if maybe that one was grandpa's.

Comment by Ron Cooper on February 6, 2014 at 6:40

If only knives could talk. What stories they might tell?