Preserving The Oral HistorIES of Combat Veterans
2:46 | Bombardier and navigator Charlie Gribi recounts trying to knock a bomb loose after it failed to release during a bombing mission, only for it to fall out later on its own within 20 miles of his air base. Video provided by the Clermont County Public Library. Visit charliegribi.com for more information on his life and missions.
Keywords : Gribi B-24 bombardier navigator World War II Briney Marlin bomb
After graduating from bombardier school at Wright-Patterson early in 1944, Charlie Gribi remembers joining his B-24 crew in Wyoming to learn the aircraft before deploying overseas. Unfortunately for some other crews, the new aircraft had too steep a learning curve and crashes became a nightly occurrence. Video provided by the Clermont County Public Library. Visit charliegribi.com for more information on his life and missions.
On his very first bombing mission on May 27, 1944, Charlie Gribi's B-24, the Briney Marlin, was hit by another aircraft in his formation. Gribi's pilot, 2nd Lt. Lester "Cookie" Martin, veered away from the other plane enough to save his own, but the other aircraft was lost, along with two of Gribi's crew members, Staff Sgt. Chester Carlstrom and Staff Sgt. Wilbert Abshire, who prematurely abandoned the Briney Marlin and perished in the North Sea below. Video provided by the Clermont County Public Library. Visit charliegribi.com for more information on his life and missions.
Bombardier and navigator Charlie Gribi remembers volunteering for every available mission in order to get home by his daughter's first birthday. He also passed up a promotion, which may have saved his life. Video provided by the Clermont County Public Library. Visit charliegribi.com for more information on his life and missions.
