Pilot or Tail Gunner

Heroes Remember

Pilot or Tail Gunner

Transcript

We learned the drill, we were only a few weeks at basic training in Edmonton and the first thing was learn to drill. It was unbelievable how many people couldn’t even march with both arms going forward at the same time. My uncle in Saskatchewan had given us some drill at school and we had summer picnics where all the schools competed. So we did know something about drilling. Then at the basic training an officer called us in and asked what we wanted to do and I said of course fighter pilot, which most people wanted. He said, “Well there’s a lot of people here wanna be fighter pilots with more education than you”, and we had taken aptitude tests and he said, “I think you should be a wireless air gunner.” He said, “the railroads are still using wireless people. There’d be a job when you came back.” And I said, “No”, I said, “fighter pilot or tail gunner.” So he said, “Well, I think I know a little bit more about this than you do.” He said, “Just think it over a bit”, he said, “the wireless air gunner would be some education.” So he sit there shuffling papers for five minutes on the desk and he said, “What did you decide?” I said, “Fighter pilot or tail gunner”, he says “get out of here, you ought to be a good one.” We took English and Mathematics and air craft recognition. We were suppose to be able to tell any air craft in the world in a very few seconds in the dark. And then from there we went to Quebec City. A little more of the same kind of training and then Macdonald, Manitoba for gunnery training. That’s where I got my wings was in Macdonald, Manitoba. We flew in Fairey Battles which were brought back from Europe, but they weren’t very satisfactory planes for modern war but we did training in them.

Description

Mr. Kerry describes ignoring the advice of his recruiting officer and taking the most dangerous job on a bomber, that of tail gunner.

Ivan Kerry

Ivan Kerry was born on November 3, 1925, in Port Perry, Ontario. He was one of six children. His father farmed, but the depression made life difficult for his family. Mr. Kerry recalls the generosity of Eastern Canada in sending relief shipments. He then left school at the age of fifteen to work in an egg processing plant. His enlistment followed the path of two uncles who had served in the First World War and a brother who was in the Navy. He enlisted in the Air Force as, and joined the Bomber Command as a tail gunner. Mr. Ketty was fortunate to survive one of the most dangerous and vulnerable combat roles of the war.

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