Flak and Fire – A torpedo bomber pilot remembers his wavetop war

The Cavanaugh Flight Museum’s Eastern-built TBM-3E Avenger painted in Marine Torpedo Squadron 132 colors when they operated from the USS Cape Gloucester (CVE-109) (Photo by Jim Koepnick)

In early 1941, you had to be deaf, dumb and blindnot to notice that the war in Europe and Asia was about to drag the U.S. into the fray headfirst. At the time, I was a junior in college when I volunteered for the Navy. If I had waited a while longer, the draft would have volunteered me. So instead of slogging around in mud as a foot soldier, I chose naval aviation as my...

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