d-day

The decisive invasion of France on June 6, 1944 is known as D-Day and served as a turning point of World War II. The Silent Wings Museum commemorated D-Day with "Boogie Baby," a vintage C47, and personnel dressed in vintage WWII uniforms. My dad flew in a C46 --very similar to the C47 -- and shared his knowledge of the plane and its equipment. As navigator, he plotted by the stars (viewed from a transparent bubble on top of the plane) and sighted by ocean waves (viewed from a telescope in the floor). Do you really want to know about the plane's restroom which consisted of two funnels - one large and one small?

navigator's chair

As a Marine navigator in a C46 -- very similar to the C47-- my dad sat in a chair like this. He participated in operations in the Mariana Islands, Marshall Islands, Saipan, Okinawa and Iwo Jima. He thinks he was on Okinawa on D-Day.

pfc w o fortenberry jr

Billy dropped out of Texas Tech in 1942 to join the Army Air Corps following a lifelong desire to fly. However, he "washed out" of flight school because of his eyesight. The next month he was a Marine, training to be a navigator for the Third Marine Division--still flying but not as a pilot.

the victory line

Marine Corps photo: Billy met up with fellow West Texans Hop Halsey and Sam Privett in the Mariana Islands in the Pacific. They are pictured in front of a Curtiss Commando transport plane (C46) -- the type plane Billy flew in. (Billy on the right)