Evening star., 1943-04-15
v'ation' 5 'PerfectBaby
Of Z Years Ago Is
Raj Bombardier
Sergt. Warren Tucker
Has Token Part in =
Many Mojor Raids
By THOMAS r. HENRY,

Star Staff Correspondent
CANADIAN BOMBER STATION
IN ENGLAND (By MaiU Twelve
years ago nearly every American
illustrated magazine was printing
pictures, most of them in natural
colors, Of the Nations perfect
baby"
He was a lovely. golden haired.
red-cheeked 6-year-old, winner in 4
contest sponsored by the Eastman
Kodak Co. The child was Warren
w. Tucker, son OF a prominent
Greencastle Gnd.l physician.
Today 1s-year-old Sergt. Tucker
has not. changed much in appear
ance. Il look too damn much like
my baby pictures. he says, blushing
all over,
But he is one Of the toughest
bombardiers in the Canadian Royal
Air Force 1t may be some psycho-
logicau reaction from being the
country's prize baby that makes
Sergt. Tucker so tough on Germans.
He doesn't try to conceal his baby
hood celebrity. Rather he seems to
throw 1t in the faces of the tough
air fighters around him as though
to say: What are you going to
make of it?
He has taken part in more than a
dozen of the major raids of the war;
Complains Of Dull Raids.
He was the center of a picturesque
group of young American sergeants
gathered in one of the barracks
rooms here waiting for the word to
put on their flying suits and take
OF the other afternoon.
"All the rest of you fellows seem
to have had tough time" he was
complaining. but with me nothing
ever happens" OF course there was
the time we got picked up by the
searchlights over Wilhemshaven, but
all that happened was little fax
in the wings. 1t must be Jerry don't
like me any more. ..t.
That was far from the complaint
of Sergt. fuckers fellow sergeants.
F. w. Martin of New York City and
]. H. Moore of Chicago, both air
gunners, whose careers have been
curiously interviewer in the Cana
dian air service. They first met in
Montreal two years ago. Both had
hitch-hiked there to join the flying
forces. Both had left their homes
the same day.
Sergt. Moore had been provided
with a room by the Canadian re-
cruiting ofiicer, but he had not vet
signed up and had only a So cents
day, food allowance. He had SO
cents in his pocket Sergt. Martin
had gone broke in Syracuse and had
succeeded in wheedling IS from a
charitable organization.
SO we matched up perfectly" he
says. Moore was able to slip me
into his room and I was able to b,,v
him meal. So we both could sleep
and eat and use Moore,s 50 cents to
keep us in cigarettes"
Serve in Same Crew,
They trained together, but Sergt.
Moore got to England a week ahead
Of Sergt. Martin. Ever since they
have been members of the same
crew. Their commander holds what
may be the record for operations
A raids to date. Their worst ex-
perience, they agree, was in day.
light raid over Gutenberg when they
were attacked by a German fighter.
but got away under a cloud cover.
On the way back they spotted
submarine and the pilot dove for it.
but the craft probably made good
It's escape with a crash dive. Then
they were spotted by a German max
boat about 40 miles of the North
Sea coast. They managed to escape.
but one motor was out of commits
sion
The plane got back to England.
but had to make hurried landing.
And on the way back from Hamburg
they were attacked by German
fighter and succeeded in getting
away only by 5000 foot dive,
But there is hardly a raid that
doesn't bring its share Of adventure.
Sergts. Moore and Martin say. and
their pal, Sergt. w. r. Wagner. who
was treated at the Naval Hospital in
Washington because of persistent
headaches, heartily agrees with
them.
A couple of weeks after his dis
charge he was in the Canadian air
force, the headaches having been
traced to an infected tnoth