Evening star., 1944-12-31
Arlington Flyers Lasi
Three Missions Find
Flax on Every Side


ITALY (Delayed)-If the old say
ing that trouble strikes three times
is true, then Maj. Roy L. Reeve,
Arlington, Va. can expect to start
leading happier life in the 18th
Air Force, His last three missions
have been the type that makes a
man gray.
The first was against Salonika,
when Maj. Reeve led the group for
an attack on the rail yards. The
Germans were moving out supplies
through this port and considerable
material was thought to be in the
yards. The Liberators were caught
in fax net two minutes before
target time, and the planes on
Reeves wing and directly behind
him went down. The majors bomb
er had picked up number of holes
and feathered engine by the time
bombs were released. On the rally
slug came in the window and
missed Reeve by a matter of inches.
The unhurt crew counted over so
holes In the Liberator after they
landed.
A few days later Reeve led the
group against a bridge in Italy.
The bomb run vas long, and the
sunners were Oh Reeves bomber
soon after the Crlnation swung
into the run The 1JmbS went away
simultaneously v'..'l hit on an en-
gine and rose t',r.c.
Pane Los 1,G0, Feet.
The Liberator swung down and
lost thousand feet before Reeve
could regain control He pulled it
out right in the middle of fax
barrage. The Liberator was below
the mountain tops now so Reeve
started a piece Of fancy broken field
running down the valleys, with gun
ners shooting at them from every
mountaintop. The wings began to
fill up with fragment holes, and the
nose was hit five times. The nose
navigator had been wounded by the
burst that cracked his turret, and
the bombardier was giving first aid
with steel flying all around him in
the nose. Reeve finally pulled out
Of the fax and put down at a
friendly field where the wounded
man was taken to hospital The
crew counted over 80 flax holes this
time.
The third mission was over a
German target and a single fax
burst almost ripped of the nose.
The bombs had just gone out when
the shell exploded about 10 feet
from an engine. Steel fragments
tore through the Liberator's nose
and almost shredded it. The nose
navigator was wounded and knocked
out of his turret. The bombardier
was wounded by flying glass and
pieces of fax shot through the nose
to wound the co-pilot.
Flax Penetrates Panel.
Flax fragments drove through the
instrument panel but Maj Reeve
received only a slight scratch, al
though several pieces whizzed
within an inch of his head. The
Liberator was badly damaged but
Maj. Reeve stayed with the forma-
ton and kept leading until he
reached a friendly field where he
could leave his wounded. The Lib
orator contained over 125 holes this
time but all the wounded men are
recovering.
Maj. Reeve. son of Mr.. and Mrs. Roy
M. Reeve, It's Twenty second street
south. Arlington, Va, is the group
operations officer for 1t. Col. John P.
Tomhave'S Liberator group and has
been flying COMBAT since last May.
Maj. Reeve entered the air force
in 1910 and after winning his pilots
wings served a tour of duty on sub
marine patrol in the Caribbean. He
returned to the States in l943 and
after several months as an in
structor Joined his present group for
overseas training. Maj. Reeve, who
has flown % combat sorties, now
wears the Distinguished FLYING
Cross and Air Medal with two Oak
| Leaf Clusters,