This is my dad, Ken Van Slyke, when he was Lt. Ken Van Slyke, Army Air Force, 99th Combat Bomb Wing.
By: David R. Van Slyke
This is one of the B-26 Martin Marauders my dad flew during campaigns in Normandy, Northern France, Rhineland, Ardennes, and Central Europe. Its hard to see him clearly, but that’s my dad looking out the cockpit window.
Here’s my dad (left), Lt. Leslie Goss (center), and an unidentified crew member enjoying a Lucky Strike. According to Les, they were saluting one of the last green packages of Lucky Strike. Les is still flying today. He owns a Stearman and an AT-6. Youll see photos of Les and his airplanes toward the end of this section, along with a nice letter he wrote about his experiences flying with my dad.
A nice view of some B-26 Martin Marauders on their way to deliver some surprises to Adolf Hitler and his Nazi war machine.
Having reached their destination, the surprises are released. If you look closely, you’ll see some bombs falling toward their targets.
In addition to Luftwaffe fighters, flak was a constant threat to Allied bombers. You can see some above this B-26.
Here’s Lt. Van Slyke checking his plane after a mission. He’s looking at a hole in the plane, caused either by a Luftwaffe bullet or, perhaps, shrapnel.
Mechanical failure was an ever-present danger, too. A B-26 had three wheels; one under the nose and one under each wing. One day the right wheel wouldn’t lock into position, giving my dad only one option - landing his plane on two wheels. As you may guess, it was a rough landing. The right wing hit the runway, causing the plane to spin and break into two pieces. Luckily, everyone walked away with no injuries.
Here’s the front half of the Pin Up Girl being hauled away
If you’ll look at the bombs painted on the side of the Pin Up Girl, you’ll see she reigned a lot of destruction on der Fuhrer before her last flight. It was far from my dads last flight, however. He and his crew got a new B-26 and continued raining on Adolf’s parade.
My dad passed away at the age of 84 on March 23, 2001 after a two-year battle with cancer and Alzheimers.
Les Goss is living in Austin, Texas and still flying his own Stearman and AT-6. Here’s a letter we received from Les . . .
My name is Leslie E. Goss.
I flew my first three missions with Lt. Ken Van Slyke. He was pilot, I was co-pilot. He was checking me out. I flew in formation with him many times after that. In the third photo on your web site, I am the one in the middle. My copy of the photo, as I recall, says we were saying goodbye to Lucky Strike Green. When your dad and I went to War, Lucky Strikes were in a green package. We were saluting one of the last of the Greens. I will locate the photo to see if I have the name of the third person.
Leslie E. Goss
I joined the 322nd Group, 452nd Squadron in late August 1944 and flew my first mission (with your dad) on September 16th. We were flying out of Great Saling, England (Andrews Field) near the town of Braintree. Our target was the rail road bridge connecting Walcheron Island ,Holland, to the mainland. A short mission (2 hours and 10 minutes} on a bright afternoon. I concluded after this almost milk-run mission (there was some flak) that combat was not going to be so bad. On my second mission, with your dad, we were hit by fighters. There was never a mission like the first one.
I don't think about the war very often. But when I do, if I dwell a bit, ol Van Slyke and I are flying those first three missions.
I am still flying. I have a Stearman and a North American AT-6.
Leslie E. Goss
Austin, Texas
Here is Les flying his Stearman over Lockhart, Texas.
