Documentary Of An Airman's Tour With The Eighth is the story of Richard J. Mullaney's tour of service during World War Two. He was a gunner on the B-17 Flying Fortresses and was in the 13th Combat Wing, 3rd Bomb Division, 8th United States Army Air Force. He was stationed at Thorpe Abbotts Airbase in England. Dick (as he was called) was assigned to the 100th Bombardment Group which acquired the nickname "The Bloody Hundredth" because it sustained such heavy losses on individual missions. Some of the events in the movie Twelve O'Clock High were based on the 100th.

Dick's story is told through the journals he kept while in the service and they are supplemented by articles from the Stars And Stripes that amplify the information Dick gives on the missions he flew. There are photographs he took, orders he was issued, citations he received, memorabilia he kept from times he was on leave, and more. It follows him from the time he left Portsmouth, New Hampshire for basic training and through the war until he returned home. Photographs of Thorpe Abbotts are included - taken both during the war and in 2002. Photographs include articles of clothing and equipment that were issued to Dick, various aircraft and the targets they bombed, actual bombing runs, original orders and flight records as well as other material. The orders can be searched by name or serial number and are linked to the original document. There is a wealth of information concerning various men Dick served with. This information includes their names, rank, serial number, home address and telephone number and in some cases photographs and medals that were awarded to them. Of particular interest to someone doing genealogical or family research in this area.

This story tells how it really was from a gunner's point of view. The bombing runs, the eternal waiting for the next mission, meeting English girls, going to dances, the near misses Dick had in combat and the direct hits some of his friends took. There are several pages of links given at the end of the book. They pertaining to different aspects of the war, some will be of help to people looking for lost relatives, others might interest collectors, some might be of help to people researching World War Two, etc.

From the foreword: "Perhaps most remarkable of all is the fact that the electronic medium enables this project to remain live and ongoing. A website, linked through this CD, allows new information, photographs and mementos to be gathered and added as they come to light. "An Airman's Tour" is a grand achievement in electronic publishing, one which will lead the way for others to follow. Mick J. Prodger" (Well known writer and WW II collector)

Wally Hoffman: "The war time experience of Dick all through his career in the service along with chronicling the events of the war in Europe was a masterpiece of weaving them together." Wally Hoffman (Wally was a B-17 pilot with the 8th Army Air Force in England during the war.)

This book was reviewed by Jim Gintner in the 2003 Winter edition of Splasher Six the 100th Bomb Group's magazine. Airman contains 855 pages of text and graphics. Over 500 photographs and graphics help illustrate the text. This book is published only on CD in Adobe Acrobat - cross-platform Mac/PC.

S&H $3.95