Where I Stand: ‘The Wrong Stuff’ paved the way for ‘The Right Stuff’

Monday, April 21, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.

THIS IS A BIG week at Nellis Air Force Base, where ceremonies and air shows will commemorate the 50th anniversary of the U.S. Air Force. This will include air demonstration teams from six different countries and static displays Friday and Saturday. When Maj. Gen. Marvin Esmond and his troops put on a show, they do it right.

There's something special about fighter pilots that was first established in air-to-air combat during World War I and continues right down until today. Yes, they are a special breed, with the skill and courage to do almost the impossible at twice or three times the speed of sound.

It would be most appropriate if all of us would set aside a few moments during this week to think about those Army Air Corps bomber crews that pounded Germany and Japan into submission during WWII. These men helped set the foundation for what we now know as the United States Air Force. They did it with their blood. For example, the Eighth Air Force in Europe lost 8,314 bombers and 60,376 air crewmen, with 79,265 casualties in less than 36 months. Sometimes as many as 2,000 bombers flew directly into deadly fire over Germany to deliver the bombs that eventually brought Hitler to his knees.

Truman Smith, one of these brave aviators, has written "The Wrong Stuff," which relates his and other B-17 bomber crews' life and times during that great crusade. It's properly subtitled "The Adventures and Misadventures of an 8th AF Pilot."

So where did Smith get the title of his recently published book? He explains that when writing: "'THE RIGHT STUFF' is an eloquent book written by Tom Wolfe, about the creme de la creme of American pilots, who were selected for the U.S. space program because they had THE RIGHT STUFF.

"Nature's Law of Equal and Opposite balances the Good with the Evil and the Right with the Wrong. Therefore, to arrive at THE RIGHT STUFF, there had to have been THE WRONG STUFF. For without the mistakes of yesterday, today's technology could not have evolved; which makes our Today, in which we live, a product of Yesterday.

"Thus, the Yesterdays, with the Wrong Stuff, are essential for our Todays and Tomorrows, because it is the mistakes and not the successes that give us wisdom to cope with the complexities of life."

Smith takes his readers through training and into combat. Combat starts with his first mission over Quakenbruck, Germany, 8 April 1944, Saturday: 30 ships up (5:30 Flying Time) to Mission No. 35 -- Merseburg, Germany, 28 July 1944, Friday: 41 ships up (9:00 Flying Time). Every mission is described in the earthy language used by him and the crew members. In short order, the reader comes to know all of them as individuals, and their B-17 becomes a friend. I've never flown a combat mission, but Smith makes each mission so real that I was exhausted at the end of each one. His language, exciting detail and pictures make the book come to life.

Only Smith can explain how it feels to complete 35 missions over Germany. "Having completed my tour of combat, I felt like a trapped wild animal given its freedom. I didn't know what to do, nor did I feel the need nor an urge to do anything. I'd made no plans, because there had been no future. Everything had been in the present, and I was still in the NOW; not moving, not going, just HERE and NOW in the MOMENT. I was not sad nor happy, just neutral. I simply WAS; confident that I could handle any crisis. For nothing could ever match the challenges I had faced -- and survived. It had been a trial that should serve me well for the rest of my life, for however long that might be. ...

"Within a couple of days, I was overtaken by melancholy. But why should I be so depressed when I had so much to be thankful for? I had actually survived the worst, and I was alive to celebrate.

"Well, there were the others who were less fortunate: those I saw going out on their missions, those who didn't come back, the foot soldiers fighting on the continent, as well as those they fought. How many hundreds of thousands of people had we killed with our bombs? How many more would have to die?

"While I expected to be sent to the States before going to the Pacific Theater of Operations, I received orders transferring me to the 482nd Bomb Group at Alconbury, to fly radar navigation students around England.

"It would be good to get away from the memory and the ghosts of acquaintances who had not returned from their missions. Yet, I didn't want to leave until I knew if the rest of our crew who remained would also 'graduate' from combat."

"The Wrong Stuff" is just the kind of book people should read if they want to get a feel of the experiences Army Air Corps men and machines experienced over Europe. The titles of several chapters can give you a taste of the book's contents: Who, Where, When; The Flak; The Fighters; The Weather; The Worst; A Busy Week; London Town; Pre D-Day; Jake; Buzz Bombs; Up & Down; Top Secret; Flak Farm; Not Yet; Breakdowns; A Little Mistake; Skunk Hollow; The Bulge.

It's 358 pages of true excitement that's available at Borders Books in Las Vegas and Henderson for $15.95.