Customer Reviews

Wing Ding: Memories of a Tail Gunner

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have recently finished reading Gene Carson's fine new book "Wing Ding". As a writer and historian researching books of my own, I have been spending a lot of time reading accounts of the heavy bomber war over Europe in WWII. This is by far the most entertaining of the memoirs I have read to date. Gene Carson, air enthusiast, joins the Army Air Corps to fullfill his dream to fly. Instead, he ends up in the kitchen as a baker. Through persistance, hard work, trickery and a little luck, he is able to trade his bakery job for the more exciting--and more deadly--duty of tail gunner on a B-17. Carson skillfully captures not just the moments of terror flying over Germany (in one case minus his parachute), but also the humor of life in the Eighth. Adding drama to the tale is the fact that Carson's twin brother is shot down and presumed dead while flying a mission with a different bomb group. Instead of going home, Gene gets himself reassigned and returns to fly a second tour of combat, convinced his brother is alive and that he will find him. To say more would detract from the reading experience, but this book is a great read, both from a historical perspective and for the interesting characters and situations 'Wing Ding' encounters on his adventures. A warning: Wing Ding has its share of earthy situations, the kind faced by young men far from home, lonely, with normal hormones, and unsure if they will live out the month. A PG-13 rating might be in order. Wing Ding is a winner in every way. I highly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in the history of the air war, or how young men grow up in wartime. I look forward to Gene Carson's next book, which is underway.

Col. Carlson told his story without a lot of hype. He makes one feel like they are there. It is a pleasure that I had the chance to serve in the Air Force with such men who gave so much. We of that War are leaving at a fast rate. Such great stories are all that will be left too soon.

This is a TOTALLY unique book. I have never found another book on World War 2, much less concerning any other war, that has ever taken this approach to writing : that is, telling a true, and WONDERFULLY interesting account by an author, who happens to be a twin, and where the author's twin brother almost ends up being a co-author of this same work. What we have is a true account of 2 brothers who were separated by War, and then came back together during that War, and once again were separated, only to be BARELY re-united at the War's end, in May of 1945. The perspective of this book by LTC Gene Carson IS very unique, and lends itself not only to World War 2 studies, but to Twin studies, as well. I ought to know, for I am a twin like Gene and his brother, John.

This book UNDOUBTEDLY deserves the 5 star rating for 3 reasons : a) It is well written and VERY lively & interesting! I hate needless parentheses. b) It is brisk, without a lot of the dull, turgid style found in some military narratives. Lots of nice, brief chapters that contain short but often VERY humorous vignettes. c) It's "twin-brother" perspective is unique and creates a storyline fit to be made into a motion picture. May I add that Gene has given the BEST account, among the many that I have read, about what LIFE (as well as Death) was like for those who flew in the heavy bombers, during the Darkest conflagration of War that the 20th century, or any century has ever seen.

I bought this book because of the rave reviews on Amazon.com, but I was disappointed. "Wing Ding" isn't especially well-written, and it provides little information about the air war in Europe that you couldn't learn from a mission log. The best part of the book is its description of life on the ground, especially including the author's consistent efforts to get around orders and his amazing ability to carry on a number of amorous relationships at the same time.

With a deep respect for my late dad's generation of WWII veterans, I recently listened as one recalled a bit of his WWII exploits as a B17 tail gunner. Time flew, the graduation party that brought us together was over, and I left to return home.
I looked forward to hearing more in future meetings. Sad to say, that'll never happen. Louis Holmer has taken his tales with him in passing away on December 6, 2006. WING DING Memories of a Tailgunner enabled me to appreciate him even in his absence. My thanks go out to Lt. Col. Gene T. Carson RET for writing of his experiences and allowing future generations a glimpse into WWII history on a very personal level.

This book got my interest from the "Foreword"! If your loved one never told you what WWII was REALLY like, you will really enjoy/appreciate this book. You will go from "nah, that didn't really happen?" to "it really happened!". The author has a story like style for the real thing. It's not a book that goes on and on 'til you don't have time to read anymore. It gets right to the point and you'll want to know what happened next!

..And The Fighters Are Making Their Run. Gene Carson does an excellent job relating the fear of not knowing where the next flak round is going to burst, or on which mission his luck will run out. After their 10th. mission, the aircrews were living "on borrowed time". Death in a B-17 came either from the determined cannon of German fighter pilots, or the random blast of German Flak. It came from flying or bombing accidents or it came from walking across Poland and Germany for 75 days during the worst European Winter in a hundred years. You could bleed to death in your flying suit, pass out and die when you accidentally disconnected your oxygen supply, or ride a doomed bomber all the way down because the centrifugal force kept you pinned to the airplane a few feet away from an escape route. Some died on their first mission, and some on their 25th. Not many fought the Army bureaucracy to get BACK into combat flying after they honorably completed their first tour. Gene Carson did. He also stayed in the Army and went from "glamorflyboy" to "groundpounder" with the 82nd. Airborne Division. "Wing Ding" (and it's not the name of his airplane) gives us a look at the Carson brothers' lives from the time they were "half orphans" in a Pennsylvania trade school, to the point where Gene goes back for another tour after learning John has been shot down. After his brother was shot down, Gene Carson's war was no longer about surviving the requisite number of missions and going home. It was now about staying in the deadly game until he knew his brother was safe. Gene goes back without the slightest objective reason to believe John is alive, because they're brothers. The book has it's humerous moments, such as the manner in which Gene dealt with two different species of predator in the Florida Everglades.

At a time when our nation is hungry for heroes, we often don't have to look any farther than the older guy living right next door. The "heroes" of my generation are too often a gratuitous, polished, packaged largely manufactured product. The heroes of Gene Carson's generaton were just glad they survived. They were indeed ordinary men who did extraordinary things. Carson's "Wing Ding" will go on my bookshelf next to my favorite first-person accounts of men in battle.

Mr. Carson's marvelous and unlikely memoir of service as a misfit baker who becomes an aerial gunner in order to follow his brother to war is exceeded only by hearing him tell the stories in person. I am fortunate to have done both, and have read this book several times since he published it, laughing out loud each time. Unlike many solemn and tragic memoirs written by other air war veterans, "Wing Ding" shares details that most aging warriors would never tell.

Heavy bomber history needed this warrior-author and his memoir, and as a museum volunteer I recommended it on countless occasions. Like an episode of M.A.S.H., Lt. Col. Carson--"Wing Ding"--provides irreverent wit and levity in spite of the freezing horror that WWII bomber crews endured. He accomplishes this in a way that only one who faced it would dare attempt.

A must-have for readers of heavy bomber history and for the children and grandchildren of those who served.

World War II is a long-ago event. In most of our minds, it's something we hear about but give little thought to. For many, all they know about this highly significant event in our past comes from literature. WING DING towers above the rest of that literature by putting a human face on the events that shaped a generation.

Compelling reading and gripping drama from the first page to the last. Gene Carson is a gifted storyteller, writing in a simple style which is free of hyperbole, moralizing or melodrama. The story is the main thing, and it is a story indeed.

Tragedy, humor and acts of courage are presented in a way that make for irresistible reading. We should be grateful that Carson has chosen to share his story with us, because what happened so long ago should not be forgotten.

1st person discussion of being a wing gunner. Beautifully written and clear. You also learn to like the guy a lot, which adds to the story. For technical details of being a tailgunner I'm sure there are texts; this is impressionistic, deliberately.