The Innocent Cadet: Becoming a World War II Bombardier Illustrated Edition

by Charles N. Stevens (Author)

4 ratings

ISBN-13: 978-1434388285

ISBN-10: 143438828X

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Earning his bombardier's wings was much more difficult than he imagined. Physical training was brutal, academics rigorous and flying exhausting, but he had a passion for succeeding. At times reaching his goal seemed very much in doubt. Entering the Army Air Corps at 18 in 1943 after leaving his loving and religious family, Charles "Norm" Stevens was suddenly among men of many backgrounds, some differing markedly from his. The contrast served to emphasize his innocence. He decided to try to understand and accept others who had different values without losing his own set of principles. Appearing boyish, he endured ribbing from others who were older and more mature, more manly. As training progressed he found he could compete both physically and mentally with most of them. Homesickness was constantly with him, but was softened by his desire for new adventures and experiences. His quest to become a bombardier drove him to excel in his classes, physical training, gunnery school and the rigors of the bombardier school at Midland, Texas. He finally graduated, earning his silver bombardier's wings and a commission as a second lieutenant. As a bombardier on a B-17 crew, he sharpened his skills in bombing and navigation in the high altitude skies over Louisiana and the South. He began the grim task of preparing for combat missions, rising early in the morning and flying at over 20,000 feet on oxygen for long hours. He made out his will and power of attorney with the rest of the men, then boarded a troop train bound for Nebraska where his crew would pick up a new B-17 to fly to England and combat, a bloody business he knew very little about. His combat experiences appear in his previous book, An Innocent at Polebrook: A Memoir of an 8th Air Force Bombardier, published in 2004.

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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ AuthorHouse; Illustrated edition (July 29, 2008)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 412 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 143438828X
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1434388285
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 15.8 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5 x 1.03 x 8 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #3,816,150 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #354,634 in Biographies
- #462,876 in Textbooks

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mike923

Good first person narrative

Reviewed in the United States on December 12, 2017

Verified Purchase

I really enjoyed the detail about daily life during training. There are lots of books about pilots, but not so many about the other crewmen on the plane. I want to read his other book.

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Andrew E. Sais

Norm Stevens is an old friend and teaching associate, ...

Reviewed in the United States on December 25, 2014

Verified Purchase

Norm Stevens is an old friend and teaching associate, so the quality of his writing did not surprise me. I want my grandchildren to read his books.

One person found this helpful

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Sinclair11

Norm Stevens is an American Treasure

Reviewed in the United States on September 23, 2015

After countless books and movies, Norm Stevens nails it best with the following statement about Veterans returning home: "I enjoyed talking to my parents and friends about my experiences, but I sensed that they couldn't really understand me. They listened politely, responded when they could, but couldn't feel how it was for me. I began to realize the power of longing. While I was stationed far away from home, I yearned to be home, but after I arrived, there was nothing to long for anymore. That whole dimension, that passionate wanting to be home, had been lost, leaving me with an unexplained feeling of emptiness". Never has the feeling been captured so forcefully, directly and elegantly. Thank you, Lt Stevens.

One person found this helpful

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Olongapo86

Interesting Read of a Bombardier in Training

Reviewed in the United States on June 25, 2009

If one is curious about the steps involved in becoming a Bombardier during WWII, this is an excellent read. It also contains numerous vignettes on the author's experiences with his peers while in training, his longing for home and family, and his battles with self-confidence. Anyone who has been in the service will identify with the eventual transformation of the author from an "individual" to a "team member" of the military. I found this book to be more detailed as to the regimen involved in Bombardier school and Gunnery School than another very good book, "Byron's War" by Byron Lane. The author's periodic short chapters on his observations of the various locales he is assigned to strengthen the background of his actual military training descriptions, as the reader is able to put this information into an environment. I did not find these "sojourns" to be distracting, although other readers desiring pure military training stories might be put off by them.

What I found quite interesting was the author's intensive training in both gunnery and the Norden bombsight. You will have to read the author's follow-on book, "Innocent at Polebrook", to see that all of this training was really never put into use because of the prevalence of "lead bombardiers" and few German fighter jumpings of his squadron.

My motivation in reading this book arises out of my ignorance of the training and combat experiences of my own father, who flew 30 combat missions over Germany as a B-24 Bombardier (Mickey Navigator, or Radar Bombardier using H2X radar). Mr. Stevens paints a very useful picture of the training and personal challenges of Aviation Cadets and pre-combat Bombardier training. The fact that he periodically meanders to subjects/vignettes which appear much too personal for the reader to relate to does not take away from the value of this book. In reality, I found these deviations to reveal the humanistic side of the author at this time in his life, which for me provided a rich background.

Overall, an enjoyable read and worth the time. The author's other book is outstanding; definitely a must read.

5 people found this helpful

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The Innocent Cadet: Becoming a World War II Bombardier Illustrated Edition

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