A B-29 Superfortress Story You Won't Believe

If you enjoyed reading these letters, I hope you will consider joining my new history project! - Letters From War - Available in physical AND digital delivery. Check them out here: DIGITAL LETTERS FROM WAR: tj3history.ck.page/products/lfw MAILED TO YOU: shorturl.at/cnpBL

Such a sad story----I know the feeling of loosing a friend in combat - recently I found out that a good friend of mine who flew F-100's in Viet Nam was lost in 1971 - he finally came home and was buried next to his mother - still makes me sad - We few, we happy few, we band of brothers; For he to-day that sheds his blood with me Shall be my brother - rest in peace Capt. Joe Smith

Historical notes - first, a big thank you to HeartFeltZero for helping make this project possible. He located and owns these letters and allowed me to use them for this video - including the previously unopened letter. Secondly, I believe this bomber was lost shortly after midnight. However, videos look very bad when I show them in pitch black setting. So I use evening backdrop so you guys can actually see what is going on. Also, I know this bomber was named "Road Apple", but there were no photos. So we actually made the nose art ourselves to put an identity on the plane. Unfortunately, there were also no available photos of Luther White - or I would have included those as well. Thanks for watching everyone!

My father flew as a flight engineer aboard a B-29 with the 20th AAF. The 2200 mile row trip from Titian to Imperial Japan with no chance of being rescued in the event of a ditch was hell .

This story is pretty sad and shows how war can just separate families. You can hear the desperation in their letters hoping he was alive. Thank you TJ for telling stories like this.

I briefly worked in a new-build elementary school in rural(ish) Hyogo prefecture, some way north of Osaka. The previous building was almost finished in 1945 when a bomb landed in the playground, peppering the facade and a door with shrapnel. In the new school this old part of the wall and door had been preserved, along with a bunch of historical displays. In the 50's the school was "twinned" with the elementary school in America that some of the crew who dropped the bombs went to.

It is said, mes amis, that sometime after the first B-29 aeroplatform did a low level recon-mission o'er Tokyo, the Empress Nagako (the wife of Emperor Hirohito), wrote in a letter: “Every day from morning to night, B-29's fly freely over the palace making an enormous noise. As I sit at my desk writing and look up at the sky, countless numbers are passing over. Unfortunately... the B-29 is a splendid plane.”

.. If that last letter didn't touch the deepest part of your soul...you're not human .. I could not hold the tears, my Vietnam experiences rushed back, Luther, you're one of us...I was a B-52 navigator...There were always "hits" on our aircraft, returning to U-Tapao Air Base, Thailand. How many missions did I cheat Luther's fate .. I was 26..._Line Backer ll, 18 Dec - 29 Dec 72_ other than our return to Seymour Johnson...I have never flown again...💜

Eight decades later and the B-29 still looks so futuristic! Also adding the voiceover of Luther's mother made this episode even more emotional and immersive. Edit: wasn't able to watch the whole episode when I originally commented but now that I've seen the whole thing the sister's voiceover really pulled at the heartstrings.

The “low altitude” for this mission- the presenter said it was necessary for clear damage assessment. It was also common for bombers from the 315th Bomb Wing like this one to fly night missions around this altitude.

TJ3; Thank you for sharing Luther White and his family's story. Yes, his mother's and sister's letters really brought his story to the forefront for me. It was such a tragedy that was repeated many thousands of times over. My Paternal grandparents and family received such a letter from the War Department in 1944 after my uncle was KIA somewhere in France 8 days after D -Day. My hat is off, my heart is broken and, I salute every veteran especially, those that paid the ultimate sacrifice including, the whole crew of Road Apples.

Those finest American boys…who died…for us….Rest I Peace….my‘ol mates…in heaven……..its heartbreaking to hear those letters…to her son….I‘m in tears….hearing this story….😔😞😪😪

After watching this video it really does make a person feel bad for the family's who lost a loved one during war time. I also have to say this (even though I have said it before) I am still impress and proud of Tj for coming such a long journey. From the days of ILL 2 to a almost tv show type of documentary with historical evidence in his hand.

Powerful, touching, and important personal story. Thank you for sharing it with us!

Personal testimonies just make history that much more present. Excellent work👍👍👍

Sad. Hearing a letter from a family that still has hope.

So heart breaking. May Luther White and all his fellow crew members RIP. ❤

Those letters felt a lot heavier after learning that he didn't make it. I was so desperately hopeful that the chute that went up was his by some miracle and that he'd somehow evade detection, no matter how infeasible it would be.

My father was a radar operator on the B-29 the named "Georgia Peach" with the 468th Bomb Group, 793rd Bomb Squadron. He was based in Chengdu China and they flew the first combat missions to bomb mainland Japan targets since the Doolittle Raid.

Very sad! So many individual stories like this! Thanks for sharing. I lost a cousin in Korea. It all but did his mom and dad in