Joe Duran (left), nephew of WWII B-24 Liberator bomber command pilot Joe Avendano, speaks with Edward Weir, a former B-24 navigator who flew in the same bombardment group (the 93rd) as did Joe's uncle. Edward's daughter, Shirley Cassidy (center), listens in. Joe's uncle survived the great bombing raid over Ploesti, Romania on Aug 1st, 1943, but was later killed in a nighttime training flight over England. Edward, who is wearing his original WWII bomber jacket with his squadron patch of a running panda bear (the 409th Bombardment Squadron) is also a vet of the Ploesti raid. Taken in the Embassy Suites Hotel, Lincoln, Nebraska, Aug 1st, 2007.

Joe Duran (left), nephew of WWII B-24 Liberator bomber command pilot Joe Avendano, speaks with Edward Weir, a former B-24 navigator who flew in the same bombardment group (the 93rd) as did Joe's uncle. Edward's daughter, Shirley Cassidy (center), listens in. Joe's uncle survived the great bombing raid over Ploesti, Romania on Aug 1st, 1943, but was later killed in a nighttime training flight over England. Edward, who is wearing his original WWII bomber jacket with his squadron patch of a running panda bear (the 409th Bombardment Squadron) is also a vet of the Ploesti raid. Taken in the Embassy Suites Hotel, Lincoln, Nebraska, Aug 1st, 2007.