B-24 top turret gunner Ben Kuroki, American-born Japanese "Nisei" ("second generation"), the only Nisei allowed to fly with the Army Air Corps over Europe and Japan in WWII. On his leather aviator's jacket is the patch of the 409th Bombardment Squadron, 93rd Bombardment Group (Heavy). Here he poses with his turret top, an obviously close call with flak from his 30th combat mission in the ETO over Muenster, Germany. Ben went to the Pacific Theatre of Operations after his ETO tour and racked up 28 more combat missions over Japanese targets as a tail gunner in the B-29 Super Fortress "Honorable Sad Saki", which was named in his honor by his pilot, Jim Jenkins. Check out a documentary film about him to be released on PBS on Sep 17th, 2007, "Most Honorable Son." http://www.pbs.org/mosthonorableson/

B-24 top turret gunner Ben Kuroki, American-born Japanese "Nisei" ("second generation"), the only Nisei allowed to fly with the Army Air Corps over Europe and Japan in WWII. On his leather aviator's jacket is the patch of the 409th Bombardment Squadron, 93rd Bombardment Group (Heavy). Here he poses with his turret top, an obviously close call with flak from his 30th combat mission in the ETO over Muenster, Germany. Ben went to the Pacific Theatre of Operations after his ETO tour and racked up 28 more combat missions over Japanese targets as a tail gunner in the B-29 Super Fortress "Honorable Sad Saki", which was named in his honor by his pilot, Jim Jenkins. Check out a documentary film about him to be released on PBS on Sep 17th, 2007, "Most Honorable Son." http://www.pbs.org/mosthonorableson/