B-17
I have a rule that I live by, do not judge photography unless ask. And so I want to show this photograph today without critique, but with comment.
One of his stories was how on his first mission they were forced to land when they ran low of fuel over enemy territory. The only place to set down was a German air strip in the Netherlands. As they came in for their emergency landing there were Luftwaffe aircraft sitting alone the runway. You can understand what fate they imagined awaited them. When they came to a stop they discovered to their surprise and delight that allied units had captured the base just that morning. So instead of a prisoner of war camp or worse they had a three day party.
On another flight he was struck by shrapnel in the leg. When they landed in England he realized that if he sought medical care at his unit hospital he would be put up for the Purple Heart. He knew that if he were to receive this honor it would be written up in the home town paper and his mother would worry about him. So he made arrangements to have the shrapnel remove at another operations medical unit. He still has the inch long metal fragment they took out of his leg that day and has never received the warranted Purple Heart.
So with pride I display this photograph taken by Al Sheppard on one of his 28 combat missions over 60 years ago.
Click on Image 
December 15th, 2007 at 8:26 pm
Al: All I can add is, thanks for your service - well done.
Bill Reagan
December 15th, 2007 at 8:38 pm
Those black spots on the print are not dust. They are flack!
December 15th, 2007 at 11:48 pm
OH! MY! Al you are simply amazing. Thank you for sharing such an amazing experience, and image with us. Great photograph!
December 16th, 2007 at 12:36 pm
Way to go Al, you did what needed to be done and that’s what hero’s are made of…
Al Ungar
December 16th, 2007 at 12:38 pm
I’ve seen this photo before ( Roy Allen ) and every time I do I choke up thinking about where you were at the moment it was taken.
Al thank for for your service and thank you for the photo.
Ken Cook
December 16th, 2007 at 1:12 pm
Al,
This is my favorite, it’s unbelievable and something that should be preserved for all generations to see. Thanks for keeping us free.
Roy
December 16th, 2007 at 3:22 pm
Al,
You gave me a copy of this photo which I look at frequently.
It’s a great shot and has even greater meaning with the
story behind it, and you are one of the lucky few to have survived that ordeal and to be able to tell about it.
Hal
December 16th, 2007 at 3:28 pm
Al
A remarkable photo taken by a remarkable man. Congratulations on a job and picture well done.
Audrey
December 16th, 2007 at 7:14 pm
Dear Al,
Few of us in our lifetimes have ever had to deal with their mortality such as you did in the skies over Europe. You are and always will be a larger than life true hero and it is to people such as you that we owe our way of life as well as our life itself. We salute you and thank you for what you have done for all of us.
Peggy and Jerry Sanders
December 16th, 2007 at 9:48 pm
Not only is the story of this gentleman’s war time service stirring and captivating, but the photograph is amazingly rich, sharp, stirring and full of movement. The placement of the nearest aircraft in relation to contrails of the distant bombers, the frightful proximity of the flak, and the splendid framing of the shot, through a B-17’s window, all add up to an absolutely fantastic photograph. Yes, I am truely in awe of this photograph as well as this American hero’s wartime story.
December 17th, 2007 at 1:34 am
Truly amazing, but not just because of the action and motion and depth in the picture. It is amazing in the fact that your friend, on a whim, took a snapshot out of the window and captured a moment in time. He took all of the fear, the excitement, the speed, the danger… he took all of that and captured it perfectly on film so that 60 years later we can still feel and understand a tiny part of what he and everyone else in that sky felt that day.
This picture belongs in a museum.
December 17th, 2007 at 12:43 pm
Amen, to everything said about this image and the back story. Al, incredible. This image really is a national as well as a personal treasure.
I see the question pop up from time to time what makes a photograhper. Given the circumstance and situation to have a camera in had at that moment. That is the inner being of a photographer.
January 8th, 2008 at 5:08 pm
I am in awe . Awesome yes - and POWERFUL. I cannot imagine what it must have been like in person but you show a glimpse of it here … goosebumps looking at it…
brilliant historical capture and experiance!!