Flight Officer Edward F. "Mac" McGlynn, Jr.

by Stuart Young
(San Antonio, Texas)

Mac McGlynn sent a letter to my father (standing second from right in picture) in June 1945 telling him about the day he was shot down. I used Mac's letter in a previous post in describing that February 7, 1945, mission to bomb the Moosbierbaum Oil Refinery near Vienna, Austria. Now I'll let Mac fill in the blanks in his own words. Words in "()" are mine.

We really had our trouble that day. I had all I could do to keep up with the formation. (On the bomb run) our right bomb bay door wouldn't open so (our bombardier Robert) Wilcox (kneeling far right) opened it by hand. Then the filler valve stuck and we lost all our oxygen for Walt ("Stinky" Sliwinski, copilot, kneeling second from right), Jim ("the Russian" Sheuchenko, top turret gunner, standing far right), and (Donald E. "Whitey") White (flight engineer, standing third from right). We couldn't get an extra bottle up from the nose so Jim took the bomb run without oxygen. White nearly passed out for lack of oxygen. Then they got quite a few hits in the plane. I couldn't keep up with the formation. I was giving her everything she could take. Then the first thing we know some more flak was coming up at us. They really got us that time. #3 and 4 engines went out right after each other. One 88 exploded on the aft deck, but it went off in the emergency bay. All it was was a big flash. The boys in the waist were telling me that it was really banged up. (George P.) Taylor (assistant armorer/ball turret gunner, standing second from left) said they had a hole big enough for him to walk through. So we turned east with only our #1 engine going. We were dropping like a rock. Two MEs made a pass across our nose and (William C.) Williams (assistant flight engineer/nose gunner, standing third from left) and Taylor stayed at their turrets. Williams shot at them. Then two P-51s came diving across our nose. That was the last we saw of them (German MEs). (Raymond J.) Waver's (assistant radio operator, standing far left)turret was just a mess of holes. I sent Jim back to the waist because they had oxygen there. And both waist guns were out, so you see we really had a day. We all bailed out alright and the Utashi picked us up. You know we were told they would kill us and things like that. Well, that was alot of shit. They treated us swell. We had the best meals since we left the states with them. Yes, they even gave us beer. They were alright. (Eric McGlynn, Mac's nephew, in 2010, sent me a copy of a letter Mac sent his mother in May 1945. Mac said) I'll be home shortly. The American tanks came and freed us the 29th of April (Mac was freed from a German POW camp near Moosberg, Germany). This place is really a mad house. I'm not sick or hurt. Everybody on the crew is safe. If you should have their addresses, write and tell their folks that they will be home very soon. Well Mom, it won't be long and I will be with you again. I got shot down the 7th of February. What a thrill it was to jump. All my love, Edward.