oh yeah - I spoke of him on several occasions in different threads, but here is my uncle - AMMC3 Leo F. Broussard, tail gunner/radioman SBD's 2?, 3, and 4... he enlisted in early 1941, became an Aviation Machinist Mate, finally obtaining the engine/carborator sub-rating, then trained as tail gunner in aviation gunnery school near Beeville, TX. problem was he was good at it (grew up hunting ducks in the bayous down here and knew how to lead a target with precision) .. He ended up as an instructor at the school upon graduation. His biggest lament was not going right out to the war. Finally he got orders to the USS ??? (I think Lexington from some of our talks once I went in the Navy) ... on his trip across the pacific the bomb was dropped and he never made it to combat.
When I was deployed in the Med he used to write me a lot after my aunt (his wife)died... we talked a lot about his time in, and his regret about not making it to combat... personally I am glad he never went... he was a very important influence growing up and some of his words still stick today. "If you're not going to do it right the first time don't do it at all" and so on... He used to love the pictures of the Med and of shipboard duty I would send him...
not really related to the Midway thread, but he trained many of the SBD gunners of the USMC and Navy, most probably some of the ones who fought in Midway either served with him in class or were trained by him... just wanted to bring it up.... as SBD's are one of my favorite kits for a reason... here he is:
