This
VI Bomber Command web site is dedicated to the crews of the first B-17’s,
B-18’s, LB-30’s, and B-24D’s of the Command- - from temporary
bases where they frequently lived under the crudest of conditions, they flew
far out into the Pacific. The fact that they never encountered an enemy does
not detract from their accomplishment. Through the stereotyped language of a
War Department citation can be felt the tension of the first days of war, the
difficulties of these early flights, and the spirit of the crews that flew.
They "participated in the pioneering of long range patrol flights and operations
over the Pacific approaches to the Panama Canal without adequate radio or other
navigational aids. Many flights were conducted at night under blackout conditions
with take-offs being made under adverse weather conditions and flights conducted
far out to sea where heavy tropical thunderstorms were encountered.
"The war in Panama and its outlying bases was insufferably dull. Monotonous
tasks, poor living conditions, enervating climate, a feeling of uselessness-all
combined to make the average officer and enlisted man of the VI Bomber Command
restless. There was not the stimulus of contact with the enemy that was present
in other tropical areas to lift the men out of their discontent. It was necessary
on several occasions for commanders to take special efforts to make the men
understand that they, by their very presence at the Canal, were playing a definite
part in the struggle. "Maybe so," was the general reaction, "but why does it
have to be us?"
