Last Roll Call: The Adventure of a B-17 Tailgunner

If I die today, it will be with some of the bravest and finest young men I've ever known. These thoughts always comforted nineteen year old Kenneth Tucker each time he crawled back to his position in the tail. His biggest fear wasn't of dying - his biggest fear was letting his crew down. Last Roll Call is Ken's tribute to his crew and their beloved B-17 Kwiturbitchin. You will meet pilot, 1st Lt. Louis Dunnigan, the old man of 27. Next to my father, there has never been another man I respected and admired more than Louis Dunigan. Another favorite, T/Sgt. Clyde Dwight was the flight engineer and top turret gunner. We knew Dwight would take care of us. He had worked in the oil fields in Texas, and he seemed to know how to fix just about anything. The only crew member who did not make it back, 2nd Lt. Halsey Nisula, was the well-liked and respected Navigator, Sadly, you will learn how being the best Navigator in the Squadron ultimately cost Nisula his life.

Sixteen-year-old Kenneth Tucker's adventure begins on December 7, 1941 in a small fishing village near Apalachicola, FL. After Pearl Harbor, I knew I was headed to war. While he waits, Ken will introduce you to his family and share the struggles of growing up during the Depression. You will travel with him on troop trains and buses for months of testing and training: Induction, Cadet Basic, Classification, Gunnery School, Staging and finally Air Crew Training. Settle in with the enlisted men as they struggle to set up their tent in the bitter cold and barren landscape of Amendola, Italy, home of the 97th Bomb Group, 414th Bomb Squadron, 15th Air Force.

From Ken, you will learn the duties and responsibilities of each crew member. Ken will walk you through a typical mission, from Briefing to Interrogation, including a few mishaps and malfunctions along the way. Share Ken's emotions as he prepares for his first mission to Munich and his last (#35) to Zezio in northern Italy. On mission number twenty to Vienna, you will discover how Ken's flak vest saved his life, though he was injured and awarded a Purple Heart. Join Ken's most memorable mission, number ten, on Christmas Day of 1944 to the Brux Oil Refinery in northern Czechoslovakia. Experience the crew's fear as Dunigan makes an emergency landing on the Island of Vis off the mainland of Yugoslavia. You will appreciate Ken's sense of humor when the crew was greeted by their Partisan rescuers. We were confronted by three women, each about the size and shape of a refrigerator. Each one had a bandolier of ammunition with a sub-machine gun slung over their shoulders. No expression on their faces whatsoever. They were so scary; my first instinct was to slam the door shut and grab my pistol. Though thrilled to be rescued, the crew was heart broken to have to leave their beloved B-17, Kwiturbitchin, behind.

Celebrate Ken's 20th birthday with him in Naples, Italy as he awaits a Liberty Ship for the long journey home. Share Ken's joy when he finally makes it back home. Understand his sadness as he reflects on all those left behind. I began to realize that in those graves lay soldiers who would always be remembered as young, brave and heroic. Though left behind, they would never be forgotten. There were just too many of them; too many rows of neatly spaced white crosses that would stand forever as a constant reminder to future generations of the price of freedom.

Last Roll Call has been out of print for over ten years, until now. Over 5,000 copies of this quick, easy to read memoir were sold 2009-2014, many to local middle and high schools where Ken was a frequent guest speaker. In 2011 Ken was awarded the Florida Publisher's Association, President's Book Award. Though popular with young adults, Ken's story has been enjoyed by multiple generations. Several past reviews are available on Amazon.