Mel Jenner had one of those World War II jobs that no one really tries out for. Waist gunner in a B-17 bomber was what you’d get if you didn’t draw the straw to be pilot or navigator. You had to man a machine gun in front of an open window space at an altitude of four to five miles, the swirling frigid air tough to bear even in a sheepskin jacket and other cold-weather gear. Handling that 50-caliber machine gun took strength and agility, and following an attacking enemy fighter with it, leading them just enough to account for the movement of both airplanes, was a very particular talent.
