08 Nov Donald S. Courson
Don Courson in 1944
On October 15th, I was honored to spend a couple of hours with Don Courson, the Liberty Lady’s right waist gunner. Ashleigh, Mississippi, where Don has lived most of his life, is a small friendly farming community. I thought … such a far cry from the wartime cities of London and Stockholm.
Don had been through Boeing Aircraft School and intended to be a mechanic, “but the government needed gunners so that’s what I was.
“When we first arrived at Thurleigh we were so busy we didn’t have time to think about what had happened or what was coming next. Any day we weren’t practice flying, we were in classes learning how to identify different makes of airplanes. Then they put us in a dark room and made us take apart a machine gun and put it back together again.
“One thing I do remember was the light outside near the headquarters. If there was a red light on, it meant we were staying on the ground. If the light was blue, we’d be going out … get up at 1 or 2 in the morning because a mission was on.
“I guess some crews had a lot of arguments, but we never did. It was all good I thought. We had a fine team … I’m proud of them.
Don Courson in 2009, distinguished WWII veteran
“On days we were flying and after we came in, each crew sat at a table. They had a man who interrogated us on the mission. How many fighters we encountered. How many different flak fields we went over. What altitude we were flying. What the weather was like … all these questions. They would set a bottle of liquor on the table if you wanted it. I needn’t need liquor to do my part of it.”
Pat: Do you remember if Herman would have a drink?
“I really don’t remember if he did or not.”
My brothers and sisters are rolling their eyes now. We are thinking that he did.
Thank you, Don, for sharing your memories with me. Know that this Wednesday, on Veterans’ Day, my family is honoring you and the Liberty Lady crew.
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