Tom Fitzpatrick, U.S. Army Air Corps, WWII

Tom Fitzpatrick grew up in Pennsylvania and had never been on an airplane before joining the U.S. Army Air Corps in World War II. Before long, he was serving as a radio navigator on a B-17 bomber crew.

In this edition of "Veterans Chronicles," Fitzpatrick explains his role on bombing missions, the close calls his crew endured, targeting the critical Nazi oil facilities in Ploesti, and how his plane and many others were protected by the Red Tails of the legendary Tuskegee Airmen.