S/Sgt Melvin Hurwitz, U.S. Army Air Corps, World War II

·32 min·3 clips

Melvin Hurwitz reveals his B-17 crew was the first to drop napalm bombs in Europe during World War II.

This episode of Veterans Chronicles features an interview with Melvin Hurwitz, a U.S. Army Air Corps veteran who served as a B-17 radio operator and gunner in World War II. Host Greg Corombos guides Hurwitz through his wartime experiences, from enlistment to his post-war reflections. Hurwitz served with the 493rd Bomb Group, the last bomb group formed in the Eighth Air Force, flying missions in the spring of 1945. Hurwitz was 16 when Pearl Harbor was attacked, recalling hearing President Franklin D. Roosevelt's speech at school. He enlisted in the Air Corps at 18, motivated by the promise of stable food, shelter, and the appeal of silver wings. His aptitude test led to training as a radio operator and gunner, with radio school at Scott Field, Illinois, and gunnery school in Yuma, Arizona. He describes the B-17 as a tough but cramped aircraft, where his radio role was primarily for emergencies, utilizing a trailing wire antenna for long-distance communication. His crew flew their B-17 to England via Greenland and Iceland, where they were snowbound for a week. A memorable non-combat moment was sharing tea with Welsh airmen in Iceland while guarding the plane. Hurwitz reveals his crew named their B-17 "Organized Confusion," with an artist crewmate painting the design on their A-2 jackets. He flew only four combat missions, a fact he notes with perspective, as the 493rd Bomb Group flew 157 missions total. His most notable mission involved dropping napalm on entrenched German forces in Royan, France, which he claims was the first use of napalm bombs in the European theater. After Germany's surrender, he participated in Operation Chowhound, dropping food to starving Dutch and Belgian civilians, and was deeply moved by a "Thank You, Yanks" sign made of tulips in a field. He also flew two missions repatriating emaciated French prisoners of war from Linz, Austria, to France, describing the prisoners as looking like "walking zombies." Hurwitz was in training for B-29s and the Pacific theater when the atomic bomb was dropped, ending his combat trajectory. In recent years, he returned to Europe with the Best Defense Foundation, attending D-Day commemorations. At the 80th anniversary in 2024, he gained viral attention for a heartfelt exchange with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, whom he told, "I pray for you." Reflecting on his service, Hurwitz emphasizes the importance of remembering history and the horrific reality of war, hoping younger generations understand its costs. The tone is conversational and reflective, structured as a straightforward oral history interview where the veteran shares detailed anecdotes. Corombos adopts an educational and respectful style, prompting Hurwitz to elaborate on specific memories and technical details of his service. Listeners interested in personal, firsthand accounts of WWII aviation, particularly the late-war European experience, will find this episode compelling. Those seeking broad historical analysis or early-war stories might find the scope limited to one man's brief but eventful service window.

As heard by us

A restrained bomber memoir that finds its force in detail, not spectacle.

Melvin Hurwitz's wartime path is told from a B-17, through the memory of a gunner-radio man who was 16 at Pearl Harbor and later joined the Air Corps for the final months of the war in Europe.

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Why you'd press play

Hear a B-17 gunner and radio man recall war from the cramped edge of a bomber.

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