Harder: I have long been interested in writing about the neglected historiography of non-pilot, officer aircrewmen: the observers, navigators, bombardiers, and electronic warfare officers. Harder is the author of The Three Musketeers of the Army Air Forces, which chronicles how the lives of Paul Tibbets, Tom Ferebee, and Ted Van Kirk changed after they flew a mission that dropped an atomic bomb on Japan on August 6, 1945, helping to end World War II.Īir & Space: Why did you want to write this book? This story is a selection from the June-July issue of Air & Space magazine BuyĪ B-52 navigator-bombardier in the Vietnam War, Robert O.