by Joy Etienne, sole niece of an 8th AA radio operator BAM.   Fire in the empty bomb bay.   BANG.   The B-24 nose turret explosion. Chaos high above Oise still enjoying the painterly French summer light made famous by Vincent Van Gogh in another era. Black, molten flak lacerates the shiny skin of the Ford-built Lib.  BOOM. The wings fly off. Thursday 7:35 pm  Sunon Square Dance goes down in flames.  The German 88 meter anti-aircraft canon in Cramoisy got the squadron  leader. My 4F uncle, Tech Sgt John Harold Leahy, who went by Bill, the radio gunner in the bomb bay, grabbed the fire extinguisher before passing out. June 27, 1944 while supporting our D-Day troops bombing German supply lines in Creil, he and   Sgt Walter Schum, left waist gunner from Altoona, PA, Lt Walter Strychasz, bombardier from Cleveland, OH and Lt Arlee Reno, navigator from New Mexico died for a righteous cause. Missing Air Crew Reports & more MACR...