Keesler AFB, AL
Court Martial Defense

Nestled among the Gulf Coast, Keesler Air Force Base is home to the 81st Training Wing which instructs our nation’s Airmen on the non-flying skills necessary to keep the Air Force lethal and combat ready. This can include skills such as navigation, radar, cyber warfare, and even right down to predicting the weather. Pilots may get all the glory, but our Air Force wouldn’t get very far without these men and women. For many students, they are coming here straight after basic and as such, they are largely unfamiliar with what UCMJ trouble may await them.

The reality is that it is hard to get yourself into too much trouble at basic, but let us tell you, those young Airmen know how to make up for that lost trouble out at Keesler. However, that doesn’t mean that a stellar Air Force career doesn’t await them. In fact, the history of air warfare is full of rogue’s and misfits. Prior to the founding of the Air Force, it was the Army Air Corps that embodied this spirit.

During WW2, there was a fiesty pilot named Jay Zeamer and a crew of rogue misfits were struggling to get command of a bomber. They had the fighting spirit, but were not too fond of garrison rules and regulations which put them on the back end of the waitlist for a new B-17 bomber. That’s when Zeamer encountered a military photographer on Port Moresby who told Zeamer of a B-17 bomber that no one wanted to fly, because every time it went up it was shot to hell. Not to mention, the last 3 digits of the tail number were “666”.

The plane needed retrofitting, but instead of sticking to military spec, Zeamer placed 19 .50 caliber guns instead of the regulation 13 .30 caliber. He even fixed a gun at the front of the plane that could be fired from the pilot’s position. Once ready for flight, Zeamer volunteered the crew for a dangerous solo mission to photograph the terrain around Bougainville prior to the invasion.

Flying over 600 miles to the target, Zeamer’ bomber arrived only to notice Japanese Zeros taking off to intercept them. They had been spotted, but instead of running, they flew steady across the island and took the required photographs. That’s when no less than 17 Zeros came in for the kill. The first Zero came for the normally lightly defended nose of the plane only to meet Zeamer’s pilot’s gun head on. That’s when 20mm Japanese cannon fire burst through the cockpit severely wounding Zeamer and the XO.

As blood pooled around him, Zeamer continued to pilot the bomber and was even able to safely descend 15,000 feet after enemy fire took out the oxygen system, which allowed the crew to still breathe. For over 45 minutes, Zeamer and his crew fought off 17 Zeros, killing 5 of them, before the Zeros had to return to base for fuel. Once again, the “old 666” would return to base, shot to hell and with 6 of the 9-man crew killed or wounded. Zeamer himself was initially thought dead when the ground crew found him, only to be shocked when he moved. That one flight of misfits would net two Medals of Honor and the Distinguished Service Cross for the rest of the crew.