The reason for Chip’s interest in the B-17 is due to his father, Conley Culpepper. Conley served as a top turret gunner and flight engineer on B-17s during World War II. He was assigned to the 100th “Bloody Hundredth” Bomb Group of the 349th Bomb Squadron based at RAF Station Thorpe Abbotts in East Anglia, England. They earned that name through some of the heavy losses they accrued in combat during 1943. Conley flew 35 missions and then returned home to Arkansas.
If any photo is worth the proverbial thousand words, it would be the one that Chip Culpepper shared with us after a flight in our B-17 Aluminum Overcast. The photo was one more than 70 years in the making. It depicted Chip holding a photo of his father’s B-17 crew in front of our aircraft after his flight. A perfect balance of past and future.
“My father and I went out to see a visiting B-17 in the 1990s,” Chip said. “At that time, there were still a good amount of WWII veterans left and a few of them had gathered near the aircraft. When [Dad] walked up, one of them identified him as a B-17 veteran and asked him his unit. My father replied 100th Bomb Group. They all just rather took a step back and one of them said, ‘We didn’t think there were any of you guys still around.’”
Chip said he was worried about his father being able to move through the airplane, but quickly realized he didn’t need to be concerned.
“I remember when my dad approached the airplane, he ran his hands down the prop and along a rivet line, almost as if he was shaking hands with an old friend,” Chip said. “I was worried about dad’s mobility to get into the airplane and crawl on his hands and knees through it due to his arthritis. Little did I know that I would find myself struggling to keep up with him. Once inside it was almost as if his muscle memory made him decades younger. He climbed into his old turret again and took a few moments. Each time he would touch a different part of the plane he would have another story. Stories that I had never heard before. It is almost as if the plane was giving them permission to let the stories out.”
Months later, Conley took part in the 100th Bomb Group Reunion — the only one he ever took part in before he died in 2000.
In 1995, Chip thought he would surprise his father with a B-17 ride. After consulting his wife, he bought the ticket and called his dad to surprise him.
“I called him and said, ‘What are you up to? I bought you a ticket on this B-17,’” Chip said. “The phone was silent for a few moments. My father said, ‘I’ve done it. I want you to go and tell me about your flight.’”
What he had planned as a surprise for his father was about to turn into a massive history lesson for Chip.
“To fly in the same type of aircraft that my father served in was an experience that is hard to put into words,” Chip said. “I can remember sitting there in the back waiting for startup. It was powerful to see the startup and smoke coming out of the engines on startup. I had a very small view of what his life was like during the war.”
In 2018, Aluminum Overcastreturned to Chip’s town. There was a call out for any veterans to come out and be a part of the tour stop.
“We found Paul Calkin and knew we had to take him up,” Chip said. “Paul flew in the 100th Bomb Group like Dad. In February of 1943, his aircraft was damaged and they had to ditch in the North Sea. Luckily for them, there was a Royal Air Force rescue boat nearby that was able to pick them up.”
Thanks to Chip, and the local EAA chapter, Paul would once again fly in a B-17. The last time he was in one was during the war.
The tour stop took a unique turn for the Culpepper home as well. Chip wanted to take his son and daughter up for a flight to experience what their grandfather had.
“At the last minute my wife decided she, too, would join us,” Chip said. “My entire family was together flying in honor of Dad. My son is named after Dad and on the day of our flight was the same age as my father was when he was flying his missions: 19 years old. The flight would also take place 70 years to the day of Conley’s first combat mission. My daughter wore his dog tags and smiled the entire flight.”
Though Conley has gone west, his memory and legacy continues on to inspire others through the efforts of his family. Conley Culpepper III has since been accepted into officer training in the U.S. Marine Corps where he hopes to become an aviator.