media-379270.jpg FRE 834 Staff Sergeant Donald W. Crossley, a tail gunner of the 95th Bomb Group in position inside a B-17 Flying Fortress. Image stamped on reverse: 'Associated Press.' [stamp] Handwritten caption on reverse: '21/9/43.' A printed caption was previously attached to the reverse of print, this has been lost, however considering the publication date, press agency and subject matter this was likely to have read: 'AWARDS TO THE HIGH-SCORING GUNNER. The Distinguished Flying Cross and an oak leaf cluster- the equivalent of two D.F.C's- have been award simultaneously to S/Sgt Donald W. Crossley, 25, of Wellsburg, W.VA., U.S. 8th Air Force tail gunner. Crossley, the highest scoring aerial gunner in the ETO, has shot down 12 German planes in 23 heavy bomber missions. The possessor of the Air Medal and the Oak Leaf Clusters, Crossley added a second cluster to his new DFC within a few days when his twelfth "kill" was confirmed. With shooting as a hobby in his off time from his pre-war job with the Follansbee Steel Company in Follansbee W. Va....' Roger Freeman Collection

IWM, Roger Freeman Collection