Captain Richard A. Nelms, better known as Dick among those that know him, was born February 1923 in Cleveland, OH and ultimately raised in Niagara Falls, NY. He became an avid golfer at 14, competed in track and field, and was senior class president before graduating in 1941. War time changed any plans he had after that.

Aged 19 in 1942, Dick enlisted in the Army Air Forces and was accepted to Aviation Cadet and Pilot training for active duty in March 1943. After earning his wings in December 1943 he was assigned to fly the Boeing B-17 ‘Flying Fortress’ with the Eighth Air Force, 710th Bomb Squadron of the 447th Bombardment Group at Rattlesden, Suffolk, England. 

Dicks first combat mission took place on 13th May 1944 and during his service in the ETO he achieved a full tour of 35 missions into Germany, France and other Nazi occupied territories. His last mission was 8th September 1944 and majority were flown on his assigned ship 42-107117 ‘Pandora’s Box’. After completing his tour, he volunteered to remain with the 447th as Squadron Duty Officer but requested that he be allowed back home to the US by Christmas which he did with a couple of days to spare.

When asked which missions remain in his mind the most, Dick tells of a 10 hour flight to Berlin where they returned with over 300 holes in the aircraft, all from Flak that went through plane and exploded in all directions. They were a lucky crew, no one was injured on that occasion. About another, he vividly recalls when he saw the aircraft above him, and flown by his friend, take a direct hit and explode. Dick had to take evasive action as the wreckage started to come down top of his ship, they’d had breakfast together that morning.

Overall, Dick never lost sight of the fact that he was one of thousands of men dedicated to stopping Hitler’s war machine and it was that mental strength that successfully got him through his service. He received a Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition for participation at the Battle of Normandy and the liberation of the region of France and of Europe; Distinguished Flying Cross medal for extraordinary achievement and superior airmanship while serving as Pilot on high altitude heavy bombardment missions over Germany and Nazi occupied Continental Europe; Air Medal with four oak leaf clusters; US Presidential Unit Citation for accuracy in bombing; European Theater ribbon with four battle campaign stars; and, WWII Victory Medal.

After return to the US, Dick was stationed at Hendricks Field in Sebring, FL, then moved onto Tyndall Field, FL for flexible gunnery school training before transferring to Dodge City and then Liberal in Kansas where he was assigned as Squadron C-3 Commander until war end. He was honorably discharged as Captain in December 1945.

After the end of WW2, Dick returned to civilian life to become an established advertising and corporate graphic designer in Seattle, WA. He married Laurel and together they made their home on Mercer Island, with son Garet. Laurel passed away in 2014. Over the years Dick has been an avid volunteer in his community. He is an active and popular WW2 history story teller and B-17 guide at the Museum of Flight in Seattle. In 2018 he was given France’s highest award, the Legion of Honor medal.

75 years after he left England, and at 96 years of age, Dick returned to Rattlesden to attend the 2019 447th Bomb Group UK Reunion. During his visit he lifted off again from the same runway he flew from all those years ago, but this time at the controls of a glider/sailplane. Dick assisted in the unveiling of a new memorial dedicated to 17 of his comrades who were lost in the groups tragic mid-air collision of 2nd October 44, one of which he had flown with. Visits were also made to the Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial at Madingley, and to Duxford where he was pictured with Europes only airworthy B-17 ‘Sally B’.

In 2022 Dick had VIP trips to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington, and the Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum at Pooler, GA. On both occasions he flew the right hand seat in the flight deck of the private jet that carried him! In February 2023, Dick turned 100 years of age.

https://digitalcollections.museumofflight.org/items/show/45833