S/Sgt. Robert J. Reposa, 20, son of Mr. and
Mrs. Joseph L. Reposa, 277 Charles Street, ball turret gunner
on a B-24 Liberator heavy bombardment aircraft, has flown his
fiftieth combat mission over enemy territory in nazi-Europe, a communique
directly from the AAF in Italy revealed today. He has participated
in bombing attacks over Italy, Greece, Austria, Roumania, Bulgaria, Hungary,
France and Germany. His first combat mission was over Gorzio, Italy, and
his fiftieth mission was to a target in Munich, Germany.
When questioned as to his most exciting mission, Sgt. Reposa
replied: "Last May, our target was the ME-109 aircraft factory
at Weiner-Neustadt, Austria. About 10 minutes from the target,
we were attacked by five enemy fighters who had broken away
from a dogfight with our P-51 escort. These fighters were
eager and very experienced fighters. They dove all around us,
peppering our ship with machine gun and cannon fire. The flak was intense
and accurate, and we could hear the fragments slapping against
the sides of the ship, tearing away the metal. Soon our escort
overwhelmed the fighters, drove them off and we made our bomb
run and returned to our home base without any further trouble."
Before entering the army, February 4, 1943, Sgt, Reposa
was employed by the Diller Moore Dry Dock Co., Oakland, Calif.
He attended the San Jose Technical high school, and while
in the army, attended armament school at Lowry Field, Denver,
Colo., and the gunnery school at Ft. Myers, Fla.
Sgt. Reposa has been awarded the good conduct medal, the air
medal, plus five oak leaf clusters, and the European-African-Middle
East ribbon, plus one star.
