By Frank Speziale

NORWICH – On Dec. 7, 1941, the United States Naval Base at Pearl Harbor was attacked by a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Planes which led to America’s entry into World War II.

At a past air show, a B-17 Flying Fortress flew into Norwich’s Warren L. Eaton Airport to be displayed.

Evening Sun Photographer Frank Speziale took a photo of Ed Lee, left, pilot of a B-17, and Stanley Krohn, right, a B-17 Flying Fortress top turret gunner. Both are veterans of World War II.

Krohn, now 98 and well, was with the 8th Air Force in the European theater and flew 23 missions.

Lee, now deceased, was a pilot on a B-17 in the Pacific theater. The B-17 was deployed by the United States Air Force for strategic bombing against German industrial and military targets and also used in preparation for the invasion of France in 1944. It was reported that 640,000 tons of bombs were dropped by the Flying Fortress.

In the far right photo, Lee and Joseph Benenati, also a World War II veteran (both now deceased) were photographed by Speziale in Norwich’s West Park on a past Veterans Day Memorial.