Ira's role in WWII

In his memoir, Ira (seen here row 2, 2nd from L.) writes that he went to the nearest enlistment office the day after Pearl Harbor and signed up as an air cadet - rejecting the "cushy job" he could have had in army pharmacy.

He had wanted to be a pilot, but made a single error near the end of training and was sent to navigation school instead.

Ira completed 29 combat missions over Europe during WWII, as part of the 351st Bombing Group (Heavy). His first seven missions, he served as navigator. Then he was interviewed and tested at HQ and sent for specialized training on new, top-secret equipment - radar, or H2X. His code name was Mickey6, leading him to believe he was in the very first group trained on this equipment.

On his remaining 22 missions, Ira served as a "Mickey operator"; his radar equipment enabled the US air force to strike no matter what the weather, without needing to visualize the target. Here's a description of this dangerous job:

"Mickeymen (who flew on specially-equipped planes called Pathfinders, or PFFs) quickly became a very scarce commodity in combat areas due to the staggering losses of lead crews. All Pathfinder-trained crews were assigned to fly as lead for Groups, Wings, Divisions and, of course, the Air Force. The lead aircraft was responsible for navigation to the IP (initial point from which planes turned downwind for the bombing run) and to the target. All aircraft would drop bombs when the lead ship dropped its bomb load. The Mickey operators were 'loners'; their job was classified and they were not assigned to any particular lead crew, but flew where or when they were needed."

As Mickey operator in a lead plane, Ira was responsible to steer his squadron, group, or even larger formations - right up to an entire division of the 8th Air Force - to the target. He earned 3 Air Medals and the Distinguished Flying Cross.

During the 64 years that followed, there were times when he seemed proud of his accomplishments and recounted "war stories"; the only memoir he ever wrote was a detailed recollection of his experiences during those years. Other times - which increased as his life drew to its close - he would weep over the civilian lives he knew he had taken - particularly on one mission he could never wipe out of his memory.

Here's a link to some highly detailed information about the missions he flew:
http://www.351st.org/loadlist/search.cfm?type=s&serial=0-2060423

On this site, you can see what their target was, who were his companions on each flight, which plane they flew on, etc. If you visit the rest of the 351st.org website, you can see other information about where Ira served.