Lee and Wanda: Dean Allan: The Crew

The following is from Dean Allan's memoir. It provides some invaluable and detailed information from his point of view. Dean, fresh out of high school, was 14 years younger than Lee.

The full text is available at: Dean Allan Memoir

This is a true story about eleven men assigned to a B-29 bomber crew during the Korean War. The eleven men came from varied walks of life and several different states throughout the USA.

The man who organized the crew and became the key player in putting it together was Don Funk, a captain in the U.S. Air Force and a previous pilot of B-17s. Don Funk was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Mormons. When he was given the assignment to form a B-29 crew, he asked his commander if he could try and find crew members that were L.D.S. His commander told him that he could do that. Eight members of the crew were L.D.S.

The angel that became their twelfth man from the time the crew was formed in 1951 until they were disbanded in 1953 was always with them. The story will go into great detail as to how this twelfth man (angel) saved the day on more than one occasion during their military tour.

The Crew Comes Together

Captain Don Funk came from Ferron, Utah, was married to his wife Shirley, and they had two children. Don was selected as the Aircraft Commander and was able to choose his eleven-man crew.

Lieutenant Horace Crandall was somewhat outspoken and let you know where he stood on any particular issue. He knew how to use the Norden bomb sight and was a very effective bombardier.

Lt. Lee Reasor (Navigator) was from Louisville, Kentucky. He was married to his lovely bride Wanda and they had two children. Lee was a father figure for the younger enlisted men. He was L.D.S. and a very kind, gentle, and forgiving person--one that the entire crew respected and liked very much. He was an outstanding navigator, was very unassuming, friendly, and easy to like. He was always willing to give words of encouragement and a smile to go with it. We all loved Lieutenant Reasor.

Lt. Bob Sorensen (Co-pilot) wished he was a fighter pilot rather than a heavy bomber co-pilot. He was fresh out of flight school and wanted his hands on the controls of the B-29. Unfortunately for Bob, Captain Funk did most of the flying. When Bob would get a turn at the controls he often tried a fighter approach to a landing or a takeoff. Bob was always full of energy and a very excellent writer of prose or poetry.

Lt. Donald Robb (Radar Operator) was very quiet and reserved. He was good friends with the gunners because his position was in the dark back room of the gunners' compartment. He was one of the best Radar Operators in the Air Force. Lieutenant Robb was well-versed in the outdoors and loved fly fishing. I found Lieutenant Robb as one of us and all of the gunners felt the same way about him. He was highly respected for his ability and sincere friendship.

Pvt. Joe English (Central Fire Control) gunner, was tall (6'2"), easy-going, and a friend to everyone. Joe and Dean became good friends when they lived in the same barracks at Lowry AFB and went through turret mechanics school and gunnery school. We all had great respect for Joe and his values, as well as his work ethic. It was easy to like Joe anytime, anywhere. Joe controlled the four 50 caliber machine guns in the forward upper turret and the two 50s in the rear upper turret. He could bring six 50s to bear on an enemy fighter.

Cpl. Dean Allan (Left Gunner) had a great love for flying airplanes and wanted to be a pilot, but had to settle for gunnery to be on an airplane. Dean enjoyed making new friends and this is how he and Joe English, as well as Jim Kinchi, pulled together back at Lowry AFB in their training schools. Dean loved athletics, football, basketball, track, tennis, and any kind of contest that was a challenge. He especially loved girls, especially a cute little girl in Springville, Utah named Jean Averett. He wrote to her every day, as she did the same for him. Mail call was very important each day!

Cpl. Kenneth Russell (Right Gunner) had control of one of the lower twin 50 caliber turrets while Dean had control of the other lower turret. These lower turrets could be shared by either left or right gunner. The right and left gunner could actually control the tail guns if the tail gunner was immobilized. Ken was a quiet and reserved member of the crew and took his right gunner position very seriously. Ken was close friends with Dean, as they were classmates at Springville High School in Utah and joined the Air Force together in January of 1951. Ken and Dean often double-dated with their girlfriends. Ken was dating Carma Clyde and Dean was dating Jean Averett. The co-pilot, Bob Sorensen, called Ken and Dean, the Bobbsey Twins because they were always doing things together.

Pvt. "J" Lindroth Lundell (tail gunner) was short and stocky, full of energy and laughs, and enjoyed life to the fullest. We called him "Short Round" because of his height. "J" had the responsibility of starting and stopping the A.P.U. before takeoff and before landing. The A.P.U. was a gasoline-powered engine in the back part of the airplane that supplied power to start the engines on the airplane and supply power to lower and raise the landing gar as well as the flaps. It took a lot of electrical energy to take care of those functions. "J" was very conscientious and responsible for his position. The heat supplied by the airplane to the different positions was in short supply and by the time it got back to the tail gunner there wasn't much left.

Technical Sergeant Arthur Grimm was selected as the Flight Engineer and was not L.D.S. He was somewhat abrasive to the other enlisted men on the crew, and consequently did not fit in with the crew as well as they would have liked. Sergeant Grimm was from Texas.

Private 1st Class Gerald Gerber was selected as the Radio Operator and was from Salt Lake City. Gerald was L.D.S. and had a personality that didn't fit in with the rest of the crew too well. He also had some difficulty with his assignment as Radio Operator while on the crew.