Col. Ken Beckman, B-17 navigator

[DavidIsby]

from Facenook:
World War II in Color
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🥀 With profound sorrow, we bid farewell to Ken Beckman — a World War II combat veteran and retired U.S. Air Force Colonel — who passed at the age of 103, closing the logbook on a life spent navigating through history’s most dangerous skies. 🕊️🇺🇸
Ken entered the war in November 1943, joining the 305th Bomb Group in the shadow of catastrophe. Just weeks earlier, the unit had been shattered over Schweinfurt on “Black Thursday,” losing 13 aircraft in a single mission — a grim welcome that made survival feel uncertain from day one.
As a B-17 Flying Fortress navigator, Ken flew into storms of flak and swarms of enemy fighters, mission after mission, target after target. Under relentless pressure, he proved himself and was soon appointed lead navigator, guiding entire formations through some of the most heavily defended airspace in Europe.
In March 1944, he helped carry the war straight to the heart of Nazi Germany, flying bombing raids over Berlin on March 6, 8, and 9. The March 6 mission marked the first successful daylight bombing of Berlin — and the costliest single mission in 8th Air Force history, with 69 bombers lost. Ken survived where many did not.
After completing 25 missions, he could have gone home. Instead, he volunteered again.
Returning to England shortly after D-Day, Ken flew 23 more combat missions, finishing the war with an extraordinary total of 48 missions over enemy-occupied Europe. Death brushed past him more than once — flak ripping his trousers from waist to ankle without touching skin, flames engulfing an engine as he stood ready to bail out, only for fate to grant one last reprieve.
His service did not end with WWII. Ken later flew during the Korean War, helped oversee development of the C-5 Galaxy, and retired after decades of service as a Colonel — still answering the call long after others had stood down.
Navigator. Leader. Survivor.
A man who stared down history from 25,000 feet and never looked away.
🕊️ Rest easy, Colonel Beckman. Your course is set. Your mission complete.