DALLAS — Major John “Lucky” Luckadoo, 101, the last living B-17 bomber pilot from the 100th Bomb Group, is on a mission to recognize "Rosie the Riveter" and other Americans who helped support the war effort from home.
“This is not about me,” said Luckadoo, to a gathering at Presbyterian Village North this month.
More than 77 years after Germany and Japan surrendered, the United States never formally recognized the American war machine at home who helped win the war abroad.
Luckadoo defied long odds to survive 25 bombing missions over Germany and France in 1943, through Nazi fighters and German flak, returning to the airfield once with his boots frozen to the foot pedals of his B-17.
"I shudder to think that you're trying to paint me as a hero. Because I ain't no hero," Luckadoo told WFAA last year. "The real heroes are those who did not come home. And the real heroes are also those who stayed home and outproduced the world."
Lucky is adamant that the United States could not have defeated Germany and Japan in World War II if it weren’t for the thousands of Americans who sacrificed at home, worked in factories, and supported troops from afar.
The city of Dallas marked May 9 as Home Front Heroes Day. But Lucky also wants Congress to recognize it nationally.
“The sacrifice of countless Americans here at home helped our military to be successful in World War II and I’m inspired by Major Luckadoo’s push to recognize their sacrifice,” said U.S. Rep. Colin Allred (D-Dallas). “I’m proud to play a role in his fight to recognize these Home Front Heroes at the national level and was glad to introduce this resolution as folks across Dallas celebrate Home Front Heroes Day.”
Allred introduced a bipartisan resolution with U.S. Rep. Alex Mooney (R-West Virginia) to mark Home Front Heroes Day nationwide.
In 2022, Allred introduced a similar bipartisan resolution with U.S. Rep. Jake Ellzey (R-Waxahachie) but that one never received a vote on the House floor.
Currently, no vote is scheduled on the new resolution, either.
But at 101 years old, Lucky refuses to surrender on this effort.
The veteran bomber pilot remains hopeful that the new speaker, U.S. Rep. Kevin McCarthy, recognizes the importance of what happened almost eight decades ago and the military support that continues to this day, and finally give the resolution a vote.
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