KEY POINTS:
"I am just an ordinary guy who tried to do his bit," says 87-year-old World War II Bomber Command veteran Bill Bridget.
"I am proud of that opportunity. The good Lord has got me through this far."
Mr Bridget - a Christchurch shoe salesman before the war, and
the brains behind the successful Fleetline Canopies company afterwards - flew 55 missions over Europe and many more in the Pacific.
He flew his missions aboard Blenheim and Wellington bombers, first as a navigator, later as a pilot.
He reckons only 3 per cent of men survived two tours of duty.
A "tour" comprised 30 missions. After the 30 flights - each involved a round trip of up to eight hours from Britain to Germany - the lucky ones would be posted to a training facility.
As the number of missions flown increased, a crewman moved one step closer to completing his tour.
Trouble was, his chances of surviving dropped every time he climbed into a plane.
That meant flight crews could be a superstitious lot, Mr Bridget says.
"Peeing on the tyres" was a popular pre-flight ritual, though it was often of little use.
"I have sat around in the mess at night before a raid, then I have never seen the guys again."
About 6000 New Zealand volunteers served with the Britain-based Bomber Command in World War II.
Nearly 2000 of them never returned home - a higher loss rate than any other Commonwealth country.
Mr Bridget returned to Germany - as a visitor - after the war.
"I have been back, and I have stood by the graves of the crews I flew with," he said.
There were, he says, 57 headstones "all in a row. That really brings you back to Earth."
And now it seems New Zealand's Bomber Command personnel are to receive the recognition that has already been afforded to their Australian and Canadian comrades.
A memorial site has been approved at the Auckland War Memorial Museum, and the proposed design was unveiled at an RAF Bomber Command Association of New Zealand gathering in Auckland yesterday to mark VJ (Victory in Japan) Day.
Association administrator Peter Wheeler said with most of the veterans now well into their eighties, their numbers were falling fast.
"When it gets cold, we can lose three in a week."
He said the association would look for donations, make appeals to charity, and chase corporate sponsorship to raise the estimated $100,000 required to complete the memorial.
