The skies were full as WBC sent out the largest squadron ever in the 18-years of this event. It was the fifth straight year of rising attendance for the long-out-of-print game.	Past champs Paul Weintraub and Bill Burch head a wing (row) of B17's. Paul consructed 42 of those white replica dice towers seen in the center of the row for this event.
Another wing takes to the skies in one of three 4-hour raids ... not just a quick undertaking for the faint of heart ... an event with plenty of wristage requiring stamina.	The replica control tower dice tower was built by Paul Weintraub along with smaller versions for all players. No one beats B-17 for esprit de corps!

The 18th Annual B-17 Tournament Wrap Up:

If you have never experienced the WBC B-17 tournament, consider joining us next year! We've now gone through 18 years and 53 B-17 missions, and counting. And in recent years, we've had an influx of rookies join us - sometimes nearly 25% of the squadron is joining us for the first time. So if you are new to the game, please try to find a copy of it on EBay and join us in 2010. Alas, it is a solitaire game and out of print so you'll need to provide your own plane. The many long time veterans would be more than happy to shoot you down and also explain that there is plenty of strategy to this game besides rolling dice. 

Each year, we fly three historical missions. Scenario charts are handed out to each flier at the start of each mission to brief them on the game setup, target, air cover, and weather, complete with a detailed historical synopsis to let everyone know what really happened on these missions in WWII. 

Back in 2008, we flew our 48th, 49th and 50th missions, which were to Schweinfurt, Regensburg and Bordeaux (which was a shuttle mission back from North Africa). I got some grief for not making Schweinfurt the 50th mission, but hey, no one picked up on the connection of Bordeaux wines to celebrate our 50th mission. Plus, I enjoy bombing France. Don't ask me why, I just do.

This year, our 2009 WBC B-17 missions went to Stuttgart, La Pallice and Emden, all of which occurred in September 1943. But more than the history, the puzzling thing is why do so many tournament participants keep coming back to get shot down year after year? For the most part, it is because they are having fun doing so. And even as they are getting shot to bits, they are still having fun. Maybe not as much fun, but still, you'd be surprised at how well people take getting shot down. Plus, since we play in pairs, you get to roll the German dice and attempt to shoot down your wingman, and watch the other members of your six-plane squadron struggle to the target and back. For some, perhaps there is something sadistic about all of this. But no one is admitting to it.

Each year, Assistant GM Mike Lam has contributed a bunch of medals for various noble acts of courage and disastrous luck. Here is Mike's summary of medals awarded during the 2009 tournament: 

Medal Of Honor (5):

Mission 1 by Melissa Oglin - Tail gunner died landing with three Serious Wound (SW) crew

Mission 1 by Mike Backstrom - Engineer died landing with SW pilot

Mission 1 by Scott Driessen - Engineer died landing with SW pilot

Mission 2 by Scott Driessen - Navigator died landing with three SW crew

Mission 2 by Phillip Livingston - Engineer died landing with two SW crew (the pilot & co-pilot)

SILVER STAR (1):

Mission 1 by Mike Windle (pilot & co-pilot suffered frostbite (FB) to remain in formation)

Distinguished Flying Cross (4):

Mission 2: For ditching B-17 in Bay of Biscay (Mike Lam, Kaarin Englemann & Ken Richards)

Mission 2: Stephen Sheddon for flying alone back to base after bomb run, (he also might have had to spend two turns per odd zones with no navigator), and crashed the plane but saved the crew.

Air Medal (5):

Mission 2: Evan Hitchings for 75% bomb run

Mission 3: Kevin McCarthy for 95% bomb run

Mission 3: Ken Richards for 96% bomb run

Mission 3: Joe Burch for his Engineer shooting down five E/A during the mission

Mission 3: Bill Beckman for his Tail Gunner shooting down five E/A during the mission

Bronze Star (1):

Evan Hitchings for having the most Evaders (4) during the course of the 3 missions

Gunner's Wings (1):

Bill Beckman for his Tail Gunner shooting down nine E/A during three missions

Command Pilot Wings (2):

Mike Windle for having zero crew lost (no SWs or FB not recovered) during three missions

Rich Moyer for having zero crew lost (no SWs or FB not recovered) during three missions

PURPLE HEARTS (12):

Mission 1 (all from Exploding Bombs): Keith Hunsinger, Chris Storzillo, Bill Beckman, Gary Libby & Carl Sykes

Mission 2: Keith Hunsinger (fuel tank fire and in zone 2 coming home!) and Melissa Oglin (exploding bombs)

Mission 3: Mike Masella, Peter Pollard & Nathan Trent (exploding bombs), Bruce Peckham (runaway engine during return to base while over N. Sea and his ditching failed), Tom Holliday (fuel tank fire while returning to base).

POW Medal (1): Evan Hitchings for having the most POWS (16) during the course of three missions

GOOD CONDUCT For Five Year Service (3): Rich Moyer, Tim Evinger and Chris Storzillo

ETO campaign medal for first year participation in 2008 (4): Gary Libby, Marshall Collins, Thomas Holliday and Phillip Livingston

Special congratulations to Rich Moyer for winning his first B-17 tournament this year. He came in second in 2008, so he moved up, but for 2010, his win means only one thing - he can't get any higher and it could be a long way down.  Just ask Paul Risner about that. Great job Rich for an outstanding three missions in 2009!

Friday's After Action Meeting at 2200 hours continued to be a big success as we reopened the Officer's Club (with Paul Risner and Mark Yoshikawa providing refreshments), and we turned the Toby Jug back toward the wall indicating that the missions for the year were over. Mike Lam handed out medals, we conducted the 5th Annual Prize Table, and we wrapped up with a showing of another episode from the TV series Twelve O'Clock High. Somewhere in the course of the After Action Meeting, I am sure I told some offensive jokes and stories. Often these are purely accidental insinuations that Dave Long and Jim Miller quickly pick up on.

Overall, it was another great year. I thank everyone for their involvement - including participation in the After Action Briefing and Prize Table. Veterans from past years are encouraged to return in 2010 (there are service medals for five and ten year veterans). Also, we always welcome new players as Mike gives out an ETO first year award. Please join in on the fun in 2010 and participate in the optional After Action Briefing and Prize Table too. 

Our goal, of course, is to keep having fun in 2010. We had a record of 47.5 participants this year. How do you get "half" of a participant? Well, when I was signing people in on the Event Form, Ruth Evinger told me to count her as "1.5", since she and Tim are expecting. I've had people tell me they were pregnant before, but this has to be one of the most unique ways of hearing that great news. Only among B-17 players could this happen. And, fortunately for Ruth, she managed to survive all three missions this year for the first time in her B-17 career. Who could shoot down a pregnant woman, anyway? Well, her opponent tried and tried and tried.

Also, this year Kaarin Englemann joined us and vowed to return. For her first mission, we bombed her house in Stuttgart. I had no idea that she lived in Stuttgart, but this was fittingly ironic and accidental. Maybe some day Don Greenwood will take time out of his Thursday to take his chances. In general, he thinks we are nut jobs, but he does compliment us on how the B-17 tourney is increasing in attendance each year despite the game being out of print so long. Maybe Kaarin can drag him into our tourney some day, but hell hasn't frozen over yet!

Special thanks go out to Paul Weintraub for his efforts WAY BEYOND THE CALL OF DUTY over the past two years to provide wooden, painted dice towers in the shape of air traffic control towers. Paul is one of my many unsung heroes who provide a lot of help each year, and next year we will have Round Two of our B-17 Dice Tower Painting Contest. Again, Paul, many thanks for a contribution WAY BEYOND THE CALL OF DUTY!

I am sure I have left a lot out, but the best way to not miss anything is to join us for B-17 at WBC in 2010! Take care between now and next August. This briefing has been brought to you by:

David Terry, Gamemaster, B-17, rules, tourney format, herder of crazy B-17 players; pen and paper scoring system,

Mike Lam, Assistant Gamemaster, B-17, rules and medals,

Mark Yoshikawa, Assistant Gamemaster, B-17, rules and electronic scoring

Keith Hunsinger, Assistant Gamemaster, B-17, rules, Group Chaplain and scoring

Paul Risner, OIC of the Officer's Club

And of course thanks to all the other players who are the supporting cast of fliers that make this such a fun tournament each year. Thanks to all and see you in 2010.

This event not only holds their attention for eight hours to fly three missions, it also draws them back for a midnight debriefing to hear the results.	A voluntarily stocked prize table of appropriately themed B17 memorabilia lets everyone walk home a winner. Unsurpassed camaraderie.