TEPEE TIME GAL (PIC 8)

NAME	TP	-	M#	SER	-	BLK	-	MF	SERIAL #	AF	BG	BS	SC	RCL/#	V#-P	PHOTO CREDITS
TEPEE TIME GAL	B	-	24	H	-	15	-	CF	41-29583	15	455	743	~	69	00-7	OWEN D. BLANKENSHIP

Starboard (Right) Side - Renamed from WATTACROK

Contributor - Ben Blankenship
Shown with my Father, Owen D. Blankenship (Pilot), standing middle.

Info Contributor - Seymour (Sy) Gaynes (formerly Ginsburg) - Navigator
I was the Navigator on the original crew (Pilot was David G. Bellemere) who flew TEPEE TIME GAL in the 743rd Sq / 455th Group out of Cerignola. The C. O. (David Thayer) promised us the first plane brought over by a replacement crew and TEPEE TIME GAL was that plane. It had that beautiful picture of an Indian girl already painted on it but it had the "gawd awful" name WATTACROK, which may have seemed great to that replacement crew, but we soon blacked that out and re-named it. Our E. M. had become close friends with a squadron photographer (who was also an artist) and they came up with TEPEE TIME GAL. We each got our name painted next to our position. On the right side near the nose, there is a Jewish Star of David and my nick name, "SAMMY".