The name 2theSEA exists in honor of the courageous crew of the World War II B-24 Liberator Lady Be Good.
One of those nine young airmen was my uncle, Staff Sergeant Guy E. Shelley of the U.S. Army Air Forces — my mother's brother.
I think about his story almost every day.
A story of courage, endurance and brotherhood.
Their story deserves to be remembered.
Staff Sgt. Guy E. Shelley, gunner, 7th from front
THE FINAL MISSION
On April 4, 1943, the Lady Be Good took off from a desert airfield in North Africa with a U.S. Army Air Forces bomber formation bound for targets in Italy.
Sandstorms and poor visibility disrupted the formation as the Lady Be Good continued toward the target area. On the return flight, darkness and reduced visibility obscured the airfield as the B-24 continued south.
Believing they were over the Mediterranean Sea with fuel dangerously low, the pilot ordered the crew to bail out.
They thought they were jumping into the sea.
They were not.
Into the Sea
Instead of water, they descended into an endless sea of Sahara Desert sand.
Discovered in the Libyan Sand Sea 16 years later
ENDURANCE BEYOND MEASURE
Eight of the nine crewmen survived the bailout, gathered together, and set out on foot across the desert.
They were actually 400 miles from their base.
A recovered crew diary records that, from the first day, the eight men had only half a canteen of water to share among them. With no shelter, they endured temperatures reaching 130°F by day and near freezing at night.
Still, they continued.
The National Museum of the United States Air Force documents that the eight men walked 78 miles together across the Sand Sea.
Recovered journals show that their struggle for survival continued for at least eight days — far beyond what was believed possible without water in extreme desert heat.
After five could go no farther, three pressed on.
My uncle, Guy E. Shelley, was one of them.
Air & Space Forces Magazine documents that he walked another 37.5 miles beyond the point where the five, overcome by the conditions, could go no farther.
When his remains were recovered, they were found at the farthest point from the bailout site — 115.5 miles away.
With him were his own papers and wallet, along with the personal papers and billfold of the crewman found 11.5 miles behind him.
He carried those effects with him across the desert — a deeply personal act undertaken while he himself was at the very edge of survival.
A quiet but powerful measure of his character.
The wreck of the Lady Be Good was discovered in 1958. Crew remains and journals recovered in 1960 revealed the extraordinary story of their final days in the desert.
THE MEN BEHIND THE NAME
2theSEA is a tribute to the crew of the Lady Be Good.
To my uncle, Staff Sergeant Guy E. Shelley, and to the eight men who flew beside him — you are remembered.
RSM