Fortress Flyer Wins Promotion
January 1, 1944
Walter Flagg Jr., of Susanville, who gained international fame because of exploits of his Flying Fortress “Wabbit Twacks.” Last year, has been promoted to the rank of major in the army air corps. The appointment was made December 1, 1943, the day he became 24 years old.
The missions of Flagg include a shuttle raid from England to Africa, then over Regensburg, Germany, where he was only a few miles from Hitler’s mountain retreat at Berchtesgaden. Flagg reported columns of smoke over Regensburg 20,000 feet high after unloading bombs.
Major Flagg is a graduate of the Susanville public schools. His father, Walter B. Flagg, has been a prisoner of Japan since the outbreak of war, when he was taken prisoner at Wake Island. His mother, sister and smaller brother are now residing in Richmond, Calif.
