Mickey Tauriello - Mickey Strand - Veterans Series

Mickey Strand - Veterans Series

World War 2

Click on Veteran's photo to see their service story. These Warriors served during the World War 2.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Where can I donate?

I have created a way to accept donations to grow the project, use the WWII Veterans Portrait Series Go Fund Me.

Where are you located?

I live in the San Diego area but have traveled to many locations to interview and photograph Veterans.


How Long is an Appointment?

Appointments usually last an hour. But please free up time for Mickey to set up lights and cameras, hold the interview, and take some still photographers for in the project.

Do you accept reservations?

Yes is the simple answer to the question. Each appointment is set up as an individual session. Group sessions have been set up when I visited a senior living facility or many of the California Veterans Homes.

Copyright © 2024 Mickey Strand – Veterans Series
US Army CPL World War 2 Michael “Mickey” Tauriello, born 17 February 1925, received a draft notice but chose to enlist for service before his draft call by joining the US Army Air Corps. Mickey joined the Air Corps in 1944 at the age of 19. He attended Boot Camp before reporting to Army Air Forces Gunnery School, where he was trained in aerial gunnery. His gunnery training started with familiarization and static operations. Subsequently, students participated in exercises where they rode on a gun truck platform with guns mounted on the beds of pickup trucks. During these exercises, students fired at clay targets and, eventually, towed targets. In 1944, the peak of World War II, more than 600 gunnery students, and 215 co-pilots graduated every five weeks. Privet First Class Tauriello served as one of the nine crew members aboard a B-24 Liberator, a heavy bomber, as a Waist Gunner on a 50mm M2 Browning machine gun. Positioned in the plane's center, Mickey stood alongside his teammate, manning the two 50mm machine guns that defended the plane from German fighters. Mickey said his crew completed 48 missions in his B-24, the “Good Lady,” but in 1945, on his 49th mission over Germany, his aircraft was shot down. The pilot landed the Good Lady behind enemy lines, even in the bad shape she was in. He and his crew were captured, and he was held in a Prisoner of War (POW) camp in Germany. The crews of the Liberators were expected to fly 25 combat missions before they were rotated home to serve with training units, but this number kept increasing according to the needs of the unit attached and the losses the air group experienced. Mickey’s unit served all over Europe, moving from airfield to airfield as the front continued to advance.
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Mickey Tauriello - Mickey Strand - Veterans Series
US Army CPL World War 2 Michael “Mickey” Tauriello, born 17 February 1925, received a draft notice but chose to enlist for service before his draft call by joining the US Army Air Corps. Mickey joined the Air Corps in 1944 at the age of 19. He attended Boot Camp before reporting to Army Air Forces Gunnery School, where he was trained in aerial gunnery. His gunnery training started with familiarization and static operations. Subsequently, students participated in exercises where they rode on a gun truck platform with guns mounted on the beds of pickup trucks. During these exercises, students fired at clay targets and, eventually, towed targets. In 1944, the peak of World War II, more than 600 gunnery students, and 215 co-pilots graduated every five weeks. Privet First Class Tauriello served as one of the nine crew members aboard a B-24 Liberator, a heavy bomber, as a Waist Gunner on a 50mm M2 Browning machine gun. Positioned in the plane's center, Mickey stood alongside his teammate, manning the two 50mm machine guns that defended the plane from German fighters. Mickey said his crew completed 48 missions in his B-24, the “Good Lady,” but in 1945, on his 49th mission over Germany, his aircraft was shot down. The pilot landed the Good Lady behind enemy lines, even in the bad shape she was in. He and his crew were captured, and he was held in a Prisoner of War (POW) camp in Germany. The crews of the Liberators were expected to fly 25 combat missions before they were rotated home to serve with training units, but this number kept increasing according to the needs of the unit attached and the losses the air group experienced. Mickey’s unit served all over Europe, moving from airfield to airfield as the front continued to advance.