Jiggs the comic strip character and Jiggs the plane
Jiggs started out as a character in the "Bringing Up Father" comic strip created by George McManus and launched Jan. 12, 1913. Jiggs, an Irish immigrant hod carrier (brick carrier), employed by a brick mason, carried a dozen or so bricks on a three sided, V shaped box with one open end. Mr. Jiggs came into wealth by winning a million dollars in the Irish sweepstakes. His social climbing, rolling-pin wielding wife Maggie likes their new upper class life. She, with their daughter, Nora and Sonny, their lazy son, strive to bring Jiggs from low brow to high brow. Left footed social blunders often left Maggie and Nora very upset, hence the comic strip. The strip ran for 87 years until May of 2000.
Our WWII guys grew up on the Jiggs comic strip. Pilot Clyde "Brownie" Brown loved the strip so much that he and his crew chose the name "Jiggs" for their A-26 bomber serial number 43-22497 assigned to 416th Bomb Group.
The photos below depict "Brownie" dressed as his planes character. Brownie flew 40 missions with his 416 BG, 671BS crew, B/N James "Jim" Kerns (41 missions) and Gunner Herbert E. Sunderland (36 missions). The photo of Jiggs, 43-22497, is also shown.
Contributed by Gary Sunderland, son of Herb Sunderland.
