It all began with Dad's graduation from high school,
the outbreak of WWII and his father's guidance. My grandfather was a
WWI fighter pilot in Spad bi-planes and he influenced my Dad to also
fly and so Dad continued the tradition.
Flight school began for him with training in Steeman biplanes and
A-T6's and ultimate certification to clear him for flying the twin
tailed P-38. He became qualified in the P-38 and loved it. Then the
surprise occurred. The war effort urgently needed multi-engine bomber
pilots. His experience in the twin engine P-38 qualified him for
flying the famous B-17.
He was stationed in Poddington, England at an airfield with the 8th
Air Force (Army Air Corp), 92nd Bomb Group. In combat he flew several
different B-17's, all "G" models with chin turrets. One of the planes
he flew most often in combat had nose art which read "Rusty Load"
referring to a rusty bomb load on board. His crew chief had nicknamed
it and painted it on the nose of the aircraft. All of the aircraft my
father flew had a triangle B (B inside a triangle) painted on the
tail. I believe this was the squadron insignia.
My father had a total of 30 combat missions over Germany targeting
ball bearing factories, aircraft manufacturing plants and oil
refineries. On one mission over Leipzip, Germany, after hitting their
target and upon coming out, encountered heavy flack bursts. My father
was hit in the head by three pieces of flack that came through the
windshield and cockpit of the B-17. His co pilot was unable to fly the
plane so a crewmember held a sulfur pack against my fathers head while
applying pressure to control the bleeding. My father piloted the
crippled aircraft back to base where the flack was removed from his
head. The flack had remained in my mother's jewelry box up until four
years ago when she passed away....
