Roberts experience in WWII could be made into a movie or a book written about it! A native of Rosebud Texas he graduated from Baylor University in 1941.He couldn’t get a job because employers knew a war was coming and he would be gone! However Robert finally got a job in California in an aircraft plant. In fact he was driving to California to this job when he stopped for gas in Phoenix Arizona. It was Sunday, December 7th, 1941. He noticed that people were huddled around a radio in the station. They told him that Pearl Harbor Hawaii had been attacked by the Japanese that morning. Soon it was clear to him that he would probably be drafted even though he had an important job building airplanes, so to be the master of his own destiny, he joined the Army Air Corps.
Robert trained in B-24 Liberators. Unlike some pilots, he didn’t fly to England with a new B-24 that needed to be shuttled to England. He did however sail over on the then militarized, in part because it was painted grey, the Queen Mary, the Grey Ghost as she was called!
Once in England, he was based at Shipdam, west of Norwich. He started flying missions in late 1943. At this time there were no long range escort fighters that could go all the way and back to Germany, or over France for the most part. Losses were huge among bomber crews. You’re chances of surviving 25 missions at this time was about 1 in 5.
Robert was piloting a B-24 on his 14th mission when over Germany; clouds obstructed the target of the day. The bombers could not drop their ordinance, and the lead commander ordered another pass. This was extremely dangerous since the German’s would now have the bombers zeroed in. Usually, a second pass was never done by American bombers! Sure enough on the second run over the target the bombers were devastated. Robert’s B-24 was hit by flak. They were near the German, Swiss border. The Liberator was going down fast. Robert spied a field covered in snow and heroically belly landed the bomber. Luckily the snow was deep so the plane did not catch on fire. The Swiss, neutral but with well known German sympathies, interned the crew.
After six months, and space limits here do not permit this author from telling the whole story, Robert escaped. He disguised himself as a woman and walked to a nearby train station. On the train he had a Swiss officer sit next to him and that officer started engaging Robert in lively conversation. Robert luckily knew some French and had a newspaper that he kept up to his face. The officer finally gave up trying to talk (chat up) this strange lady and a very nervous escapee got off the train in Geneva safely. He was taken to a massive safe house owned by an American. This rich American apparently helped get U.S. serviceman out of Switzerland. Arraignments were made to pay off border guards.
After a few other hair raising events where other escaped prisoners he traveled with were caught, because a particular guard was not paid enough, Robert climbed the fence between Switzerland and France and started running west.
Robert eventually made his way back to England and was given a 30 day leave in London. Among all his bad memories of the war, this was mostly a very good one. Robert still remembers the afternoon tea dances, and of course late night pub crawling! Unfortunately, Robert also had to dodge the German V-1 Buzz bombs that rained over London during his time! He ultimately returned to the states and got out of the military in October 1945. He received 2 air medals, certificate of valor, and a European Theater medal.
Robert enjoyed a long career with IBM after the war. He still dabbles in rental property in Dallas today at age 91!
In visiting the WWII Memorial Robert will remember among other things, the empty bunks in his barracks that greeted him after each mission, crewman that didn’t come back that day. The white sheets spread out in front of the barracks, soldiers placing the missing crew mans effects on the sheets to be bundled up to ship home. Robert thinks about the war almost every day. It’s never far from his memory.
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