Honor Flight DFW interviews and profiles

George was born in McKinney Texas and attended school there.  On December 7^th, 1941 he was in the ROTC at North Texas Agricultural College, now UTA.  In October 1942, he and a friend enlisted in the Army Air Corps in Austin Texas. His friend became a P-38 Lightning pilot, George became a flight engineer (top turret gunner) in a B-17 Flying Fortress with the famous 8^th Air Force, 381^st Bomb Group, based in England.

The flight engineer on the bomber had dual roles. When he wasn’t in the top turret searching for enemy planes, he was between the pilot and co-pilot monitoring the fuel, engines, flaps etc. George told this author that in tight formations; sometimes he would lower the landing gear to slow down to keep from hitting another B-17. These formations were deadly in themselves. They were kept tight so as to protect the other bombers with their guns, but accidents happened often, especially in the fog and clouds over England and France.

George was shot down on only his 3^rd or 4^th mission after the bomber lost three and eventually four engines. The crews in back of the plane bailed out early and were captured. George and the crew in front of the plane waited until the last outboard engine caught on fire, then bailed out and landed in Luxemburg on Valentine’s Day. He made his way to Paris and finally was back in England where he joined another crew and flew until the end of the war in Europe. He was awarded the Air Medal, and Oak Leaf Cluster.

George was on a train in Ft. Worth Texas heading to an air base in Galveston when he and his buddies heard the news of the Japanese surrender. There was much celebration on the train to be sure!

George was out of the military in November 1945. He went to TCU and studied geology. He flew for a geology company after the war, but got married and settled down. He eventually worked for a mattress and furniture manufacturer, traveling all over the country, and also had his own upholstery business. He now lives in Dallas Texas.  

In talking with George, this author told him that I had found the 381^st Bomb Group Association on the internet. He didn’t know of this, and I also told him I found a picture of “The Fox,” his old B-17! He told me “The Fox” was named after a nearby English pub the crew frequented. Yes, the fox on the bombers nose art in the picture is holding a beer stein!