Honor Flight DFW Profiles and Interviews

George was born in Madison Wisconsin in 1926. He enlisted in the U.S.Navy in May 1944 at the age of 17. 

George was an Aviation Radioman and served and trained on the Navy’s big flying boats, primarily the PBY Catalina, and the PBM Martin Mariner. He was stationed at various naval installations including Lakehurst N.J. and Banana River, Florida.

George’s many assignments while in the Navy were Aviation Radioman, naval air gunner instructor, and astronomers training unit among many others.

He served in the Atlantic and Caribbean theaters during the war. He served in air-sea rescue and anti-submarine patrols, searching for German U-Boats up and down the Atlantic coast as well as the Caribbean. George was involved in training and research/development in the then new science of sonabouy, and radio/radar research and development for the Navy.

One of George’s most memorable war experiences actually happened soon after the war ended. He was stationed at the time in Florida. He was involved in the search for the famous “Flight 19.” This incident has been chronicled in many TV programs, as well as the feature film, “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.” These were the naval aviators that were flying TBM Avenger torpedo bombers on a training operation over the Atlantic, east of Florida. This was also the plane that George Bush senior flew during the war. Flight 19 disappeared from history over the infamous “Bermuda Triangle” and the story has gone down in history as one of the many mysteries of the “Bermuda Triangle.” Ironically one of the airplanes that were also searching for the lost torpedo bombers, a PBM Martin Mariner flying boat, was also was lost during the search. Nothing was ever found of “Flight 19,” or the Martin Mariner that was searching for the ill fated flight.

George was awarded the WWII Victory medal, the American Theater medal, and was awarded a document from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for his service in WWII.