Profiles Spring-Summer 2013 HFDFW

 

Fred enlisted in the Army Air forces because he was about to be drafted. This, plus the fact that he had taken flying lessons while attending Baylor University. He loved to fly and was licensed to fly single engine Taylorcraft airplanes.

After basic training, Fred was trained as a navigator and was shipped overseas to Norwich, England. He was assigned to fly B-24’s with the 446^th Bomb Group, 2^nd Division of the famous 8^th AAF. He was lead navigator on most of his 35 missions over Europe. As lead navigator, it was his job to initially drop bombs on the specific target of the day. In the other B-24 Liberator’s in his flight, there were sometimes “Bomb Togglers,” who job was to drop their bombers bomb load when the lead navigator dropped his. It was an important assignment in being lead navigator, only the best were considered for this job.

One of his most memorable experiences was when the pilot of Fred’s Liberator decided to land at Norwich even though the field was socked in by fog. The bomber was low on fuel and had to land as quickly as possible; the only other alternative was for the crew to bail out. The bomber began its landing approach through the soup with visibility zero. All of a sudden, the Lib broke out of the low clouds and the pilot saw the ground coming up too fast. He pulled up the heavy bomber at the last minute with heavy G forces being placed on the crew. Thankfully the bomber landed safely after an almost 6 hour mission.

Fred was awarded the AAF Air Medal with 3 Oak Leaf clusters, the Distinguished Flying Cross with 1 Oak Leaf cluster, and the Eastern Theater of Operations medal with 3 battle stars.

He was discharged from the AAF on November 7, 1945.