90-Year-Old B-25 Pilot Returns to Scene of WWII Crash

World War II pilot Bernerd Harding, 90, smiles inside the cockpit of a B-25 in Laconia, N.H., Friday, Sept. 25,2009. Harding was a pilot when he was shot down 65-years ago while flying a bombing mission over Germany.(AP Photo/Jim Cole)

By NORMA LOVE, Associated Press Writer Norma Love, Associated Press Writer – Fri Sep 25, 5:19 pm ET
MANCHESTER, N.H. – World War II pilot Bernerd Harding feels he finally has completed his mission — 65 years after his B-24 airplane was shot down over Germany.
Harding, now 90 and being treated for prostate cancer, was a passenger Friday in the Witchcraft — the last B-24 still flying. He sat in the cockpit behind the pilots. The skies were clear during the 30-minute flight from Laconia to Manchester that ended with a safe, smooth landing.
"It was fun. It was worth it. It's history," he said after the flight.
As the four engines rumbled to life, Harding was taken back to another time — back when he was a 25-year-old first lieutenant piloting a bombing run to Bernburgh, Germany. On the way back to his base in England, fighters crippled his plane, forcing him and his crew to bail out with their parachutes.
Harding waited for the others to jump, then turned and saluted a German fighter pilot for not blowing up the plane with the men inside.
"He flew alongside to make sure I jumped out," Harding said.
Harding said he felt that mission — his 14th — was incomplete without one more landing. Friday's was "close enough," he said.
Harding's B-24, nicknamed Georgette, was shot down a month after the D-Day invasion of Normandy, on July 7, 1944. One member of Harding's crew was killed. The others — including Harding — were taken prisoner.
Harding landed in a freshly cut wheat field, barely missing a barbed wire fence. Three farmers, two with pitchforks and one with a gun, captured him and herded him into a cellar in Klein Quenstedt (klyn KWEN' -shted), a village southwest of Berlin. Fearing reprisals from villagers for being a bomber pilot, Harding buried his pilot's wings in the cellar floor.
Two weeks ago, Harding returned to Klein Quenstedt to search for the wings with villagers' help. He didn't find his wings but a resident gave him a silver bracelet recovered from the body of a dead American airman that day. The bracelet belonged to Jack H. Glenn and is being returned to his sister in Anchorage, Alaska. She plans to send it to a museum in Texas where Glenn grew up.
The Collings Foundation, which owns the Witchcraft, presented Harding with a new set of pilot's wings after Friday's flight.
That wasn't Harding's first time inside the Witchcraft. He toured the bomber about 10 years ago with his grandchildren but didn't fly in it, so this time it was a treat.
"He says, 'I'm making my last landing.' In light of the cancer, what a gift," said his wife, Ruth, 84, who rode in the B-24 on Friday.
Harding's only complaint about the flight is that he couldn't see outside the plane much.
"I was watching them in the cockpit," he said.
It took a friendship, bonded across a generation, and a mutual interest in the war to pull off Friday's special flight.
Two years ago, Harding met Bob Korkuc, who was writing a book about his uncle's death aboard a B-17. Korkuc had noticed Harding's POW license plate and asked if Harding was a ball turret gunner, since Harding was short enough to fit into that part of the plane. Harding told Korkuc his story and Korkuc asked if he could research it for another book. Their talks cemented a friendship.
Last October, Korkuc decided to help Harding travel to Germany find his wings and land in a B-24 again. Korkuc called the Collings Foundation and arranged for Friday's flight. Korkuc, 47, of Amherst, also helped arrange Harding's trip to Germany.
Harding of Milford, N.H., was also accompanied on the Friday flight by his son Brian Harding, 53, of Milford, and Korkuc. The Associated Press also was on the flight.
The Witchcraft is in New Hampshire as part of the Collings Foundation's Wings of Freedom Tour. The foundation, based in Stow, Mass., offers tours of military planes as well as flights aboard the aircraft.
___
On the net: http://www.collingsfoundation.org/menu.htm
Slideshow:Ex-POW returning to Germany to dig up pilot's wings

Dan Farnham Finds WWII History under the Sea

My friend Dan Farnham lives on a tiny atoll in the middle of the Pacific, called Kwajalein. Kwajalein's main island, where Dan lives.

Dan doing what he loves best--diving a World War Two aviation wreck.

Dan and I share a common passion for World War Two aviation, though we have slightly different focuses. Dan has parlayed his interest into a fullfilling hobby, and is on the cusp of a writing career, I think. He had his first article and photos published in Aviation History Magazine's November 2008 issue. Asked how he got interested in World War Two aviation, Dan responds:

"When I was a kid in the '70s, I remember watching the TV show "Baa Baa Black Sheep" (later renamed "Black Sheep Squadron" in season 2). That is what kindled my interest in WWII aviation, specifically naval aviation in the Pacific Theater. Although I love all aspects of WWII aviation, the PTO is my favorite area. That, and my favorite movie was "Midway", with Charleton Heston, etc. "

"I grew up with a love of aviation as a result of all that- not to mention the F4U Corsair is my all-time favorite plane! I was always writing short stories as a kid, loved to read, won every spelling bee I entered in 1st through 4th grade. Got my pilot's license in college, but couldn't fly for the military because of my eyesight- it's not 100%. Took Journalism and Mass Communications in my first college stint. I've been into scale aircraft modeling since 1986, and most of my subjects are WWII aircraft. I've always been into amateur photography as well, but never more than having a "point and shoot" to take pictures with. I didn't plan on getting into a lot of writing, it just kind of fell into my lap. Not long after I came to my present location, Kwajalein Atoll, I learned to scuba dive and I began photographing WWII ship and aircraft wrecks out here. A fiend of mine who runs a scale modeling website I frequent suggested I write an article on some of the plane wrecks I'd been diving on. So I did. And the rest came from that one article. So, I you could say that what I'm doing now is a culmination of lifelong hobbies and interests. "

"Kwajalein Atoll is a restricted military base, so very little has come out from here regarding the WWII wrecks in the lagoon. I guess I'm one of the VERY few writers to ever write about the wrecks here. My main problem is that I have so many ideas for writing, and so many wrecks to write about, and not enough time to write it all! :) "

So sit back and go on a virtual dive with Dan. All photos in this article copyrighted by Dan Farnham and used with permission.

"Here's one of the two 'Avenger' wrecks I've seen and photographed."

"Here's an F4F-4 Wildcat. This is one of 10 that I've counted in the aircraft graveyard, and I'm told there's more."

F4U 'Corsair'.

SB2C 'Helldiver'.

R5C 'Commando', which was the Navy designation for the C-46.

"A PBJ-1H 'Mitchell'. The PBJ's were Navy versions of the B-25 series. This is one of eight in the aircraft graveyard. I've seen and photographed four, so I have to get back up there and photograph the other four as well."

"Another SBD at "13 SBD's". Amazing that after 60+ years the plane is still upright! This is the second of two that remain upright at the site."

Doolittle Raider Tribute--Jake Deshazer

Today, on the suggestion of an 8th Air Force man, we are going to take the day off from the 8th Air Force and the air war in Europe and honor the men who flew the suicidal Doolittle Mission against Tokyo in April of 1942. Most people know the story of the Doolittle Raid, but a quick summation is in order.


In 1942, only a few months after the Japanese surprise attack killed thousands of unsuspecting Americans at Pearl Harbor, aviation legend Jimmy Doolittle put together a top secret mission to raise American morale and strike a blow back at Japan. The mission called for volunteer airmen to fly 16 B-25 medium bombers off the flight deck of an aircraft carrier and bomb Tokyo itself.


Every man recruited for this mission undertook it knowing that it was, essentially, a suicide mission. Once the planes had bombed their targets, they would either fly on and land in China or crash when their fuel ran out.



The crew of #16 (from left): George Barr (navigator), William Farrow (pilot), Harold Spatz (engineer gunner), Robert Hite (copilot) and Jacob DeShazer (bombardier).



On April 18, 1942, the 16 B-25's roared down the pitching flight deck of the USS Hornet, timing their takeoff rolls so that they would leave the deck as it crested a wave. Loaded with bombs and men, the planes strained to remain airborne. All defensive armament had been removed to lighten them. All the planes made it into the air safely.



However, the mission had now truly become suicidal. The Hornet had been spotted by several Japanese fishing boats and the commander was afraid that their location would be relayed to the Japanese Navy. The decision was made to launch the planes immediately, even though they were still 640 miles from the Japanese mainland. This was a full 200-300 miles farther than the plan had called for.
Bombardier Jake DeShazer's B-25 bomber was the last to take off from the lurching deck of the U.S.S. Hornet. Ahead lay the enemy territory of Japan.


The B-25s screamed in low and fast, ripping their targets from very low altitude and under heavy flak barrage.


Some of the crews and planes made it to China, where they crashlanded and were picked up by the friendly Chinese. However, several of the planes went down in enemy territory, and the men were captured.


About five years ago, I made the acquaintance of a man by the name of Jacob Deshazer, who goes by the shorter 'Jake'. Deshazer's plane had gone down in enemy territory. At least one of the crew was killed in the crash, and the rest became prisoners of war. They would remain so until the end of the war. During their incarceration, the Japanese charged some of the crewmen with war crimes for bombing civilian targets. Several of the men were eventually executed.


As the war dragged on, Deshazer and the surviving members of his crew struggled with fear, depression, and painful torture. However, Deshazer had an ally. He was a strong Christian and as he sat in his cell for three years, he found his faith growing daily.


After the war ended, Jake Deshazer became a Christian evangelist. He vowed to return to Japan and share the word of Christ with his former enemies, and so he did. In fact, one of his converts was the pilot who led the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.
Mitsuo Fuchida trained hard for his mission on December 7, 1941. When the day dawned he was filled with excitement about his mission to devastate American posts at Pearl Harbor. (Image courtesy of biblebelievers.com)

Nine years after bombing Pearl Harbor, Mitsuo Fuchida came to faith in Jesus Christ because he read the testimony of God’s power of forgiveness that had changed Jacob DeShazer’s life. The met and encouraged one another in Tokyo, Japan. (Image courtesy of biblebelievers.com)


In my communications with Mr. Deshazer over the years, he has graciously shared parts of his story. However, there are several books that I highly recommend to learn more about the Doolittle Raid. All are excellent. I'm going to provide links to them below.



Thirty Seconds over Tokyo: (Pilot Ted Lawson's classic tale of the raid, made into a famous movie--the movie is also excellent) http://www.amazon.com/Thirty-Seconds-Over-Tokyo-Lawson/dp/0743474333/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2/105-8748142-8187633?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1185551087&sr=8-2




Not As Briefed, By Ross Greening. (Greening was a Doolittle Raider who then went to Europe and ended up a POW. He was a talented artist, and this may be the best book of art to come out of World War Two) http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0007HBWYY?tag=stluion-20&camp=14573&creative=327641&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=B0007HBWYY&adid=0WR7WC7C1H9HX4AHKSNE&



The First Heroes: (My favorite book overall on the raid itself, well-told and highly recommended) http://www.amazon.com/First-Heroes-Extraordinary-Doolittle-Raid-Americas/dp/0142003417/ref=pd_sim_b_4/105-8748142-8187633?ie=UTF8&qid=1185551200&sr=1-1


DeShazer: (The amazing story of Jake Deshazer's spiritual journey--I gave one of my former students a signed copy when he was confirmed in my church. Mr. Deshazer is one of my personal heroes. He took evil and turned it into good) http://www.amazon.com/Shazer-Charles-Hoyt-Watson/dp/B0006Y18M4/ref=sr_1_4/105-8748142-8187633?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1185551401&sr=1-4


Destination Tokyo: (The best pictorial history of the Doolittle Raid) http://www.amazon.com/Destination-Tokyo-Pictorial-History-Doolittles/dp/0933126298/ref=sr_1_1/105-8748142-8187633?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1185551577&sr=1-1


I have been a Doolittle Raid buff for many years, and though I've only had direct communication with one, I feel like I know and love all those brave men.


An excellent site written by Deshazer can be found by clicking this link: http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.faithofourfathers.org/images2/deshazer2.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.faithofourfathers.org/heritage/pearl.html&h=133&w=200&sz=40&hl=en&start=0&um=1&tbnid=xXTFTZoaTlbXdM:&tbnh=69&tbnw=104&prev=/images%3Fq%3Djacob%2Bdeshazer%26svnum%3D10%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN
Among DeShazer’s many military decorations for service and bravery are the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Purple Heart and the Chinese Breast Order of Yung Hui.

Hill Air Force Base Museum Visit

B-25 Mitchell, Hill AFB Museum


P-51 Mustang, Hill AFB Museum



B-29 Superfortress, Hill AFB Museum





B-17 Bomber, 'Short Bier', Hill AFB Museum

On the way home from Salt Lake, my wife Geri and I stopped at the Hill Air Force Base Aviation Museum in Roy, Utah (near Ogden). I have been visiting this museum for about fifteen years and every year it gets better. The museum is free of charge; however, donations are accepted. There are elderly volunteers around the museum to answer questions--and many of them are veterans of WWII, Korea or Vietnam. This is one of the nation's outstanding air museums, with a massive collection of static aircraft.

Here is the hyperlink for the Hill Air Force Base website: http://www.hill.af.mil/library/museum/index.asp