It was 1939 when Bob and
Martha, his wife to be, first met. They were both in the Merchant
Marine, working on the Grace Line Company ships, sailing out of New York
and sailing the entire west coast of South America.
Bob's desire to be come a pilot was a dream since he was a boy.
He didn't get any encouragement from his family nor any help to achieve
this goal. He left home and was struggling to keep going since he was
16. The Depression was at its peak and jobs were hard to find, but his
passion for flying never left.
During the following years, whenever he had money he would put it
into flying lessons. He eventually acquired his private and commercial
licenses.
During the 5 or 6 years he spent in the Merchant Marine he met
Dick Rossi. Dick was working to put himself through college. Their
friendship prevailed all these years. Bob's flying enthusiasm
convinced Dick for his enlistment with the Navy as a cadet in their
program.
Bob's desire was to go into the Ferry Command, and for this he
had to have 300 hours under his belt. The European war was now reaching
the shores of South America and making sailing more precarious.
In early 1940 Bob convinced Martha to go to California where
flying would be more achievable. So they bought a 1937 convertible
Packard and crossed the country. Martha was not a driver but
anxious to learn. Being very short on funds, they drove nearly day and
night. They had a few harrowing experiences with Martha behind the
wheel while Bob tried to get some shut-eye.
After arriving in California they both had to find work.
They got married in Yuma, Arizona, and while Martha was able to find
work, Bob was not. Aircraft factories were crying for help but if you
didn't have experience for production line work, you had to go to their
school for a fee.
When Pearl Harbor was bombed, Bob was finally working at
Lockheed on the night shift, assembling cannons for the P-38s. It was at
this time he met another man at work and got him to help in buying a
small plane from the Bank of America. It was a repossessed Taylor Craft.
In order to fly it, it had to be trucked to Quartzite, Arizona, due to
the blackout in California at this time.
When our country needed pilots, Bob was approached by
men in charge of these flying schools to come and teach their students.
They said he could sign up for a one year contract and at least get some
pay for his flying. When his time was up, new men in charge now would
not release him. Instead they transferred him to Lancaster where they
assigned him to instruct in their program. After fulfilling this
program, the war in Europe ended. Now they stopped training more
recruits and asked all the civilian instructors to go into the Army Air
Corps as flight officers. Fulfilling their assigned training for a
period they were given a choice for duty to ferry pursuits or go into
the Transport Command.
This is what Bob chose and wound up in the CBI theater in the
latter part of 1944. He was stationed in India and flew the C-46 and
C-47. He had 75 trips over the Hump when the war came to an end.
Bob returned home in January of 1946, became
very restless when he couldn't find a new flying job. On Christmas Day
of 1946 he sailed on a freighter to China where he connected again with
his friend Dick Rossi. He flew a number of trips for the Lutheran
missionaries, who had their own planes (2), St. Peter and St. Paul,
evacuating many people who had to be rescued when the Red Chinese army
were waging war on the Nationals.
Martha went to join Bob in China in February 1948, and returned
in late November when the Reds were about to take Shanghai. Bob returned
shortly after. Again trying to get connected with a flying job.
In August of 1950 he decided to stay with his
flying career and joined the Flying Tiger Line. Over the years were many
stories and incidents to relate. Martha thought one of them to be a
close call, when she called the scheduling department to see when he was
expected home and they informed her of a Wake Island emergency landing
he had experienced. They assured her everyone was okay and that he'd be
home soon.
Bob retired from Flying Tigers on December 29, 1973.
Bob on the right with his first group of cadets
whom he trained in for the Army Air Corp in 1942-1943
1947 Bob in front of Temple of Heaven in Peking,
now Beijing
|
