Holy Communion Church
February 25, 2006
Sixty three years ago this week, the crew of the Memphis Belle flew its 13th Mission
It was February 26th, 1943. The target was the Naval Base at Wilhelmshaven, Germany
This same week, 2 years later (in 1945), my Dad was flying his 28th mission in a B-24 for the 2nd Air Division of the 44th Bomb Group, Eighth Air Force, Army Air Corps. His radio operator kept a combat diary which reflects they bombed Nuremberg on their longest mission up to that point.
Dad logged 515 hours in flight; 266 hours in combat, in B-24’s. That was after flying 67 missions in Oxfords and Lancasters for the RCAF.
I might never have known were it not for a constituent from Collierville who e-mailed back in 2001 about a legislative concern and signed off “US Army Air Corps retired.” I replied personally and told him about my Dad who died when I was young. He helped me find the surviving members of Dad’s crew – the navigator from New York and the radio operator on Long Island. The last surviving gunner passed away last month. The radio man sent me a copy of his combat diary which includes the following conclusion about my Dad:
“Chuck was an exceptional pilot and leader. Thanks to his ability to fly the B-24, the crew was able to complete its tour of duty without any loss of life.”
His navigator was more colorful when I first contacted him by phone” Chuck Norris? He could fly a barn door if they’d put an engine on it. He saved my life.”
Lots of folks ask me why I serve in the Tennessee Senate. It’s to do on the ground what he did in the air – continue the fight for democracy by exercising the freedoms for which he and his crew and the crew of the Memphis Belle risked their lives.
And it gives me the opportunity to join with fine folks like you and the Memphis Belle Memorial Association in working together to remember what they did; to preserve their legacy and define the future in keeping with their sacrifice.
Although Memphis did not get to keep The Belle in the final analysis, there would have been no Belle to keep if it had not been for your efforts in the first place. And your ultimate objective was met: to restore the Belle and see to it that she would be permanently cared for in an appropriate place. Mission accomplished.
Thank you for inviting us. Thank you for your service. Keep ‘em flying.
