‘What did you do in the war, Daddy?’

This or similar questions were probably asked by many baby boomers in the 1950s when they realized their dad participated in World War II. Sometimes they heard a lot, sometimes they heard almost nothing. We can’t ask our World War II fathers those questions anymore because most of them have passed. We treasure the details that we do know and wish we had asked more questions.

The Dover Museum in New London hosted Mike DeSpain for the September program and he talked about his father, USAAF Tech Sgt. Glen P. De Spain. He was a radio operator/waist gunner on a B-24H called Rhode Island Red. Glen was assigned to the 765th Squadron of the 461st Bombardment Group (H) on Oct. 18, 1943. They were part of the 15th Air Force. The “H” stands for Heavy. His serial number was 36024888 and his crew number was 20.

The unit was stationed in Toretta, Italy and the primary target was the Ploesti oil refineries in Romania. This was the second most defended German area only after Berlin. Germany badly needed oil and the Allies were determined to make sure they didn’t get it.

The 15th Air Force still exists and headquarters are at Shaw AFB, South Carolina. It now consists of fighter aircraft and not bombers.

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The B-24 was the most numerous aircraft in the USAAF inventory. Approximately 6,000 were built. The design predates World War II and the prototype was first flown on Dec. 29, 1939. Our Air Force needed a bomber with a greater range than the B-17. It was a physically demanding aircraft to fly as there were no hydraulics and it required brute strength from the pilot and co-pilot. It was not very warm at 20,000 feet for waist gunners as they had the doors open.

Mike also had a highly detailed model of the B24H Rhode Island Red. It was built by Paul Drinkall, a noted aircraft model builder, formerly from the rural Danville area. The research that Paul did on the specific aircraft was incredible especially considering there was no internet at the time. The model now has a permanent home at the Dover Museum.

Glen was halfway through 50 missions when you could go home. On this particular mission, they had to borrow another aircraft as Rhode Island Red had previously been damaged. They were hit on May 31, 1944 and had to go down. Glen put on his parachute and jumped. The crew had no previous parachute training and they did not have a reserve chute. All the crew members were captured except the pilot. They were now prisoners of war. The pilot broke his leg on landing and the underground got to him first and transported him to allied lines.

The German railcar at the Danville Museum is designed for 8 horses or 40 men. Glen was placed in a similar railcar with 59 other men. They had to take turns sitting down. Glen was moved from one POW camp to another as the allies were starting to close in and the war would be over in Europe in a year. Life was hard and food was sketchy. Mike passed around the spoon the Germans gave to each POW. Interrogation was not easy. Glen refused to stand at attention for the Gestapo. Mike also had three Western Union telegrams from the War Department that were sent to Glen’s mother. The first stated that Glen was missing in action. You can imagine the tears and prayers on receiving such a telegram. Western Union paperwork that came with the Pilot Grove depot at the Dover Museum has a reminder to operators about delivering bad news to families. They had to do it, but also had to be aware they were destroying lives.

Two more telegrams were received. The second stated that he was a POW. The third stated that he was liberated.

Glen came home, married and raised a family. He was very silent about his POW experience. That was not unusual, it was normal. The experience was so bad, no one wanted to share it. He would drop bits and pieces from time to time. Mike said that one of his dad’s favorite TV shows was Hogan’s Heroes, especially Sgt. Schultz. The Germans had to use older men like Shultz as they were running out of younger soldiers.

It was an honor to be asked to write the story of this presentation. I was also an Air Force Tech Sgt. and was also a radio operator. I didn’t fly, but was there to pass messages back and forth to bombers. The Air Force Museum has a garden outside the building with monuments honoring the World War II groups like Glen’s. They were not only our fathers, they were also our Air Force brothers.