Posted on
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Alive In The Sky
Former WWII aviator to fly again aboard a B-24
JACQUE HILBURN
Feature Writer
In 1941, as war raged overseas, a young Jim Sample decided to volunteer for military service rather than wait his turn at the draft.
Feature Writer
In 1941, as war raged overseas, a young Jim Sample decided to volunteer for military service rather than wait his turn at the draft.
"I wanted to get it behind me," he said.
About six months into his compulsory one-year hitch, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, drawing the United States into World War II.
About six months into his compulsory one-year hitch, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, drawing the United States into World War II.
After completing training as a radio operator, Sample ultimately served more than four years, flying 51 missions within a span of about four months before succumbing to operational fatigue after the war-related loss of his brother.
"When I went in, I didn't feel like I'd be among the fortunate ones who would come back," he said. "I'll say this honestly, what I saw did not compare to what infantry men dealt with in those days."
More than 60 years later, the former Tyler resident will again take to the air in a B-24 war Liberator, an American heavy bomber plane.
The flight, a surprise planned by his family, is planned for Wednesday at the conclusion of the Wings of Freedom Tour hosted by the Collings Foundation.
We who fly do so for the love of flying. We are alive in the air with this miracle that lies in our hands and beneath our feet. — Cecil Day Lewis
This story shall serve as notice of his flight, his family said.
"He's not been in that type of airplane in 60 years," said son Nick Sample, 59, of Tyler. "The roar of the engine, the smell of the fuel - we expect it will bring back memories. I'm real excited about the opportunity to do this for him."
“There were a total of 51 missions. I manned the radio the entire time unless I flew with a different crew. I did that three times. On those times, I manned the gun position. Our bomb runs would last anywhere from eight to 10 minutes.” — Jim Sample (pictured), 88, former World War II aviator
WINGS OF FREEDOM
Aside from the restored B-24, the two-day Wings of Freedom Tour includes a rare World War II vintage Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, a North American B-25 Mitchell medium bomber.
Also in the tour will be the North American TP-51C Mustang "Betty Jane" fighter plane and Vietnam-era Bell UH-13 Huey Helicopter, Foundation officials said.
"This is the only tour of its type in the world," said Hunter Chaney, director of marketing for the Collings Foundation. "The B-24 Liberator is the only one of its type still flying in the world."
The B-17 and B-25 are among only a few in flying conditions in the United States.
The craft are restored to wartime conditions, right down to the wiring and oxygen bottles.
"Purpose of this foundation is to enable Americans to learn more about their heritage through participation," Chaney said.
"What we're trying to do with Jim and his family, because we have to move the planes from point to point, is to be able to offer him a flight in an old aircraft at no cost," Chaney said. "Jim was a navigator, radio operator, who hasn't flown since the war."
The idea for this secretive return to the sky began almost by chance.
"My wife showed me an article in Southern Living about a son taking his father on a similar journey," said Nick Sample. "My intention was to buy him a ride on a B-24. When I mentioned to them (foundation) he had flown in a B-24, they put me in touch with the PR department."
The family jumped at the offer of hitching a ride when the plane departs Wednesday from Tyler on its return journey to Houston's Ellington Field, located within about an hour's journey from Sample's residence in Spring.
If all goes as planned, Sample, his son and grandson, Marine Maj. Chris Sample, 35, will be on board.
Foundation officials said the flights mean different things for different people.
"It's a very emotional thing for veterans and their families," said Chaney. "They were just kids then, between 17 and 22, and people were shooting at them. Most of the guys get a faraway look when they get into the plane. It gets very emotional. These fellows flew a lot of missions, lost a lot of friends."
Some veterans find comfort and a sense of closure from these flights, Chaney said.
The experience also provides younger family members with a direct line to history and the opportunity to connect with older veterans, whose ages range mostly between 85 and 89.
"We're in the last throes of this generation," Chaney said. "We want people to be excited about this time in history. Without their participation and sacrifices, the world would be very different. This is something we can give back to our veterans."
CALL TO DUTY
Sample was working for Southwestern Bell Telephone when he signed up for military service, assuming his obligation would conclude in about a year.
"When I went in, it was still under the draft law," he said.
While America had not yet entered the war, much of Europe was embroiled in a war with Germany.
He was assigned as a 1A, performing clerical duties in the office, when word emerged of an attack on Pearl Harbor.
"I will never forget that day," said Sample, 88. "We were coming from lunch at the mess hall when we heard President Roosevelt on the radio. I had been marking off the days when I would get out when the order came down that anyone in 1A had to go into a combat outfit."
Sample said he wanted to be a pilot, but was unable to pass the mechanical aptitude test, so he was assigned instead to radio training.
He was among a crew of eight men, assigned to complete bombings and air missions.
Daily assignments were posted on a chalkboard outside the mess hall.
There were no computers in those days to calculate accuracy so tasks of determining where and when to drop the bombs fell on the shoulders of bombardiers.
After completing months of training, his first combat mission in May 1944 focused on attacking the Ploesti Oil Refinery in Romania.
On June 6, 1944, D-Day, the day allied forces launched the invasion of Normandy, Sample flew his 12th combat mission, attacking German rail yards and other targets deep in enemy territory.
His last combat mission, attacking designated targets in Steyr, Austria, wrapped up 243 flight hours.
"There were a total of 51 missions," he said. "I manned the radio the entire time unless I flew with a different crew. I did that three times. On those times, I manned the gun position. Our bomb runs would last anywhere from eight to 10 minutes."
Other missions would take hours, he said.
Along the way, crews encountered enemy fighter planes and sustained enemy fire from the ground.
Along the way, crews encountered enemy fighter planes and sustained enemy fire from the ground.
"The bad times over there were when we didn't fly," Sample said. "We never knew who was coming back. When we would hear the roaring overhead, we would count the planes."
The only constant seemed to be the daily rollercoaster of emotions, dread, relief, sorrow.
Comfort was found in daily Bible readings and prayer, he said.
"I was raised that way," he said. "Being raised on the farm, we were raised as Christians."
Christian faith carried him through the lowest point in his military career, which came after his combat missions.
Sample was traveling to California for reassignment to the Pacific Theater when he learned of his brother's death and the need to notify his sister, who had a newborn baby and a husband away at war.
"I went to see her, it was a two- to three-day journey, and all that time, I was thinking, 'How do I tell her?' I had to tell her," he said. "Fifty-one missions, plus news of my brother, broke the camel's back. I wound up in the hospital."
Sample said he was later diagnosed with an ulcerated stomach and assigned to six weeks' convalescence.
"They told me I wouldn't be able to fly anymore," he said. "At that point, things were coming to a close anyway."
After more than four years of service, a still-recovering Sample was released from duty and allowed to return home.
Married almost 62 years to wife Jean, Sample said his post-war roles as a husband, father and grandfather have made for a rewarding life.
"The main thing I kept was my flight jacket," Sample said. "It was very cold up there, at 20,000 feet, so you had to wear a jacket. I've worn it on a number of occasions, on days that were memorable."
He still has his medals and what was originally meant to be his last letter.
"It was customary for the airmen to write a last letter to their family. That way if anything happened, it was sent to the family," he said. "The letter has several dates - I kept crossing them out to add another."
At the urging of family, he learned in recent years to use a computer. He's since used the technology to track down some members of his old flight crew.
He's also written about 60 pages of what will ultimately be his memoir.
"Maybe I'll get it finished one day," Sample said. "There's a lot I want to say."
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