As we sit here today and study the men and women of the Greatest Generation, I sometimes wonder if they knew they were making history at the time they were performing their heroic acts. Did any of them think that maybe someday their sons, daughters, and even grandchildren would be interested in any shred of information they could find about their loved ones’ service during such an important time in world history?
That quest for an idea of what our loved ones went through was the driving force for a trip Jerry Bradley, the son of World War II B-17 ball turret gunner Sgt. Lila “Buster” Bradley, set out for when he and his wife took a trip to Europe. “Buster” flew his missions in the tiny ball exposed below a B-17, and using his twin 50-caliber machine guns to keep German fighters at bay. He flew 35 missions in the turret with the 457th Bomb Group, 750th Bomb Squadron.
“He went over as a replacement crew member in 1944,” Jerry said. “That was all that we knew growing up. He never talked about it. Once in a great while he might mention an old crew member who was a friend or some small details about enjoying a beer in a pub while waiting to catch the train to go on leave. I can remember seeing his jacket from the war.
“One day he showed me an Army issued diary that he kept. It had various religious psalms in it along with things like a copy of the constitution. In it he recorded a list of the missions he flew, targets, time on oxygen, and usually the aircraft tail number. He also had a scarf. This silk scarf was made from a shred of one of his parachutes that was damaged by a flak burst.”
That bit of history was enough to spark the interest of a young man, and Jerry became interested in pursuing a career in aviation. After attending the University of Kentucky, and going through their ROTC program, Jerry graduated and joined the Air Force. Soon he found himself flying missions over Vietnam in an EC-47, a combat version of the legendary DC-3.
“It wasn’t until I came home from Vietnam that I realized that because he knew what combat flying was like, that he was extremely worried the entire time I was gone,” Jerry said. “I can’t imagine the torment he must have gone through while I was gone. I know it affected him.”
Once home Jerry went to work flying airliners, but his love of history never ceased.
“We tried to get dad to attend a reunion, and it just wasn’t for him,” Jerry said. “We lost dad in 1986. I always felt the hard life that he lived over there during the war contributed. He smoked and drank, and I am sure that is part of our losing him.”
In 1988, Jerry found himself and his wife planning a trip over to England and Germany. “I mentioned that if we could find it, I would love to find my dad’s old base and see where he flew from,” he said.
The 457th Bomb Group was stationed at USAAF Station 130 at RAF Glatton, near the village of Conington. “This was pre-internet days, so we were not sure if we would be able to find it. There was not a lot of information,” Jerry said.
After arriving in England and renting a car, they set out to the countryside to find any remnants of where his father served. All he had to go on was his father talking about a church with a memorial in it, and Jerry didn’t expect to find much more than that after all the time that passed.
While searching they found a postman delivering mail and asked him about finding the old base. Another gentleman who was there described how to get to the old base.
“He described a bunch of turns that I knew I would not be able to remember, and finally said, follow me,” Jerry said. The gentleman led them to a base. While Jerry was excited to see a base, it was actually RAF Polebrook, a different base. Appreciative, they looked over the base and nearby memorial. Jerry was then pointed in the direction of a nearby gas station. There he met Derek Johnson, who is a WWII historian working a full-time job as an auto mechanic. After explaining to Derek what he was looking for, Derek pointed and said, “Oh, Glatton, it’s right there.”
He pointed to a grease bay with an open door. As Jerry walks toward the bay he found an original piece of WWII nose art hanging on the wall. He studies it for a moment, then as he looked out of the back of the shop, there sprawled in front of him were two large abandoned paved runways. These are the runways that his father and so many like him launched from to strike their targets in Germany. Jerry had, by some luck, found his father’s base.
“We knew we were going to be a while once we really dug in, and we had not eaten anything yet that day,” Jerry said. “So we were told that there was a great pub called Admiral Arms.” As Jerry arrived at the pub he noticed railroad tracks as well as a station there.
“It then hit me. This is the very pub dad had told me about being in while waiting on the train.” As they went in and ordered they heard Americans talking. Jerry could hear that they were planning a party. “I asked if they were planning a reunion. They confirmed that they were. The reunion was for the 457th Bomb Group Association!”
After Jerry explained who he was and why he was there, the president of the association, who flew B-17s there during the war, led them on a tour of the base. “We got to see where the huts were, briefings happened, and of course where the planes parked.” It is not lost on Jerry that what can only be described as fate led him to talking to the right people to get him on the correct course to get to his father’s base. Jerry continues to keep his father’s legacy alive and well with his family. “My daughter and I flew in Aluminum Overcast together. As we were flying we just kept thinking about those brave boys trying to stay warm in this cold bomber as they flew toward the enemy.”