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I met
Dan Dameo in 2000 when Marie and I attended an air show at
the National Warplane Museum in Elmira, New York.
When
you see the P-47 Thunderbolt up close and touch it you are
immediately moved by its presence. It is an awesome flying
machine. If you have researched it a great deal, as I did,
it is even more impressive in person. Its place in history
reaches out to you while you are near this airplane known
affectionately as “The Jug”.
Dan
was pre-flighting the P-47 prior to their part in the air
show. The plane was sitting on the tarmac not too far from
the rope fence where we in the crowd watched. An elder and
his son were standing next to us and the son told us his
father had been a P-47 pilot in WWII. We caught Dan’s
eye and he came over – and when we told him that the man
was a P-47 pilot Dan immediately lifted up the rope and
invited him to come to the plane. They talked for some
time, which really pleased the WWII pilot and his son.
Later
when the planes were open for closer inspection, Marie and
I went over to the plane to take pictures. A new plan had
been hatched in my mind by that time. I saw the look in
that veteran’s face when he was reunited with his old
aircraft – and, in my mind, I connected that back to our
new ‘family’ at the 412th Fighter Squadron
reunions.
They
had graciously invited us to be members when we found out
that my uncle, William Morse Miller, was a pilot in the
412 before he was killed in action on Christmas Day, 1944,
during the Battle of the Bulge.
We
were already helping to plan the 2001 reunion which was
going to be in Elmira – with a tour at the Museum there.
We
talked with Dan about what a nice thing he had done for
the WWII pilot and he explained how important that was to
him. His own uncle was a B-17 pilot and he had attended
their reunions. We started talking to Dan about how nice
it would be to have a reunion in conjunction with an air
show at Elmira – but also realized that it would be very
difficult for the members with the crowds. I wanted them
to be able to see and touch a flyable P-47.
While
some of the pilots belonged to the P-47 Pilot’s
Association and had opportunities to see the Jug in action
since the war, most of the Crew Chiefs and other enlisted
folks had not. Their families never had this opportunity
in most cases, as there are not many of the planes left in
flying condition. In listening to them talk about their
experiences in Europe during the war I had a feeling that
this would be special to them.
Dan
suggested that his American Heritage Airpower Museum would
allow him to bring the P-47 to Elmira during our reunion
in September 2001. The air show season would be over and
it would be seen as an educational opportunity for the
museum. He said that he could set it up with the Elmira
museum people and bring the P-47 into the hanger, set up
tables for our dinner nearby all the planes and have some
ceremonies there.
I was
delighted, of course, and our correspondence began in
earnest to achieve that. The museum was very cooperative
and it looked as if this would be a really special event.
And it was a special event at the museum and all around
Elmira. However, the P-47 did not make it to that reunion.
Our reunion was one week after September 11, 2001. Dan was
not to be allowed to fly out of the New York area.
Since
then I had this vision of what it would be like for the
squadron members to go back in time to their youth –
even just for a few moments – to be together around the
aircraft they kept flying. “Keep ‘em Flying” was
their motto and their memories of maintaining and flying
the Jug were still very clear. So was the brotherhood that
they experienced during wartime. My hope was that this
special group of people could feel that strong emotion
again – by being around the P-47.
In
Millville, New Jersey, on August 22, 2006, this finally
came to fruition. Working around schedules and weather
right up to the night before, Dan and I finally
coordinated him being there during our visit to the
Millville Army Air Force Museum. MAAFM is a very special
museum with long ties to the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt
(P-47 pilots practiced gunnery and bombing there during
WWII). There is even a sign there that says: “JUG spoken
here”. And the people we brought to the museum certainly
spoke that language.
The
wonderful staff of the museum warmed many a heart that
day. They have achieved a place that still has the flavor
and feel of a WWII airfield. When the P-47 roared overhead
and landed, taxied up to the flight line right in front,
it was like going back in time. I could see it and feel it
in the squadron members – and the crowd of press,
photographers and museum staff could as well.
Dan
unstrapped in the cockpit, turned all the switches off and
stood up to applause and cheers. When that stopped he
looked around and spotted me. He yelled: Dennis! Well, I
made it – five years late! Then he climbed down and was
immediately surrounded by the crowd.
There
was plenty of time for questions and remembrances, and
photo opportunities. Then Dan joined us inside the museum
where the staff had set up a fine lunch for us. Dan
addressed the squadron, telling them how honored he was to
be able to meet them all. He always enjoyed meeting the
people who maintained and flew the P-47 in the war and he
addressed them as the Greatest Generation. It was a
special moment.
After
lunch he told us he would take off and circle the field a
couple of times before flying back to Long Island. He
would not be allowed to do any aerobatics. But seeing him
off was another special moment.
Dan
was actually about 20 minutes late in arriving and the
museum staff put out chairs for the squadron members so
they would not be too tired. I watched them during this
time and it was almost like watching them waiting for a
mission to come back from a combat sortie. I had heard
many times how they watched the skies for returning
planes. The losses of P-47 pilots, flying ground attack
missions down as close as 100 feet, were high. Many of the
Crew Chiefs had told me time and again, with tears in
their eyes, about how many pilots they lost. It was a very
personal thing for them – for they could only wait while
their pilots and their planes went into combat. They told
me how they prayed that none of them were lost because of
some mechanical mistake they may have made to the aircraft
– causing it to go in. They told me how sad and dejected
and angry they were when the planes came back and their
spot on the tarmac was empty. The 412th had one
P-47, “B’COMINBAK”, which had 212 missions before it
was shot down (the highest record in the European
Theater). She never missed a mission because of mechanical
failure. I wished that Roy Thurman, could have made this
reunion, for that was his plane. But most of them did not
last that long. I saw the emotion of those memories in the
eyes of the squadron members as we waited.
It
showed up again as Dan Dameo prepared to leave. They all
watched as Dan pulled the big heavy four-bladed prop
through some rotations to get the oil out of the cylinders
and the same expression returned. Once Dan was in the
cockpit and all the preflight work done, he asked me to
have the airport service man pull the wheel chocks. Then
the man left and there was no one around the plane but the
412th crews. No one made them get back behind
the fence. I think that Dan did this intentionally.
There
was a standard action that one goes through for starting
the engine (To make sure no one was in the way of that big
propeller). When all was set, the pilot would yell to the
crew chief: Clear! The Crew Chief would reply: Clear! Then
the pilot would start the engine while the Crew Chief
watched to make sure all was well. It always seemed to me
to be the moment in time when the crew chief, who was
responsible for the aircraft, gave it over to the pilot
who flew it. There was a bond of trust there.
Dan
looked out and yelled: Clear! Several voices of Crew
Chiefs responded: Clear! As the engine coughed a couple of
times and burst into its throaty roar, there were a lot of
misty eyes standing around it. Salutes were exchanged
between pilot and ground crew and Dan taxied out to the
end of the runway. The ground crews and pilots lined up
waiting for him to take off and as he lifted off just
about in front of us (with that 2000 + horsepower engine
roaring), all of us waved our hats to him – just as they
did when every mission left during the war. A very
emotional moment for me, as my uncle was one of those
pilots who did not return from a mission. So many of them
gave their all for us. The squadron members are always
remembering and honoring those who are forever young in
their minds. It was good to be a part of this human story.
People helping people – it is how they made it through
the war – and it is what we need to get back to now,
hopefully in peace. This is why I am pursuing the story of
how they helped the children of Dongelberg Orphanage and
were in turn helped to keep their perspective by those
children – people helping people. Bringing those people
back together at a reunion is another on-going goal.
My
reward was in being present during all this. Just watching
the reporters and photographers from several newspapers
talking to the squadron members was worth it all. It
pleased me so much to see the happy faces, the tears, the
brotherhood still intact after all these years. I did not
do it for this reason, but it was nice to hear the
heartfelt words like: thanks, awesome, wonderful. Being a
part of this history was enough for me. Everyone seemed to
enjoy the notoriety they got in the next day’s
newspapers also. To have one’s sacrifices remembered is
a good thing. Several different newspapers carried the
story and pictures. I cannot say enough about the warmth
and kindness of the folks at the Millville museum. My hat
is off to them all. They are dedicated. Most
are volunteers doing what they love to do – and that is
so special.
So the
camaraderie carried through the whole reunion. This is a
very special group of people – because they never forget
their link to each other. It has blossomed into a family
event as well, many of the younger generations now
attending. Our goal is to keep this going on as long as
possible.
Some
organizations have had to stop reunions and disband
because as the organizers get older it has become
difficult to carry on. We are nearing that stage in our
group as well, and our coordinator, Bob Colangelo who has
done such a wonderful job of not only planning but also
putting out the squadron newsletter, and Bill Geise, our
excellent treasurer and official photographer, have asked for some
volunteers to relieve them of some of their duties.
I told
Bob that I would be willing to help on one condition –
that he and the other members still participated in the
role of advice and consent – since I want to make sure
that all events represent the wishes of the squadron
members. We younger generation can be their arms and legs
in the preparations, but we need to reflect their wishes.
Our goal would be for them to have fun. Joe Ritz Jr. and
Kathleen Vesey offered to co-chair the planning committee
with me, and they feel the same way. Other younger members
agreed to help. Ann Barber (Wohlfeil) volunteered to keep
the books for the squadron. These things were brought up
at the meeting on our last night and agreed on by the
whole group.
The
group previously agreed to have reunions in the East one
year and on alternate years in the Mid-West. The 2007
reunion will be in the Mid-West, and we will immediately
start looking at locations, factoring in such things as
costs, accessibility, events for entertainment,
transportation to events, and pleasant environment. We
need to have a place where we can be together and enjoy
the fellowship that always is an integral part of each
reunion.
I am
further proposing that our planning committee, once we
have settled on a site for 2007, also look into sites in
the East for 2008. The plan would be to present several
alternatives, complete with ideas of what we could do in
each place – in time to have Bob include them in a
newsletter before the 2007 reunion – thus letting the
members think about it in advance, and then vote on a site
during the 2007 reunion. It would give us a head start and
let everyone participate in the selection.
My
personal goal is to still be working on ways to bring the
people from the Castle de Dongelberg together with our
squadron members. That would be a wonderful reunion
indeed. We have found several of the ‘children’ (now
my age) in Belgium and two children in the U.S. (These
two, Frieda Becker and Robert Essinger Wachenheim, were
among the hidden Jewish children staying at the orphanage
and their pictures appear in those taken at the Christmas
Party in 1944). In order to do this we will have to find a
means of raising the funds to get them here. So far, all
of our attempts have met with failure – but we have not
given up at all. This is a wonderful story of how people
in the terrible circumstances that war bring, helped each
other survive emotionally and physically. It needs to be
told and I believe it will be.
For my
part in this group, I am continually driven by the
memories of my uncle, Bill Miller. I feel him encouraging
me to participate as much as possible. Somehow I know this
pleases those who have gone before us. Often during the
reunions, I envision them having their own reunion at the
same time, and keeping an eye on us.
So in
that spirit, I raise a glass of cheer to toast them one
and all. I see them doing the same. Bless us all.
Peace,
Blue Skies, and Keep ‘em Flying!
Dennis
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