Episode 62: A B-17 Co-Pilot’s Incredible Story of Survival and Escape

In this episode of Military Tales, we hear the remarkable story of Gerald W., a 98-year-old WWII veteran who volunteered for the Army Air Force the day he turned 18 with the ambition to fly. Initially hoping to fly P-51 fighters, he instead found himself training as a co-pilot on B-17s. Despite weighing slightly over the 140 lb limit and a tonsil issue that kept him in Lincoln, Nebraska, for 30 days, orders ultimately confirmed his co-pilot assignment, which he later realized was a better fit for his personality than the risk-taking nature of fighter pilots he’d observed in training.

Gerald shipped out for Europe, training on a B-17 in Oklahoma before flying a brand new B-17 across the Atlantic to England. They were stationed at Eye, England. His first mission involved bombing a German site, but due to bad weather, they were ordered to drop their bombs somewhere and return, never reaching the intended target.

His second mission, however, proved to be life-altering. Called in on a day off to fly a chaff ship for the Eighth Air Force, their B-17 was positioned close to the target area – likely an oil refinery – ahead of the main bomber stream to disrupt radar. This made them a prime target for anti-aircraft fire, resulting in three engines being knocked out and the fourth having its governor shot off, leaving them with only “one half a engine”. As they rapidly lost altitude, the pilot decided they needed to bail out at 5,000 feet.

A terrifying moment occurred during his bailout attempt: he realized they hadn’t been issued backpack parachutes, only chest packs. As he went to snap on the chest pack, a puff of silk hit him in the face – the parachute had deployed inside the aircraft. He instinctively wrapped his arms around the silk and exited the small side door. Miraculously, as soon as he cleared the plane, he released his arms, and the parachute worked.

Descending, Gerald managed to push and pull on the chute to avoid landing in a river he saw below. He landed near a highway and town, initially thinking he hadn’t been seen. However, a motorcycle with a sidecar emerged from the town, slowed down, and the rider began looking upwards, eventually spotting him. Gerald nearly landed in the sidecar but was blown by the wind onto a steep bank with pine trees, where his parachute hung up, leaving his toes just touching the ground. He quickly got out of the chute and ran into the woods, successfully evading the motorcycle rider. He later heard voices and saw several men running through the woods, hiding behind a hump to avoid them.

He decided to head towards the sound of distant artillery, believing it was the front line near the Rhine River, hoping to sneak through to the American side. He acknowledged later that this was a dangerous plan. His evasion journey involved crossing an ice-cold stream at night on November 25th, losing and retrieving a boot, getting soaking wet, and later stripping off his wet clothes in the woods to put on his dry layers. He walked through the woods for days, relying on his country upbringing. It took three days for his clothes to dry using only his body heat. Suffering from hunger, he eventually found and ate frozen turnips and small, frozen apples in a field outside a town.

Seeking shelter, he slipped into a town at night and found steps leading down to a basement, which provided shelter from the weather. After spending two nights there, he was discovered the next morning by two young boys who had followed his muddy tracks. A group of men soon arrived, and Gerald, realizing his situation, removed his .45 pistol, showed it to them, and then surrendered.

He was taken to a house, possibly the mayor’s, where he was treated kindly, given coffee and toast. He was then escorted by different individuals. At one point, a German officer became angry when Gerald removed his sore boots in his office. A middle-aged woman who spoke perfect English intervened, scolding the officer in German and ensuring Gerald was allowed to sit down.

Gerald was put on a train, where he later reconnected with his pilot, navigator, and bombardier. They also met up with the crew of his closest friends from training, who had also been shot down, and all were taken to the same POW camp, Stalag Luft 1, near the North Sea. He recalls passing through Berlin around December 7th and being concerned about bombings, and witnessing RAF bombs falling on a town from the train. Stalag Luft 1 was an Air Force officers’ camp holding about 9,000 men. Camp life for officers involved little structured activity and no work details.

Gerald was liberated by the Russians, who were friendly upon their arrival in American trucks. He and other prisoners were later flown out of the camp’s airport by B-17s from England.

After returning home, Gerald married Mae Tinker, as he had predicted years before. He took a job in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, initially in records and later as a civil engineer, after taking correspondence courses. He continued in the Air Force Reserves, retiring as a Major at age 60. His post-war life included navigating the challenges of finding housing in Oak Ridge, living in basic prefabricated units before eventually designing and building his own home in Kingston, Tennessee.

Years later, at a reunion in 1988, the idea for a book detailing the escape stories of the men from his prison room was proposed. Gerald was the only one who actually wrote his story, which became his book. In a poignant moment, his great-grandson, Caleb, while an exchange student in Germany, had the German father of his host family hire a historian who located the exact spot where Gerald had landed after bailing out of the B-17.

Gerald, still energetic at 98, reflects on his experiences, noting his service and being recognized as the oldest Air Force Reservist at a recent event. His remarkable journey, from a near-fatal parachute malfunction to evasion, capture, and survival as a POW, is a testament to resilience and a unique piece of WWII history.