Print Version
Email this story
Comment
Surviving the shrapnel
 |
| H&N photo by Andrew Mariman Bill Bower stands among books and memorabilia he’s collected throughout the years in his Keno-area home. |
Bob Bower repaired damaged airplanes during World War II
By STEVE KADEL
H&N Staff Writer
Japanese bombing attacks often occurred by moonlight when Bob Bower was a mechanic for the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II.
Stationed in New Guinea at the time, the retired Keno resident will always remember one particularly extensive attack during daylight hours.
“The sky was black with Japanese airplanes,” he said.
“They split up to hit a fuel dump 10 miles off. There were dogfights all above us. Our guys were fighting them right above.
“It was scary. The Japanese put glass, nuts and bolts in their bombs and there was shrapnel everywhere.”
The now 90-year-old Klamath Falls resident isn’t ashamed to admit his fear that day. But he made it through unharmed and continued to do his job — repairing airplanes so they could return to battle.
“They came in with holes in them, and we’d patch them up,” he said. “Sometimes we had to tear the engines apart and rebuild them.”
Life in Pennsylvania
Bower was born March 7, 1918, in Williamsport, Pa., where he attended high school through his sophomore year. He delivered the Sunday newspaper as a youth, earning $1.50 a day.
“That was a lot of money in the Depression,” he said.
Bower always had a knack for mechanics, which he honed while working for Piper Aircraft in Pennsylvania. It gave him the skills he later used in the military.
He enlisted on Nov. 16, 1940, and was soon on a train to Montgomery, Ala., where he served at Maxwell Field for six months. Then he was part of a squadron that was transported to Jackson, Miss., for a couple of years and worked in the motor pool.
“Then they loaded us on a train and we went to California,” Bower recalled.
Headed to San Francisco
From there, it was on to San Francisco, where Bower and other troops boarded a reconditioned Dutch pleasure liner for a 21-day voyage to Australia. The men weren’t told of their destination until they got out to sea.
Once on Australian soil, troops were given mattress covers and straw to make their beds. Bower worked for a time on B-17s in Australia.
“They did a helluva good job in the war,” Bower said of the B-17s, which he helped to test-fly.
Soon he was traveling again, this time to New Guinea. The troops had no barracks, and instead slept out in the open for the first few nights. They built a large trench to provide cover in case of air attacks.
“Every night that the moon was out, we knew they were coming,” Bower said. “I went to bed many a night with my clothes on so I’d have something besides a helmet if I had to jump into the trench. You could feel the ground shaking when those bombs hit.”
The bombs rained down silently, he said, not with a whistling sound as in some movies.
On the way home
Bower and his mates served in New Guinea about a year before the war ended. They went to The Philippines, where they waited for a ship to take them home.
Bower recalled that the war had taken its toll on the men.
“Our clothes were ragged,” he said. “We looked like hell.”
But they were happy to be on the way home. They got better food on the ship, leaving behind memories of too many Spam meals during the war.
“I won’t eat it yet,” Bower said with a chuckle. “I am not eating that at home. And, oh gosh, we had lots of mutton, too.”
Plenty of people were on hand at the dock when the ship landed at Tacoma, Wash. The war-weary troops indulged themselves with shouts of happiness to be home, exiting the ship with a swagger.
“We had just made it through the war, and we didn’t care about anything else,” Bower said. “We went to Fort Lewis on the train and everybody said goodbye, realizing we’d never see each other again.”
Life today
Today Bower lives with his dog, a friendly 13-year-old golden retriever named Sandy, and a 15-year-old cat named Missy. He has a hearing aid, but is spry and gets along without any assistance —vacuuming the floors, preparing meals and performing other tasks around the house.
His living room is decorated with some art objects from The Philippines, and several military medals are displayed in a glass case. The most important symbol of his patriotism is in the front yard: the Star- Spangled Banner.
“I’ll always have a flag at my house,” the war veteran said.
Stationed in New Guinea at the time, the retired Keno resident will always remember one particularly extensive attack during daylight hours.
“The sky was black with Japanese airplanes,” he said.
“They split up to hit a fuel dump 10 miles off. There were dogfights all above us. Our guys were fighting them right above.
“It was scary. The Japanese put glass, nuts and bolts in their bombs and there was shrapnel everywhere.”
The now 90-year-old Klamath Falls resident isn’t ashamed to admit his fear that day. But he made it through unharmed and continued to do his job — repairing airplanes so they could return to battle.
“They came in with holes in them, and we’d patch them up,” he said. “Sometimes we had to tear the engines apart and rebuild them.”
Life in Pennsylvania
Bower was born March 7, 1918, in Williamsport, Pa., where he attended high school through his sophomore year. He delivered the Sunday newspaper as a youth, earning $1.50 a day.
“That was a lot of money in the Depression,” he said.
Bower always had a knack for mechanics, which he honed while working for Piper Aircraft in Pennsylvania. It gave him the skills he later used in the military.
He enlisted on Nov. 16, 1940, and was soon on a train to Montgomery, Ala., where he served at Maxwell Field for six months. Then he was part of a squadron that was transported to Jackson, Miss., for a couple of years and worked in the motor pool.
“Then they loaded us on a train and we went to California,” Bower recalled.
Headed to San Francisco
From there, it was on to San Francisco, where Bower and other troops boarded a reconditioned Dutch pleasure liner for a 21-day voyage to Australia. The men weren’t told of their destination until they got out to sea.
Once on Australian soil, troops were given mattress covers and straw to make their beds. Bower worked for a time on B-17s in Australia.
“They did a helluva good job in the war,” Bower said of the B-17s, which he helped to test-fly.
Soon he was traveling again, this time to New Guinea. The troops had no barracks, and instead slept out in the open for the first few nights. They built a large trench to provide cover in case of air attacks.
“Every night that the moon was out, we knew they were coming,” Bower said. “I went to bed many a night with my clothes on so I’d have something besides a helmet if I had to jump into the trench. You could feel the ground shaking when those bombs hit.”
The bombs rained down silently, he said, not with a whistling sound as in some movies.
On the way home
Bower and his mates served in New Guinea about a year before the war ended. They went to The Philippines, where they waited for a ship to take them home.
Bower recalled that the war had taken its toll on the men.
“Our clothes were ragged,” he said. “We looked like hell.”
But they were happy to be on the way home. They got better food on the ship, leaving behind memories of too many Spam meals during the war.
“I won’t eat it yet,” Bower said with a chuckle. “I am not eating that at home. And, oh gosh, we had lots of mutton, too.”
Plenty of people were on hand at the dock when the ship landed at Tacoma, Wash. The war-weary troops indulged themselves with shouts of happiness to be home, exiting the ship with a swagger.
“We had just made it through the war, and we didn’t care about anything else,” Bower said. “We went to Fort Lewis on the train and everybody said goodbye, realizing we’d never see each other again.”
Life today
Today Bower lives with his dog, a friendly 13-year-old golden retriever named Sandy, and a 15-year-old cat named Missy. He has a hearing aid, but is spry and gets along without any assistance —vacuuming the floors, preparing meals and performing other tasks around the house.
His living room is decorated with some art objects from The Philippines, and several military medals are displayed in a glass case. The most important symbol of his patriotism is in the front yard: the Star- Spangled Banner.
“I’ll always have a flag at my house,” the war veteran said.
Reader Comments
The following are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the view of HeraldAndNews.com. Comment Disclaimer: The editors of heraldandnews.com reserve the right to refuse publication of any comment posted for consideration. We may refuse for any reason, including use of profanity, disparaging comments, libelous comments, etc. Any reader who notices a comment they believe is particularly offensive, should notify us at webmaster@heraldandnews.com.
RSS