HomeMy WebLinkAboutLuther Bird, Brazos Valley Heroes ..
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Bird
ig Any world War II pilot who completed 25 in Frankfurt before he was sent to a German POW
successful missions was granted leave. When 22- camp on the banks of the Baltic Sea.
A P year -old Luther Bird captained his B -17 bomber Bird stayed with his crew mates. He had the
5, into German airspace on his 24th mission, he was top bunk and his co -pilot took the bottom. Though
both confident and conscientious. well guarded, the American soldiers maintained
"Growing up in South Carolina, not far from order anwere well supplied by the International
where the Wright Brother's flew the first plane, all Red Cross.
my brother and I ever wanted to do was fly," "We followed the senior ranking officers. :
recalled Bird. "We practiced all the time." four full colonels, and we had meetings and did
By his 24th mission, Bird had led pre _ inva- formations every morning and every evening," he `
lion bombing raids in Sicily, Italy and North said. "We received weekly parcels from the Red
Africa, and had been instrumental in a low level Cross with a good can of beef. some penicillin, a
� bombing raid of six Romanian oil refineries which cheese bar, and chocolate bar, and some ciga
' provided much of the gasoline for the German mil- rettes. We always traded the cigarettes with the
itary machinery. On that mission, 36 planes took German guards. I got a good pocketknife. But I
off. Only 12 made it back. wouldn't trade them my chocolate bars."
0 The 24th mission was a routine bombing run Bird and the 20 men he arrived with were the L
on Germany and all seemed well when, at 27.000 first occupants at the camp. When the camp was
feet, Bird's plane was hit. liberated by the Russian military 16 months later,
The three men, the navigator, radioer and there were 8,000 allied prisoners.
bombardier, were killed instantly. Bird and the five "It was the best feeling in the world," Bird
other crew members survived the initial blast, but said. "We marched down the main street to the
he was knocked unconscious when the plane airport, and in groups of 20, they flew all of us out
It
exploded. in one day. It took a lot of planes and a lot of plan-
"I came to falling and had enough sense, or ning."
enough training to pull my rip cord," Bird recalled. Bird remained in the Air Force for 28 years on
"Fragments of the plane were falling all around active and reserve duty, and after finishing his
me. The largest part I sew was the outer section of masters and doctorate degrees in genetics at
one of the wings which landed right next to me." Texas A &M University. worked in the genetics
x Bird and his crew landed in a pasture and department until he retired in 1986. ri
.'' were captured by German farmers. "God was my co -pilot that day," he said.
"They didn't have any guns, but we didn't "That's why I survived. I know he had a plan for
have any guns either so we went along," he said me. And in every way possible, it has been good°
' The farmers took the airmen to the German all the way."
military. Luther Bird's name will be added to the . P,,
"I was interrogated by a guy with a big old Brazos Valley Veterans Memorial on Veterans Day,
light over his head, looking real important, and of 2004, when the expansion is complete. For more m
,4 course I answered him, but not with the truth," he information. to make a contribution, or to nomi
said. Hate a veteran, contact the BVVM at www
ii Bird spent one week in solitary confinement ans- memorial.org.
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