HomeMy WebLinkAboutBaylor Carrington, Brazos Valley Heroes �. « .
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Generation" who served our country during World War II
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When Baylor Carrington, now of Hearne, was and when they got it on your altitude, they would
growing up in the Marquez Community of Leon walk it back into your flight group. When you got
t, County, flying in an airplane was something people hit by flack it sounded just like someone throwing
did in the movies, not in Marquez. But when the rocks on my grandad's barn roof. It was loud and
e .. : war began, Carrington, then in his first year at a little unsettling."
Baylor, saw this as his chance and enlisted in the "We aII had to wear flak suits, which you
rr Army. hated to wear, but when you saw those black puffs
"At first they put me in the field artillery and I of smoke, you put them on quick enough. On one
: kept telling them I wanted to fly so they compro- flight we had the group photographer on board
mised, they transferred me to the Army Air Corp and he was supposed to take photos from the sec-
aerial gunnery school." and bomb bay. He had apparently appropriated
Carrington went through several schools but every flak jacket he could find because the whole
;' knew he was definitely going to fly when he was area of the bomb bay was lined with flak jackets."
.' assigned to his air crew for combat training at Carrington and his crew flew 34 missions
Lake Charles, Louisiana. They carried out training before the war ended. "On each one, we were
a P • missions as a crew and were sent to the east coast almost holding our breaths until we crossed back
for transport to Europe. over into allied territory. On one of the last flights,
"Half of us, me included, loaded on an old I had a piece of flak come in behind my head in the
'. Liberty ship to sail to North Africa while the rest top turret and go out by the gun turret. The hole
• loaded on our plane and flew over. I spent 3 weeks wa a lot bigger going out than coming in. How it
;. on that ship crossing the Atlantic Ocean in a 100+ missed me, I don't know."
! ship convoy while my crew mates on the plane When the war ended, Carrington was sent to
5 ! were being wined and dined in Europe." Paris and then back to New York where he was
When Carrington and his portion of the crew placed on a troop train to San Antonio. "Most of
landed in North Africa, they were shipped to the guys were from Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas.
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Naples, Italy and then sent to southern France at By the time the train got to Texas, it wa almost
, Dijon, where they were reunited with their other empty, due to guys slipping off the train and head -
crew members. ing home. I made it to San Antonio and got leave
"We began to fly bombing missions into to go home to Marquez for 30 days. That was
i' Germany and other areas held by the Germans. when they dropped the bombs on Japan. l got to
The targets were usually marshaling yards, ammo stay in Texas. I'm glad they dropped those bombs
;; dumps, rail yards and like type targets. My job was because I don't think I could have made another
as gunner of the top turret on the plane. The mis- 34 runs over Japan and made it home again."
:-..'.: lions lastd 4 1/2 to 5 hours. As the missions got Baylor Carrington's name can be found on ` longer, the anti - aircraft fire, particularly the 88 mm the Brazos Valley Veterans Park Memorial. For
_ flak, of worse."
R g more information, to make a contribution, or to
9 "The longer the war, the better the Germans nominate a veteran, contact the BVVM at
rr got with those 88's. When you got near the target www.veterans- memorial.org, or S Youngk at
you would see black puffs of smoke from the 88's 979 -260 -7030.
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