D-Day, A View From The Section 8

D-Day, June 6, 1944, Normandy
“We flew so low over the beach that I was able to fire on the Germans below. I could see the Army moving along the beaches, but I couldn’t tell exactly what they were doing.” PFC George Pruitt, Ball Turret Gunner
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On June 1, 2008, as the summer heat pressed into the windows in Snyder, Texas, I sat interviewing George Pruitt, a former Ball Turret Gunner aboard a B-17D Bomber, who was stationed in England during his tour of duty in World War II. The Ball Turret is the small bubble located on the belly of the B-17D Bomber, AKA "Flying Fortress."

A native of Ardmore, Oklahoma, George had been working with the Civilian Conservation Corps, otherwise known as the CCC, when he heard the news about the Japanese bombing Pearl Harbor. “I had been working in Wyoming and was headed back home when our bus stopped at a hole-in-the-wall diner in Denver, Colorado for lunch. We heard the news broadcast announce the attack. The next day, I joined the Army Air Corps.”

George didn’t wait to be drafted. “No, I knew what I had to do immediately. My brother joined on the same day, but neither of us knew it.” I asked him if he was worried about joining the war, but he smiled and replied, “No, we knew we were going to win before we ever left.”

But leaving took a while. First, he had to endure basic training at Randolph Field in San Antonio, Texas. From there, he attended a series of schools from South Dakota to Pyote, Texas training him how to be a gunner and how to function as a bombardier. He recalled flying over Carlsbad, New Mexico, where they dropped dummy bombs on targets carved out of the dessert for just such a purpose. (These targets can still be seen in Carlsbad, and dummy bombs made from concrete are occasionally unearthed on these sites.)

Once his training was complete, he was assigned to the 452nd Bomb Group/729th Bomb Squadron, and he and his combat crew flew to England and made a home at Deopham Green, just outside of Attleborough in Norfolk. Once they were settled, the flight engineer, Richard J. Walsh, suggested they name their plane, “Section 8”, which was heartily agreed upon. Walsh even managed to get an eight ball painted on the plane. Of course, most Americans will recognize the military term, section 8, which references a discharge based on an assessment of being psychologically unfit or possessing character traits which made one unfit for duty. They figured they were crazy to get in a plane and fly over Germany. Lt. Paul E. Suckow was the pilot for plane #42-31784. Section 8 was now in service.

Throughout the course of a year, the crew of the Section 8 flew 30 missions, which was required of each crew before they could be returned stateside. They had their share of harrowing experiences during their tour of duty. George recalled one instance when a German fighter, was making a sweeping run at them from their right. He began firing at the plane and hit it when it was only 400 yards away. “He’d have gotten us if I hadn’t shot him first,” he recalled, with a distant glance into the past, a tribute to his memory.

And he hadn’t forgotten when the Section 8 was shot down near the end of their tour. “We knew we were going down immediately. They hit the engine and it was all over. We had to ditch the plane into the English Channel. I watched as that plane hit the water and I will never forget how the water flooded over it so quickly.” The crew managed to parachute to temporary safety and they didn’t loose any crew members in that incident. “We were floating in the Channel for about an hour and a half when the shore patrol picked us up. I’ve never been so glad to see a boat in all my life.” George recalled with a smile, “We were given a ditching citation and we immediately became members of the Gold Fish Club.” Their final mission occurred on D-Day. “We left early that morning. I think it was around 2 AM or so. But we were over Normandy just after the sun came up. We bombed several structures and some barracks, and we swept the Germans with our machine guns.”

Of course, their excitement wasn’t limited to their missions in the air. “One night, the RAF (Royal Air Force) shot up our barracks and made us mad. They said it was an accident, but man, what an accident.” Fortunately, no one was hurt. “No, it was mostly just a nuisance.”
Perhaps the most interesting occurrence for George was when he was on leave and was hitchhiking back to the airfield. “We hitched a ride everywhere we went. One day, I was hitching a ride and was surprised to open the door and see Queen Elizabeth. Of course, she was still a princess then, but she was very nice and we chatted for several minutes until they dropped me off.”

The Queen wasn’t the only high profile figures he encountered overseas. “Once, I met both Doris Day and Betty Grabble when they came through doing a tour. I think meeting Doris Day was the best part of my being there.”

After his part was played, George and the crew returned stateside and cheered on the boys who continued the fight. “Those were different days. Everyone knew what their part was, and everyone did what was expected of them. None of us complained; we just did what we had to do.” Once back in the States, George met Martha in Fort Worth, Texas, who was working at piecing together planes for the war cause. “She was my ‘Rosie Riveter’, and I knew I better marry her if I knew what was good for me.” Then, after a scowl from Martha, he winked at me and clarified. "She wasn't Rosie Riveter; she was much prettier." (Martha wanted clarification that she was never, ever a riveter. I think George had a way of teasing his wife, right up to the very end.)

The Pruitts were happily married for more than 60 years, and resided in Hamlin, Texas for most of those years. George died shortly after this interview, and Martha now lives in Snyder, Texas, where she is continually surrounded by family. I count it an honor to have an opportunity to sit in the presence of such great men as George Pruitt. Without the contribution those men and women made, we’d be drinking French wine with German labels, and the maps would be drawn differently than they are currently.

Thank you, George, for the sacrifice you were willing to make in order to guarantee our freedoms. May God richly bless you and your family.

Part II of George's story taken from his personal journal .

A Final View from the Section 8

Mission N0. 26.
May 28th, 1944
Went to Magnebourg Germany and bombed the railway marshalling yards. We were hit by flak in the Dumar Lake Area, but not much damage was done. Made it onto the target where we were hit again by flak and knocked a hole in No 1 engine oil cooler draining all the oil from the tank. Was unable to feather the prop leaving it to windmill, and were unable to stay up with formation and hold altitude so we had to jettison all armor plating, guns and ball turret. Thought for a while we wouldn’t be able to make it back to the enemy coast but the old ship just kept on flying. So we made it back to our base. Here we are ready for another smashing good raid.

This week marks the 64th anniversary for George and Martha Pruitt, barely weeks following George’s death. I’ve made several pitiful attempts to bring honor to an honorable man and his family, and I can’t help but surrender to the fact that some people’s lives can’t be reduced to a few paragraphs in an article. Who George was, and who he became, begat an entire legacy of Christian values and noble patriotism which leaves indelible marks upon many generations—both those present and those to come. I’m thankful that my children had the opportunity to sit in his lap and share his kind, gentle smile. It is with a heavy heart that I announce this will by my last post about a war hero turned family man. If you haven't seen the other stories of the Section 8 and its crew, I invite you to glance through them in my previous posts in this month and last month. I now offer you two of his journal entries that must be shared with freedom loving people throughout our nation. For without him, freedom wouldn’t be possible. For if everyone held the belief that protecting our country belongs to “other people’s children,” then no one would have stood up to defeat the evil Axis powers. He knowingly and deliberately stood to his feet and drew a line in the sand indicating that Americans would not bow, nor would they slumber in the face of tyranny.

So many others stood with him and made that same declaration. My own grandfathers fought with him in that great war. Unfortunately, they were reluctant to discuss their lives during the war, and we have no record of what they faced and overcame. PFC Travis Boyd Inman served in the 303rd of the 97th Infantry Division during their Pacific Theater action and the subsequent occupation of Japan. Guy Bairrington, who served with both the 82nd Airborne, and the 101st Airborne, was one of those who parachuted into France on D-Day. He also returned with a purple heart. I’m proud to think that George and Guy were both in the same air at the same time, fighting the same enemy. Now, all three of these noble warriors have gone into eternity, leaving their families to follow in their examples. I pray that we don’t fail them or dishonor their contributions.

Mission No 30.
June 6, 1944
Completion of my last tour of duty. Didn’t get any sleep last night. Briefing at 10:30 pm. Take off at 2:10 am. Bombed beach head 8 minutes before invasion troops landed. Never saw such perfect timing and teamwork as was displayed by our air and ground forces this morning. Everything worked perfect. We bombed at 7:22 am and troops landed at 7:30 am. We landed back at our base at 9:45 am. Every available airplane in the 8th and 9th Air Force were flying. Here’s hoping those boys over there the best of luck in seizing and establishing their stronghold. God only knows they're apt to need it.
And with those words, I leave you to contemplate such great men. I pray their lives will influence my children to be as convicted as were they.

Learn more about the Section 8 and their mission over Normandy on D-Day, and catch another glimpse into the journal by following this link....

Another View from the Section 8

Another View from the Section 8

George Pruitt passed away in Lubbock, Texas on July 5, 2008 following a massive stroke. He was surrounded by family and died with honor. May we shake hands when he greets me at the Pearly Gates.

George certainly came from the mold that pressed out heroes. I’m not implying that he was a perfect man, and he’d be the first to agree with me about his lack thereof, but George was a mighty man of valor, and his deeds are worthy of recording. In his latter years, he was a man of faith, and never once backed down from his love for Christ. He was an excellent father, husband, and grandfather. In fact, he passed away being surrounded by family—and there is no better way to go. The love and devotion demonstrated by his family lends insight to his character because those are the ones who knew him best. In honor of his life, I’m going to continue his epic struggle against the Nazi invasion of France. So, buckle in, it’s going to be an enjoyable journey.

This account is taken from his very own war journal, which was recently made available to me by Martha, George’s bride from 64 years past. George kept meticulous notes concerning the missions he flew and various odd details about each one. We know from his records that he was very generous, having lent many hundreds of dollars to his fellow airmen—most of them paid him back! I’ll share with you bits and pieces of his journal, and I’ll start with a mission he flew two-thirds of the way through his tour of duty.

Mission No. 20
April 29, 1944
Hit Berlin, Germany. On the way to the target number 2 engine started acting up, forcing us to pull military power to keep up with formation. Over target—number 3 engine was knocked out, loosing oil pressure and were unable to feather propeller. As a result, we had to let it windmill. As we were leaving target, number 1 engine was shot out, leaving us with only two engines. We were unable to stay with any of the returning formations and we were losing altitude. So, we threw out all our guns and ammunition. The ship was shot to pieces by flak. So, we were coming in “on a wing and a prayer,” just hoping and praying we’d have enough gas to get out of enemy territory, and praying we wouldn’t be intercepted by enemy fighters. And our prayers came true. We weren’t intercepted and we got out of enemy territory. But as we were crossing the North Sea, flying at about 4,000 feet, our two faithful engines run out of gas, forcing us to dead stick land in the water. The pilot made a beautiful landing and we all got out uninjured. We were in our dinghies 40 minutes when the air sea rescue picked us up. Our plane floated 57 minutes, which is believed to be the longest period of time any US Army/Air Force plane has floated. Lt. John R. Jeans, our navigator, got a few chips of glass in his eye when the plexiglass nose was hit by flak. Thanks to Lt. Suckow’s beautiful land and the wonderful work done by radio operator SSGT Joe C Spermbaur in contacting air Sea Rescue.Now, there were some corrections he penned into his journal in a different color ink than he used originally. One of the changes documented that they weren’t in the English Channel when they went down, but in the North Sea. Either way, it’s a remarkable story. At his funeral on July 7, 2008, his photo was posted near his casket. In the photo, he wore a boyish smile on a warrior’s face. You could see in his eyes the determination that he was were he was supposed to be and he was doing what he was supposed to be doing. I asked him once if he was worried about going to war. He never hesitated in his answer, “No. We knew we were going to win before we ever left,” which reminds me of a quote from Sun Tzu, “the victorious warrior wins first, and then goes to war; the defeated warrior goes to war first, and then seeks to win.”

Along with his photo, was a small laminated card the size of an actual playing card, which documented his enrollment into the Goldfish Club. For more information on this exclusive group, see:    http://www.geocities.com/b24gunr2000/Goldfish_Club.html Thanks to the Pruitt family for allowing me insight into a wonderful story and an incredible man.

Learn more about the crew of the Section 8 and their mission over Normandy on D-Day by clicking here: D-Day, A View From The Section 8.
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Part three of the Section 8 story is found here....