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| I was the tail gunner on Al Locke�s crew from the time we began training with the 448th B.G. in the summer of 1943 until our tour of combat duty was cut short by our ditching in the North Sea on April 29, 1944. I had supreme confidence in him and believed that whatever the situation, he could pull us through. His ability as a pilot was a major factor in our being selected to become a PFF lead crew in February, 1944, after having flown eight missions. I guess one of the things I most appreciated about my pilot was that he was not a �hot-shot� like some others. He took no chances with the lives of his crew. I admired his ability to remain calm in any situation. On one occasion during our training, I looked out the waist window just after we had taken off and saw gasoline siphoning out of one filler tube. Using the intercom, I informed him of the situation, and his response was, �OK, we�re going back in,� with not a hint of excitement. As for me, I just knew that the stream of gasoline was going to catch fire and blow us up. Al took good care of us. For example, our engineer, Virgil Carroll, was busted from tech. sergeant to private because our C.O. blamed him for not properly securing the filler cap, which, as it turned out, was defective. Virgil was understandably furious and insisted he was going to refuse to fly. Al came to our barracks and assured him that he would have Virgil�s rank restored shortly. That promise was kept. Had it not been for his skill in flying the B-24, I wouldn�t be here. On our last mission we lost one engine and had another hit badly enough that its rpm�s were substantially reduced. As a result, we dropped from our lead position to the rear of the formation, and as I sat in my tail turret I saw four straggling Libs get shot down. Had Al not been able to keep up with the formation in spite of the engine problems, I have no doubt but what we would have also been shot down. He later received the DFC on the basis of that mission. I admired him not only as a pilot but also as a person. He had a good sense of humor and never gave any evidence of feeling himself better than his enlisted crew members. Moreover, his morals were impeccable. A majority of the married men that I knew in service, even though they loved their wives, were not very faithful to them. Al, on the other hand, never gave even the slightest hint of desiring any female companionship other than that of his wife, Pat. In my eyes, he was an excellent pilot and an even better person. Dale VanBlair |
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