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Prolog - The
following article appeared in a Western New York newspaper a few
years ago. I wanted to
honor an old friend and aviation buddy who played a big part in my
early flying days in the Niagara Falls, New York area many years ago. While the
names and places may not sound familiar to most of you, I know, as
aviators yourselves, you will identify with the aviation theme and
what the word aviation means to us. This
is really a story about aviation war heroes, old airplanes and old
flying buddies that carved the mold for what we embrace today.
Lockport,
NY lost a native son and WWII aviator last week. I lost an old flying partner and good friend.
I met
Joe decades ago when we both worked at the Harrison Radiator West
plant in Lockport, NY. We became
friends with a common interest – flying.
It was the 1970’s -- I was an aspiring student pilot and
Joe was a WWII veteran flyer who held me on the edge of my seat with
tales of his war exploits.
Staff
Sergeant Joseph Frombgen served as an engineer and tail gunner on a
Martin B-26 Marauder bomber, “The Bad Penney” in the 386th Bomb
Group, 9th Air Force in World War II. He completed over 70 missions over Nazi-dominated Europe in
all kinds of weather and endured almost constant pounding from
German anti-aircraft fire. Joe
was there in the first wave of bombing runs over Normandy in the
early morning hours of June 6, 1944 – D Day and in most of the
other major battles of WWII including “The Battle of the Bulge”.
He was awarded the Air Metal, several Oak Leaf Clusters and
the Distinguished Flying Cross for “extraordinary achievement as
an engineer-gunner on a B-26 Marauder bomber”.
Unlike
some veterans, Joe really enjoyed talking about his wartime flying
days and his tales were fascinating to a “still wet behind the
ears” pilot -- I soaked these tales up for hours. Joe really brought this era to life and he did this in his
modest and humble way – he knew he was just a part of a larger
plan.
As the
years passed, we collaborated and purchased our first plane together
– a 1946 “Ercoupe”, a little two-seat low wing beauty that we
would fly over Lockport and all of Western New York. We would marvel at the special lofty view we were given –
seeing the beauty of the earth from this vantage point was always
special. The
“Coupe” could be flown with the canopy slid down into the
fuselage for that “open air convertible” effect – this was
real grass roots flying.
When I
was flying, Joe would take “snapshots” with his “Instamatic”
camera. Sometimes, he
would hold the camera at arms length and snap photos of us piloting
that little bird. Many
of those self-portraits came out just fine. Those were special times and I will always cherish them.
Time
flew and we sold the “Coupe” and dissolved the plane partnership
but not our friendship. I
bought a slightly larger and faster aircraft for cross county trips
and Joe bought an ultralight and then another Ercoupe.
Joe and I still managed to fly together whenever we could,
still marveling at how lucky we were to be up there.
In the
late ‘80’s, I transferred to the GM Saturn plant in Tennessee but
Joe and I stayed in touch. We
would get together to fly and reminisce about the “flying the
Coupe” days whenever I managed to get up to New York.
We
would exchange gifts over the years – mostly aviation related.
Once I received a slender wooden crate over 8 feet long. It was an old wooden propeller from a vintage biplane. He never would accept reimbursement on the shipping costs.
As the
years passed, there would be less flying and more reminiscing –
the veteran aviator was getting up in years and was pretty much
confined to his home. Visiting
Joe was like going back in time. We would pour over photos of days gone by surrounded by still
larger photos of WWII aircraft (mostly B-26 Marauders) hanging on
the walls -- gently sharing space with family photos.
There
are so many memories that float in my consciousness since Joe’s
passing, like eating homemade apple pie at the airport restaurant in
Batavia (the restaurant is long gone), and the low approaches over
the hills at the Dansville airport. After
landing at Dansville, we would take a short walk to a “truck
stop” dinner where we would partake of the
“sirloin burgers” -- joking on the walk back to the
airport about the sirloin part. They
were tasty though and I wonder if they’re still serving them after
all these years. Yes, there are scores of great memories that will linger with me
for at least a lifetime.
Yes,
the early “Coupe” years were special times for us – the WWII
aviation hero and the green horn pilot who absorbed the vet’s war
stories like a thirsty sponge.
Joe’s
war history and passing will go unnoticed by most with the exception
of his surviving family and friends. But to me, these were major events. He was a war hero, my
partner and loyal pal and I will never forget him.
Thanks
Joe, for the memories of a time and era gone by.
When I’m looking down and marveling at the beauty of the
earth from my lofty and privileged seat like we did so many times
together and so many years ago, I’ll be thinking of you.
Because I know you’ll be looking down on me -- with a marvel and wonder that belongs to you and me alone.
Goodbye for now old pal.
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