W. Br. Horace Zimmerman, PM, HA I enlisted in the U.S. Air Force, Oct. 15, 1942, and was sent to the Presidio in San Francisco for a short period. Then I was sent to Williams Field in Chandler Arizona. I spent 20 days in the hospital with pneumonia.
Being 20 years old and because my mother would not sign, I could not go into pilot training. When I turned 21, I put in for pilot training, and was sent to Dos Palos ( Eagle Field ) in the San Joaquin Valley. Completed 65 hours of pilot training and was sent to Lemoore for basic training.
After awhile the Air Force brass decided that I would be a much better navigator than pilot and sent me to Hondo, Texas. In March 1944, I graduated with 135 hours of flight time. Then I was sent to Gowen Field in Boise, Idaho where I was put with a flight group. Picked up another 135 hours of flight time, was then sent to Kansas where I was assigned to a B24. From there my B24 was sent to Morrison Field in Florida. I was beginning to see the world, away from my home in Compton, Calif.
My next stop was Trinidad, then to Belen, Brazil. Then we flew across the Atlantic to North Africa. Passed Tunis, Marrakech etc. My next major stop was an airfield in Italy.
From June 1944 to Feb. 1945, I flew 35 combat missions. Fortunately I didn't get a scratch, even though my B24 did. There were some close calls, like the time my B24 was starting to take off at 150 mph fully loaded with bombs and fuel when a tire blew. My pilot landed the plane safely saving 10 lives. Some of our bombing missions were over Germany and the Balkans. The Ploesti oil fields was an extremely hazardous mission.
I was separated from the service in 1945 and was in the active reserve until 1950. My B24 was called “Our Mom”. My pilot, knowing I had some flight training decided I should have some experience flying “Our Mom” in case something happened to him. I had 35 hours of flying time.
Of the 10 man crew, only two are still around, me the navigator and our tail gunner. All was not blood and gore. I have wonderful memories of visiting Naples on leave, going to the Isle of Capri, seeing and swimming in the famous Blue Grotto. Even more memorable was going to Rome and going in to Vatican City, meeting Pope Pius XII, who shook my hand. Unforgettable.
After returning to the U.S., I opted to train other Air Force personnel in the U.S. My service record was 35 combat missions, 650 flying hours, 245 of which were in combat, and was squadron navigator for 2 months.
Twiggy
