Departing From IAH: A Journey Back To World War II

Clyde
Gilmore flew 21 combat missions as a radio gunner in World War II.
During one, his plane lost two engines over the target and crash-landed
in Brussels. The army sent a B-24 to pick him up.

For
Gilmore and other members of his 95th Bomb Group, time between missions
was spent at a base outside London. Now Gilmore, 86, a retired engineer
from Houston, is again waiting for his ride back.

Eleven
veterans of the 95th, along with nine from the 9th and one from the
390th, are meeting in England to tour their old haunting
grounds — including three buildings on base that have been reconstructed
to resemble their former selves.

“We’ll
just try to revive old memories,” Gilmore tells Hair Balls from the IAH
departure lounge as he waits for the flight to Heathrow. “This is
usually what happens at these get-togethers, you know.”

The
95th flew 351 missions out of its base in Horham and was the first to
bomb Berlin in daylight. It has a memorial foundation which, about five
years ago, sponsored a trip that drew 50 veterans and family members.
This time the group is at 102, according to reunion chair Brad
Petrella, whose father was in the 95th.

“For
many of them, this is going to be their last trip,” he says. “All of
these guys are in their 80s. They’re very, very spry. But as I read the
roster of those who have passed on, the list just grows.”

The
itinerary features stops in the countryside in Suffolk, the American
War Cemetery at Mattingly in Cambridge and the 95th’s own museum in
Horham.

But
the highlight might be a visit to the reconstructed Red Feather
Club — which was the non-commissioned officer’s club. On Saturday night
it will host a `40s-style dance with a 20-piece swing band and over 250
guests (some in `40s attire) to recapture the building’s old glory.

“I
always heard about these parties,” Petrella says. “I don’t want to say
too much, but the parties were so good that the officers, who had their
own club, would come to the Red Feather Club — because, as my dad always
said, ‘We had the best drink and the best women.'”

Gilmore
remembers the club as a place to grab a drink and talk with friends. He
says the chance to do so again is enough to make the trip worthwhile.