Bernard "Sonny" Garber, Flight Engineer, Top Turret Gunner

Bernard Garber, 1919-2002

My father's  time in the armed forces during World War II was an important part of his life - he was proud to have served. But Bernard "Sonny" Garber, did not talk much about his Army Air Corps experience. He'd enlisted in the Army Air Corps on 2 February 1942.[1] I recall him saying that he knew he was about to be drafted and wanted to choose his branch of service. He was 23 years old.

For a kid from Brooklyn, training in Arizona was memorable. He was enthralled with the desert around Tucson and the open spaces. He had hoped to be a pilot but, like so many, washed out. He received his gunner's wings in Kingman, AZ in March of 1944.

There are great challenges for those of us researching our ancestors who served during WWII in the Army Air Corps. A fire at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, Missouri destroyed 16-18 million Official Military Personnel Files on 12 July 1973. In March of 2008, I requested my father's service records and received only three pages: his Final Payment Roll - essentially his mustering out papers. He was discharged from Fort Dix on 3 September 1945.

Among the papers my brother and I found in my parents' home was a draft of an article that was sent by the Army on 14 April 1945 for publication in the Brooklyn Citizen. The photo, above, was published with the article.

AN EIGHTH AIR FORCE BOMBER STATION, England - - Shown beside his top turret guns on his B-17 Flying Fortress is Technical Sergeant Bernard Garber, 25 year old aerial engineer from Brooklyn, New York.

Sgt. Garber has recently been awarded the third Oak Leaf Cluster to the Air Medal for "meritorious achievement" while participating in the Eighth Air Force attacks on vital industrial targets and enemy held installations in Germany. The official citation accompanying the award commented on the "courage, coolness and skill displayed by Sgt. Garber on all occasions," as reflecting "great credit upon himself and the Armed Forces of the United States." The presentation was made by his group commander, Colonel Wm. J. Wrigglesworth of Eau Claire, Wisconsin.

As a member of the 447th Bomb. Group, a unit of the Third Air Division, the division which has been cited by the President for the now historic England-Africa shuttle mission bombing of Messerschmitt factories at Regensburg, Germany, Sgt. Garber is flying combat missions in what is considered to the the toughest theatre of aerial warfare.

The son of Mr. and Mrs. B. [sic, should be 'J.'] Garber of 2595 Ocean Ave., Brooklyn, Sgt. Garber before entering the Army Air Forces in February, 1942, was employed by the McKinley & Edwards [sic, should be 'McKinley Edwards'] Co. of New York City. He received his gunner's wings in March, 1944, at Kingman, Arizona.

Colonel Wrigglesworth commanded the base at Rattlesden, England. With this and the above information I made an inquiry on a WWII Eighth Air Force online discussion forum and received some great information from Keith Hardie a frequent participant on the forum.

Wessling Crew: B.Garber is kneeling, 2nd from left

Bernard Garber was in the 447th Bomb Group, 709th Bomb Squadron, John V. Wessling Crew . The crew, as reported on the 8 January 1945 loading list (which may have been one of my father's last missions) [2]:

• Pilot: 1st Lt. John V. Wessling
• Co-Pilot: Lt. T.J. Foley
• Navigator: 1st Lt. W.C. Rausch
• Bombardier: 1st Lt. A.M. Smith
• Top Turret Gunner: Tech. Sgt. B. Garber
• Radio: Tech. Sgt. C.D. Koehler
• Ball Turret Gunner: Staff Sgt. H.F. Olafson
• Waist Gunner: Staff Sgt. M.S. Taylor
• Tail Gunner: Staff Sgt. A.V. Stanley

Keith also provided a partial list of missions for the Wessling Crew.[2]
        -->

Date	Ship	Target
28 Sep 1944	Dixie Marie	Merseberg
2 Oct 1944	Scheherazade	Kassel/Henschel
3 Oct 1944	The Big Ass Bird	Giedbelstadt
5 Oct 1944	Shack Happy	Munster/Loddenhede
14 Oct 1944	Devil’s Mate II	Cologne
15 Oct 1944	The Big Ass Bird	Cologne
17 Oct 1944	The Big Ass Bird	Cologne
18 Oct 1944	Uninvited	Kassel/Mittefeld
19 Oct 1944	The Big Ass Bird	Mannheim
25 Oct 1944	American Beauty	Hamburg
26 Oct 1944	The Big Ass Bird	Hannover
30 Oct 1944	The Big Ass Bird	Merseberg
2 Nov 1944	The Big Ass Bird	Merseberg
26 Nov 1944	?	Hamm
27 Nov 1944	Lady Jane/Stinky	Bingen
30 Nov 1944	Wolf Wagon	Lutzkendorf (Merseberg area)
4 Dec 1944	The Big Ass Bird	Mainz
8 Jan 1945	The Black Brassiere	Frankfurt

My father was in the top turret of the plane - a very exposed position. One story my father related to us was that there had been an airman who was jealous of my father's position on the plane. Somehow it was arranged that this man would go on one mission and take the top turret. The man returned having taken some scrapnel in his bottom. My father was amused. 

We attributed my father's luck to the fact that he had a very small bottom. This makes it all the more amusing that the plane his crew flew most often was The Big Ass Bird. It had been painted by Nicholas H. Fingelly of Bridgeport, Connecticut.

My father finished all of his missions - no mean feat in the Eighth Air Force, a group that lost many planes and airmen. He completed his missions before many of his comrades in arms and was fortunate to return to the States before the war ended. He considered that his early arrival home gave him a leg up on courting my mother. 

Thank you, Dad, for all your service. I love you and miss you.

Notes
1. US World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946, database online, Ancestry.com (http://ancestry.com : accessed 11 November 2012), Bernard Garber, NARA Record Group 64.
2. Army Air Forces.com Forum (447th BG-Rattlesden), Army Air Forces.com, (http://forum.armyairforces.com : accessed 11-13 January 2009), query "Seeking info on Tech Sgt Bernard Garber"