The Monitor (Mabank, Tex.), Vol. 39, No. 42, Ed. 1 Sunday, January 6, 2013 Page: 11 of 16
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Page 3B • The Monitor - Sunday, January 6, 2013
Senior Focus
Tail gunner recalls WWII missions over Germany
Enchanted Oaks resident tells of bombing raid mishaps
Monitor Photo/Pearl Cantreii
David Burch, 87, is a retired member of the US Coast
Guard Auxiliary Flotilla 5-14, who was recognized
Dec. 7, 2012, as a living memory of World War II. He
served as a tail gunner on 22 bombing missions into
Germany.
By Pearl Cantrell
Monitor Staff Writer
CEDAR CREEK
LAKE-Enchanted Oaks
resident David Burch, 87,
is one of those we count
among the “Greatest Gen-
eration” and also one of
the less than 1.4 million
World War II veterans
now left alive.
The National World
War II Museum reminds us
that we are losing a living
memory of “the Greatest
Generation” every 100
seconds.
According to the De-
partment of Veteran Af-
fairs, exactly 16,112,566
Americans served in
World War II, of whom
405,399 died in service
and 670,847 were
wounded.
As of November 2011
- the latest figures avail-
able - an estimated
1,711,000 were still living.
But that number is far less
now. Some 270,000 vet-
erans died in 2011, so, with
more than 800 passing
away every day, that num-
ber may drop to just over
1.4 million by the end of
2012.
If it’s any consolation,
well likely still be honor-
ing living WWII vets for at
least two more decades.
Basing their estimates on
both history and longer life
expectancies, the govern-
ment projects that 855,000
still will be alive on Sept.
30,2015,57,000 on Sept.
30, 2025 - and 370 on
Sept. 30, 2036.
It may surprise you, but
the last veteran of every
war the United States has
fought (except the Mexi-
can) lived past 100. These
included the Revolutionary
War’s Daniel Bakeman,
who died at 109 on April
5, 1869; the War of
1812’s Hiram Cronk, who
died at 105 on May 13,
1905; the Civil War’s
Albert Woolson, who died
at 109 on Aug. 2, 1956;
and, most recently, World
War I’s Frank Buckles,
who died at 110 on Feb.
27, 2011.If you’re won-
dering about other wars,
there are still an estimated
2.275.000 surviving veter-
ans from the Korean War,
7.391.000 from Vietnam;
and 2,245,000 from
Desert Shield/Desert
Storm. By the way, as of
September 2011, there
were still two children of
Civil War veterans still on
the government’s veterans
benefits rolls.Some final
numbers to reflect on to-
day: In all wars involving
the United States from
1775-1991, nearly 42 mil-
lion served, more than
1.190.000 died and an-
other 1.4 million were
wounded. Counting both
times of war and peace,
there were an estimated
22.234.000 veterans living
as of last November.
David Burch served with
the 486th Bombing Group
from an airbase in
Sudbury, England, during
World War II. In the six
months he was stationed
there, he flew 22 missions
as a tail gunner, over stra-
tegic targets in Germany, as
part of the 8th Air Force,
under the command of Lt.
Gen. Jimmy Doolittle.
At the U.S. entry into
the war, the survival rate of
a flight crew over hostile
European territory was 30
percent, Burch recalled.
During the last six months
or so of the war, that sur-
vival rate rose to 75 per-
cent, due to escort by P-
51 fighter planes.
Burch enlisted in the Air
Force when he was 17,
before he could be drafted.
“I wanted to fly,” he said.
With dreams of becoming
a pilot, he was accepted
into the Aviation Cadet
Program. However, when
he was called up 16 days
after his 18th birthday,
there were no openings in
the pilot training program,
nor did the Air Force need
flight engineers. Burch
said, it did cross his mind
to ask why they had open-
ings for tail gunners, but he
told the recruiter, “I joined
to fly, so I’ll go where you
send me.”
He spent 1943 in boot
camp, artillery training and
then crew training. He saw
his 19th birthday before
heading overseas.
A tail gunner is situated
right at the backend of a
B-17 with windows on
both sides and a view
Burch IZ^I See Page 4B
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Cantrell, Pearl. The Monitor (Mabank, Tex.), Vol. 39, No. 42, Ed. 1 Sunday, January 6, 2013, newspaper, January 6, 2013; Mabank, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth630357/m1/11/?rotate=90: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; .