Friday, March 9, a man I’ve known for 45 years died. His name was Donald J. Noe. He was the grandfather of my two sons. But he was much more than that.
Don flew B-17 bombers, Flying Fortresses, over Germany during the war. At age 19, he was commander of one of those incredible airplanes, flying out of an airbase at Great Ashfield, England.
To see the story of one of the planes he flew, go here, if you want – but below the link is the important part:
http://www.b17warhorse.fws1.com/whats_new.html
Please note this footnote, which will tell you a bit about Don:
“On July 8, 1944 - Lt. Donald J. Noe flew his first combat mission as co-pilot on the crew of the “War Horse.”
“It was on this mission - the 15th for the crew of the “War Horse” - when Lt. W. W. Dutt was hit by flak. The “War Horse” was severely damaged and fell from formation - more than 10,000 feet - before the pilot and co-pilot gained control to pull out of the dive and fly the crippled bomber back to Great Ashfield on three engines.
“On August 6, 1944 - Lt. Noe's bomber was damaged on a mission to Berlin. With dead and wounded on board, utilizing the four engines to maintain elevation and direction, he flew his B-17 back to Great Ashfield without use of rudder and elevator control. All control cables to the tail had been cut by a ME-109 that all but sliced the bomber in half behind the radio room in the waist area.
“At Great Ashfield, the dead and wounded were thrown out using ‘Dead-Man’ cords to open parachutes - then after heading the bomber out to the English Channel, Lt. Noe bailed out.
“It was later learned the B-17 turned and crashed into a house in England. The bomber and house were destroyed but no one was hurt on the ground. The lady of the house happened to be in church that day.”
Also this, from another link, which would seem to provide a bit of detail about the third airplane of Don’s that was shot up:
http://www.100thbg.com/mainpages/crews/crews4/gilbert.htm
Excerpt:
“Hi Sam, after receiving your telephone call and also calling both Jan Riddling and David Julian (Dad flew on Lt Gilbert Crew as NAV) I think we have this figured out. Your dad was originally assigned to the 385th Bomb Group (H) based at Great Ashfield in England. On August 6, 1944, while flying in AC 337528 named “Lady Luck,” they were hit by flak.
“With a damaged aircraft, the pilot, Lt. Donald J. Noe, was able to nurse the plane back to England and crash-land the plane at [Thelnetham]. Records say the crew returned to duty and the B-17 was salvaged.”
After flying his missions and dropping tons of high explosives on Germany, Don quietly managing a Ford dealership in Los Angeles.
At one point he returned to England with a group of former airmen, his brothers in arms. He combed through the field where the house that his plane destroyed once had stood and found shell casings, metal fragments, engine parts and much more.
He told me, in one of a series of letters that he wrote to me, that he’d spent the intervening years convinced that the crash had killed the house’s occupants. He was hugely relieved to learn that this was not the case – he had harbored a tremendous sense of guilt over this.
In all, Don had three B-17s shot out from under him. Rarely did he talk about his experiences - except occasionally after a couple of Christmas Eve cocktails. It’s been a very long time ago, with much very dirty water under the bridge, but I seem to remember that Seagram’s 7 Crown whiskey was the tipple of choice. That, and Miller High Life beer, which he taught me to drink.
He would take down the box containing his flight jacket, complete with nose art on the back, and a D-ring from his parachute rip cord – the one he pulled to bail out over the English Channel, I seem to remember - and show the contents to family members. Then he’d put everything carefully away. We might not see it again for years.
Because of distance and much more, I’ve not seen Don in years. Because of distance and much more, I will be unable to attend his services, no matter how much I might like to. I feel badly about that, but some things just cannot be helped.
But I will be thinking of him as he is laid to rest. And I will salute him, in my own way, with a shot of Seagram’s 7 Crown. He deserves that, and much more.
All in all, Don Noe was a hell of a man, a member in good standing of the Greatest Generation. May he rest in peace.
-JFT
