WW II veteran remembered

TOP TURRET GUNNER:
Floyd Rowe pictured here before he flew his first and last mission over Europe in World War II.

The Anderson VFW lost a member June 16 when Floyd Rowe, 86, of Redding, died of a stroke.

Rowe was noted first and foremost by his wife, Margery, and son, Tom, for his tastes in food, boating and practical jokes. Margery had difficulty remembering much of Rowe’s life but agreed happily when Tom brought up her husband’s knack for mischief.

Margery, who worked as a nurse in 1944 in Los Angeles, met Rowe when he returned from WW II. He was her patient at the time. She had to sneak him out of the hospital for their first date.

“He was a good, wonderful old guy, full of fun,” Margery said.

Despite his sociable nature, Rowe never talked too much to his family about the day his crew’s shot-up B-17 made a crash landing in England during World War II. Instead of landing recklessly amid the small town of Wymington, the flight crew managed to turn the aircraft, clipping a tall tree and crashing in a field. Seven crewmembers died.

Staff Seargent Rowe of the Army Air Corps was burned in the wreck and nearly lost his ear, but he survived along with gunner Seargent Francis J. Schmidmeister. Rowe worked as the engineer and top gunner of the Miss Liberty Belle, a B-17 Flying Fortress. The crash occurred on their return to base in England.

Rowe went back to the scene of the crash in 2000, where the town of Wymington and members of 305th Bomb Group Memorial Association held a reunion.

They unveiled a plaque commemorating the bravery of the crewmen, as well as the townsfolk who rescued Rowe and Schmidmeister. The Anderson VFW raised funds to help Rowe make the trip.

Upon returning to the crash site, Rowe was overcome with emotion. Even before he returned to England, Rowe was experiencing nightmares about his crew members, said his daughter, Elizabeth, who joined him on the trip.

At the memorial, also the site of the crash, Rowe was reacquainted with Michael Smith, who, at age 15, assisted Rowe and also pulled deceased crewmembers from the wreckage.

“Tears filled both their eyes,” wrote Elizabeth of their meeting. “These two men, one a rescuer and one a survivor, finally met face to face after 56 years!”

Rowe and Smith retold the events of the crash to Elizabeth.

“At times dad was shaking, he couldn’t hold his hands still, I think he was reliving the whole thing over again,” Elizabeth said. “Dad continued to tell how hard (pilots) Morrill and Barnett worked to turn the plane away from the town . . . dad began to cry.”

“He broke down and sobbed, he couldn’t believe he reacted that way and kept apologizing. He had survivor’s guilt. He kept saying, ‘I shouldn’t be alive, I should be with them,” Elizabeth said.

Ian White, an associate of the 305th BGMA and historian of the crew’s mission, summarized the events of the crew’s tragic return on August 3, 1944:

“The mission of August 3rd 1944, tragically, was (Rowe’s) very first one over occupied Europe. . . .“The plane was struggling back after suffering flak hits on the way in . . . so effectively they were flying home on just one and a half motors.

“. . . the crew fought to keep airborne, with the last remaining good engine over-revving and eventually red-lining and seizing-up. That and the hitting of an ancient elm tree, at 60 feet high, caused the crash.”

According to Rowe’s son, Tom, Rowe was positioned between the pilots, pulling back on the throttle while the pilots manned the yokes. From this position, Rowe was ejected from the aircraft, landing some distance from the bulk of the wreckage with debris from the airplane caught on his flight suit.

Many townsfolk attended the memorial of the Miss Liberty Belle and thanked Rowe.

“They were so thankful to the two pilots and the crew for the miracle they performed by turning that large plane, the Flying Fortress, away from their village,” Elizabeth said. “It’s an emotion that had to be experienced, by seeing the love and the sadness that these strangers have . . . for the one survivor that they could actually speak to. It is a feeling that I will treasure for the rest of my life.”

Plans for Rowe’s memorial service are pending. He is survived by wife Margery; son, Tom; and daughter, Elizabeth Pate. He was preceded in death by daughter Stephanie.