B 17 Flying Fortress

Looking back at three wars

Metro daily - A veteran of three wars, Archer M. Baird started his career as a bombardier in a B-17 Flying Fortress in WWII, Wednesday, July 27, 2011. This is a historic photo of him, far right, with other members of the crew of the "Eager Eagle II". Photo Bob Owen/rowen@express-news.net.

Retired Air Force Col. Archer Baird has lots of war stories to tell and often punctuates them with soft laughter.

At 95, he has reason to laugh — and be thankful.

Baird has never forgotten his conversations with a distant relative who lost an arm as a Confederate soldier in 1864 or a B-17 combat mission with actor Clark Gable manning a machine gun next to him over France.

“I spent my time telling him not to shoot at those fighters out there because they are American fighters,” he said, chuckling.

Surrounded by old photos of crewmates and of bombs falling over Germany, and his father's Army flyer's helmet, worn during pilot training in World War I, Baird sat in the San Antonio law office of his son, Morton Baird II , on Wednesday, the 58th anniversary of the end of the Korean War, and took stock of a life in uniform.

During that conflict, which claimed 33,739 American lives, he was stationed at an air base on the outskirts of Tokyo. When an air raid siren cut through the air for routine drills, his wife and two children would dive into foxholes dug just outside the house. If scary to some, it was routine back then.

“I accepted it,” said his daughter, Harriet Manclark , 65, of San Antonio. “I never was afraid.”

The two Koreas signed an armistice but never made peace. They're technically in a state of war, and tensions between Seoul and Pyongyang have been high through the decades.

Baird came home from World War II, joined the reserves and went to St. Petersburg, Fla., where he worked for his father's refrigerator parts and supply company. But after the North Korean army invaded the south, he got orders to Japan, where he served as a transportation officer.

“I liked it,” said Baird, who ditched the idea of working for his father. “I think he was glad. I just say that to be funny, but I never did learn the business good. It wasn't my line. The Air Force was.”

He would later serve in Vietnam, overseeing C-130 cargo plane operations in support of ground troops.

Perhaps the military was in his blood. As a youth, Baird walked down the street while living in Greensboro, Ala., for visits with his great-uncle, John Turpin .

WWII B-17 Flying Fortress: Oswego Crash

Less than an hour ago, a restored WWII  B-17 Flying Fortress bomber, crashed near Oswego, Chicago. All seven people aboard the vintage plane survived. The vintage WWII B-17 Flying Fortress, was owned by the Liberty Foundation and was nicknamed the Liberty Bell.

As a side note, last summer, my youngest son and I, had the pleasure to tour this WWII B-17, at our local airport. Although we could not afford to take a ride in her, we spent hours, climbing through the plane, talking to old timers, and recording it’s flight on video.

It’s a shame, that we have lost such a great vintage plane of a bygone era, but we are happy, that all seven people aboard her survived. I’m sure we will have an update from one or more of the survivors of this crash.

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