WEBVTT 1 00:00:12.080 --> 00:00:15.960 Welcome to Veterans Chronicles. I'm Greg Corumbus. Our guest in 2 00:00:16.000 --> 00:00:19.519 this edition is Harold Terrens. He's a US Army Air 3 00:00:19.559 --> 00:00:22.800 Corps veteran of World War II. He initially served with 4 00:00:22.839 --> 00:00:25.480 the three hundred and fiftieth Fighter Squadron in the Mighty 5 00:00:25.519 --> 00:00:28.640 eighth Air Force, based in England. He was later moved 6 00:00:28.679 --> 00:00:32.920 to several other locations to facilitate Allied shuttle bombing, including 7 00:00:32.920 --> 00:00:36.200 the Middle East and Russia. As you can tell within 8 00:00:36.240 --> 00:00:39.479 a few seconds of hearing his voice, Harold Terrens is 9 00:00:39.520 --> 00:00:41.039 a New Yorker through and through. 10 00:00:41.359 --> 00:00:45.759 I was born in the Bronx, New York, and I 11 00:00:45.920 --> 00:00:48.719 was raised in the Bronx until I enlisted in the 12 00:00:48.880 --> 00:00:51.880 Army in nineteen forty two. 13 00:00:52.399 --> 00:00:56.200 He was barely an adult on that Sunday afternoon, December seventh, 14 00:00:56.320 --> 00:00:59.799 nineteen forty one, when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. 15 00:01:00.079 --> 00:01:03.960 Well, I was playing basketball in the schoolyard. I was 16 00:01:04.120 --> 00:01:07.920 a little past at eighteen years of age, and someone 17 00:01:08.040 --> 00:01:12.359 came over. It was a Sunday afternoon and they told us, 18 00:01:12.719 --> 00:01:16.079 do you know the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor? And I 19 00:01:16.200 --> 00:01:19.799 remember my first words were, where is Pearl Harbor. I 20 00:01:19.879 --> 00:01:23.239 never heard of it, and they said it's in Hawaii. 21 00:01:23.879 --> 00:01:27.560 I says, okay, And we continued playing basketball as if 22 00:01:27.599 --> 00:01:32.840 nothing happened until the next day. President Franklin Roosevelt says, 23 00:01:33.439 --> 00:01:37.560 we will all remember the Summer seventh, nineteen forty one 24 00:01:38.000 --> 00:01:41.079 as a day of them for me and I herewith 25 00:01:41.159 --> 00:01:46.000 asked Congress to declare war against Japan and Germany, and 26 00:01:46.040 --> 00:01:48.040 that's when we decided to enlist. 27 00:01:48.439 --> 00:01:51.560 Terence says, every kid he knew was very eager to 28 00:01:51.680 --> 00:01:52.640 join the war effort. 29 00:01:52.959 --> 00:01:55.840 No, none at all. I was just patriotic on me 30 00:01:56.159 --> 00:01:59.319 all my friends. We were going to get even with 31 00:01:59.439 --> 00:02:03.239 the German in the Japs, especially the Japanese for bombing 32 00:02:03.280 --> 00:02:05.640 Pearl Harbor, and we were all gung ho. 33 00:02:06.159 --> 00:02:08.680 Terren's own parents did not want him to serve, but 34 00:02:08.759 --> 00:02:10.919 finally relented when they saw that he would be the 35 00:02:10.919 --> 00:02:13.479 only kid in the neighborhood not to join the service. 36 00:02:14.560 --> 00:02:16.960 Terrence not only knew that he wanted to serve, he 37 00:02:17.080 --> 00:02:19.840 knew why. He just had to join the Air Corps, 38 00:02:20.199 --> 00:02:23.680 even though his plans didn't work out exactly as he envisioned. 39 00:02:23.919 --> 00:02:29.039 I wanted to be a pilot, so I chose the AIRCUO. 40 00:02:29.159 --> 00:02:33.840 But when I applied for pilots training, I took a 41 00:02:34.479 --> 00:02:39.240 colorbline test that I failed, and I could not become 42 00:02:39.280 --> 00:02:42.840 a pilot if I was colorbline, and I couldn't believe 43 00:02:42.879 --> 00:02:45.680 I was colorblind, so I took the test again and 44 00:02:45.719 --> 00:02:49.120 I failed again. So I did the next best thing, 45 00:02:49.199 --> 00:02:52.280 and I became a radio operator. And I went to 46 00:02:52.479 --> 00:02:57.199 Radio Operator Mechanics School in sou Full, South Dakota for 47 00:02:57.319 --> 00:03:00.800 five months to get MAYA I degree. 48 00:03:00.919 --> 00:03:04.360 Well disappointed in not becoming a pilot, Terrence quickly developed 49 00:03:04.400 --> 00:03:09.680 another vital skill, sending Morse code very quickly, not at all. 50 00:03:09.639 --> 00:03:14.520 None whatsoever. But I became proficient in a radio I 51 00:03:14.560 --> 00:03:20.000 remember was called a five twenty two Superheterodyne receiver, and 52 00:03:20.080 --> 00:03:24.280 I became a very high speed Morse code operator. 53 00:03:24.520 --> 00:03:25.800 I could take. 54 00:03:25.800 --> 00:03:29.000 Morse code and send it as fast as my own 55 00:03:29.479 --> 00:03:32.639 could write it and as fast as he could send it. 56 00:03:33.360 --> 00:03:36.000 Terrence was deployed to Europe on his twentieth birthday in 57 00:03:36.080 --> 00:03:39.639 nineteen forty three, and the secrecy meant he was a 58 00:03:39.680 --> 00:03:42.319 mystery no show at his own birthday party. 59 00:03:42.520 --> 00:03:47.280 On my twentieth birthday, I was home on furlough and 60 00:03:47.400 --> 00:03:52.120 my parents had planned a big party in our apartment building. 61 00:03:52.199 --> 00:03:55.680 In an empty apartment, they planned a big birthday for 62 00:03:55.879 --> 00:04:01.479 me and I received in the morning they told me 63 00:04:02.719 --> 00:04:06.599 everyone was confined to the base. It was in Uraschell, 64 00:04:06.800 --> 00:04:11.240 New York, right on the Long Island Sound, and we 65 00:04:11.319 --> 00:04:17.720 shipped out boarded a boat that night. No phone calls, nothing. 66 00:04:18.439 --> 00:04:21.560 My parents to all the people at the party, had 67 00:04:21.600 --> 00:04:25.560 no idea where I was, what I was doing, wired 68 00:04:25.680 --> 00:04:28.519 and show up for the party. But I boarded a 69 00:04:28.560 --> 00:04:33.199 ship called the Antlone Castle, a British ship, and we 70 00:04:33.319 --> 00:04:37.879 sailed up Long Island Sound and joined a nomada of 71 00:04:38.000 --> 00:04:44.079 about one hundred other ships because we felt safer when 72 00:04:44.079 --> 00:04:47.839 we sailed together. You know, there were so many German 73 00:04:48.000 --> 00:04:52.000 U boats out there looking the sink troop ships especially, 74 00:04:52.560 --> 00:04:55.040 and I was on a troop ship with about twelve 75 00:04:55.079 --> 00:04:59.959 thousand of the soldiers, and that would have been a big, 76 00:05:00.279 --> 00:05:03.120 a big win for the Germans if they could sink us, 77 00:05:03.240 --> 00:05:07.360 but they didn't. Ten days later, we we didn't know 78 00:05:07.399 --> 00:05:10.000 where we were going, but we ended up in Liverpool. 79 00:05:10.399 --> 00:05:13.120 Once in England, Terrence was tasked with taking care of 80 00:05:13.160 --> 00:05:16.000 the radios in several P forty sevens. 81 00:05:16.079 --> 00:05:20.680 I was assigned to four P forty seven thunder bullfighters, 82 00:05:21.720 --> 00:05:24.920 and I was assigned to make sure that the radio 83 00:05:25.560 --> 00:05:30.000 the ship to air was working. That's the five twenty 84 00:05:30.040 --> 00:05:35.160 two Super hundred heterodign receivers, so that we had no 85 00:05:35.360 --> 00:05:39.439 radar radar in those days, so there were only communication 86 00:05:39.720 --> 00:05:44.639 and means of getting back to the base were this radio, 87 00:05:45.360 --> 00:05:50.000 the air the ground radio that would take them bring 88 00:05:50.040 --> 00:05:53.360 them back home if they were in distress or lost 89 00:05:53.399 --> 00:05:58.399 their compass or whatever. I would make sure that the 90 00:05:58.480 --> 00:06:02.160 radio was working. I would every day before they went 91 00:06:02.199 --> 00:06:05.199 on a mission, I will test the radios to make 92 00:06:05.240 --> 00:06:06.160 sure they were okay. 93 00:06:06.519 --> 00:06:09.920 More than eighty years later, Terrence still remembers the courage 94 00:06:09.920 --> 00:06:12.600 it took for the men to fly and the many 95 00:06:12.759 --> 00:06:13.959 who did not come home. 96 00:06:14.199 --> 00:06:17.240 They did everything. They had a bomb on the reach wing. 97 00:06:17.759 --> 00:06:22.279 They escorted the B seventeen flying fortresses that when they 98 00:06:22.279 --> 00:06:28.759 went on bombing missions. I remember the first day on 99 00:06:28.920 --> 00:06:33.800 D Day, we had sixty planes on our outfit and 100 00:06:33.879 --> 00:06:37.600 we lost thirty. And I knew every pilot that got 101 00:06:37.759 --> 00:06:42.519 killed or was captured or bailed out or became a 102 00:06:42.560 --> 00:06:47.720 prisoner of war. And it was a devastating experience because 103 00:06:48.360 --> 00:06:52.680 within by the time I left the outfit, we lost 104 00:06:52.720 --> 00:06:58.279 every single pilot. Everyone was replaced. It was we were 105 00:06:58.319 --> 00:07:01.879 losing the war. When I first got overseas well, I 106 00:07:02.000 --> 00:07:04.279 thought we were all going to get killed. 107 00:07:04.560 --> 00:07:07.240 Terrence stressed that he rarely had to repair radios that 108 00:07:07.240 --> 00:07:10.120 had been shot up. He primarily made sure they were 109 00:07:10.160 --> 00:07:11.879 working prior to every mission. 110 00:07:12.199 --> 00:07:15.959 The only repair jobs we had were when the planes 111 00:07:16.040 --> 00:07:19.800 came back and they were damaged because of shrapnel. They 112 00:07:19.800 --> 00:07:24.000 were hit by shrapnel or enemy fire, but that wasn't 113 00:07:24.040 --> 00:07:29.160 that often. Every single day we checked the radio to 114 00:07:29.279 --> 00:07:30.639 make sure that it worked. 115 00:07:30.720 --> 00:07:33.759 When Terrence got to Britain in nineteen forty three, bomber 116 00:07:33.839 --> 00:07:37.000 crews had some of the shortest life expectancies in the military. 117 00:07:37.480 --> 00:07:39.560 He says, completing the number of missions to earn a 118 00:07:39.560 --> 00:07:41.759 ticket home was considered a miracle. 119 00:07:41.920 --> 00:07:45.879 When the Memphis Bell was if you remember that story, 120 00:07:46.519 --> 00:07:50.240 when that flying fortress flew thirty missions, it was like 121 00:07:50.279 --> 00:07:54.800 a miracle. No plane flew thirty missions, no plane survived 122 00:07:54.839 --> 00:07:58.720 that long. It was a miracle that they did and 123 00:07:58.759 --> 00:08:01.000 that they survived them and one home. 124 00:08:01.439 --> 00:08:03.680 Terrence says he quickly became close with the P forty 125 00:08:03.720 --> 00:08:07.199 seven pilots as they prepared for and returned from their missions, 126 00:08:07.680 --> 00:08:10.879 a difficult practice given how many men were lost. 127 00:08:11.199 --> 00:08:15.120 Every single one of them was a friend of mine. 128 00:08:15.279 --> 00:08:20.199 You know, we had a wonderful relationship. It was one big, 129 00:08:20.439 --> 00:08:26.360 happy family, all of us, including the captain, doing no hat. 130 00:08:26.759 --> 00:08:29.439 More than twenty seven thousand Americans were killed in the 131 00:08:29.439 --> 00:08:32.879 skies over Europe and World War two, and another nine 132 00:08:32.919 --> 00:08:37.080 thousand were wounded. Terrence now gives us his gripping recollection 133 00:08:37.200 --> 00:08:39.519 of D Day and the days that followed. 134 00:08:39.720 --> 00:08:43.559 The morning began about thirty six hours prior to the day. 135 00:08:45.679 --> 00:08:49.039 We were all confined to base. Nobody was allowed on 136 00:08:49.279 --> 00:08:53.200 or off. This was around June fourth, D Day with 137 00:08:53.360 --> 00:08:59.279 June sixth. On June fourth, no one could use the phone. 138 00:08:59.639 --> 00:09:03.440 No one could communicate with the outside world. There was 139 00:09:03.480 --> 00:09:09.399 no male coming in or out, no communication whatsoever. What 140 00:09:09.679 --> 00:09:13.480 we did for thirty six hours prior to D Day 141 00:09:14.000 --> 00:09:20.080 we painted a stripe across every under each wing of 142 00:09:20.120 --> 00:09:24.480 our plane, a white stripe. Every Allied plane had a 143 00:09:24.519 --> 00:09:29.200 white stripe painted under each wing. I don't know if 144 00:09:29.559 --> 00:09:34.559 history knows this, but every Allied plane that was involved 145 00:09:34.600 --> 00:09:37.600 in D Day had a white stripe on so that 146 00:09:37.639 --> 00:09:42.879 they were easily recognizable by other Allied planes like the 147 00:09:42.879 --> 00:09:48.879 British or the Canadian Air Force. They would recognize our planes. 148 00:09:49.559 --> 00:09:53.360 Their planes also had a white stripe. All Allied planes 149 00:09:53.840 --> 00:09:59.480 were pain so we painted airplanes for We didn't even sleep. 150 00:10:00.120 --> 00:10:03.399 We just had to make sure everything was in order. 151 00:10:04.000 --> 00:10:07.799 We had to check everything thoroughly. We knew something was 152 00:10:08.039 --> 00:10:12.759 we had no idea what was going on until D 153 00:10:12.840 --> 00:10:16.559 They when they when they came back, the planes were damaged. 154 00:10:16.639 --> 00:10:21.200 Some tried to land and exploded on on a landing, 155 00:10:22.000 --> 00:10:25.840 and it was a terrible scene for the for the 156 00:10:25.840 --> 00:10:30.679 balance of the my tenure at the station with the 157 00:10:30.720 --> 00:10:38.000 three fifty terrible. I'm getting all emotional now. And they 158 00:10:38.080 --> 00:10:43.960 asked for volunteers around ten days after D Day to 159 00:10:44.080 --> 00:10:49.000 go to Normandy to bring back freed prisoners or war 160 00:10:49.080 --> 00:10:53.559 British and American pliers that were shot down in prison 161 00:10:54.159 --> 00:10:58.279 for years in the Stalags in the German prison camps 162 00:10:58.320 --> 00:11:03.000 and they were treated by Polly. I volunteered to go. 163 00:11:03.919 --> 00:11:08.879 It was quite an experienced landing in Normandy. Deep in 164 00:11:08.919 --> 00:11:14.639 Normandy is D plus twelve that I first winned, and 165 00:11:14.759 --> 00:11:17.720 one batch that we brought back with German prisoners that 166 00:11:17.759 --> 00:11:20.759 we took that. We brought them back to England. They 167 00:11:20.759 --> 00:11:24.519 were young kids. Mostly, they weren't even twenty years old. 168 00:11:24.600 --> 00:11:28.559 Some of them they were Hitler was using all of 169 00:11:29.639 --> 00:11:33.200 whatever he had left, although we were still losing the 170 00:11:33.240 --> 00:11:38.639 war until D Day. Then things started to turn around. 171 00:11:38.919 --> 00:11:42.120 That's Harold Terrence. He's a US Army Air Corps veteran 172 00:11:42.159 --> 00:11:44.679 of World War Two. We'll have much more of his 173 00:11:44.759 --> 00:11:48.480 story in just a moment. I'm Greg Corumbus and this 174 00:11:48.919 --> 00:11:50.720 is Veterans Chronicles. 175 00:11:50.519 --> 00:11:52.159 Sixty Seconds of Service. 176 00:11:52.480 --> 00:11:55.440 This sixty Seconds of Service is presented by T Mobile. 177 00:11:55.639 --> 00:11:58.600 T Mobile offers exclusive discounts for a veteran and military 178 00:11:58.639 --> 00:12:02.120 families and are prouch supporters of the National Defense Network. 179 00:12:02.360 --> 00:12:05.200 Visit t mobile dot com slash military to learn more 180 00:12:05.200 --> 00:12:08.720 about how they support our military community. Former Navy Seal 181 00:12:08.799 --> 00:12:12.960 Rick Robinson founded Veterans Fitness Connection in Nashville, a fitness 182 00:12:12.960 --> 00:12:16.039 program designed to help veterans regain their physical. 183 00:12:15.679 --> 00:12:16.559 And mental strength. 184 00:12:17.679 --> 00:12:21.360 The program focuses on building camaraderie through group workouts and 185 00:12:21.480 --> 00:12:26.600 outdoor activities like hiking, kayaking, and weightlifting. Rick uses his 186 00:12:26.679 --> 00:12:30.360 own experience with physical and mental recovery to inspire others, 187 00:12:30.480 --> 00:12:33.639 offering a space for veterans to find their strength again. 188 00:12:34.039 --> 00:12:37.159 Today's sixty seconds of Service is brought to you by Prevagen. 189 00:12:37.480 --> 00:12:40.960 Prevagen is the number one pharmacist recommended memory support brand. 190 00:12:41.240 --> 00:12:44.720 You can find Prevagen and the Vitamin Aisle in stores everywhere. 191 00:12:44.960 --> 00:12:49.440 For more great veterans stories, just go to nationaldefensenetwork dot com. 192 00:12:49.559 --> 00:12:53.240 This is Veterans Chronicles. I'm Greg Corumbus. Our guest in 193 00:12:53.279 --> 00:12:56.399 this edition is Harold Terrens, a US Army Air Corps 194 00:12:56.480 --> 00:13:00.360 veteran of World War Two. Just days after the Allies 195 00:13:00.399 --> 00:13:03.519 launched the D Day invasion, the Germans unleashed a surprise 196 00:13:03.559 --> 00:13:07.440 of their own, the V one rocket also known as 197 00:13:07.519 --> 00:13:11.759 buzz bombs, and Harold Terrence barely survived one while in London. 198 00:13:12.120 --> 00:13:15.679 Most people don't know about the V one and the 199 00:13:15.799 --> 00:13:20.639 V two rockets that the Germans had. The one rocket 200 00:13:20.879 --> 00:13:24.480 was called a buzz bomb. It was set off from 201 00:13:24.600 --> 00:13:29.120 Belgium and it chugged along in the sky. It was 202 00:13:29.159 --> 00:13:33.840 a bomb that was set up and designated to land 203 00:13:34.039 --> 00:13:38.559 in London. When this bomb stopped and you could see 204 00:13:38.600 --> 00:13:42.559 the bomb going because it was it just chugged along 205 00:13:42.600 --> 00:13:46.360 in the sky and when it stopped, it just went 206 00:13:46.519 --> 00:13:51.480 straight down. Its purpose was to blow up whatever was 207 00:13:51.519 --> 00:13:57.840 it in its path or at the end of the road. Anyway, 208 00:13:57.879 --> 00:14:01.320 I was in an apartment building and a buzz uponmb 209 00:14:01.440 --> 00:14:05.000 We watched it and stopped. We were praying for it 210 00:14:05.080 --> 00:14:09.000 to pass by, and it hit the building next to 211 00:14:09.120 --> 00:14:12.080 us pretty much an our building just crumbled. I was 212 00:14:12.159 --> 00:14:17.639 on the fourth floor and I remember rescuing some some families, 213 00:14:17.759 --> 00:14:21.440 you know, kids, and the whole place was on fire 214 00:14:21.519 --> 00:14:24.360 and I ended up in the hospital. You don't get 215 00:14:24.399 --> 00:14:28.600 a purple heart for that. The ceiling came down army 216 00:14:29.159 --> 00:14:34.000 by my head. I was all cut up and I 217 00:14:34.120 --> 00:14:41.159 was unconscious. It was I was almost buried in plaster 218 00:14:41.799 --> 00:14:45.240 from the from the walls of the building, and I 219 00:14:45.360 --> 00:14:48.519 thought it was buried alive at the time. 220 00:14:49.720 --> 00:14:52.600 That was a harrowing experience. 221 00:14:52.919 --> 00:14:55.200 Less than a month after D Day, Tarrence suddenly found 222 00:14:55.279 --> 00:14:58.399 himself being transferred and not knowing where to or why. 223 00:14:59.039 --> 00:15:01.480 He suspected it was because the base commander had an 224 00:15:01.480 --> 00:15:05.559 eye for Terren's English girlfriend. Regardless of the reason, Terrence 225 00:15:05.639 --> 00:15:06.799 was soon in North Africa. 226 00:15:07.240 --> 00:15:11.120 I went to Land's End. I boorder the plane. I 227 00:15:11.200 --> 00:15:14.360 remember sitting next to Joe Lewis, who was the heavyweight 228 00:15:14.480 --> 00:15:17.679 champion of the world at that time. He was entertaining 229 00:15:17.759 --> 00:15:22.600 troops and six hours later, I think it was with 230 00:15:23.120 --> 00:15:28.360 radio silence and of flying over enemy territory, we landed 231 00:15:28.759 --> 00:15:33.679 in Casablanca. But while we were flying, I said, where 232 00:15:33.720 --> 00:15:37.720 am I going? Why am I leaving my outfit? And 233 00:15:37.919 --> 00:15:38.840 where am I going? 234 00:15:38.919 --> 00:15:43.600 And why was I sent on this mission? 235 00:15:44.039 --> 00:15:47.919 It was either to get rid of me because Captain 236 00:15:48.000 --> 00:15:51.399 Neuhart wanted my girlfriend, or the fact that I was 237 00:15:51.440 --> 00:15:55.200 a high speed radio operator and they needed me for 238 00:15:55.279 --> 00:16:00.919 a special assignment because they were Morse code operators. With 239 00:16:01.080 --> 00:16:08.559 my knowledge and wisdom of the code, they needed me 240 00:16:08.679 --> 00:16:14.000 for a special assignment. I didn't know. To this day, 241 00:16:14.399 --> 00:16:17.399 I don't know why I was sent anyway, I landed 242 00:16:17.440 --> 00:16:25.080 in Casablanca. A few days later. We went to Algier's Tunisia, Libya, 243 00:16:25.960 --> 00:16:30.960 and finally Cairo, and stayed there about a week waiting 244 00:16:31.000 --> 00:16:34.320 for further orders. And then we went to the Tripoli 245 00:16:35.799 --> 00:16:39.399 Baghdad and finally Terran Persia. 246 00:16:40.039 --> 00:16:41.600 I stayed there a couple of weeks. 247 00:16:41.639 --> 00:16:42.320 I remember. 248 00:16:42.879 --> 00:16:45.159 Terrence was assigned to several spots in the Middle East 249 00:16:45.159 --> 00:16:49.200 to support Allied shuttle bombings, including Tehran, which led to 250 00:16:49.240 --> 00:16:51.320 one of his most unpleasant memories. 251 00:16:51.519 --> 00:16:56.679 I decided to go out one night, and I didn't 252 00:16:56.720 --> 00:16:58.480 know when I was going to be leaving Torr and 253 00:16:58.519 --> 00:17:01.919 I went into a nightclub in Turin. I sat at 254 00:17:01.960 --> 00:17:05.440 the table. I ordered a glass of wine. I didn't drink, 255 00:17:05.519 --> 00:17:09.240 but I guess I had ordered something. And the young 256 00:17:09.319 --> 00:17:11.759 girl sat down at the table and said, may I 257 00:17:11.880 --> 00:17:16.119 sit here? She looked like clear patcha very beautiful and 258 00:17:16.480 --> 00:17:18.880 she said I have a glass of wine. I said yes, 259 00:17:19.480 --> 00:17:23.160 and she slipped me a mickey. I don't know if 260 00:17:23.160 --> 00:17:26.240 you know what that expression means, but in those days 261 00:17:26.279 --> 00:17:27.440 it was very popular. 262 00:17:27.720 --> 00:17:30.160 She put a little pill. 263 00:17:30.400 --> 00:17:34.279 In my drink while I wasn't looking, and it knocked 264 00:17:34.319 --> 00:17:39.039 me out almost completely. Two men came in, took me 265 00:17:39.119 --> 00:17:42.240 on the reach, one on the reach arm put me 266 00:17:42.319 --> 00:17:45.920 in a big black car, and the next thing I knew, 267 00:17:46.319 --> 00:17:50.799 I ended up on the Sahara desert, emblazing sunlight. The 268 00:17:50.839 --> 00:17:58.359 next morning, stark naked, burning to death. Can you picture that? Picture? 269 00:17:59.079 --> 00:18:02.799 Me on the sand dune on the Sahara Desert in Africa, 270 00:18:03.839 --> 00:18:06.519 Stark naked. I just had I did have my dog 271 00:18:06.640 --> 00:18:11.359 takes on. They left me with that, and I'm holding myself, 272 00:18:11.400 --> 00:18:15.480 covering myself from the from the sun. It was burning hot, 273 00:18:16.359 --> 00:18:19.440 and I stood. I was stood that way. I lay 274 00:18:19.480 --> 00:18:25.519 on the hot sand for five hours. Luckily, an mp G, 275 00:18:26.279 --> 00:18:31.119 a jeep with two MPs came by because it happened before, 276 00:18:31.559 --> 00:18:34.240 and they took me and put me in jail. They 277 00:18:34.279 --> 00:18:37.039 didn't know who I was, and they kept me a 278 00:18:37.079 --> 00:18:41.119 couple of days until they found my papers. 279 00:18:42.039 --> 00:18:44.640 I had my papers there. I told them to look through. 280 00:18:44.839 --> 00:18:49.519 They checked everything out and I was okay, and then 281 00:18:49.559 --> 00:18:53.400 they after a few more days, I was put on 282 00:18:53.440 --> 00:18:59.039 a plane to go to a poul Tava in Russia. 283 00:18:59.319 --> 00:19:01.799 Heraldared this is a US Army Air Corps veteran of 284 00:19:01.839 --> 00:19:04.559 World War II. We'll hear the rest of his story, 285 00:19:04.680 --> 00:19:08.119 including his wedding in Normandy on the eightieth anniversary of 286 00:19:08.200 --> 00:19:12.240 D Day in twenty twenty four. I'm Greg Corumbus and 287 00:19:12.359 --> 00:19:18.400 this is Veterans Chronicles. This is Veterans Chronicles. I'm Greg Corumbus. 288 00:19:18.960 --> 00:19:22.319 Our guest in this edition is Harold Terrans. He's a 289 00:19:22.400 --> 00:19:26.240 US Army Air Corps veteran of World War II. Terrence 290 00:19:26.319 --> 00:19:29.839 serviced radios for P forty seven Thunderbolts with the three 291 00:19:29.960 --> 00:19:32.559 hundred and fiftieth Fighter Squadron in the eighth Air Force 292 00:19:32.680 --> 00:19:35.759 based in England. In just a moment, we will hear 293 00:19:35.880 --> 00:19:39.519 all about how Harold and his new bride made worldwide 294 00:19:39.519 --> 00:19:42.720 headlines in June of twenty twenty four when they got 295 00:19:42.759 --> 00:19:46.480 married in Normandy on the eightieth anniversary of D Day. 296 00:19:47.240 --> 00:19:49.759 And that was just the beginning of a magical day 297 00:19:49.839 --> 00:19:52.720 for Harold and Genie thanks to royal treatment from the 298 00:19:52.720 --> 00:19:56.000 French government. But first we head back to the war 299 00:19:56.440 --> 00:19:59.400 and the Allied shuttle bombings that Terrence was supporting in 300 00:19:59.599 --> 00:20:03.680 North d Africa and the Middle East. Eventually he ended 301 00:20:03.759 --> 00:20:07.119 up doing the same in Russia. Terrence explains what shuttle 302 00:20:07.119 --> 00:20:08.799 bombing was and how it worked. 303 00:20:09.119 --> 00:20:16.160 My final destination. I finally got my final flight to Russia, 304 00:20:16.720 --> 00:20:20.240 to the Ukraine, to a town called Poltava, and we 305 00:20:20.400 --> 00:20:23.920 set up what is known today and they don't know 306 00:20:24.000 --> 00:20:27.400 this in the history books, that was called twenty four 307 00:20:27.480 --> 00:20:35.720 hour shuttle bombing. It started in England. The B seventeen 308 00:20:35.839 --> 00:20:39.880 bombers would take off from England. They would bomb the 309 00:20:40.359 --> 00:20:45.640 Polasti oil fields in Romania which were under German control 310 00:20:46.759 --> 00:20:50.960 and they were too far from England to get back. 311 00:20:51.039 --> 00:20:54.319 They didn't have enough fuel, so they continued on to 312 00:20:54.440 --> 00:20:58.680 Russia to the airfield where I was waiting for them. 313 00:20:59.000 --> 00:21:02.160 They would land there. Yeah, they would spend six hours 314 00:21:02.160 --> 00:21:08.519 there refueling, getting new bomb loads, taking care of themselves. 315 00:21:08.519 --> 00:21:12.559 The wounded would be taken to hospitals. Then they would 316 00:21:12.640 --> 00:21:16.279 take off, bomb the plus the oil fields again and 317 00:21:16.359 --> 00:21:20.160 continue on to Italy where they did the same thing 318 00:21:20.200 --> 00:21:23.519 and then flew back to England, all in a twenty 319 00:21:23.599 --> 00:21:27.799 four hour period, and that was called twenty four hour 320 00:21:28.279 --> 00:21:29.559 shuttle bombing. 321 00:21:30.039 --> 00:21:33.279 But shuttle bombing didn't last long from his position in Russia, 322 00:21:33.920 --> 00:21:38.039 and Terrence almost didn't last very long either. Another questionable 323 00:21:38.079 --> 00:21:41.519 decision left him close to death, but he managed to 324 00:21:41.519 --> 00:21:42.079 pull through. 325 00:21:42.480 --> 00:21:46.400 It ended the twenty four hour shuttle bombing when our 326 00:21:46.640 --> 00:21:52.119 planes were followed into Russia by German Messa Schmidt fighter planes. 327 00:21:52.720 --> 00:21:56.519 And then the next night they came over and bombed 328 00:21:57.440 --> 00:22:00.920 our air field. They destroyed my tent where I lived, 329 00:22:01.440 --> 00:22:07.759 and I wasn't named. The mission was aborted. It ended 330 00:22:07.839 --> 00:22:12.440 right there and there I developed this CENTERIO ended up 331 00:22:12.480 --> 00:22:16.960 in then ePRO in a hospital where almost died. I 332 00:22:17.799 --> 00:22:22.240 ended up going down to eighty eight pounds in a coma, 333 00:22:22.519 --> 00:22:28.079 so I drank milk that I was warned not to drink, 334 00:22:28.119 --> 00:22:31.319 that it was not pasteurized, and it made me very sick. 335 00:22:31.559 --> 00:22:34.759 The German surrendered to the Allies in Europe officially on 336 00:22:34.839 --> 00:22:38.200 May eighth, nineteen forty five, although the surrender to the 337 00:22:38.319 --> 00:22:42.440 US occurred a day earlier, on May ninth, nineteen forty five. 338 00:22:42.880 --> 00:22:46.559 Relieved that the war was over, Terrence found himself utterly 339 00:22:46.599 --> 00:22:49.720 shocked by his encounter with a German woman who showed 340 00:22:49.759 --> 00:22:52.119 no change of heart at all by the end of 341 00:22:52.160 --> 00:22:52.640 the fighting. 342 00:22:53.039 --> 00:22:56.119 The worst story I ever heard in the war had 343 00:22:56.160 --> 00:22:59.240 nothing to do with wounds or anything. It happened that 344 00:22:59.400 --> 00:23:04.720 day after the war ended. It happened May ninth, nineteen 345 00:23:04.839 --> 00:23:10.240 forty five. The war ended May eighth, and everybody was 346 00:23:10.319 --> 00:23:16.960 celebrating that night. Before we partied, everybody was drunk. I 347 00:23:17.160 --> 00:23:20.720 didn't drink at the time, so I just served the 348 00:23:20.759 --> 00:23:25.160 whiskey in the officers club till all the pilots, everybody 349 00:23:25.559 --> 00:23:31.119 got smashed. They got wasted, everybody except me. And the 350 00:23:31.200 --> 00:23:34.880 next morning they asked for volunteers to go to Germany 351 00:23:35.319 --> 00:23:39.519 to bring back three prisoners of war, and I volunteered, 352 00:23:39.519 --> 00:23:43.000 and I went on a B seventeen flying fortress, and 353 00:23:43.079 --> 00:23:48.400 we landed in Munster, Germany, which was bombed in every 354 00:23:48.440 --> 00:23:53.960 single day and night for almost seven months. I walked 355 00:23:53.960 --> 00:23:58.359 along the streets there looking for free prisoners, and they 356 00:23:58.400 --> 00:24:04.279 were all wandering aimless. They were emaciated. These little pilots 357 00:24:04.319 --> 00:24:08.440 that were shot down just released. While I was gathering 358 00:24:08.519 --> 00:24:12.680 these pillows together, a German woman came over to me 359 00:24:13.480 --> 00:24:15.559 and asked me if i'd like a cup of tea, 360 00:24:16.359 --> 00:24:19.119 and I said yes, so I would. And she took 361 00:24:19.160 --> 00:24:23.880 me into her house and she couldn't speak English, just 362 00:24:23.920 --> 00:24:27.079 a few words, and she poured the tea and lifted 363 00:24:27.160 --> 00:24:32.279 her cup and she said Heil Hitler. And I had 364 00:24:32.359 --> 00:24:37.559 never heard that before, and that shook me up terribly. 365 00:24:38.559 --> 00:24:45.599 It sort of made me crazy. I lost control, and 366 00:24:45.680 --> 00:24:49.839 I said to her, lady, you lost the war. The 367 00:24:49.920 --> 00:24:54.799 war ended yesterday. It's over. The boat sank. Get used 368 00:24:54.799 --> 00:24:58.440 to it. And I stormed out of that place or 369 00:24:58.680 --> 00:25:03.119 all upset. And to this day, some nights I closed 370 00:25:03.160 --> 00:25:06.400 my eyes and I think of that scene. I said 371 00:25:06.440 --> 00:25:10.319 that I shouldn't have killed her, but the war was over. 372 00:25:10.359 --> 00:25:13.359 It was a day later. I was very upset. I 373 00:25:13.559 --> 00:25:17.480 never heard Heil Hitler before he was also dead Yell. 374 00:25:17.920 --> 00:25:20.599 Harold Terrans returned to Normandy in the years that followed, 375 00:25:20.640 --> 00:25:23.720 and was present for the ceremonies commemorating the seventy fifth 376 00:25:23.720 --> 00:25:28.319 anniversary of D Day in twenty nineteen. He enthusiastically planned 377 00:25:28.359 --> 00:25:31.920 to return in twenty twenty four, but something had changed 378 00:25:31.960 --> 00:25:35.279 over those five years. Terrence was now in a deeply 379 00:25:35.279 --> 00:25:39.319 committed romance with Genie Swirlin, and since he has his 380 00:25:39.400 --> 00:25:42.920 own French connection, Terrence and Swirlen not only made the 381 00:25:42.960 --> 00:25:46.240 trip to Normandy for the ceremonies at the beaches, they 382 00:25:46.240 --> 00:25:48.920 made plans to tie the knot just a few miles away. 383 00:25:49.759 --> 00:25:53.920 Swerlin was ninety six and Harold Terrence was a spry 384 00:25:54.119 --> 00:25:55.440 one hundred years old. 385 00:25:55.680 --> 00:25:59.200 I have friends at the French embassy down in Miami, 386 00:26:00.160 --> 00:26:04.839 so general as a friend of mine, they recommended that 387 00:26:04.920 --> 00:26:06.240 I get married. 388 00:26:06.559 --> 00:26:07.799 Why not it? 389 00:26:07.960 --> 00:26:12.599 Normandy went on there on June sixth, so I said 390 00:26:13.480 --> 00:26:15.799 the Genie. I got on one knee in the garage. 391 00:26:15.880 --> 00:26:19.279 I said, you want to get married? She said sure. 392 00:26:19.880 --> 00:26:26.400 We had the most magnificent wedding ever in caroonton Ley 393 00:26:26.519 --> 00:26:31.880 my day in Normandy, which is about twenty twenty miles 394 00:26:31.960 --> 00:26:36.799 from Omaha Beach. The mayor of the town, which is 395 00:26:36.920 --> 00:26:41.279 part of history, like the most fierce fighting took place 396 00:26:42.000 --> 00:26:47.160 during the Normandy invasion. More in Caronton, More books. I 397 00:26:47.279 --> 00:26:51.680 have so many books about Caroonton and the mayor of Caroonton, 398 00:26:52.559 --> 00:26:58.079 Je Jean Jacques Olona, married us. My little great granddaughter 399 00:26:58.119 --> 00:27:02.599 of sixteen was the flower girl. All of Genie's children 400 00:27:02.680 --> 00:27:07.920 were there, My children were there. My grand daughter, who 401 00:27:08.039 --> 00:27:12.799