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Speaker 1: And we continue with our American stories. Up next, the

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Speaker 1: story from our regular listener and contributor Roger Leatham from

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Speaker 1: Fort Worth, Tensis. Let's take a listen.

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Speaker 2: On a sunny June day in nineteen forty four, the

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Speaker 2: only sound on the flight deck was the wind as

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Speaker 2: the B twenty four Liberator, absent the power of his

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Speaker 2: four engines, glided to its final moments of life before

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Speaker 2: ditching in the choppy waters of the Adriatic Sea. My father,

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Speaker 2: Lieutenant Ernie Latham, was pilot and command attention crew get

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Speaker 2: to the back of a plane. Certain his men had

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Speaker 2: followed his last order, he now focused all of his

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Speaker 2: attention on flying the wounded bird. The command was standard

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Speaker 2: operating procedure. The tail section would give the crew the

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Speaker 2: best chance to survive Earlier, as the wounded plane limped

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Speaker 2: its way across Yugoslavia, he gave them the opportunity to parachute.

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Speaker 2: No one jumped. Now, at three hundred feet above the water,

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Speaker 2: it was too late. The young lieutenant and his entire

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Speaker 2: crew would digest their fates together flaps. Ernie spoke in

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Speaker 2: normal tone in volume. There was no need to panic.

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Speaker 2: It'd only make flying the airplane more difficult. Seconds later,

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Speaker 2: the flaps remained unmoved. Hogan dropped the flaps. Ernie shouted

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Speaker 2: the command as he glanced at his coal pilot. Lieutenant

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Speaker 2: Hogan seemed transfixed on the instrument panel. His hands were

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Speaker 2: in his lap, and in a flat, monotone voice, he

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Speaker 2: kept repeating, I can't believe this is happening. I can't

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Speaker 2: believe this is happening. The plane slammed head on into

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Speaker 2: the wave. Instantly, the Liberator went from one hundred and

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Speaker 2: ten miles an hour to dead stop. The roaring sound

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Speaker 2: of twisting metal screamed as the bomber began to break apart.

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Speaker 2: Then it became dead quiet, quite as a grave. Now,

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Speaker 2: with nose of the plane aiming to the bottom of

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Speaker 2: the sea, he had a strange thought. They'll think I

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Speaker 2: died in the crash, never know I drowned. Guess I'll

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Speaker 2: to try to get out. This began the arduous task

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Speaker 2: of extracting himself from the sinking plane. Upon breaking free

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Speaker 2: of the tangled shards of metal, he bobbed to the surface.

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Speaker 2: About two hundred feet away, he discovered the emergency lifeboat.

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Speaker 2: He fumbled with his pocket knife, found it and quickly

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Speaker 2: used it to free the dinghy from its mooring. This

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Speaker 2: activated the propellant and it inflated instantly. Climbing aboard, he

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Speaker 2: began to search for additional signs of life. Of the

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Speaker 2: seven remaining crew members, he found and saved five or

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Speaker 2: the fifteenth Air Force. It was a record that would

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Speaker 2: never be broken. Within thirty minutes, the sound of a

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Speaker 2: high powered boat could be heard rushing toward the stranded airman.

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Speaker 2: The speeding craft, filled with German soldier's arm to the

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Speaker 2: teeth brought a new terror. Threw your guns overboard. The

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Speaker 2: command came as Lieutenant Latham tossed his Service forty five

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Speaker 2: in the drink. The German boat, emblazoned with Nazi slastikas

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Speaker 2: and flag, circled the Dinghi. When it came to a stop,

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Speaker 2: a man's offered a broken English breath of hope, you

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Speaker 2: go no guns. They were Tito's partisans. The German uniforms

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Speaker 2: were the ones they had taken off good Nazis, the

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Speaker 2: dead ones. Five days later, the Yugoslavians returned the Americans

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Speaker 2: to the warm confines of the four sixty four bombardment

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Speaker 2: Group back in Pantanella Lieutenant Latham offered debrief to his commander.

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Speaker 2: He left out the fact that he had injured his

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Speaker 2: back pretty severely in the crash. He'd be sent back

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Speaker 2: to the States and lose any chance of flying his

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Speaker 2: dream plane, the P thirty eight. After he offered his

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Speaker 2: detailed mission assessment and debriefing, the major said, you need

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Speaker 2: some rest and recuperation. How would you like three days

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Speaker 2: of R and R in Rome? That works? What about

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Speaker 2: the rest of my crew? A couple of are banged

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Speaker 2: up and will be in the hospital for a few days.

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Speaker 2: They'll all get their R and R. It's strange how

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Speaker 2: the fickle fanger of fate points to the fortunate few.

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Speaker 2: There is an old quote, it's not what you know,

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Speaker 2: it's who you know. On his first day in Rome,

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Speaker 2: Erni him at the right one. He and Jim Jamison

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Speaker 2: hit it off immediately after three days of hard drinking

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Speaker 2: the soft women. Ernie asked Jamison, what do you fly

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Speaker 2: for the Army Company commander of the three to six

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Speaker 2: fighter wing P fifty one's, Oh my god, you've got

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Speaker 2: to get me a transfer. I'd love to fly for you, guys.

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Speaker 2: I'll do that. Who's your commander? Major William Moore Oline o'bill.

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Speaker 2: We were in primary training back in Oklahoma. I'll send

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Speaker 2: in a transfer request when I get back back. At

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Speaker 2: the four sixty fourth, Lieutenant Latham came to attention as

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Speaker 2: he greeted Major Moore. Well, I have some good news,

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Speaker 2: receiving the Silver Star for saving so many of your crew,

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Speaker 2: and best part, you get to go home. They want

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Speaker 2: you for a war bond tour or something. Ain't going.

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Speaker 2: Ernie said, you have to. If you take the Star,

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Speaker 2: the Army can keep. It's pretty metal. I want to

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Speaker 2: fly fighters, and I have a chance if Jamison does

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Speaker 2: what he said he would do and gets me a transfer.

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Speaker 2: He already did. I got a call from Jamison this

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Speaker 2: morning and the carrier dropped off the farmal request about

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Speaker 2: ten minutes ago. If you sign the papers, I'm heading

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Speaker 2: to fly P fifty once the Major smiled, I've already

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Speaker 2: signed it. Well, when you get to your new ride,

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Speaker 2: you'll need to come back and tell us how much

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Speaker 2: fun it is to go fast. The next day, Ernie

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Speaker 2: reported to the orderly at the three six, I'm Lieutenant Latham.

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Speaker 2: Need to report for duty. Where's Major Jamison? Just a minute, sir,

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Speaker 2: are the new pilot is here. Send him in the

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Speaker 2: three to zh sixth new Hire came to attention upon

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Speaker 2: entering the old man's office, the tenant Latham reporting for duty,

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Speaker 2: Ernie said as he studied attention before his friend, Major

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Speaker 2: Jamison smiled as he stood and greeted him. He just

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Speaker 2: started learning how to fly a Mustang. Well, that's what

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Speaker 2: I want to talk to you about. Well, I need

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Speaker 2: to ask for one more favor. For as long as

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Speaker 2: I've been alive, I've wanted to fly P thirty eight,

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Speaker 2: and now I have that opportunity if you'll transfer me.

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Speaker 2: Jamison wrote the letter to the office of the fifteenth

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Speaker 2: Air Force Command, and in three days Ernie joined the

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Speaker 2: proud ranks of the forty ninth Fighter Squadron. Here he

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Speaker 2: would complete the remaining thirty six missions of his standard

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Speaker 2: fifty mission requirement of the Army Air Corps. Dad's days

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Speaker 2: in the forty ninth came with many exciting tales of valor,

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Speaker 2: his new gagod of wingman, stories of missions over Germany

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Speaker 2: and beyond. It came with photographs to prove it. I

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Speaker 2: listened to every word he spoke and hung on each

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Speaker 2: In the early fifties, when Superman made his debut and

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Speaker 2: on black and white TVs around town, my classmates turned

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Speaker 2: their moms old bed sheets into capes. I wore Dad's

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Speaker 2: service cap with the gold bar. My Superman was stronger

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Speaker 2: than one hundred locomotives, flew faster than a fifty caliber bullet,

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Speaker 2: and vest of all, he said at the head of

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Speaker 2: our family dinner table every night. Dad didn't need a

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Speaker 2: silver Star, and I never wore a cape.

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Speaker 1: And a terrific job on the production by Greg Hangler

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Speaker 1: and what storytelling by Roger Leatham about his father, Lieutenant

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Speaker 1: Ernie Latham, a real life superhero and you can be

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Speaker 1: one to your kid, They're watching you. My dad had

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Speaker 1: many exciting tales of valor. The Sun said. I listened

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Speaker 1: to every word he spoke. I hung on them, he said.

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Speaker 1: And that story about turning down the Silver Star and

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Speaker 1: the easy War Bond tour. The Army can keep their

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Speaker 1: pretty metal, Lieutenant Latham said, the story of Lieutenant Ernie

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Speaker 1: Latham and so many soldiers who served their country valiantly,

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Speaker 1: and the son who remembered them and honored them. Here

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Speaker 1: on our American story