No Star, No Cape

On this episode of Our American Stories, regular listener/contributor Roger Latham, from Fort Worth, Texas, shares a story about his father.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:10):
And we continue with our American stories. Up next the
story from our regular listener and contributor Roger and Leatham
from Fort Worth, Texas. Let's take a listen. On a
sunny June day in nineteen forty four, the only sound
on the flight deck was the wind as the B

(00:31):
twenty four Liberator, absent the power of his four engines,
glided to its final moments of life before ditching in
the choppy waters of the Adriatic Sea. My father, Lieutenant
Ernie Latham, was pilot in command. Attention crew, get to
the back of the plane. Certain his men had followed

(00:52):
his last order, he now focused all at his attention
on flying the wounded bird. The command was standard operating procedure.
The tail section would give the crew the best chance
to survive Earlier, as the wounded plane limped its way
across Yugoslavia, he gave them the opportunity to parachute. No

(01:15):
one jumped. Now, at three hundred feet above the water,
it was too late. The young lieutenant and his entire
crew would digest their fates together flaps. Ernie spoke in
a normal tone in volume. There was no need to panic.
It'd only make flying the airplane more difficult. Seconds later,

(01:37):
the flaps remained unmoved. Hogan dropped the flaps. Ernie shouted
the command as he glanced at his copilot. Lieutenant Hogan
seemed transfixed on the instrant panel. His hands were in
his lap, and in a flat monotone voice, he kept repeating,
I can't believe this is happening. I can't believe this

(01:59):
is The plane slammed head on into the wave. Instantly,
the Liberator went from one hundred and ten miles an
hour to dead stop. The roaring sound of twisting metal

(02:22):
screamed as the bomber began to break apart. Then it
became dead quiet, quite as a grave. Now, with nose
of the plane aiming to the bottom of the sea,
he had a strange thought. They'll think I died in
the crash, never know I drowned. Guess I'll or try

(02:44):
to get out. This began the arduous task of extracting
himself from the sinking plane. Upon breaking free of the
tangled shards of metal, he bobbed to the surface. Here
about two hundred feet away, he discovered the emergency life boat.

(03:04):
He fumbled with his pocket knife, founded and quickly used
it to free the dinghy from its mooring. This activated
the propellant and it inflated instantly. Climbing aboard, he began
to search for additional signs of life. Of the seven
remaining crew members, he found and saved five for the

(03:27):
fifteenth Air Force. It was a record that would never
be broken. Within thirty minutes, the sound of a high
powered boat could be heard rushing toward the stranded airman.
The speeding craft, filled with German soldier's arm to the
teeth brought a new terror. Throw your guns overboard, the

(03:48):
command came as Lieutenant Latham tossed his Service forty five
in the drink. The German boat and emblazoned with Nazi
slastikas and flag, circled the dinghy. When it came to
a stop, a man's offered a broken English breath of
hope you go. No guns, They were Tito's partisans. The

(04:09):
German uniforms are the ones they'd taken off good Nazis,
the dead ones. Five days later, the Yugoslavians returned the
Americans to the warm confines of the four sixty four
bombardment group. Back in Pantanella, Lieutenant Latham offered debrief to
his commander. He left out the fact that he had

(04:29):
injured his back pretty severely in the crash. He'd be
sent back to the States and lose any chance of
flying his dream plane, the P thirty eight. After he
offered his detailed mission assessment and debriefing, the major said,
you need some rest and recuperation. How would you like
three days of R and R in Rome? That works?

(04:53):
What about the rest of my crew? A couple of
are banged up and will be in the hospital for
a few days. They'll all get their R and R.
It's strange how the fickle fanger of fate points to
the fortunate view. There is an old quote, it's not
what you know, it's who you know. On his first

(05:13):
day in Rome, Ernie met the right one. He and
Jim Jamieson hit it off immediately. After three days of
hard drinking and soft women, Ernie asked Jamieson, what do
you fly for the Army Company commander of the three
oh six fighter wing P fifty ones. Oh my god,
you've got to get me a transfer. I'd love to

(05:36):
fly for you, guys. I'll do that. Who's your commander?
Major William Moore a lionel bill. We were in primary
training back in Oklahoma. I'll send him a transfer request
when I get back back. At the four sixty fourth,
Lieutenant Latham came to attention as he greeted Major Moore.

(05:57):
Will I have some good news. You're receiving the Silver
Star for saving so many of your crew, and best part,
you get to go home. They want you for a
war bond too, or something ain't going. Ernie said, you
have to. If you take the Star, the Army can keep.
It's pretty metal. I want to fly fighters, and I

(06:19):
have a chance if Jamison does what he said he
would do and gets me a transfer. He already did.
I got a call from Jamison this morning, and the
corrier dropped off the farmal request about ten minutes ago.
If you sign the papers, I'm heading to fly P
fifty once the Major smiled, I've already signed it. Well,

(06:39):
when you get your new ride, you'll need to come
back and tell us how much fun it is to
go fast. The next day, Ernie reported to the orderly
at the three h six, I'm Lieutenant Latham, need to
report for duty. Where's Major Jamieson? Just a minute, sir?
The new pilot is here. Send him in the three

(07:02):
or sixth new Hire came to attention upon entering the
old Man's office, Lieutenant Latham reporting for duty, Ernie said
as he stood at attention before his friend. Major Jamison
smiled as he stood and greeted him. He started learning
how to fly a Mustang. Well, that's what I want
to talk to you about. Well, I need to ask

(07:22):
for one more favor. For as long as I've been alive,
I've wanted to fly at p thirty eight, and now
I have that opportunity, if you'll transfer me. Jamison wrote
the letter to the office of the fifteenth Air Force Command,
and in three days Ernie joined the proud ranks of
the forty ninth Fighter Squadron. Here he would complete the
remaining thirty six missions of his standard fifty mission requirement

(07:46):
of the Army Air Corps. Dad's days in the forty
ninth came with many exciting tales of valor, his new
gago of Wingman, stories of missions over Germany and beyond,
aim with photographs to prove it. I listened to every
word he spoke and hung on each In the early fifties,

(08:09):
when Superman made his debut on black and white TVs
around town. My classmates turned their moms old bed sheets
into capes. I wore Dad's service cap with the gold bar.
My superman was stronger than a hundred locomotives, flew faster
than a fifty caliber bullet. And best of all, he

(08:30):
said that the head of our family dinner table every night,
Dad didn't need a silver Star, and I never wore
a cape. And a terrific job on the production by
Greg Hangler, and what storytelling by Roger Leatham about his father,
Lieutenant Ernie Latham a real life superhero and you can

(08:52):
be one to your kid, They're watching you. My dad
had many exciting tales of valor, the Sun said. I
listened to every word he spoke. I hung on them,
he said. And that story about turning down the Silver
Star and the easy War Bond Tour. The Army can
keep their pretty metal, Lieutenant Latham said, the story of

(09:15):
Lieutenant Ernie Latham and so many soldiers who served their
country valiantly, and the son who remembered them and honored them.
Here on our American story