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Florissant Veteran Remembers W.W II as a Tail Gunner on B17
By Carol Arnett
George Eckert was 18 years old and living in North St. Louis when he was drafted. He entered the Army on April 1, 1943. After basic training, and then more advanced training, Eckert became a tail gunner on a B17. He and his crew were based in England and flew over Germany and France on bombing runs. Eckert went on 35 missions.
Eckert’s journey began with basic training at Jefferson Barracks. He was then sent to Kansas for engineer training, Nebraska, and finally to gunner training in Las Vegas.
To train tail gunners in Las Vegas, the Army Air Corps equipped trucks with tail gunner guns. “They put you in a truck with a gunner turret and drove you around the desert while you shot at skeet,” Eckert said.
After completing training, Eckert went to England on the Queen Mary, with 10,000 other troops. “We used to say that you got in line for breakfast and by the time you go through, it was time for dinner,” Eckert said. Once in England, Eckert went to a U.S. base in Chelveston.
B17’s flew with a crew of ten, Eckert said. “The B17 was the best plane going,” he added. The B17 was a bomber. It was often attacked during a bombing run, and the tail gunner was charged with defending the plane. He shot at other planes and at flak, or anti-aircraft fire. Eckert has a picture of the dog he adopted in England and named Flak.
The well-known Memphis Belle was a B17. Eckert’s plane was the Liberty Run.
Eckert said that no training could really prepare him for his first flight. “The last thing they told you was where you were going,” he said. “We didn’t know until they told us how much fuel to put in the plane,” he added.
“We went with 36 planes at a time.” On his first flight, Eckert said, “I put my guns in backwards.” Luckily, he added, he didn’t have to use them on that flight. Sometimes, he added, they were not attacked during their return, and his first flight was one of those times.
Eckert said that the U.S. troops normally flew in the daytime and would pass the English troops coming home, since the English usually flew at night. From his base in England to Berlin or Munich was a ten-hour round trip flight.
Eckert was among the earliest troops discharged under a point system the Army Air Corps developed. After 35 missions, he was eligible for discharge. After stops in California and Ohio, he was discharged from Scott Air Force base in Illinois.
After his time in the service, Eckert worked for Phillips 66 for several years, and then worked backstage at the Muny until he retired. He moved to Florissant in 1956. He married his wife Shirley and had four children grow up in Florissant.
Eckert said he grew close to his crew; most of his 35 missions were flown with the same group. They stayed in touch after the war and got together occasionally. “Twenty years after the war, I was sitting in a train station in Florida headed for a reunion,” he said. “I was sitting right next to the pilot and we didn’t recognize each other.” Eckert is the last surviving member of his crew.
Eckert currently lives at DeSmet Apartments. He received the Air Medal (Oak Leaf Cluster), four Bronze Stars and the State of Missouri medal. He is a lifetime member of the V.F.W.
