World War II Air Corps veteran beat odds
Al Chamrad spent his World War II combat days on his knees holding a gun.
A tailgunner on a B-17 Flying Fortress, Chamrad had to kneel to man the twin-barrelled 50-caliber machine gun he was trained to fire at Nazi fighters.
Now 83, the one-time Plum High School baseball, track and basketball player watched out for the fighters and the deadly black puffs of German flak. And he had to make sure at least one of his two oxygen masks was working.
"One would always freeze up," said Chamrad of Lower Burrell.
Chamrad survived 35 bombing missions with the Army Air Corps.
After the war, he worked in a steel mill, married and started a family, then wore a Lower Burrell police badge for at least 20 years.
Veterans Day brings many memories.
Chamrad's first mission with the Eighth Air Force's 398 Bomb Group was almost his last.
Flak hit a fuel tank, but somehow it didn't explode. Then the ground-based, anti-aircraft fire tore into the rest of the plane.
"The tail was splattered by flak," he said. One piece punched through the underside of the aircraft, stopping only after it buckled two pieces of steel in the flak mat Chamrad was kneeling on.
"I kept that piece for years, but I've misplaced it," he said.
The Dec. 24, 1944, mission was to destroy marshaling yards at Koblenz, Germany. "This was the first air strike in five days because of the bad weather, and they were getting supplied for the Battle of the Bulge," Chamrad said.
As days turned into weeks, the group flew mission after mission. Usually they bombed from 20,000 to 22,000 feet. Sometimes they dropped to 10,000 feet, and the flak was everywhere during daylight missions, he said.
Crews had to endure temperatures 40 to 50 below zero and four noisy engines. There was the threat of sudden flak or fighter planes, death and destruction.
"One day one of our planes dropped his bombs too late. The bombs collided in midair and exploded. Only four in our formation got back," Chamrad said.
According to the 398th Bomber Group, one-tenth of all American service deaths came from the Army Air Corps' Eighth Air Force. An additional 18,000 were wounded and 28,000 were prisoners of war. At least 7,000 airplanes were destroyed.
Chamrad didn't see many of the propeller-driven German fighters. But one April day in 1944, two German jets attacked his group.
One of the ME-262 jets — the first used in warfare — used its guns to nearly sever the tail of a U.S. bomber.
The second flew past Chamrad's guns, and he didn't miss. Although he didn't get credit for knocking it down, Chamrad heavily damaged the jet.
"I knew that when I saw the hits and I heard the pilot and co-pilot talking about seeing his bailout," he said.
The enemy wasn't the only danger for air crews. "In the winter, you always slid down the runway and, coming back in, you slid there, too," he said.
Veterans Day is important to Chamrad.
"I still pray for the servicemen and women who are protecting our country today," he said.
Chamrad is tall, thin and appears healthy. Yet it's been only a month since he underwent open heart surgery. A doctor's appointment will keep him from taking part in today's parade in Lower Burrell, he said, unhappy at the thought.
"This would have been my 21st in a row," he said.
But just as he does every day, he will put up his flag in front of his home.
"I was very proud to protect the flag," he said.
Additional Information:
Air war remembered
For a look at the 398 Bomb Group in World War II, go to: 398th.org
