Preserving The Oral HistorIES of Combat Veterans
3:06 | Bob Powell was finally sent to Officer Candidate School, thanks to a colonel he had known at the beginning of the war. He was there at the Berlin airlift and he had tours in Korea and Vietnam before he retired. It was a good career but it took a toll on his personal life. (This interview made possible with the support of ELAINE MATTHEWS.)
Keywords : Robert Bob Powell pilot Peterson Field Colorado Springs CO Officer Candidate School (OCS) Berlin Airlift Korea Vietnam wife
The day after he graduated high school, Bob Powell's father put him to work in the oil fields of Oklahoma. It was a terrible job. "I might as well join the military," he said to his mother. Well, his father overheard that and immediately drove him to the recruiter. (This interview made possible with the support of ELAINE MATTHEWS.)
Bob Powell never had basic training. Enlisting in the Army Air Corps just before World War II, he became a control tower operator in almost no time and collected his first stripe. Then he was off to radio operators school.(This interview made possible with the support of ELAINE MATTHEWS.)
It was good duty in Amarillo. Radio Operator Bob Powell had been promoted to sergeant, passing right over corporal. He had a housing allowance and the town was full of pretty girls without men. One day a small plane landed and a full Bird Colonel got out. There was going to be a school for glider pilots right there, he said. (This interview made possible with the support of ELAINE MATTHEWS.)
He was a glider instructor in Texas but the war caught up to Bob Powell and he was shipped overseas. After a short time in Africa, he managed to get a plum assignment as a liaison pilot in London, but one day his colonel inquired about his glider experience. That couldn't lead to anything good.(This interview made possible with the support of ELAINE MATTHEWS.)
There were 150 glider pilots assembled and training on the the new combat gliders in a small village in England. Bob Powell was one of these men getting ready for Operation Market Garden, the invasion of Holland. When the time came, he was startled when he saw what was being loaded into his glider.(This interview made possible with the support of ELAINE MATTHEWS.)
The mission started badly when Bob Powell forgot to go to the latrine ahead of a four hour flight. The flight across the English Channel was OK but once he got to the target and his glider was released, he was in trouble. The reconnaissance was wrong and his landing was in peril. (This interview made possible with the support of ELAINE MATTHEWS.)
His outfit was in London, but glider pilot Robert Powell wound up in North Africa after his crash landing. Since the war was winding down, no one cared about getting him back to them. He began a long waiting game and the prize was his wife waiting for him on a train platform. (This interview made possible with the support of ELAINE MATTHEWS.)
What did he learn from his experience in World War II? Bob Powell's answer is that of an old sergeant, even though he retired as an officer. He salutes his mentor Jess Guthrie, who was a sergeant when they met and a colonel when it was over. That sort of thing won't happen anymore with the requirements of the modern military. (This interview made possible with the support of ELAINE MATTHEWS.)
