Howard Hamilton, father of Brevard veteran LTC Jana Gruber, USAR, Ret, was born October 28, 1923 in the small town of Augusta, KS. Upon graduating from high school in 1942, he joined the Army and became a bombardier on B-17 “Flying Fortress”, stationed at Thorpe Abbots, England.
By 1943, a critical stage in WWII, the United States began a high-risk program of strategic daylight bombing of German rail lines and munitions installations. In October 1943, the American strategy had to be altered because of the deadly capable Luftwaffe over German airspace and because the rail lines and munitions installations were being rebuilt at an alarmingly efficient rate.
On Sunday, October 10th the targets changed to actual Germans, their homes, their churches, and the magnificent medieval city of Munster. What resulted over the skies of western Germany was the most vicious sustained carnage of the air war.
Lt Hamilton was the bombardier in the B-17 they named “Mademoiselle Zig Zag”, the lead plane in that particular formation of the 100th Bomb Group (nicknamed The Bloody 100th). As per the usual procedure, the bombardier took control of the aircraft from the pilot just before the bombs were released, making the necessary course adjustments to hit the targets.
There were P-47 fighter escorts several thousand feet above the B-17’s, but they were occupied by their own Luftwaffe attack. Hamilton’s plane took several hard hits. A 20-millimeter German canon shell ripped through the back of his flak suit, knocking him flat on his face in the nose compartment, his right shoulder broken, his right lung punctured, and both hands bleeding.
One other crewman was dead, and several others wounded. Mlle Zig Zag began to fall out of the sky. The co-pilot motioned for Hamilton to bail out, but he didn’t have the strength in his right hand to open the nose compartment door. He decided the only way was to stand on the door and try to open it with his left hand. The door opened, but his parachute strap, dangling loose over his injured right shoulder, caught on the door handle, leaving him dangling from the plane inches from the propeller with German fighter planes circling and firing repeatedly.
this was my dad. I am his oldest son, born just 9 1/2 months after his return from 18 months in captivity, including 7 weeks in a German hospital. He never talked about his experiences with any of us kids until he was in his 50’s, and then only sparingly. In our minds, dad was a true American hero. But I think he, as so many of his generation, was there because it was the right thing to do. I wish I had realized growing up just what a special father I had. I miss him still and I tell him that every time I visit him (and my mom) at Arlington National Cemetery.
I learned about your Dad through Masters of the Air- Absolute hero. One and all. There are a whole new set of people like me who now know his name.
Hi Stephen, thanks for letting us know a little about your dad. In the Masters of the Air, he seems to have been a capable flyer with tough side to him. Can you tell us a little more of his post-war life? Thanks again.