It also brought him great joy to talk about giving his dad that plane ride he promised as a child. I think that is the biggest satisfaction in all of it.”įry lit up when he talked about training future pilots. He said he had to convince all his students of one thing. “I’ve experienced most everything I have ever taught.” The decorated pilot wasn’t most proud of combat flying but rather his ability to teach. In order to receive the highest decoration bestowed by France, veterans must have fought in one of four main campaigns of the Liberation of France: Normandy, Provence, Ardennes, or Northern France.įry was there for three of four of those campaigns. “In serving your country, saving my country,” Lacroix said. “There was maybe 30 people lined up at the end of the runway with machine guns waiting for us.” “The number two engine had burst into flames on the landing.” “With a crippled aircraft, there wasn’t any going around or trying to make another approach.”įry said they were just 150 feet off the ground. He saw a small landing airfield below and said he was thankful he had learned a trick in training about landing a B-17 on a short strip. “I had had them drop the ball turret and everything heavy to lighten the airplane, so I was fast on the approach.” That’s when he told the crew to lose another 1,200 pounds. “I went through weather, and then, I finally saw land. He also ordered them to open the bomb bay doors to show they had no firepower. The men voted unanimously to head to Sweden, and Fry told the guys to dump everything they could overboard, so the bomber could fly longer. He told the crew they could either make a return flight to England, attempt a landing in Russia, or cross the Baltic to get to Sweden. Colonel Bill Fryįry said they couldn’t see anything through the clouds above the ocean, so that’s when he presented his crew with three options. “Actually, the good Lord turned my three-ship formation slightly, just enough to miss a direct hit.” Retired Lt.
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