My longtime neighbor, Los Altos resident Charles “Chuck” Baker, had been a World War II B-17 Bomber Pilot, and flew 35 missions against the Nazis without any loss of crew or aircraft, though after most missions there were a lot of bullet and shrapnel holes to patch.
He attained the rank of captain as a squadron leader, and earned two Distinguished Flying Crosses because of his exceptional skill at maintaining tight formations in battle – a key part of B-17 defense against Nazi fighter planes (I had to deduce this from studying details in his book). When I asked him directly how he happened to win these medals, when typical missions could include hundreds of aircraft and pilots, he replied cheerfully, “I survived!”
In 2007, my wife and I visited his old airfield in East Anglia, a piece of history that the local English people have preserved to honor those American fliers who sacrificed so much to help save Great Britain in the war (their losses were proportionately higher than in any other service).
The control tower is now a museum, as is the adjacent Quonset hut. These are surrounded by some short vestiges of runway. The rest has been returned to the farmland it was before the war.
When we entered the control tower we were greeted by a young local. He asked where we were from.
“California.”
“California! What brings you here all the way from California?”
“We have a neighbor who flew from this airfield.”
“What’s his name?”
“Chuck Baker.”
(Shouting:) “Chuck Baker!? Hey guys, these people know Chuck Baker!”
Chuck wrote two books: “Memories of a Soldier/B-17 Pilot in WWII” and “Letters from a Soldier/B-17 Pilot in WWII.”
Chuck likely survived his entire crew, having lived to the age of 106. At that age, with body in decline, he still maintained his natural cheerfulness and optimism, traits that supported his own and his crew’s bravery in fierce battle.
Nevin is a Los Altos resident.
