MACK FITZGERALD

Interview by Johnnie Faye Taylor

98th Bomb Group,
93rd Air Force Group,
409th Squadron

Mack is the son of Tharpe and Beatrice (Bea) Vaughn Fitzgerald. He grew up in the Fitzgerald, Georgia area on a farm.

After finishing school, Mack went to Macon where he applied for and got a job with Sears. Mack enjoyed his job and was enjoying life as a young adult. He met another young man at Sears and they became friends. Many weekends during the summer season Mack and Harry Wagnon could be found chasing the sun and the girls at Savannah Beach, Georgia.

On December 7, 1941, life changed for all American citizens. Young men especially began thinking of the war, their draft status and their future. Mack was one of those young men facing a serious decision. He knew he would be drafted unless he enlisted in military service. His friend was of the same mind.

Mack had heard about the need for infantry personnel. Most people being drafted were put into the infantry. After thinking about the life of a foot soldier versus life in the Air Corps, Mack and his friend, Harry, decided the Army Air Corps was best for them.

In January, 1942 at the age of 21, Mack was inducted into the Army Air Corps at Fort McPherson, Georgia. His friend joined the same day. In fact, their service numbers were the same except for the last digit. Mack and Harry entered service as privates with pay of $21.00 per month. From Fort McPherson, they were sent to Ft. Benning at Columbus, Georgia where they were given aptitude tests to see what field they were best suited for. Mack showed a high aptitude for the mechanical side of aviation. His friend went to flying school to become a pilot.

Mack was sent to Wichita Falls, Texas for mechanics school. He received further training in San Diego, California at the Consolidated Aircraft School. It was in San Diego that he learned about heavy bombers particulary the B-24. Design of the aircraft, structure of the aircraft and other important lessons qualified him as a flight engineer on the B-24 Consolidated Aircraft heavy bomber.

His Gunnery Training came next. Mack was sent to Windover Field, Utah for that training. As Mack's responsibility increased, so did his rank. He was now a Sgt. in the Army Air Corps.

Mack had learned the lessons well up to this point so his next orders were to report to El Paso, Texas to be assigned to a flight crew. Flight crews were normally made up of 10 people. By now, Mack had been promoted to Tech Sgt. and Flight Engineer on the crew.

Crews began training together. They became familiar with each other, the B-24 airplanes and learned to put their skills together to successfully fly the plane, drop bombs and land safely. By the end of 1942, leave was given the crew to go home for Christmas. They had received overseas orders for early January, 1943.

Mack enjoyed his Christmas visit at home. He then reported back to duty.

His crew left Tampa, Florida and flew to Natal, Brazil. From Natal, they flew straight across the Atlantic Ocean to French Moroco in Northern Africa then on to Norwich, England where they were to be assigned their duty.

Modifications needed to be made on the airplane. The crew went to Ireland and awaited the completion of the modifications before returning to England.

Mack's crew flew several bombing missions from Norwich, England to France and Germany. The crew worked together well.

Orders came for them to report to Bengasi in Northern Libya. The reason for this assignment was to practice low level bombing runs in the North African desert.

Ploesti, Romania had some very large oil refineries that were supplying fuel for the Axis Powers (Germany and Italy). Plans were made to destroy these refineries using B-24 heavy bombers flying low level bombing raids. The low level bombing would be for better accuracy in hitting the refineries. The B-24 aircraft was designed only for high level flying.

In order to use B-24s for low level bombing, lots of practice was necessary before the crews were proficient in bombing and accuracy. Many problems occurred during the practice sessions. At one time an airplane returned from a practice run with cactus in the bomb bay. Another airplane lost a propeller when he flew too close to the ground during a low level practice run.

Bengasi, Libya was chosen for the takeoff location for the low- level flights because it was the closest point to Ploestic that could be used by the Americans at that time. It is about 1200 miles between the two locations and that was about the range limit for the B-24s. The Bengasi area also provided the desert that was needed to do the practice runs.

Because of the nature of the planned mission, volunteers were asked to participate. All the airmen in the 98th Bomb Group volunteered for the mission except one. The men were told that if all the men were killed in their efforts to destroy the oil refineries and the destruction of the refineries was successful, the mission would still be considered a success. It was estimated that the destruction of the oil refineries would shorten the war by at least 6 months.

Since this was a secret mission, the airplanes would maintain radio silence for the flight. There would be 3 waves of low level bombing runs over the refineries. The 1st wave airplanes were to be loaded with bombs with longer fuse times than the 2nd wave bombs.

The 3rd wave airplanes were to be loaded with bombs with very short fuse times. Technically, the bombs from all the airplanes would cause a very large explosion that would totally destroy the refineries shortly after the 3rd wave dropped their bombs.

Though the mission was secret and Military Intelligence reported minor anti aircraft batteries (guns) protecting the refineries, somehow, the enemy learned of the impending raid. They were eexpecting the Americans and were better prepared to defend the oil refineries than was known by American Intelligence.

At dawn on Sunday, August 1, 1943, Mack and his crew, with pilot Hubert Womble at the controls, took off from Bengasi in the group of 178 B-24 airplanes in 3 waves with a lead navigator. The lead navigator's plane went down in the Mediterrean Sea. This created many problems for the large number of aircraft that were expecting to be led to Ploesti by the lead navigator. Waves 1 and 2 got off course by making a wrong turn. Wave 3 more closely followed the plotted route arriving 1st at the destination instead of last as previously planned.

Wave 3 had to drop their bombs first. By the time the aircraft of waves 1 and 2 arrived at the refineries, they had to drop their bombs into an already exploding scene. Mack remembers seeing parts of the refineries up in the air higher than his airplane.

The enemy anti-aircraft guns were damaging many airplanes before they could fly away from the bomb explosions occurring on the ground and the debris in the air. Many planes went down at the refineries location.

Mack's plane was hit by the anti aircraft guns. They lost 2 engines immediately and 1 engine was going out. They were losing altitude fast when they selected an open field and made a crash landing. There was no way they could make it back to the base airfield in Bengasi.

Mack opened the escape hatch. The pilot, co-pilot, Mack and 6 others managed to escape from the airplane. The bombardier was trapped in the wheel well and could not get out. Efforts to remove him without any equipment, was unsuccessful. He was left in the airplane for 8 hours. Aviation fuel was dripping on him for the entire time. Miraculously, the airplane did not explode. He was rescued and taken to a Red Cross Hospital where he died after about a week.

Mack had shrapnel in his foot. He had no serious injuries other than the foot. After his pilot escaped from the airplane and got to a safe distance( in case the plane exploded), he looked down and said "My God, my foot 's gone". His foot had been cut off, possibly by a cable. Mack took a chance and went back to the airplane. The pilot's shoe with foot and sock still in it was on the floor in the cockpit next to one of the pedals.

Four of Mack's crew were in fair condition. The pilot told them to leave the area in pairs and try to get to Turkey. This was the location they were told to go in case they were shot down.

Mack and Sgt. Jack Reed of Oklahoma left the crash site about 4 PM. Sgt. Reed had a flak wound on the backside of his leg in the knee area. They walked as far as they could. Around 3 or 4 AM they found a cornfield. Needing some rest and sleep, they laid down between the corn rows. The Romanian farmer had planted pumpkins between the rows of corn. Mack and Sgt. Reed covered themselves with the pumpkin vines. They slept for a short while then woke up to someone walking in the cornfield.

Mack had his .45 pistol in his hand in case he had to use it. The Romanian soldier was in the next row and walked right past them. Mack couldn't very well shoot him because that would have brought more of the soldiers who were looking for them.

After that incident was over, Mack and Sgt. Reed got up and started walking again. They walked on through fields and eventually came upon a Romanian farmer plowing in his field. At this point, they had no choice but to turn themselves in to the farmer. He spoke no English. He chained their hands behind their backs and took them to a village. Mack remembers this village as being little more than a crossroads. The Romanians found 1 person in the village who could speak English.

Mack and the Sgt. were taken to a hospital in Ploesti where they asked for medical attention. Many Americans were already there with burn, bullet wounds, shrapnel wounds and various other injuries. They were treated well at the hospital. The medical staff took care of the wounded as best they could. They were then taken to a smaller hospital where they received more care. The Romanian authorities did not know what to do with these 110 men who had either been captured or had to turn themselves in because they just could not walk any further. The Americans were kept at this hospital for about 2 months while a place was set up for them.

From the hospital, the men were taken to a makeshift prison. It was in the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains at Timisul Jos near Brasof, Romania. There were 110 Prisoners of War in this location. They put the 70-80 enlisted men in 1 building and the officers in another building about 500 yards away. The prison became known as the Timisul camp.

At first their diet consisted of weak soup and brown bread. They were allowed to go outside to the volleyball court for exercise. Some men walked around the court for exercise. Occasionally the men played a variation of volleyball for a change of activities.

A radio arrived in each building. The POWs were allowed to listen to it. That was some help. Escape attempts were made but were unsuccessful. Sometimes a few men would get away from the building but were captured and returned. Tunnels were dug and found. Other tunnels were dug and caved in when it rained. After each escape attempt, the radio would be taken away from the men for punishment. They would eventually get it back but they did miss it while the restriction was in place.

Mack thought it interesting that they were treated as well as they were treated. He thought the prison officials followed the Geneva Convention Rules fairly well. He would find out later who was responsible for them receiving such decent treatment.

The enlisted men and the officers were allowed to visit with each other. This was a help to all the men. When the radio was taken away from 1 group, they would visit sometimes with the other group to listen to the radio in that building.

As time passed, the men's wounds were healing some and the POWs were talking more about the crashes they had been involved in on August 1, 1943. Mack heard about a plane crash that had occurred near the prison compound on the estate of a Princess. Her name was Princess Catherine Caradja of Romania. The Princess and some of her employees on the estate rescued one of the men. His name is Richard Britt. They did what they could for him but had no choice but to report the crash to the local authorities. The man was sent to the same POW compound near Brasof that the other American crash victims had been sent.

The Princess became a frequent visitor to the prison camp. She put pressure on the Germans to insure the Americans received decent treatment. She personally supplied some items to make life more tolerable for the men.

Mack learned of the Princess' generosity and kind spirit about 2 months after he arrived at the prison camp. As time went by, he learned even more about this outstanding woman. The Princess' interest in the POWs continued.

Some time after they were imprisoned, the Red Cross food parcels began arriving. Each parcel contained: 1 can dried milk (when mixed with water it made about 1 gallon of milk), 1 large chocolate bar, l can Spam, 2 packs cigarettes, 1 bar soap and a few other items which Mack doesn't recall now. These food parcels were much appreciated and added greatly to their former diet of soup and brown bread.

The Red Cross food parcels were pooled by the POWs. They took turns preparing the meals. KP duty was done by all on a scheduled basis. Sometimes other items would become available and were shared by all.

The clothing Mack and the other men were wearing at the time they were taken in to Romanian authorities was the only clothes they had to wear. The Romanians gave them a Romanian soldier's uniform. They did their own laundry and kept themselves in as clean a condition as possible. Later the Red Cross sent in some clothes for them.

Mack and the other POWs were allowed to attend Church on Sundays. The church held separate services for them. They went in small groups and walked to the church. Sometimes there were restrictions on the number of men that could attend the services that week. When that occurred, the men took turns attending. Not all men wanted to attend worship services. They were not forced to attend. Mack was grateful for the opportunity to attend church even though the church's denomination was different from his. The services were Catholic.

A Russian dentist came by the prison camp about once a month. The dentist was a prisoner in another Romanian camp. Mack had a wisdom tooth that was giving him some problems. The Russian dentist decided to pull the tooth. It was broken off in the process. Mack did some suffering with the jagged tooth in his mouth until the gum grew over it. He had to put up with the wisdom tooth until he was released.

After a period of 4-5 months, the POWs were allowed to write postcards every week or two. They began receiving mail regularly. At first, their mail was censored closely. Later the mail rules were relaxed when the guards couldn't find any messages going out that would have been harmful to them. Most of the men were just happy to let their families know that they were still alive and did not do any complaining in the messages sent back home on the cards.

On August 31,1944, after 13 months in the POW camp, the Russians came from the north and were closing in on Bucharest. The Romanians came in about midnight and woke the POWs. They were told the war was over for them and they were free to go.

Mack and the other men stayed up the rest of the night wondering what would happen next. The next day a Romanian pilot flew the senior officer in the POW compound to Italy so he could make arrangements for transportation out of Romania for the Americans.

Arrangements were made and B-24s began arriving in Romania to pick up the 110 Americans. The Americans were taken by truck to Bucharest where they met the airplanes that were sent to transport them to freedom. (B-24s are called Liberators. Never was the name more appropiate than on that day.) Planes carrying about 18-20 men each flew them to a field near Foggia, Italy. Foggia is located on the East Coast of Italy. The men were de-loused, fed, cleaned up and given new clothes. A short time later (about 3-4 days), they were transported to England.

The now former POWs were debriefed at a location near London, England. They were reassigned to a base there. They were not expected to do any duty but they did need access to base facilities. Mack and the other men were given medical and dental care. Mack's broken off wisdom tooth was finally cut out. Any other need that the military was capable of handling was met.

Mack enjoyed the time in London. Some days he rode the underground to the end of the line, got off and took a double-decker bus back to the city center. The freedom to come and go at will was enjoyed.

While Mack was in the London area, he spent some time at the Red Cross facilities. One day while at a Red Cross location, he was sitting inside the building, drinking coffee and looking out the window. Walking on the sidewalk past the building was a young man who had been raised less than a mile from Mack's home in Fitzgerald. Mack ran out onto the sidewalk and was happy to have an opportunity to visit with someone from home. It was indeed a happy occasion! So much time had passed since Mack had seen a familiar face from home. This was a "meant to be" occurrence. Had Mack been looking down at his coffee or away from the window for just a minute, he would have missed this wonderful opportunity.

After about 3 months in England, arrangements were completed for the 110 former POWs to go home. They were flown from London to Washington, D.C. via Newfoundland. From Washington, Mack traveled on to Fitzgerald, Georgia for a much anticipated reunion with his family.

By this time, the Don Caesar Hotel in Clearwater, Florida had been designated a convalescent center for returning POWs. Mack was assigned to the Don Caesar for convalescence after a short visit with his family. Some of the men were having trouble sleeping, some had nightmares and they all were assumed to need assistance adjusting to life again after their incarceration. Mack remembers the experience as a time of "high cotton" living.

During his convalescence at the Don Caesar, Mack received word that his dad was about to undergo serious surgery at the Georgia Baptist Hospital in Atlanta. He asked for leave to go to Atlanta for the surgery. Leave was granted for a few days and Mack left for Atlanta.

One of the people Mack met at Georgia Baptist was a student nurse named Deedy DeLoach. Mack fell in love. When he got back to Clearwater, he called Deedy several times. After about 1 week, he called her and told her to come to Clearwater so he could marry her. Deedy went and they were married in Clearwater. Mack likes to tell people that they only knew each other about a week. Deedy says it was actually longer.

From the Don Caesar in Clearwater, Mack was sent to Miami Beach for 1 more month of convalescence. Deedy went with him. Together they really enjoyed Miami Beach.

Mack and Deedy were in a nightclub in Miami Beach when it was announced that President Roosevelt had died. Everything in Miami Beach closed up. Mack and Deedy returned to the hotel.

Convalescence was over and Mack's next assignment was Cochran Field near Macon, Georgia. He was there a short time. Mack asked to be transferred to Warner Robins. He did test flights at Warner Robins for about 3 months.

Mack was discharged from the Army Air Corps in July 1945. He received several medals for his service during World War II. Among those were the Purple Heart, Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal and the POW Medal. Mack and Deedy went back to Fitzgerald. Mack's old job at Sears in Macon was available if he wanted it but he wanted to go home.

Mack took a job with a furniture company in Fitzgerald. He also did some work for a funeral home there. He sums up his work as furniture salesman/ambulance driver. Sometimes he assisted with funerals.

Sears opened a Mail Order Store in Fitzgerald. After 10 years of working for the furniture store and funeral home, Mack applied for a job, got it and went back to work for Sears. The main difference was Mack was back in his hometown and county. His position was Mail Order Salesman.

Mack continued to get promotions and accepted more responsibilities with Sears over the years. In 1968, he transferred to Tifton, Georgia and in 1972; he transferred to Dublin, Georgia. He retired from Sears in 1980 after working for them 25 years. When he retired, he held the position of Area Consultant for Merchant Stores. He was responsible

for the 43 stores in South Georgia and Florida.

He and Deedy continue to live in Dublin where they are active members of the First Baptist Church and the Townsend Sunday School Class. They have farm property in Fitzgerald and go there often. Their lake cabin near Fitzgerald burned last summer. Rebuilding of the cabin is in progress now. Mack has designed and made several very nice pieces of furniture. He is an accomplished woodworker.

Mack and Deedy have three daughters. The short courtship and World War II marriage has turned into 55 wonderful years of married life for them.

The Romanian POWs hold reunions periodically. Mack and Deedy attend these reunions and enjoy the fellowship with the other POWs and their spouses.

Several very interesting events have happened over the years as a result of the low level mission to Ploesti and Mack's imprisonment. One of those has been the Princess Catherine's visit to the United States and particularly the visits she has made in the Fitzgerald home.

Princess Caradja was able to leave Romania in 1955. By that time, she had lost all her property to the Communists. She made her way to the U.S. The Princess was on a mission to locate and visit each of the 110 men she had befriended in the POW camp in her native land.

When Richard Britt, the American rescued from the plane crash by the Princess and her employees, heard of the Princess wish to visit the former POWs and speak against communism in the United States, he invited her to stay with his family. Richard Britt built a guesthouse in his back yard in Comfort, Texas so the Princess could be near him. She made her home there when she was not traveling throughout the States.

Mack and Deedy were fortunate enough to have this wonderful woman visit in their home on more than one occasion. The Princess also spoke at their church one night in Dublin and earlier when she visited them in Fitzgerald, she spoke at the Rotary Club.

Princess Caradja located 90 of the 110 former POWs and visited them all in their homes. She also visited all 50 states speaking in many churches and instutions. Her message was always of an Anti-Communist nature. She had a heart felt need to warn Americans of the dangers of communism and to see again her former POW friends.

"The only real way I can be of service to our countries is to tell the free world about conditions behind the Iron Curtain, and to encourage others to protect and defend their precious freedoms," she said. "From experience, I can say it is bad to live when liberty and justice have gone." The Princess lived a Christian life each day. What a difference she made in the lives of the 110 airmen who lost their freedom for 13 months during World War II!

Princess Caradja lived to be 103 years of age. Though she is gone, her memory lives in the hearts of those 110 former POWs and their families who became her friends.

Mack's old friend, Harry Wagnon, from the Sears Store in Macon had not been heard from since about 1943. Mack thought about Harry and often wondered what had happened to him during the war years and since the war.

This was a project in which his daughters became very interested. His daughter who lives in Dublin, Carol Fitzgerald Stroberg, contacted Bill Boyd of the Macon Telegraph office to ask for his assistance in locating Harry. Bill Boyd gave Carol some ideas to research and he also wrote a newspaper article asking for help in locating this long lost friend.

Harry was located and found to be living in Homosassa, Florida. What a pleasure for Mack to know his friend had made it through the war safely and was living in retirement in Florida.

The one person in Mack's Bomb Group who did not volunteer for the Ploesti Raid Mission had spent many years thinking about his refusal to participate in the mission.

In 1992, this person located Mack in Dublin. He telephoned Mack and asked if he could visit. Mack told him yes. This person came to Dublin and asked Mack's forgiveness. For all the past years (nearly 50 at that time), the former airman had suffered silently. He said he had not been able to talk to his wife or his children about his refusal to participate in the mission. He had felt guilty all those years for the freedom he enjoyed while his friends and co-airmen were incarcerated in the POW camp in Romania.

Mack, as usual, handled the situation well. The man left the Fitzgeralds home feeling better when he knew that Mack did not hold a grudge against him.

For more information on the Ploesti Raid, James Dugan and Carroll Stewart have written a book entitled Ploesti. The book was published by Random House Publishers in 1962.

This book covers the low level raids that Mack participated in and the high level raids that took place later in the war.