13TH AIR FORCE, 47TH SQUADRON
Interview by Johnnie Faye Taylor
Thomas is the son of William Gordon McTier and Elizabeth Forth McTier. He was born in Scott, Johnson County, Georgia. Except for one year in the Adrian School, Thomas received his education at schools in Scott, Georgia.
Several cousins of Thomas were in the Army. Thomas decided he might as well join the Army also. He went to Ft. Benning, Georgia for a physical. He was turned down because he had a hernia. They suggested he go back home, have the hernia repaired and then try again to pass the physical.
Thomas had the hernia surgery at the old Coleman Hospital in Dublin, Georgia. Dr. A.T. Coleman performed the operation. Thomas got along well and decided to go back to Ft. Benning to try again to join the Army. When he got there they looked at the scar, decided he was not healed enough and turned him down again. This was in peacetime and they were somewhat fussy about the condition of enlistees.
On July 18th, 1941, Thomas married Isabel Carter of Scott, Georgia. He forgot all about the Army as he began his new life as a married man.
In December 1941, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. The news reached Thomas and Isabel by word of mouth. He is not real sure now exactly when he heard the news.
Thomas was drafted into the Army Air Corps in September 1942. He reported in to the authorities in Wrightsville, Georgia. They put him on a bus to Fort MacPherson near Atlanta. Thomas was processed into the Army Air Corps at Fort MacPherson.
After processing, Thomas was sent to St. Petersburg, Florida for Basic Training. He received some of his Basic Training there and was sent to Clearwater, Florida for the remainder of that training. Thomas had worked some around CC Camps and knew of the military type training they used. He believes this may have made the Army Basic Training a little easier for him.
His Gunnery Training took place at Tyndall Field in Panama City, Florida. Thomas' Gunnery School lasted about 3 months. The winter months in Florida were pleasant. The weather was good and shorts were worn in off duty hours.
Clark Gable arrived at Tyndall Field for his Gunnery Training while Thomas was there. Thomas recalls the special treatment Mr. Gable received at Tyndall.
When the train carrying Thomas north arrived at his new destination in Madison, Wisconsin, it was very cold. Thomas was ordered to Truax Field in Madison for Radio School. This school lasted longer than the other training sessions that Thomas had participated in earlier. He remembers that it just took longer to learn the codes and equipment uses than it took to learn basic training and gunnery school.
All the schools were finished when he completed the Radio School. It was time to begin training with airplanes and meeting the crew he would be flying with for the duration of the war. Thomas was ordered to McDill Field in Tampa, Florida for this portion of his training. He was assigned to a B-26 crew.
Crew members were: Pilot-----------John Erdman of Nina Manassa, Wisconsin
Co-Pilot------Lt. Barrett of Pennsylvania
Navigator----Lt. Long of Virginia
Gunner-------Sgt. Umbarger of Battle Creek, Michigan
Engineer-----Alvie Moore of Blytheville, Arkansas
Radio Operator
Thomas McTier of Scott, Georgia
Thomas had never flown before and he was afraid at first. B-26s were hard to fly. The flight crews at McDill cracked up planes daily. Tampa Bay is next to McDill and many of the planes went down in the Bay. Eventually, all the B-26s at McDill had been crashed. It was evident these crews needed some other type of airplanes to fly.
It was decided to send all the crews to Donaldson Field in Greenville, South Carolina. B-25s were flown out of Greenville. These crews adapted better to the B-25 aircraft. They flew many "round robin" flights to locations throughout the United States during their practice sessions at Greenville.
Once on a training flight from Greenville to Barksdale Field, Louisiana and return, Thomas asked the pilot to buzz Scott, Georgia. The pilot told Thomas that the government had spotters to report such incidents. Thomas' reply was "Not in Scott". The pilot did buzz Scott that day. They were flying so low that Thomas could see his wife and her family who were outside to witness the sight. The pilot turned the plane around and buzzed them once more before returning to Greenville. Thomas wrote Isabel to tell her that he had been waving at her. Isabel wrote him back to let him know that she had seen him.
Alvie Moore of Blytheville, Arkansas was the engineer on Thomas' crew. He liked the buzzing idea so well that he asked if they could do that at his home. They did on another flight. Alvie's home was on a farm with a cotton gin. A large Sycamore tree was in the yard. They flew so low over his home that they actually had Sycamore leaves in the prop area of the airplane when they returned to base.
After a sufficient period of training in Greenville, Thomas and his crew were ordered to Hunter Field in Savannah, Georgia. They were told they would be going overseas. They were ordered to pick up a plane at Hunter Field but their final destination was still unknown. The problem in Savannah was that not enough airplanes were available for all the crews there to pick one up.
Thomas' parents had moved to Port Wentworth, Georgia which is located just out of Savannah. Isabel was down there with the McTiers. Thomas was allowed to stay with his wife at his parents' home and report in at Hunter Field everyday.
The men continued to wait for an airplane. About the time they thought they had a plane and would be leaving, an officer with a higher rank than Thomas' pilot would come along. The higher rank had priority and always got the available airplane.
Christmas came and went in 1943. Thomas was still in Savannah and was able to spend Christmas with his wife and his parents. There were several social events that made it possible for Isabel to get to know Thomas' crew a little better.
The "powers that be" decided the crew had spent enough time waiting in Savannah. Their orders were changed. They were then ordered to California. Instead of going to Europe as some of the airmen were, now they were certain that they would be going to the South Pacific. Thomas and the other members of his crew traveled by train from Union Station in Savannah to Oakland, California. It took 5 days to cross the country.
When they reached Oakland, they traveled on to Fairfield Susain (now Travis Field). It is located between San Francisco and Sacramento, California.
They were given a plane to fly one day to do a fuel consumption test. They were told to fly up and down the coast for 4 hours. The pilot told the officer giving the orders that 4 hours would put them landing after dark. The pilot didn't have experience with night landings there. He was told that they didn't care what happened to the plane. Just to get it off the base. Surely enough, upon landing, the front of the plane hit the runway and crashed. Thomas remembers opening the escape hatch and being the first person off the airplane. Since this crash destroyed the plane. Thomas and crew had to wait another week or two for a replacement B-25.
It was then necessary to go to Sacramento and do more waiting until an ATC Navigator was available. In order to get to the South Pacific, they would have to make a fueling stop in Hawaii. The regular crew navigator did not have the experience to navigate their flight over open water so the ATC Navigator was essential.
Thomas as radio operator, the pilot, co-pilot and the ATC Navigator left Sacramento after dark for the flight to Hawaii. Thomas reported their location hourly over the radio to Sacramento. When they were about half way to Oahu, Hawaii, he began radioing his reports to Hickam Field in Hawaii instead of Sacramento. Thomas recalls seeing Diamond Head for the first time and what a beautiful sight it was.
Their flight landed at Hickam Field, Oahu, Hawaii. They were met at Hickam Field by the remainder of their crew. Their engineer, tailgunner and navigator had traveled to the island via other transportation.
Thomas recalls one of his first pleasures on the island. He went into a store, purchased a 46-oz. can of pineapple juice and drank it all.
Some of the bombing damage from the December 7, 1941 attack was still evident when Thomas visited Hickam Field. He was also able to see the ships that were sunk at Pearl Harbor. Thomas and some of the men went to the beach and also visited downtown Honolulu. He enjoyed his few days on Oahu but says he wouldn't want to live there.
Soon it was time to leave for their next location. Thomas and the crew stopped at Christmas Island for a refueling stop. He recalls the runway ran the full length of the coral reef island.
Next stop south was at Neumia, New Caledonia. They stayed a few days there. The base was near the river. Thomas and some of the men swam in the beautiful clear river water.
They finally arrived at Guadalcanal. They were based at Henderson Field. Thomas and his crew flew bombing and strafing missions from Henderson. New Britain and New Ireland are two of the islands where they flew on missions. They saw the town of Ribald that had been a resort area during peace time. It had been completely leveled. A large naval battle had been fought in the natural harbor there.
A large building was on a hilltop on New Britain or New Ireland. It had a large red cross painted on it. Bombing crews were told that it was a hospital and they were never to drop a bomb on it. One day a plane flew over the building and dropped a bomb. The building turned out to be an ammunition dump. What an explosion when the bomb hit it!
After a certain number of bombing missions were flown, crews were given R & R leave. They flew to Australia for the R & R. Thomas enjoyed being in Sidney. It was a large city where a variety of activities were available.
Thomas stayed in a rooming house while in Sidney. The woman running the boarding house served good food. Breakfasts there sometimes included steak. That was a real treat.
Each morning Thomas ordered a bottle of Scotch. The rooming house proprietor charged him about $15.00 per bottle. This was a lot of money in those days for a bottle but that was the charge in Australia at that boarding house. The only kind available was White Horse or Black and White Scotch. By the end of his R & R, Thomas had accumulated 8-10 bottles. He carried them back to his base in a duffel bag. He then sold the Scotch for $100.00 per bottle to officers in the Infantry who could not get R & R in Australia.
Thomas sent the money home from his Scotch sales. He thought his wife might be putting the money in the bank. Instead, he found out later that she had purchased a 40-acre farm with a house on it. The farm and house were located near Scott, Georgia.
When Thomas and his crew left Guadalcanal, they were ordered to Treasure Island. Thomas remembers the island being very beautiful. Tropical fruit grew in abundance. The men slept in Quonset huts just as they had at their other locations. The main difference at Treasure Island was the sound in the night when a coconut would drop on the metal huts. Then it sounded as if they were under enemy attack. Not a very comforting sound to hear during war time.
From Treasure Island, Thomas and his crew were ordered to New Guinea. They were based at Sansapor. Missions were flown to Laite, the Philippines and other locations from New Guinea. On one mission they ran a ship onto ground in Borneo. The ship was in a large river when they began dropping bombs and strafing it. The ship ran onto ground during their attack on it. They continued their assault on the ship until they saw it burning. Then they flew back to their base.
While Thomas was stationed at Sansapor, one of the things he enjoyed was being able to take a shower. A truck was sent from the base to a nearby river. It returned with a full load of water that was put into elevated tanks. These tanks had pipes with sprinklers installed on them. A platform was built with boards for the men to stand on as they showered. The water was always warm since it had been collected from a river on this tropical island.
Another addition to the base at Sansapor was a large tent that was made into a coffee house. The men spent many off duty hours in the coffee house visiting and drinking coffee. It was a pleasant way to pass the time between a mission and bedtime.
Before long, it was time again for R & R. On the flight to Sidney, Australia, they lost an engine near Townsville, Australia. They landed there and had to wait about 2 weeks for the arrival of parts and the necessary repairs. When they did arrive in Sidney, Thomas stayed at the same rooming house that he had stayed on his previous trip. He repeated his Scotch purchases for resale. Again, Thomas was able to send several hundred dollars home to his wife.
More missions were flown. The Army Air Corps returned people to the States based on a point system. Sixty missions qualified for the trip home. Thomas had completed his 60 missions. All of them flying with the same crew.
The night after his 60th mission, Thomas had a visit from a pilot of another crew. That pilot's radio operator was sick and he wanted Thomas to fly with him the next day. The upcoming mission would qualify the pilot to return to the States also. It was to be a routine mission to bomb an airstrip where a Japanese airplane was parked near a POW Camp. Thomas agreed to go along with the other crew on that mission.
They took off the next morning and were cruising along with no problems. All of a sudden the sky was black with flak. Japanese airplanes were all around them. One engine went out. The pilot feathered the prop. The crew threw everything they could off the airplane. Thomas radioed a PBY Catalina (that the crew referred to as Dumbo). "Dumbo" told them to fly as far as possible from land. The pilot had the good engine (left) going as fast as he could to hold the plane up. The pilot told the men they could jump if they wanted to at that point. The plane was obviously going to crash. Thomas asked the pilot what he was going to do. The pilot said that he would ride it in to the "drink". Thomas decided he would also. About that time, Lt. Dean (the co-pilot) told the men to get braced and hold on. They hit the water about that time. The plane broke into. The men found themselves swimming. They counted heads and 1 person was missing. It was the Co-pilot, Lt. Dean.
The men inflated their floatation devices and put out the capsules that were supposed to keep the sharks away. Thomas' Air Force watch stopped when the plane made impact with the water. They learned later it had taken "Dumbo" 2 hours to get there to pick them up. Another crew had to be rescued before Thomas' crew.
While the PBY Catalina was stopped to pick them up, P 38 fighter planes were circling. The Japanese were trying to come out from the island to get the crew but were fought off.
Finally, all the men were on board with the "Dumbo" crew and the survivors from the other crash. "Dumbo" had trouble lifting off. They bounced across the water for some distance before they finally got airborne.
When they arrived back at the Sansapor Field, Thomas and the other injured airmen were taken to the field hospital. Thomas had hurt his back in the crash and had a bad cut on his hand from metal. The only available treatment for his back at the field hospital was cold packs. He had no x-rays done on his injury.
As soon as Thomas was able to travel, he was asked if he wanted to fly back to the States on a plane. The plane was an old bomber that Thomas felt was war-weary. His other choice for transport back was by ship. Thomas chose to return via ship.
At Orleandia, New Guinea, Thomas boarded a troop ship that was converted from a pre-war Mexican Cruise Liner. He remembers going up the gangplank with someone else having to carry his bags. His back was still giving him trouble.
Thomas couldn't understand why because he thought all the Japanese subs had been destroyed by then, but they zig zagged back to the States. It took 26 days to reach San Francisco. The water was fairly calm until Easter Sunday when they were about 1 day out of San Francisco. All of a sudden, the Pacific got rough. Thomas thought he might drown before reaching shore. He recalls thinking what a shame that would be to get so close to home after all the missions he had been on and then dying just off the coast of California.
When he got to the base in San Francisco, he went to the Mess Hall. He remembers seeing silver looking pitchers of fresh, cold milk sitting on a table. He drank « pitcher before he could quit. Thomas had really missed having fresh milk to drink while he was overseas.
Thomas went to Oakland, California to board the train to Fort MacPherson, Georgia. He was given 30 days leave when he got to Ft. Mac. From Atlanta, Thomas rode the Greyhound bus to Dublin. A $3.00 taxi ride got him on to Scott.
Thomas had a happy reunion with his wife and became acquainted with his 10 months old daughter who was born in 1944 while he was overseas.
After Thomas got home from his overseas duty, he received a letter from the widow of Lt. Dean, the co-pilot who had died in the crash on Thomas' 61st mission. She wanted Thomas to write her and give her details of the crash and the way her husband had died. Thomas did write her a letter and described the events of that fateful day. He never heard from her again.
When the 30-day leave was over, Thomas was given 12 days of R & R at a hotel in Miami Beach, Florida. He was allowed to take Isabel with him. They left the baby with relatives for the 12 days. The young couple took the Silver Meteor train from Savannah, Georgia to Miami. Thomas remembers being charged $1.00 per day for his wife's food, while the government paid his expenses.
Thomas had orders to report to Turner Field in Albany, Georgia when his R & R was over. He couldn't get transportation for his wife from Miami back to Georgia. There were so many people trying to travel that space was not available for them all. Thomas knew he couldn't leave her down in Miami. Isabel needed to get back to Georgia to pick up their daughter. It was decided that she would ride the troop train to Albany, Georgia with Thomas. She then could get back home to pick up the baby.
Isabel and the baby later returned to Albany to live with Thomas during his tour of duty at Turner Field.
Thomas' new assignment at Turner Field involved refueling fighter planes. His rank of Tech Sgt. was higher than the Sgt. in charge of the Refueling Unit when he arrived so Thomas was put in charge of the unit.
Some German POWs were housed at Turner Field and worked with the Americans. Thomas remembers the Americans calling Hitler an S.O.B. and other foul names. The Germans would nod their heads and laugh. It was difficult to know whether they agreed with the name-calling or whether they even understood what was being said. They just appeared to be relatively happy in their prison environment.
The time came when Thomas was told his time in the Army Air Corps was over. He was informed that he could re-enlist or be discharged. Thomas chose to be discharged. He was sent back to Fort MacPherson to be processed out. When he arrived there, he was told he could stay on at Fort MacPherson for while and file for compensation or he could go home that day. Thomas chose to forget the compensation and go home at that time. This was on September 17th or 18th in 1945.
Upon reflection, Thomas had done well during his war time service to the United States. He began his military duty as a private and had been promoted several times. His rank was Tech Sgt. at the time of his discharge. He had earned several medals among them the Purple Heart and the Air Medal.
Thomas rode the Greyhound bus from Atlanta to Dublin, and then he took a taxi on to Scott where his family had gone to await his arrival.
The farm that Isabel had bought with the profits from Thomas' Scotch sales became home to the young couple and their small daughter. The government paid Thomas $100.00 per month for a few months to farm. His crops did well in 1946 but he couldn't get any farm labor to help him. Nobody in the area was available for hire.
During the year of 1946, another child was born to the young couple. It was a boy and they named their son Thomas Jerry McTier.
Thomas sold the farm the following year to the man on the adjoining farm. He loaded up the family household goods and moved his family to Savannah, Georgia.
Certain-Teed Corporation was hiring workers in Savannah. The company manufactured asphalt-roofing shingles. The company name was taken from their motto of Certain of Quality, Guaranteed Satisfaction. Thomas was hired and began a long career with the company. He worked at several jobs within the company from processing asphalt for the roofing shingles to manning the powerhouse (boiler room)
Thomas and Isabel had never forgotten the country living they had enjoyed in their younger lives. Thomas continued to enjoy fishing as a hobby. In 1974, they purchased a 2 acre water front lot at Thundering Springs in Laurens County. A mobile home was placed on the lot to provide a weekend home for Thomas' family. They also spent their 5 weeks of vacation there each year.
When Thomas retired on February 4, 1984 after 38 years with Certain-Teed Corp., Thomas and Isabel chose to make the Thundering Springs home their permanent residence. Additions have been made and a garage built. The property is well landscaped and the view is spectacular. Thomas could go fishing whenever he wanted to go.
Isabel suffered from Muscular Dystrophy and had numerous health problems associated with the disease. In her later years, she required a lot of care that Thomas was happy to provide for her. She died on Jan. 24, 1997.
Thomas and Isabel's daughter, Jean McTier Moates is a teacher in Savannah, Georgia. Their son, Thomas Jerry McTier is the financial director at Georgia Tech.
Fishing is still an enjoyable pastime for Thomas. He is active in the Brewton Baptist Church and has numerous friends in Laurens and Johnson Counties.
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