My Hero Father Needed No Star and No Cape

On this episode of Our American Stories, Roger Latham, a regular contributor from Fort Worth, Texas, shares the story of his father, a World War II fighter pilot and his personal hero.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:10):
And we continue with our American stories. Up next the
story from our regular listener and contributor Roger and Leatham
from Fort Worth, Tensis. Let's take a listen.

Speaker 2 (00:23):
On a sunny June day in nineteen forty four, the
only sound on the flight deck was the wind as
the B twenty four Liberator, absent the power of his
four engines, glided to its final moments of life before
ditching in the choppy waters of the Adriatic Sea. My father,
Lieutenant Ernie Latham, was pilot and command attention crew get

(00:48):
to the back of the plane. Certain his men had
followed his last order, he now focused all of his
attention on flying the wounded bird. The command was standard
operating procedure. The tail section would give the crew the
best chance to survive Earlier, as the wounded plane limped

(01:10):
its way across Yugoslavia, he gave them the opportunity to parachute.
No one jumped. Now, at three hundred feet above the water,
it was too late. The young lieutenant at his entire
crew would digest their fates together flaps. Ernie spoke in
normal tone, in volume. There was no need to panic.

(01:33):
It'd only make flying the airplane more difficult. Seconds later,
the flaps remained unmoved. Hogan dropped the flaps. Ernie shouted
the command as he glanced at his coal pilot. Lieutenant
Hogan seemed transfixed on the instrument panel. His hands were
in his lap, and in a flat monotone voice, he

(01:55):
kept repeating, I can't believe this is happening. I can't
believe this is happening. The plane slammed head on into
the wave. Instantly, the Liberator went from one hundred and

(02:17):
ten miles an hour to dead stop. The roaring sound
of twisting metal screamed as the bomber began to break apart.
Then it became dead quiet, quite as a grave. Now,
with nose of the plane aiming to the bottom of
the sea, he had a strange thought. They'll think I

(02:39):
died in the crash, never know I drowned. Guess I'll
to try to get out. This began the arduous task
of extracting himself from the sinking plane. Upon breaking free
of the tangled shards of metal, he bobbed to the surface. Here,

(03:00):
about two hundred feet away, he discovered the emergency lifeboat.
He fumbled with his pocket knife found it and quickly
used it to free the Dinghi from its mooring. This
activated the propellant and had inflated instantly. Climbing aboard, he
began to search for additional signs of life. Of the

(03:22):
seven remaining crew members, he found and saved five for
the fifteenth Air Force. It was a record that would
never be broken. Within thirty minutes, the sound of a
high powered boat could be heard rushing toward the stranded airman.
The speeding craft, filled with German soldier's arm to the
teeth brought a new terror. Threw your guns overboard. The

(03:48):
command came as Lieutenant Latham tossed his service forty five
in the drink. The German boat, emblazoned with Nazi swastikas
and flag, circled the Dinghi. When it came to a stop,
a man's ball offered a broken English breath of hope,
you go no guns. They were Tito's partisans. The German

(04:09):
uniforms were the ones they had taken off good Nazis,
the dead ones. Five days later, the Yugoslavians returned the
Americans to the warm confines of the four sixty four
bombardment Group back in Pantanella. Lieutenant Latham offered debrief to
his commander. He left out the fact that he had
injured his back pretty severely in the crash. He'd be

(04:32):
sent back to the States and lose any chance of
flying his dream plane, the P thirty eight. After he
offered his detailed mission assessment and debriefing, the major said,
you need some rest and recuperation. How would you like
three days of R and R in Rome? That works?

(04:53):
What about the rest of my crew? A couple of
are banged up and will be in the hospital for
a few days. Day all get there, R and R.
It's strange how the fickle fanger of fate points to
the fortunate few. There is an old quote, it's not
what you know, it's who you know. On his first

(05:13):
day in Rome, Ernie me at the right one. He
and Jim Jamison hit it off immediately after three days
of hard drinking the soft women. Ernie asked Jamison, what
do you fly for? The Army Company commander of the
three to six fighter wing P fifty one's, Oh my god,
you got to get me a transfer. I'd love to

(05:36):
fly for you, guys. I'll do that. Who's your Commander
Major William Moore, Oline o'bill. We were in primary training
back in Oklahoma. I'll send it in a transfer request
when I get back back. At the four sixty fourth,
Lieutenant Latham came to attention as he greeted Major Moore. Well,

(05:57):
I have some good news, receiving the Silver Star for
saving so many of your crew. And best part, you
get to go home. They want you for a war
bond tour or something. Ain't going, Ernie said, you have to.
If you take the star, the Army can keep. It's
pretty metal. I want to fly fighters, and I have

(06:19):
a chance if Jamison does what he said he would
do and gets me a transfer. He already did. I
got a call from Jamison this morning and the carrier
dropped off the farmal request about ten minutes ago. If
you sign the papers, I'm heading to fly P fifty
once the Major smiled, I've already signed it. Well, when

(06:40):
you get to your new ride, you'll need to come
back and tell us how much fun it is to
go fast. The next day, Ernie reported to the orderly
at the three six, I'm Lieutenant Latham. Need to report
for duty. Where's Major Jamison? Just a minute Sir, are
the new pilot is here? Send him In the three

(07:02):
to zh sixth new Hire came to attention upon entering
the old man's office, the Tenant Latham reporting for duty,
Ernie said as he studied attention before his friend, Major
Jamison smiled as he stood and greeted him. He just
started learning how to fly a Mustang. Well, that's what
I want to talk to you about. Well, I need

(07:22):
to ask for one more favor. For as long as
I've been alive, I've wanted to fly P thirty eight,
and now I have that opportunity if you'll transfer me.
Jamison wrote the letter to the office of the fifteenth
Air Force Command, and in three days Ernie joined the
proud ranks of the forty ninth Fighter Squadron. Here he
would complete the remaining thirty six missions of his standard

(07:44):
fifty mission requirement of the Army Air Corps. Dad's days
in the forty ninth came with many exciting tales of
valor his new gaggle of wingman, stories of missions over
Germany and beyond, with photographs to prove it. I listened
to every word he spoke and hung on each In

(08:08):
the early fifties when Superman made his debut and on
black and white TVs around town, my classmates turned their
moms old bed sheets into capes. I wore Dad's service
cap with the gold bar. My Superman was stronger than
one hundred locomotives, flew faster than a fifty caliber bullet,

(08:29):
and best of all, he said, at the head of
our family dinner table every night, Dad didn't need a
silver Star, and I never wore a cape.

Speaker 1 (08:41):
And a terrific job on the production by Greg Hangler,
and what storytelling by Roger Leatham about his father, Lieutenant
Ernie Latham, a real life superhero and you can be
one to your kid, they're watching you. My dad had
many exciting tales of valor, the son said. I listened
to every word he spoke. I hung on them, he said.

(09:04):
And that story about turning down the Silver Star and
the easy War Bond tour. The Army can keep their
pretty metal, Lieutenant Latham said, the story of Lieutenant Ernie
Latham and so many soldiers who served their country valiantly,
and the son who remembered them and honored them. Here
on our American story