My Hero-Father Needed No Star and No Cape

On this episode of Our American Stories, a son's story about his father, from our regular listener/contributor Roger Latham, from Fort Worth, Texas.

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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, Texas.

Speaker 2 (00:19):
Let's take a listen.

Speaker 3 (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
fore 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 a 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 and 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 INSTRMT panel.

Speaker 2 (01:50):
His hands were in his.

Speaker 3 (01:51):
Lap, and in a flat monotone voice, he 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,

(02:15):
the Liberator went from one hundred and 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,

(02:36):
he had a strange thought. They'll think I 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. About

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

(03:23):
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.

Speaker 2 (03:45):
Threw your guns overboard.

Speaker 3 (03:48):
The command came as Lieutenant Latham tossed his service forty
five in the drink. The German boat, emblazoned with Nazi
swastikas and flag, circled the dinghy. When it came to
a stop, a man's 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'd 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

(04:29):
back pretty severely in the crash. He'd be 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? What about

(04:53):
the rest of my crew? A couple of are banged
up and will be in the hospital for a few days.
They all get their 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 day in Rome,

(05:15):
Erne him at the right one. He and Jim Jamieson
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.

Speaker 2 (05:35):
I'd love to fly for you, guys. I'll do that.

Speaker 3 (05:39):
Who's your Commander Major William Moore, Oline o'bill, we were
in primary training.

Speaker 2 (05:46):
Back in Oklahoma.

Speaker 3 (05:48):
I'll send it in a transfer request when I get
back back. At the four sixty fourth th Lieutenant Latham
came to attention as he greeted Major Moore. Well, 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

(06:08):
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
a chance if Jamison does what he said he would
do and gets me a transfer.

Speaker 2 (06:25):
He already did.

Speaker 3 (06:26):
I got a call from Jamison this morning, and the
courrier dropped off the farmal request.

Speaker 2 (06:31):
About ten minutes ago.

Speaker 3 (06:33):
If you sign the papers, I'm heading to fly P
fifty once the Major smiled, I've already signed it. Well,
when 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,

(06:57):
are the new pilot is here? Send him in the
three oh sixth new Hire came to attention upon entering
the old man's office, the Tenant Latham reporting for duty,
Ernie said as he stood his 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

(07:19):
what I want to talk to you about. Well, I
need 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

(07:41):
would complete the remaining thirty six missions of his standard
fifty mission requirement of the Army Air Corps. Dad's days
in the forty ninth came with many exciting tales of valor.

Speaker 2 (07:55):
His new gaggle of wingman.

Speaker 3 (07:57):
Stories of missions over Germany and beyond came with photographs
to prove it. I listened to every word he spoke
and hung on each In 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.

(08:18):
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, 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 Sun 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