Ernest Bertram

Ernest Bertram was born in November 1923 in Highland Park, New Jersey. He was at a football game when he first heard about the Pearl Harbor attack. Before he was drafted, Bertram, whose two brothers also served during World War II, enlisted in the Army, picking the Army Air Corps branch because, he said, he knew he didn’t want the Navy or Marines, as he didn’t know how to swim.

Bertram was initially sent to Fort Dix, New Jersey, and fondly recalled his transition from civilian to military life, saying “I loved it right away.”  Then he was sent to Miami, Florida, in his first trip south of his native state. In Miami, Bertram and his fellow soldiers lived in a big hotel, and everyone got their own room. They also went to training camps in Illinois, Utah, and Virginia, before a final trip to New York City for departure to Great Britain. They left in a convoy aboard an English ship, which landed in Scotland, and then traveled by railroad to the village of Podington, in Bedfordshire, England, adjacent to an American air base, a place Bertram described as “very nice.” He rode a bicycle from his quarters to the field where he worked, which took him quite a while.

Bertram’s job as a member of the ground crew was to keep the 326^th Bomb Squadron’s B-17s fueled and in good flying shape. Despite the ground crews’ efforts, however, some of the bombers didn’t make it back to their home base. An incident he recalled vividly occurred on a foggy morning formation take-off, where a plane turned around after taking off, resulting in a mid-air collision. Even though the returning plane shot warning flares, it was impossible to see due to the fog. Each plane had 6,000 pounds of bombs aboard, and the resulting collision and explosion tossed Bertram off his cot. Five crewmembers escaped from each plane, thanks to having been stationed in the rear of the aircraft.

Another memorable incident occurred when a pilot had a brain injury; for two hours, the co-pilot had to fly the plane and keep the brain-injured pilot from taking control! On another occasion, a fuel truck driver transporting 3,000 gallons of fuel drove too fast and crashed. The vehicle overturned and caught fire on the edge of the airfield, not far from where aircraft were parked, and the B-17s needed to be moved quickly away from the fire. Bertram’s stories can also be read in John S. Sloan’s book The Route as Briefed: The History of the 92nd Bombardment Group, USAAF 1942-1945.

Bombing missions would usually leave the base at 2:00 AM. Bertram’s 92 Bombardment Group was assigned to the 8th Air Force, and the group’s strategic objectives included shipyards, ball-bearing plants, submarine installations, clothing factories, airfields, aircraft factories, and a magnesium mine. They bombed aircraft factories in central Germany in January 1944, a mission for which they received a Distinguished Unit Citation.

The bombers also engaged in tactical missions and performed anti-submarine duty and interdictory and support operations, such as assisting the Normandy Invasion, supporting ground forces at St. Lo, bombing gun positions and bridges to aid the assault on Holland, and participating in the Battle of the Bulge, by attacking bridges and marshalling yards in and near the battle area.

Bertram described his time in service as “the best of my life.” When he came home, he used his GI benefits to buy a house. Medals Bertram received for his service included the WWII Victory Medal, Good Conduct Medal, and the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal.