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The skies above Europe during World War II are cold and
deadly but set the stage for a love story that spans more
than two years. Nine months of that is spent waiting for
release as a prisoner of war.
Taking whatever scraps
can be found or bribed for from the prison camp guards,
memories are immortalized and devotion to a new wife is
professed. Letters that are sent off, hopefully reaching
their destination.
Just as dreams of flying high in
the blue skies were written, so too were the dreams that
came crashing down. Dreams that crashed with a P-51 Mustang
taken down by anti-aircraft fire.
1st Lt. Bill Moore
has hope that his wife and family know that he is alive.
Though it will be nine months of silence from home, with
hopes for the future providing the only relief.
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This image created by USA Patriotism! shows a North American
P-51 Mustang fighter plane over France during World War II with 1ST
LT Bill Moore, a WWII veteran in 2017 at reunion with fellow vets
and as an Army Air Forces pilot in 1944. He was assigned to the 339th
Fighter Group, Fowlmere, England, during World War II ... and flew
five combat missions before being shot down on September 13, 1944,
and becoming a prisoner of war in Germany for nine months until
being liberated by the Russians at the end of the war in Europe in
May, 1945. (The photo of the P-51 Mustang is courtesy of the U.S.
Air Force; the 1944 photo of Bill Moore is courtesy of Linda Moore;
and, the 2017 photo of Bill Moore is by Air National Guard Staff
Sgt. Ryan Campbell)
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“Dear Dorie,” writes Bill Moore to Dorie Tritton in January
of 1943 as he is shipped out to Army Air Force training.
“Its 6:30 a.m. and they just got us up, don’t know whats
next.”
What's next would be life changing experiences
during World War II. Experiences that would be shared
between husband and wife over thousands of miles, through
the best of times and the worst of times.
“My parents
met a Methodist church in Cleveland, Ohio, at a youth group
dance,” said Linda Moore, daughter of Bill Moore. “His room
mate was dating my mom’s sister so they invited my dad to
come for Sunday diner which is pretty much how that all
started.”
That dance in 1942 saw the start of a
romance that will last a lifetime. Playing out as if it was
scripted to be a timeless story, Dorie saw something in the
future fighter pilot despite the fact he left her standing
in the middle of a dance floor.
“They went to the
Methodist church dance that night together,” said Linda,
“they had their first kiss without it really even being a
date.”
The eager Bill Moore had a strong desire to
enlist in the military rather than waiting to be drafted. He
had settled on becoming a pilot, but was rejected due to
being underweight. “One of the funny things was he
ate bananas so that he would gain weight,” said Linda. “And
so my aunt said, ‘he just stuffed his face with bananas and
he was sick of them by time he was done’.”
The day he
weighed himself and saw his plan had paid off, Bill went
right away to enlist. He began cadet training, shipping off
to Florida in January of 1943.
“Honey, I’m having
the time of my life!” writes the cadet to Dorie in February
of 1943. “I miss you more and more each day and can’t wait
until the day when we are together again.”
The
challenges of cadet training took Bill across the country
leaving few precious moments with Dorie. Graduation would
come soon when they could plan the next part of their lives
together.
“Gee honey you said you wanted to see that
dear old dimple in my chin and twitch in my nose and then
lose yourself in my embrace,” writes Bill to Dorie in
January of 1944. “Didn’t I stand close enough when I was
there? I bet there wasn’t any air space room between us.”
On February 8, Bill was commissioned as a new
lieutenant. With training returning to Florida, he gave
Dorie quite the surprise by writing to her and asking if she
wanted to get married on April 22.
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Left - Dorie and Bill Moore pose shortly after Bill was commissioned
as a second lieutenant in the Army Air Forces at Marianna Army Air
Field, Marianna, Florida. February 8, 1944. Bill Moore would go onto
be assigned to the 339th Fighter Group, Fowlmere, England, and end
up as a prisoner of war for nine months in Germany till the end of
the war in Europe ... Right - Bill and Dorie Moore attend a dance
after World War II. Bill, a fighter pilot assigned to the 339th
Fighter Group, married Dorie before completing his pilot training
and would later be shot down, spending nine months as a prisoner of
war in Germany all while documenting and writing Dorie constantly.
(Image created by USA Patriotism from photos courtesy of Linda
Moore)
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“She took a train
with her mother and my dad’s mother down to Sarasota to get
married before he was going to ship off,” said Linda. “And
they were part of probably 30 couples who got married like a
production line and partied all night, and I think it was 10
days later he shipped out.”
The new fighter pilot
would be assigned to the 505th Fighter Squadron of the 339th
Fighter Group. The group which would later go onto become
the 107th Attack Wing in the newly formed New York Air
National Guard after the war in 1948.
“We’ve had a
dream come true here, we are going to fly P-51s,” writes the
new lieutenant to Dorie in July of 1944. “I really miss you
honey. I hope it isn’t too long before we are back together
again.”
The Allied forces had invaded France on D-Day
in June, and with Hitler facing increasing defeats on two
fronts, many expected a quick end to the war.
“The
war looks like it might end over here fairly soon,” writes
Bill to Dorie in August of 1944. “That will be swell.”
Bill would soon learn that the war had other plans for
him.
“Five. Fifth mission went down,” said Bill. “It
was ground fire. I wound up hanging in a tree and my plane
about 100 yards away burning.”
As if beyond belief,
German farmers found the tangled pilot and captured him
armed with pitchforks. Given a beer while he waited, the
Luftwaffe eventually took him by train to Stalag Luft 1, in
Barth.
“It was funny because the guy that was
interrogating me was from South Africa and he spoke real
good english,” said Bill. “They knew damn well a lot of us
we were going to be shot down and captured so they told you
what to do to keep getting in trouble.”
Despite
captivity, Bill never stopped writing to Dorie. The
communication was now one-way however, as mail could leave
but none was coming in.
“I was wondering if you know
by now that I am a POW. I hope you and the folks don’t take
it too hard,” writes the downed pilot to Dorie during
October, 1944, not knowing if he would ever hear from her
again. “I’ve worried because I’m sure at first you’ll think
I was dead.”
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Army Air Forces 1st Lt. Bill Moore, a fighter pilot assigned to the 339th
Fighter Group, Fowlmere, England, and other prisoners of war
from Stalag Luft 1, Barth, Germany. Moore was shot down over Germany
on Sept. 13, 1944, and held as a POW until the war in Europe ended
and the camp was liberated by the Russians in May, 1945. (Image
created by USA Patriotism from photos
courtesy of Linda Moore)
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A shortwave radio operator in Canada who
spoke German had been listening to German messages. She was
able to telegram Dorie that her husband had been taken
prisoner and bring some relief to the family with the fact
that he was alive.
“They were all hurt. They said my
dad took it the worst, he really got hit hard when he found
out,” said Bill. “He thought I was dead and he got pretty
upset about the whole thing. But it turned out alright in
the long run.”
Life as a prisoner of war would have
its share of hardships, but would also show a different side
of the enemy the Allies are fighting.
“After supper
the Gerries pulled a surprise and rolled in a 20 gallon keg
of beer,” writes Bill to Dorie in October of 1944. “We can’t
figure out any reason for them doing it. Funny creatures
these Gerries.”
Getting closer to 1945, the war
starts to take its toll on Germany. Moods change in the
Germans as the environment in the prison camp begins to
change as Bill writes to Dorie:
“11-13-45,
“Another thing that happened they took away all the Jewish
boys and put them in one barracks. Just what for we don't
know. Also four of the boys moved out of our room into a
little room by themselves. Then they moved Mike Segrum
because he is Jewish, then got Glider pilots in our room
I’ll tell you about them when I get home. It is quite an
interesting story.
“We are all following the news
closely as the Russians are moving fast now. I’m praying
that they can end this war fast as our food supply is
running low and our tempers thin. I hope I will have settled
down by the time you and I are together again.”
The
harsh German winter would continue to rage on with the fall
of Hitler’s Third Reich drawing closer. An order in February
of 1945 ends mail service.
“I really miss you and
love you terribly. Lately I had lots dreams about you, all
good ones,” writes Bill to Dorie in February of 1945. “Honey
then I wake up and get homesick as hell.”
Winter
would turn into spring, and in the face of an advancing
Russian army, the Germans abandon Stalag Luft 1 on April 30.
Having been left behind, the prisoners take control of Barth
as the mayor surrenders.
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Stalag Luft 1, Barth, Germany, where 1st. Lt. Bill
Moore, a fighter pilot assigned to the 339th Fighter Group, was held
for nine months from September, 1944, to May 1945. Moore was able to
convince prison camp guards to allow him a camera and writing
utensils in order to document his time as a prisoner of war. (Image
created by USA Patriotism from photo
courtesy of Linda Moore)
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“Dearest, gosh am I ever a
happy fellow tonight, I’m so happy that I’m just bubbling
over with joy,” writes Bill to Dorie in April of 1945.
“Remind me to give you an extra grand hug and kiss, in fact
two extra special ones.”
After nine months in
captivity, Bill was going home after being liberated by the
Russians. Letters were also finally reaching the homesick
pilot.
“It was only about a week and then they came
in with bombers and flew us out of there into France,” said
Bill. “It was quite something all the way around.”
The freed POW would depart Camp Lucky Strike in La Harve,
France, sailing for the U.S. After several days, he and
other POWs arrive in New York City.
“My mother got a
telegram from him when he landed in New York and she got on
a train and met him there and they spent a week there
finally having their honeymoon,” said Linda. “And they came
home and started a family.”
Bill was released from
active duty as the war was ending and the Army was
downsizing. Though he is quick to say he was never
discharged.
“A couple years later I decided I better
look into it and I wrote to them and they wrote back saying
you are an officer and you stay an officer,” said Bill. “I’m
still an officer in the Army! They could call me in any day
if they wanted a 95 year old guy.”
Building a life
after the war with Dorie, they tried their best to move on
like many others did after the war. Though it would take a
couple decades before the war was discussed at home.
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Bill Moore, a fighter pilot assigned to the 339th Fighter Group,
Fowlmere, England, spends time with his children after returning
from combat in Europe during World War II. Moore would spend nine
months as a prisoner of war in Germany after being shot down, till
the end of the war in Europe. (Image created by USA Patriotism from
photo courtesy of Linda Moore)
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“She pulls out this great scrapbook that she kept of all the
letters he ever sent,” said Linda. “She would just say that
it was scary, but others, their fianccs or their husbands
were dying and so at least she had that hope that he was in
prison camp and might come home.”
Throughout war and
throughout the years, the love between Bill and Dorie never
diminished. Small gestures turned into lasting memories.
“He had been off training somewhere for the company he
worked for and had been gone for three weeks,” said Linda.
“He called and said he was getting off the train and would
be home in a few minutes.
“She was deciding how to
pose, how to look when he walked in that door again and that
just made my heart sing, that she cared that much after all
these years to care what he saw when he walked in the door.”
These expressions continued till the final days they
were together. Then it ultimately it became Bill’s turn to
be there for Dorie.
“When she was dying of lung
cancer he took care of her the whole time, she never had to
go into hospice care he had people that came in and helped
him,” said Linda. “He was like, ‘no she was there for me and
I'm going to be there for her.’ So again he just rallied and
made it happen.”
Dorie passed away in 2001 shortly
after their 57th wedding anniversary.
“Dear Dorie,”
writes Bill Moore to Dorie in October of 1944 while a POW,
“I love you darling.”
By U.S. Air Force Air National Guard Staff Sgt. Ryan Campbell
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2018
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