Robert Jons Horn, World War II
Gus and Norma Jons Horn had two daughters: Margaret Richardson, now in Texas, Maxine DeKock, now in Iowa. Their middle child Robert Jons Horn now lives in Tiffin. Gus was a men’s clothier in Tipton, Iowa, a town of 2,143, and the county seat of Cedar County which has the largest percentage of tillable acreage of any county in Iowa. Gus’ two brothers were in World War I .
Bob graduated from Tipton Consolidated High School in 1942. He attended Tipton Jr. College for one year and then was drafted into the army in July, 1943.
His basic training was at Camp Fannin near El Paso, Texas. After that was completed, he was slated to enter an Army Specialized Training Program. The Army found that they had enough men for the program, so that avenue was closed.
He was then slated to go to Salt Lake City to enter a labor battalion
headed to the South Pacific. That battalion also closed. After a few months
at Salt Lake City, he applied for and was accepted to the Army Air Corps
in June, 1944 to train as a pilot. He was sent to Miami Beach where he
lived in a hotel on the 7th floor. They were not permitted to use the elevator.
After he took a new physical exam, the exam revealed that he was subject
to migraine headaches. He was then assigned to ground duty.
Bob then applied to the Army Air Force mechanic school at Gulf Port, Mississippi.
After a few months there the army informed the trainees that they had enough
mechanics and the school was closed. He then applied to be part of a combat
crew on a bomber and was sent back to El Paso and began training in a B-17
in October, 1944, as a gunner. Because of limited space in the turrets,
gunners were supposed to be less than six feet tall. Bob was six feet,
one and a half inches tall. He knew this so when they measured his
height, he slouched to be under the requirement. After several measurements,
they passed him with the comment that his posture was poor.
The B-17 generally carried a crew of nine. The three officers were pilot,
co-pilot and a navigator-bombardier. The original crew that Bob trained
with was broken up, and in February, he was sent to Sudbury Air Force Base
in England where he joined another crew as a tail gunner. By this time
he was a buck sergeant with three stripes. He said that they were
called buck sergeants because they were always bucking to get a higher
rank.
Bob’s B-17, also called a Flying Fortress, was named Buds Buggy after their pilot. Another noted bomber of World War II was the B-24, the Liberator. Their B-17 was Air Craft 314 of the 486th Bomb Group and the 834th Bombardment Squadron. They were among thousands of bombers that flew on raids over Germany and some parts of France that were still occupied at that time.
(Bob’s story will be concluded next week.)
– Percy & Mary