june 2022
“HE never spoke about the
war,” says his son, also
named Harry. “But I’ll
always believe the doctors
were right. In fact, the only time he came
close to discussing the war was when I was
in Naval ROTC at the University of North
Carolina. I was about to be commissioned
as a naval officer and was applying to flight
training in Pensacola. I remember telling
him I hoped to become a Navy pilot. He
did what he could to discourage me —
advising against it, but saying little more
than it was ‘dangerous.’”
Decades later, Harry Bethea Jr, began
searching for answers to the questions he
never asked and the stories his father
never told.
Marie Bethea had remar-ried,
and she and her new
husband had cleared the
attic in the family home
of Harry’s papers, photos
and war memorabilia. The
only avenue left was to
contact the VA for copies
of Harry’s military records.
As countless sons and
daughters of veterans discov-ered,
in 1973 a massive fire at
the National Personnel Records
Center in St. Louis destroyed most of
the records for veterans discharged
between 1912 and 1960, including
Lt. Bethea’s.
About all that survived was the
former lieutenant’s dates of service,
a list of his 21 combat missions,
and the medals he received. They
included a Bronze Star, an Air
Medal, and a Distinguished
Flying Cross. The latter may have
been awarded for Lt. Bethea’s
mission on July 31, 1944, his
last. An after-action report and
a newspaper article in The Stars
and Stripes noted his B-17 encoun-tered
heavy anti-aircraft fire, which
tore into the nose and underbelly
and wounded Lt. Thomas McKen-zie,
the bombardier. McKenzie
fought off unconsciousness.
A 1942 article in Stars
and Stripes details
how Lt. Harry Bethea
helped save the life
of his bombardier
during action over
Germany. Right:
B-17 bombers fly a
mission in Germany
during World War
II in 1944. Bethea
received several
medals for his
service, including
a Bronze Star.
Air Force Notes
Teamwork on the Miss Chief Foils Germans’ Mischief
I T was teamwork all the way brought
the flak-battered Fortress Miss Chief
safely back to base and saved the life of
the bombardier.
The bomber, piloted by 1/Lt. Harry E.
Bethea, of Wilmington, N.C., was making
its bomb run on a German aero-engine
plant at Munich through an intense ack-ack
barrage. Flak fragments hit the
bombardier, 1/Lt. Thomas A. McKenzie,
of Auburn, K.Y., five times, making deep
wounds in his chest and piercing his
oxygen line.
McKenzie continued to speak calmly to
the pilot over the intercom. It was after
bombs-away, seven minutes later, that
other crewmen realized something was
wrong. The bomb bay doors hung open
instead of being retracted.
1/Lt. M i ch a e l G . Ko b a s k y, o f
Elizabeth, N.J. went forward to find
that the bombardier had collapsed and
immediately started applying first aid.
The co-pilot, 1/Lt. Timothy L. Crowley,
of Camp Hill, P.A. went into the nose of
the ship to man the bombardier’s and
navigator’s guns.
The pilot brought Miss Chief down to
a lower altitude so that crewmen, whose
oxygen supply had to be reduced because
of the emergency line given the wounded
bombardier, were able to breathe easily
sans masks.
As the Fort neared home, McKenzie
regained consciousness. He asked for a
cigarette.
NATIONAL ARCHIVES
COURTESY OF HARRY BETHEA, JR .