05 Oct Albert N. McMahan

I was thrilled to see Albert McMahan again at the Atlanta Warbird Weekend.

Albert McMahan flew B-17s both as tail gunner and ball turret gunner. I originally contacted Albert in 2009. He was the first person to personally tell me about life with the 306th Bomb Group at Thurleigh where both he and my Dad flew combat missions during World War II.

After high school Albert attended Auburn University for one year. He couldn’t afford to continue on, and jobs were scarce. Albert had always been interested in electricity and radio, so he enlisted in the Army Tank Corps. They had a highly rated communication school, and he figured that would give him the skills to work in the radio field.

The day he enlisted was 12 July 1940. After he was sworn in, he was instead assigned to the Army Air Corps. When he objected the recruiter explained that everyone who had college training went into the Air Corps, and that was that. So off to Maxwell Field in Montgomery, Alabama he went.

The next couple years were spent in mechanics and instruments training. In August of 1942 Albert was assigned to the 369th Bomb Squadron of the 306th Bomb Group as an Instrument Specialist. He was going to work on B-17 Flying Fortresses.

When he got to Thurleigh in September of 1942 the first flight crews had just arrived.  He wasn’t there long before he decided that he really wanted to join a combat crew. Since there were no replacement personnel in the pipeline yet, he was sent for aerial gunnery training.

Albert joined a crew that had just lost two tail gunners from combat injuries. The pilot was Lt. Robert Riordan, and his B-17 was Wahoo.  The nose art was a painting on the right side of an Indian “Wahoo” and scalping Hitler.

After his first mission Albert smoked his very first cigarette and went to a pub in Bedford for a couple glasses of ale!

Albert McMahon was the 18th enlisted crewman to complete a 25 mission tour with the 306th BG. Albert admits that he endured periods of sheet terror but he was able to answer with confidence the question, “Do I have what it takes to fly combat?”  Yes!

In June of 1943 Albert sailed back to the United States on the Queen Elizabeth. He was sent to Dyersburg Army Air Base in Halls, Tennessee, a B-17 combat crew training base, hoping that he would be used to train combat crews.

Even though most of the combat crew instructors had zero combat experience, the base commander assigned him to be crew chief of a B-26.

A few days later Albert was washing the tail of a B-17 when a jeep drove by. A loud voice yelled, “Red (his nickname), what the X&%*# are you doing washing the tail of a B-17?”  It was General Frank A. Armstrong who had been CO of the 306th BG while Albert was there and had even awards him an Air Medal.

(General Armstrong was the inspiration for the movie Twelve O’Clock High.)

The base commander was in the jeep with the General, and before you know it, Albert had a new assignment. He was on the Board responsible for insuring that all instructors were qualified.  It was a job he was well qualified to do!

Albert was discharged from the Army on 2 September 1945. After a 2nd year at Auburn, he rejoined the Air Force in 1947, retiring finally in 1963.

Following that Albert enjoyed a variety of careers.  He says he retired three times! For a while he worked for a major computer manufacture. Then he was with the Civil Service at the Pentagon. He taught school for twelve years and even moved to Alaska before his final retirement to Norcross, GA.

For many years Albert was an officer of the 306th Bomb Group Historical Association. Even though Albert McMahan is 94 years old he is still active with veteran groups.  And as you can see from the photograph taken just a week ago he looks fabulous.

We can never thank our veterans enough.

LINKS

Earlier this year Albert rode the B-17 Memphis Belle at Peachtree-DeKalb airport.

Videos on GPB Media of Albert McMahan telling about his combat experiences.

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