Memorial Day 2009 in Suwanee: Speaking with 'Greatest Generation'

by Todd Sorenson / Appen Newspapers

May 21, 2009 10:36 AM

Bob Taubenheim is a cheese head. He was born in 1920 in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. He, like each of his 10 siblings, was born at home. This was the norm in the early 20th century, particularly in rural areas and small towns.

As WWII began, the three of Bob's four older brothers who were of draft age, were all drafted. Two weeks after Pearl Harbor, at age 21, Bob volunteered because, "It was the right thing to do." His brothers Walter and Bill both served in Europe, and survived the war. His brother Harley was killed in Africa in July 1943.

Bob scored well on the AGCT (Army General Classification Test), which resulted in assignment to the Army Air Corps and 6 months of training in aircraft mechanics. His first duties were in support of an observation squadron, which flew submarine and ship watching missions along the east coast. After one of his first (2 week) furloughs, he returned to base to discover that his unit had moved from Tennessee to Rhode Island. In those days, before cell phones and instant communication, and in the midst of the hectic early days of the war, such things were not unusual. Bob ended up having to hitchhike up the east coast to rejoin his group.

Eventually he became a mechanic and crew chief for B-25 bombers. When he found out that there was a 50 percent pay premium for flying, he signed up. Practice runs were performed at tree top level, as the twin engine B-25, a strafing and skip bombing aircraft. In spite of a year of training on the B-25, Bob flew only one combat mission on that aircraft. One day in October 1943 he was promoted to Tech Sergeant and informed that he was now a gunner and engineer on a heavy bomber B-24, for which he had received no prior instruction. Such was the on-the-job training program in the middle of the WWII.

His first exposure to the newly assigned aircraft came on the flight from the east coast to San Francisco, then on to Port Moresby, New Guinea. Amazingly, at a stopover camp in Australia, Bob recognized a fellow driving a passing truck as someone from his home town of Sheboygan. He greeted the driver, and was told, "I'm sorry about your brother." This was how Bob found out that his brother Harley had been killed in action. Little had Bob known that a chance dinner together with Harley a few months earlier, would be the last time anyone in their family would see Harley alive.

As a crew member of the one of the "Jolly Rogers" 90th Bomber Group, Bob flew 55 missions aboard the B-24 "Kay-O" based in Port Moresby. Many sorties were flown at night to avoid Japanese fighter plane attacks. Amazingly, through all of those 10-12 hour evening flights, through often intense anti-aircraft flak, and through daytime raids that frequently met with significant Japanese fighter resistance, Bob was never wounded.

They came close to disaster on many occasions. Once, a gas cap blew off and a stream of gas floated from the gas tank back into the plane, filling it with highly combustible fuel. On one run, the bomb rack mechanism jammed. While standing on a narrow piece of steel, with several thousand feet of empty space between them and the water below, Bob and another crew member worked feverishly to manually un-jam it (which they managed to do). Another time, an anti-aircraft round ripped all the way through the fuselage and exploded a short distance outside of the plane. Had the timed explosion occurred a fraction of a second earlier, it would have detonated inside the plane, killing everyone on board. Bob does not question the reasons for the divine hand of protection in his case, he is just thankful for it.

Life in the oppressively hot and humid camp in New Guinea was filled with insects, snakes, passing bands of tribal natives, and other things not found in small town Wisconsin. That included seeing many comrades suffer from "the New Guinea crud," a skin infection contracted by prolonged exposure to the tropical conditions. At times, USO entertainers came through, including Jack Benny and Gary Cooper (the latter of which always seemed to be drunk).

By war's end, Bob had earned the Air Medal with 2 oak clusters. In late 1944 he had earned enough "points" for discharge. He headed home. While there, he met Mary Ellen Greene. Mary Ellen taught at a nearby school, and frequented the restaurant where Bob was working.

After a couple of years in Sheboygan, amidst uncertain job prospects, Bob decided to rejoin the Air Force. He and Mary Ellen were married on April 17, 1948 at Camp Kilmer in New Jersey. Just days after the ceremony, Bob was sent to Germany, where he was involved in supplying engines for the aircraft that flew the great Berlin airlift at the beginning of the Cold War.

After leaving the service, the couple returned to the States and settled in the Milwaukee area, where Bob went to work in HR, and where their three daughters were born. Eventually, the Taubenheims moved to Reno, where they lived for many years, and where Bob retired in 1986. When grandkids started arriving in the mid 1990's, Bob and Mary Ellen decided to move to the Atlanta area to be closer to the two daughters and families who live in Gwinnett County.

Bob was reluctant to pontificate about his philosophy of life. I did press for his insights about 61 years of marriage (as of April), parenting, and life's lessons. Bob stressed the importance of a higher education. Each of his three daughters completed college—one continuing on to receive a Masters, and another a Doctorate.

He advised that managing money well is a key to successful living.

In his 88 years, he said that there had been only one time that he had bought something on credit (other than mortgages), and in that case he and Mary Ellen had paid off their debt in two months. Imagine how the economic picture in this country might look if millions of people had followed the simple principal that if you cannot pay cash for something, you cannot afford it.

Concerning marriage, Bob pointed out that while it is not always easy, it is simple: a lifetime vow is a lifetime vow. Mary Ellen quoted the council of her father: "If you pick a lemon in the garden of love, you darn well better make lemonade."

Whatever their recipe for marital success, the Taubenheims obviously have one.