Capt. William F. Allen (Northwest, Ret.)
WWII and Tonsillitis Put Me in the Jumpseat
When I was a child, my father commanded an infantry mortar company over Utah Beach, a sector of German-occupied France that was part of the Normandy Invasion during World War II, then remained on active duty following the war.
As both of my parents were fluent in German, our family was selected to be part of the post-war occupation force. In winter 1947, we boarded a hospital ship in New York for the transatlantic crossing. We had never lived on a military base, and my father didn’t wear a uniform until his last assignment, Armed Forces Radio Station, Berlin, half a block from the Brandenburg Gate.
Then in the fall of 1948, during the Russian blockade and resulting Berlin Airlift, I contracted tonsillitis and needed to travel to Frankfurt for surgery. I clearly remember Dad, Mom, and I went to Templeholf where the ramp was filled with aircraft, and we watched a C-47 unloading bags of coal. Mom was given a white jumpsuit to wear, and we boarded. Because none of the seatbelts were small enough for me, we were about to be deplaned when the pilot came aboard and said I could sit in the cockpit.
Templeholf ramp filled with C-47s during the Berlin Airlift
I sat on the crew chief/radio operator’s lap in the jumpseat as we took off, flew the corridor, then landed in Frankfurt. It was instrument flight rules the entire flight. The crew talked with me throughout the journey, laughed, and I was thrilled.
After landing, Mom deplaned, then was concerned when I didn’t come out. The four of us (pilot, copilot, crew chief, and me) came to the door, all smiling. I jumped down the steps and announced to Mom, “When I grow up, I’m going to be a pilot!”
In fall of 1949, we repatriated on a MATS Lockheed 1049 with an Iceland fuel stop.
At the edge of the Frankfurt airport is one of four monuments dedicated to the intrepid Allied pilots and crewmembers who flew the Berlin Airlift. To me, that monument also stands for my brave parents who were part of rebuilding Germany and, of course, reminds me of my first flight.