North Texan thanks family of WWII bomber crew that likely saved his life
It was a mission accomplished for a Dallas man who's worked to honor the crew of a World War II B-17 bomber.
He was a boy when the plane crashed outside his village in England and credits the American crew for saving their lives. The honor came 75 years after the crash, and he's sharing it with the pilot's family.
David Huntley, 83, is a semi-retired Dallas businessman and author who grew up in England during WWII. He says honoring the plane's crew and sharing that honor with their families is one of his greatest accomplishments.
Huntley is recalling when he was 8 years old in 1944 when a WWII b-17 bomber, called the Tomahawk Warrior, crashed in this field near his home. It killed all nine crew members.
“When we got there, it was a horrific sight,” Huntley recalled. “And had exploded into smithereens and I saw them picking up the remains of the crew in body parts and putting them in galvanized bins. And so that image remained with me for many, many years.”
It's Huntley's belief the American crew intentionally landed the crippled bomber in the one safe place they could, saving countless lives.
“It appeared that the crew really did what they could to turn the plane around away from the populated area because they were fully loaded with bombs and fully fueled on takeoff,” said Andrea Kempner Blake, the pilot’s niece. “They probably would have destroyed the village and maybe even more.”
Andrea Kempner Blake and her sister joined Huntley in England over the weekend, receiving an award of appreciation from the British government 75 years later for the heroic actions of the crew, including their uncle, Saul Kempner, the plane's navigator, and the pilot, Lt. Charles Searl, whose daughter was unable to attend the ceremony.
Through his research of the crash, Huntley came across Kempner's diary last year and made contact with the Kempner family to give it to them.
“I was absolutely stunned,” Andrea said. “It was the most unbelievable story.”
They've since bonded while Huntley worked to get the crew officially recognized.
“He has brought my uncle's life back to us,” Andrea said.
“If it wasn't for that 30 to 40 seconds, I wouldn't be here,” Huntley said. “My four children wouldn't be here, and my seven grandchildren wouldn't be here.”