U.S. ARMY AIR CORPS Frank Manza Frank Manza of Trenton served as an aircraft mechanic in the 467th Bombardment Group of the 2nd Air Division in the 8th Air Force during World War II. The 467th had the best bombing record in the European Theater, flying 212 missions, Manza said. “We had a colonel nobody liked,” Manza said. “But, I’m alive today on account of his discipline.” Manza flew in a B-24. “We carried twice the load the B-17 carried and we flew faster,” said Manza. “We were called liberators.” Manza went into the service Aug. 18, 1943. After basic training, he had a choice between factory school and gunnery school. “Because I didn’t know any better — I was 19 years old — I chose gunnery,” he said. After school, Manza and his crew had their last supper on American soil, in Topeka, Kan., before departing for Europe. They had apple pie and ice cream for dessert, which Manza says is the best apple pie he has ever eaten. The crew flew to Goose Bay, Labrador, then to Valley, Wales, and finally to Norwich, England. However, they got lost in the Northeast on the way overseas. The plane ended up in Grenier, N.H., before taking off for Labrador. On the way to England, there was a disagreement between the navigator and the radio operator about the direction of the plane. The radio operator said the plane was heading the wrong way, according to coordinates put out over the radio. “We found out later they were German subs sending out the wrong information,” Manza said. Each day was assigned a color to serve as a password for the Americans. When the radio operator tried to clarify the coordinates he had been given, the other party (the Germans) didn’t name the right color. As flight engineer, Manza took care of the plane’s power settings and helped the pilot with hydraulic or electrical problems. Manza’s bomb squadron eventually flew in the lead. “We led 1,000 airplanes to Berlin, quite a sight for a 19-year-old,” Manza said. Manza made it through the war with no physical injury but he had an experience in Osnabruck, Germany, that he has trouble discussing. His B-24 got caught in crossfire and had 114 holes by the time it landed. During the worst of that mission, Manza said he was visited by the Holy Spirit. Manza felt an arm around his shoulder and heard a voice that said, ‘Everything will be OK,’ he said. Manza said one of the other crew members looked at him and asked, ‘Who was that?’ A piece of flak flew into the nose gunner’s backpack, an inch away from penetrating his back. The navigator was about to lay his protractor down when it was broken in half by more flak coming in through a window, Manza said. Manza said he is lucky to be alive. “We lost 6,332 boys in our outfit,” Manza said. “Each outfit had similar losses.” Years later, Manza ran into Gen. Jimmy Doolittle, who was in Maine fishing. “General, how did you know when we had them?” Manza asked. The general replied, “’When we could make them faster than they could shoot them down.’” Manza was honorably discharged Dec. 13, 1945. He was awarded medals for the Battle of the Bulge and the Battle of Rhineland along with a European Theater medal with three Bronze stars and an air medal. Manza still keeps in touch with his bomb squadron and others from the service. He visited the Mighty Eighth Air Force Heritage Museum in Savannah, Ga. “My name is recorded up in the library with the 467th,” Manza said. Manza went into an interactive exhibit of the B-24, which shook him. “It’s too realistic,” he said. Manza has had a lifelong love of airplanes. After the war, he attended Roosevelt Aviation School and has had a successful airline career. He applied for a job with Northeast Airlines at Logan Airport. Manza told the receptionist where he was from. “She said, ‘Maine boy, we love to get Maine boys,’” Manza said. And his resume was put on the top of the pile. He worked for the Princeton Air Service until Northeast hired him. Princeton was where he met his wife, Helen Louise Strout. They will have been married 53 years in December. The couple have two grown children, Daniel Francis and Margaret Mary, and three grandchildren. —Jennifer Osborn