HISTORY

Bob Kelley at a July Fourth parade in 2009. He still fits into his 1944 uniform. Bob was 96 years old and healthy

as a horse until a stroke took him down. We corresponded until the end. Yes, we had become friends and met

out in California and spent a day together sometime around 2014-2015. [Kelley]

came an interference to school attendance and

work he switched to working after school and on

weekends at the family lumber yard, eventually

becoming Vice President of Northside Lumber

Company prior to volunteering for military duty.

David is remembered by his sister as a young

man interested in mechanics and carpentry and

an excellent partner to his dad in the management of the family’s lumber business. He also

was very interested in real estate and land development. She also remembers rides on his motorcycle and, no surprise here, for a “buzz job” of

the family home in North Birmingham just prior

to his transfer to England.

A desire to fly aircraft and fearing being drafted into the Infantry or Navy, David volunteered for

the U.S. Army Air Corps and was sent to Flight

School at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Ala. On March 10, 1943 he began Primary

Training at Avon Park, FL and, later, Advanced

Training at Gunter Field in Montgomery. When he

graduated from Flight Training at Freeman Field

Ind., he received the single gold bar of a 2Lt on

December 5, 1943, one month before Bob Kelley

was commissioned. Assigned to bombers, David

did further training at Salt Lake City and Dahlbert,

Texas, before flying to England where he served

with the 91st BG, 322nd BS until his loss on September 8, 1944.

He was very respected by those who flew

with him. Frank Bolen, survivor of David’s last

mission said he was “… nice and easy going, but

not reserved.” And that he was “… an excellent

and confident …” pilot. Dave Wolnowitz who was

a member of David’s crew prior to that final mission remembers David as “… quiet and the nicest

guy in the world …” and “… a great pilot”.

David McCarty Jr. was survived

by his parents, sister, Ethel Jean

McCarty, and grandmother, Mrs.

Rose Clark McCarty. The family

asked the U.S. Military to return

David’s body to Birmingham where

his funeral service and final burial

took place in July 1947. He is buried in Forest Hill

Cemetery in Birmingham.

Who Would Have Thought Such

Tiny Photos Could Lead To So

Much Information.

I could never have imagined that those three

tiny images would lead me to so many sources

of information. Not only was I able to find what

happened to “My Baby” and her pilot, David McCarty Jr., but I was able, with the help of so many,

to locate people who had had flown “My Baby”

and survived McCarty’s last mission. Archivists

and Bob Kelley helped discover photos of McCarty and the B-17’s that he flew. Bob Kelley sent

me a piece of “My Baby” that he recovered from

a farmer’s field many years after her crash.

My late father was astounded by all of this information and amazed that he was able to hold an

actual piece of the B-17 that he had a “joy ride” in

on August 10, 1944.

David McCarty was 22 years old when he was

shot down over Germany on September 8, 1944.

Dad was 26. Young men united for a carefree afternoon flying over the south of England. For my

dad it was a lifetime memory. For me, it has been

an opportunity to honor my Dad’s role in WW II.

But it has also been an opportunity to remember

a pilot who did not return to tell his kids amazing

tales of his missions with the Mighty Eighth over

Nazi Germany. They were all a part of “The Greatest Generation” and their service should never be

forgotten.

Acknowledgements

This has been quite a tour and I could not have

tied all the loose ends together without those

who have generously contributed information,

photos, contacts, and editorial assistance. Bob

Kelley very early on got me moving toward solving the puzzle of who was “Mac” and the story of

the demise of “My Baby.” He referred me to many

contacts that filled voids in “The Story.” He also

offered me many photos of “My Baby” and finally,

a relic removed from her burned out carcass that

lies below a French farmer’s bean field. Bob became not only an advisor, but a good friend who

did live to see this story completed. Jean McCarty

Kittrell, David McCarty’s sister sent not only the

recollections of a teenaged younger sister, but

a careful list of editorial corrections. Her career

as an English Professor made her eminently

qualified to do so. Old friend and writer, Ken Dalecki, also offered assistance in the editorial process. The Archives staff at the National Air and

Space Museum lent their knowledge and enthusiasm. Brian Nicklas, Melissa Keiser, and Larry Wilson could not have been more helpful in pointing

me in the right direction. My early contact with

them in 1994 and my subsequent employment

at the NASM have created enduring friendships

with them. Frank Bolen and David Wolnowitz

were also very generous with information about

David McCarty and his last mission. Ray Bowden

and The USAAF Nose Art Research Project were

a critical source of information on McCarty and

the B-17s that he flew. I am also grateful to the

91st Bomb Group Memorial Association for their

assistance and Jan Zdiarsky for his interest

in this story that led him to provide additional

research, photos, editorial assistance and encouragement.

The body of David McCarty Jr. was returned to Alabama by his family in 1947. He is buried in Forest Hill Cemetery in Birmingham.

He is survived by his sister Ethel Jean Kittrell. [Forest Hill Cemetery]

22

INFO Eduard

November 2023