Remembering the heroes among us

We’ll never know all of the stories out there when it comes to the heroics of our military veterans. Some, like the legendary Sgt. York and Audie Murphy, became household names through their celebrity. But most of our heroes flew under the radar when it came to their contributions to America’s freedom.

Former Congressman Sherry Boehlert made sure at least one story was not lost. After hearing it from a constituent some years ago, Boehlert had it entered into the Congressional Record.

The veteran’s name is William Wolber, a native of Utica. On June 21, 2002, Boehlert wrote this into The Record:

Mr. Speaker, the freedoms we enjoy and the opportunities that abound for all Americans are the products of sacrifice on the part of so many. Often at far distant places in the world and under great stress.

There are literally tens of thousands of stories, so many of which involve what it is widely acknowledged to be “The Greatest Generation.” One such story, that of Army Air Force Second Lieutenant William Wolber, is of heroic dimensions. It was relayed to me by a mutual friend and neighbor, Fred Carville of New Hartford, New York.

Here it is, in the words of Mr. Carville:

Second Lieutenant William Wolber served in the Army Air Force during World War II. He was a bombardier serving in the 8th Air Force, 466th Bomb Group, which flew the B-24 Liberators out of England.

On one mission into Germany there were 12 planes in the formation flying in three flights of four planes each. Wolber’s plane was flying in formation as plane three of the first flight. The standard procedure was for all planes of the mission to follow the lead plane of the first throughout the entire mission. Radio silence was of the utmost importance.

On this particular mission planes one and two of the first flight were downed by enemy flak. Plane three (the one Bill was in) then took on the role of “the lead plane” for the return flight to England. All remaining planes were now taking their lead from plane three. However, Bill’s plane, number three of the first flight, (for some reason) did not have a navigator on board during this particular mission.

Second Lieutenant William Wolber, bombardier, assumed the role of navigator. He evaluated the situation, looked at the navigator’s maps and equipment. Based on target information Wolber determined a heading for the return flight and passed the bearing he had calculated on to the pilots to follow.

According to Bill’s recollection, it was a very overcast day and the entire return flight was over cloud cover. There were no visual observations to aid in determining the correct return flight path. Bill continued to estimate the progress of the flight using the maps, heading, air speed, etc. All of the remaining planes of the mission continued to follow the lead of his plane.

At one point Bill told the pilot “we should be over the field, drop down through the cloud cover.” The pilot dropped down through the cloud cover and lo and behold there was the field as Wolber had calculated. All remaining planes of the mission landed without incident. Bill continued his role as bombardier and flew 32 missions.

Boehlert concluded:

Bill Wolber is a quiet, unassuming guy who, I suspect, was always a giver, one who did things for others whenever the opportunity was there because it was “the right thing” to do. I’ll bet deserved recognition never crossed his mind. I know he doesn’t talk much about helping others, he just does it. And that is why he and his contemporaries like him have earned the accolade “The Greatest Generation.”

I knew Bill Wolber. His son, Mark, a Utica attorney, and I went to high school together and we remain good friends today. Bill’s wife, Rita, was one of my music teachers in high school. In addition to Mark, they also have a son, Jack, of Nashua, New Hampshire, and daughter, Ann Wolber Pettinella of Rochester.

Some other things about Bill:

. He flew in the Allied invasion at Normandy on D-Day, June 6, 1944.

. His commendations include the Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal with Three Oak Leaf Clusters, Four Battle Stars, Victory Medal, and the NY State Conspicuous Service Medal with Four Silver Clusters.

. He graduated from Clarkson College after the war and spent his career at the Rome Air Development Center (RADC) at Griffiss Air Force Base in Rome directing engineers, scientists and physicists who developed advanced radar detections systems used by the Strategic Air Command (SAC). Bill also contributed to the design of the security system of Air Force One, the presidential airplane.

Among his civic commitments, he served as president of the New York Mills school board for 17 years.

Bill and Rita Wolber were married 61 years until his death in 2011. Rita followed four years later. They were both 89 at the time of their passing.

Like Congressman Boehlert, I was never aware of Bill Wolber’s World War II heroics. On this Veterans Day, it’s important to remember him and countless others whose contributions to our nation we may never know. When we find out, it’s important that we tell their stories. And never forget them.

Dave Dudajek is O-D opinions page editor. Contact him at ddudajek@uticaod.com.