Bomber flight honors WWII veteran father
PENN TWP — Libby Martini of Butler took off from Pittsburgh-Butler Regional Airport Thursday evening with one thing on her mind: her father.
Martini is from a military family. Her father served in World War II, her husband in Vietnam, and her two children are serving in the Navy.
But until Thursday, Martini had never been in a military craft herself. That changed as she boarded a B-17 bomber for a short flight to commemorate her father's military service.
Martini, who said she isn't much of a flyer and doesn't enjoy takeoffs or landings, nevertheless said she was eager to experience life in the kind of plane in which her father, Donald E. Swisher, flew combat missions for nearly two years.
“I'm looking forward to just flying in honor of my father,” she said. “I've been given a chance to do it, and I'm going to take it. I know I'll never be able to know if my father was on that particular plane or not, but it's just a memory in honor of him.”
Martini and her husband, Carl, paid the $450 fee for a 30 minute flight. Swisher was a bombardier in the 401st Bombardment Group and flew combat missions in Normandy, Northern France, and Central Europe according to discharge papers provided by the family.
Swisher's group operated out of a British air force base in Deenethorpe and flew missions in the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, earning two Distinguished Unit Citations for missions over Leipzig, Germany, in early 1944. In addition to the citation Swisher was also awarded a Good Conduct Medal, two service medals for campaigns in America and Europe, Africa and the Middle East.
Swisher, who Martini called “a very happy, easygoing man,” died in 1968 at the age of 45. Martini said he didn't speak much about his service during the war — though she recalls him struggling with some memories of the conflict.
“He talked (about it) in his sleep more than talked to us,” she said.
In particular, Martini said, her father would sometimes cry out about women and children while he slept. Martini believes one of her father's defining characteristics — his love for his family — was formed through his struggle to deal with whatever horrors he saw in the war.
“I guess he didn't handle that real well,” she said. “But as a result he loved children — his own and everybody else's.”
Touring the B-17 Thursday, Martini said she was fascinated by how small the interior turned out to be, and how little protection the turrets and cockpit provided the airmen.“When I got up in there I was too mesmerized to even think of pictures,” she said.Shortly before takeoff Martini said she was still nervous, but was shrugging off her discomfort by thinking of her father and his service.“Well, dad. This one's for you,” she said.Martini's flight came as part of Bomber Week, which is part of the annual Wings of Freedom Tour put on by the Collings Foundation. The event brings vintage World War II-era military aircraft to airports around the country and gives people an up-close-and-personal view of the historic aircraft.
