World War II bombers bring back memories for local veterans

Photos by Johnathon Henninger / Record-Journal

Harold Rochette, right, of Meriden, shakes the hand of McKinley Seaver, 8, of Sandy Hook, Thursday at Waterbury-Oxford Airport. Rochette flew the B-17 on 31 missions with the 8th Air Force in Europe during World War II. Four operational aircraft from the war, including the B-24, B-25 and P-51, were open to the public as part of the "Wings of Freedom" tour.

Harold Rochette knows he's a lucky man. The Meriden resident, 89, piloted 31 combat missions in the European Theater for the 8th Air Force during World War II, a division that suffered more casualties than the entire U.S. Marine Corps in the Pacific campaign. The average life expectancy for an 8th Air Force member during the war, Rochette estimated, was 14 combat missions. "I guess I was just lucky, that's all," Rochette said when asked about his above-average success rate in aerial combat.

That's why Rochette named his 2001 self-published book, "8th Air Force Lottery." He overheard the phrase in the barracks one day after his crew was the only one of five to return from its mission. "When your number was up, your number was up," Rochette said. "That was all there was to it." There was less danger involved Thursday afternoon when he got another chance to fly in a B-17 Flying Fortress, the aircraft he piloted during the war, so he jumped at the opportunity.

Rochette was an honored passenger on a flight from Stewart International Airport in Newburgh, N.Y., to Waterbury-Oxford Airport in Oxford. Although Rochette enjoyed his time in the air, he said afterward he was happy to be firmly back on solid ground - and to no longer listen to the loud drone of the B-17's four 4,800 horse power engines.

"It's noisy," Rochette said after on the tarmac after his flight Thursday. "It's not like an airliner - it's not a comfortable flight. It was a little rough where we had to sit. It wasn't rough sitting, just rough getting down and up in those tight quarters." Indeed, a stroll through the interior of a B-17 is probably best navigated by a particularly nimble alley cat - and not a very tall one either; both the Record-Journal's reporter and photographer repeatedly bumped their heads touring the aircraft during the course of this story. The flight, which also included a B-24 Liberator, a B-25 Mitchell and a P-51 Mustang, was sponsored by the Massachusetts-based Collings Foundation, a nonprofit organization that restores World War II-era aircraft to their original condition and displays them at airfields across the country.

Rochette was joined in the B-17 by two other area World War II veterans. Frank Petrillo, 90, of Waterbury, was a bombardier who parachuted from a disabled B-17 on Aug. 17, 1943, was taken prisoner by the Germans and spent 21 months in Stalag Luft 3 as a prisoner of war.

Walter Hushak, 85, of Southington, is a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel who piloted the B-24 in the Pacific Theater and helps organize Connecticut events for the Collings Foundation. "Where else are you going to see these planes?" Hushak asked. "There's no aircraft museums around here - these are flying museums."

Gail Doerfler, who teaches American history at Southington High School, also flew on the B-17. Doerfler said her experience aboard the World War II-era bomber was "very loud," but also very exhilarating.
 "It was exciting, that was for sure," Doerfler said.

"It certainly gave you a taste of what those guys went through. You see it on TV, but you can never, ever experience what it's like until you are actually up there." Noah Beaulieu, a 14-year-old Southington resident and Civil Air Patrol member, saved four months' worth of lawn-mowing money to fly on the B-24.

When he landed, a smiling Beaulieu said it was definitely worth it. "It was pretty fun," Beaulieu said. "I wasn't expecting how loud the wind was going to be, but after you get over the noise, it's pretty fun."  
The aircrafts will be on display at Waterbury-Oxford Airport until Monday morning. Walk-through tours are available for $12 for adults and $6 for children under 12. Thirty-minute flights aboard either the B-17 or B-24 are also available for $425 per person.