Revisiting his youth

Sixty-six years after his final mission aboard a World War II Liberator, 88-year-old El Dorado resident Keith Dillmon stepped foot on another B-24 Liberator for what he called his 52nd mission.

Keith is a World War II veteran, serving in the Air Force from October 1942 to November 1944.

“They invited me for the duration plus six months,” he said.

The latest “mission” took place July 13 in Salina when Salina resident Boo Hodges helped bring the plane to Salina.

Hodges called Keith’s son, Mike Dillmon, to tell him about it.

Mike, Keith and Keith’s neighbor Ron Zirfas made the trip to Salina to ride in the plane.

The flight was a great experience for Keith, and he was treated exceptionally well.

“I walked up there and got in the shade of the wing,” he recalled, “and someone brought up a stool.”

Then when he moved inside he was given another stool on which he could sit.

The flight  lasted a total of 30 minutes from take off to landing, with the entire experience being about an hour.

The ride also was a meaningful experience for Mike.

“It was really neat,” he said. “It was a neat experience to see what he did in a very small way.”

Mike compared it to the movie “Field of Dreams” when Kevin Costner got to see his dad play baseball, although Keith reminded him this was no game of baseball that he was playing.

The plane included a plexiglass bottom so people could view what was on the ground.

“Ron went with us and really was great because Boo and Ron helped out a lot to make this happen,” Mike said. “It was really neat.”

“I thought it was pretty nice too,” Keith added.

Zirfas also enjoyed the trip.

“You can read about that stuff, but when you actually have the opportunity to experience the sights and sounds, it’s something you don’t get to do very often,” he said.

Although Zirfas has flown in several planes, he had never been in anything like the B-24.

“I didn’t really know what to expect,” he said.

He described it as hot, noisy and vibrated a lot.

“It was like ‘wow,’ you had to put up with this for 10 hours,” he said of those who flew missions on the plane.

Although he did comment about how smoothly it took off and landed.

“It is just one of those neat things to be able to go and participate in with someone who had done it,” Zirfas said.

The Collins Foundation restored the plane. This particular plane had
gone into the Royal Air Force, then to India before returning to an individual who wanted to restore it.

“It had been completely renovated,” Keith said.

“It is authentic in every way,” Mike added.

But one thing did seem different to Keith.

“What I noticed most was I think they shrunk that fuselage,” Keith said with a laugh. “It seemed bigger 60 years ago.”

This is the last B-24 that is still air worthy. The B-24, built in 1939, made up about two-thirds of the heavy bomber fleet in WWII. The B-24 continues to make flights as part of the annual Wings of Freedom Tour with its sister ship, the B-17 Flying Fortress.

Keith’s experience in the Air Force

Keith went on his first 50 missions in Europe, with the 51st coming after their assignment was over when they took a trip to Cairo, Egypt.

Keith had been a ball turret gunner on the plane. He served in the 15th Air Force 461st Bomb Squadron.

His missions included Yugoslavia, Italy, Austria, Romania, Germany, France and Hungary.

Keith said some of the most eventful were from around Budapest and Hungary, which is where they encountered a lot of anti-aircraft fire.

Ploesti, Romania, also was historically one of the most heavily defended cities because of the number of oil wells there.

“That was really the hot spot,” Keith said.

“That’s what shut down WWII in Europe – the fuel,” Mike said.

“The amount of oil was down to 10 percent from getting bombed,” Keith added.

They also hit airplane manufacturers in Germany on some of their missions.

During the flights, they went up in 110 degree temperatures in the summer and had to wear heated flight suits in the winter.

Keith said their average missions were about seven hours in the air.

The planes held 10 people, including the pilot, co-pilot, navigator, bombardier and six gunners. Keith flew all but one of his 50 missions with the same crew. Those missions took place from April 2 through Aug. 22, 1944.

“They flew about every other day in WWII,” Mike explained.

There were about 64 planes in a squadron and two squadrons always flew together in specific formations.

That could lead to problems, as it did in Keith’s first mission.

He said there was no flak or enemy aircraft, but they still lost two planes when they ran into each other.

Another interesting aspect of the crew was that they were all at least a sergeant. This was so if they were shot down, which they knew there was a good chance of, the Germans would treat them better because of their rank.

Their planes also were marked with nose art.

“That was something special to WWII,” said Janet Hastin, Keith’s daughter.

Keith’s plane was “Stinky” and had an outhouse painted on it with the word stinky.

A photo of Keith’s plane was even published in the book “Wild Blue Yonder.”

Hastin said they have watched several movies such as “Pearl Harbor” and “Inglourious Basterds” but Keith always said that “wasn’t his war.”

Keith’s military career began with basic training in Utah, then he was assigned to a plane in Fresno, Calif. After training, they flew to Florida then to Trinidad and on to Georgetown, British Guiana to refuel, then to Rio de Janerio before going to Africa.

“That was a long flight,” Keith recalled. It included no bed, no food and no seats in the plane.

But that wasn’t usually the case.

“The Air Force is completely different from everything else,” Keith continued.

He said they got to sleep in their own bed every night and got three meals a day.

Keith said his time in the Air Force was a positive experience for him.

“I saw things I would never have seen in my life,” he said. “I have been places I would have never been to.”

He had the opportunity to visit Egypt; Cairo, where they buzzed a herd of camels; and Tel Aviv. He also traveled to the Isle of Capri, as well as got to spend the night in Jonestown, Vienna.

“The mouth of the Amazon River where it gorges into the sea must be three miles wide,” Keith recalled.

He said they also walked along the Nile, although if they fell in they had to take 13 different shots.

There was a little more excitement for Keith though.

He recalled when they were supposed to return home they missed their boat and had to wait another month in Egypt to return.

After coming back from Europe on a troop ship, Keith took trains and buses back to Denver, Colo., and ended up walking and carrying his duffle bag home for the last eight to 10 blocks.  No one knew he was coming home and he couldn’t contact his parents.

Last October Keith and his family also went to Tulsa, Okla., for a reunion of the 461st group, where the veterans shared a number of stories and memories with each other.

Now Keith has even more stories to share about his latest “mission,” one he got to share with his son and neighbor.