Walter Dobbs: From Building a Boat to Becoming a Flight Engineer on a B-29

By Carla Khan, Honor Flight Chicago Veteran Interview Volunteer

Walter (Walt) Dobbs was born in Detroit in 1925.  His father had served in the U.S. Army in WWI in Europe as a machinist. He had taken advantage of his acquired technical skills after he returned to civilian life by becoming an accomplished mechanic.  He used those skills professionally when he sold service stations for Texaco, but also in his personal life for instance when he built a boat from scratch with his 12-year-old son, Walt, as his assistant.  At that time, Walt and his family lived in Port Huron, MI where Walt spent most of his early years, including the first two years of high school. But then his parents sent him to the Ohio Military Institute in Cincinnati where Walt was able to complete his junior and senior years together in one year of school.  He loved school, played on the football team, and at graduation, was voted “The Manliest Cadet!”

It now was 1943 and WWII had set the world on fire.  At the age of 18, while Walt was weighing his options on how to be able to contribute to his country’s war efforts, the U.S. Army Air Corps recruiters came to town.  Walt immediately signed up.  He first passed the test for admission to the program and closely thereafter also passed the test for the pilots program.  That done, he enlisted to go to flight school and was sent to Miami for Boot Camp.  He recalled with pleasure that thanks to lots of target shooting practice with his dad, his rifle skills were so outstanding that instead of having to go through a week of survival training, he was kept on as a rifle instructor.  

Basic Training also included the taking of college courses in math and physics “to teach us decision making.”  According to Walt, the goal of Basic Training was to prepare young men to become 2nd Lieutenants who would not hesitate to tell their men, “I will lead into battle, you follow.”  It was not all work though.  On weekends, the local civilians would come to watch the parades. The main attraction was when the officers would line up on the side and Gordon MacRae, “the recruit with the fabulous voice” would step up and sing patriotic songs.  Once, producers from Hollywood came with a hired band and McRae was asked to sing “White Christmas.”  Walt recalled proudly that his one claim to fame was that as part of the chorus, he got to hum in the background.

Although pilot training was for the military, the instructors were civilians who were not always very good, according to Walt.  Finally, the chief instructor, Mr. Long, noticed that many of the students would never pass the flight exam.  The instructors were fired and with some additional training, Walt fortunately passed his pilot test.  He’d spent so many hours practicing the perfect “Lazy Eight” maneuver over a farm and barn, that the farmer and his wife got to recognize his plane and would come out to wave at him.  The remainder of his time, Walt said, he spent in the gym in order to stay in shape.  In January of 1945, he graduated from flight school, trained as a fighter pilot.  However, because the war was coming to an end, there was now a pool of fighter pilots. Because Walt really wanted to be active in the war, he volunteered to become a flight engineer on a B-29.  Unfortunately for Walt, the powers-that-be in the military had different plans and he was sent to Amarillo, TX as a supply officer. According to Walt, his job consisted of asking “do you need a mop or a mattress?”   Very unhappy with this assignment, Walt went on a one-man campaign to change his status and when two C-47 passenger planes loaded with flight officers landed, he made sure he was put on the stand-by list in case someone got sick; he got on at the last minute.  

His next assignment was back in Miami but this time as a trainer-instructor for the B-29 bomber. They flew many long-haul practice flights, but as Walt mentioned, many of those flights experienced technical problems and “something always went wrong.”  During one flight from South Dakota back to Miami, Walt noticed flames shooting out of the #2 engine.  He asked the pilot if he’d mind landing with three engines but the pilot preferred having four and as the fire was far enough away from the fuel supply, they decided to fly home with one engine on fire.  Walt crawled through the tunnel to the rear of the plane to reassure the gunners they’d all be ok and eventually they landed safely.

When WWII officially ended in 1945, Walt stayed on for another two months before receiving his honorable discharge.  He served with the Air Force Reserve while he went back to school and earned his degree in Mechanical Engineering.  At the same time, he met his future wife, Nancy and they married on June 15, 1948.  Nancy and Walt adopted and raised 4 children.  They enjoy their 9 grandchildren and 4 great-grandchildren and “an enormous, extended family that includes a rock star.”  Both agreed that raising their children had been a great and rewarding experience.  Walt and Nancy moved several times because of Walt’s employment but eventually settled in the Chicago area when Walt got a job with IBM.  After many years, Walt retired and along with Nancy, now is enjoying his free time and his family.

Walt, thank you for your service. Enjoy your well-deserved Honor Flight.