B-17 pilot to be honored in Belgium

Kyt · May 20, 2008

Bladen Journal > News > Bladenâ€ˆWWIIâ€ˆvetâ€ˆtoâ€ˆbeâ€ˆhonoredâ€ˆinâ€ˆBelgium

A Bladen County resident killed in World War II will be honored on Thursday in Tournai, Belgium for his heroic efforts to avoid crashing his B-17 into the village after it was disabled by “flak” during a bombing raid.

Robert V. Mercer and his crew will be emblazoned on a monument in the village of Tournai, Belgium near the church he managed to avoid hitting as he piloted his doomed plane on that fateful day in January 1945.

Beverly Bryant of Bladenboro and Myrtle Jolly of Lumberton, Mercer’s nieces, say that unfortunately they will be unable to attend the dedication. Mercer’s nephew, Eddie Lennon and his wife, Katherine, along with Mercer’s niece Velma Sanders and her daughter are planning to attend, according to Bryant and Jolly.

Jolly said that Jacques De Ceuninck, who witnessed the B-17’s crash as a child, contacted her family several years ago and told them of the plans he had to build a memorial to Mercer and his crew.

“He said from the time he was 7-years-old he couldn’t forget it,” said Jolly.

The nieces through their research, stories from surviving crew members and the research of others, has produced this account of Mercer’s last flight.

Mercer was piloting his B-17 towards a target at Duisburg when the plane was struck with “flak,” three of which hit the plane underneath of the cockpit.

“He tried to land in Brussels, but they wouldn’t let him and ordered him to go to Merville, France. The plane began to vibrate and the number tow engine began to burn,” said Bryant. “He ordered his crew out of the plane. He tried to hold the plane steady as they got out, but a fire broke out in the cockpit where he was battling the controls.”

“He promised them he would get them out and he got them all out, but himself,” said Jolly.

Mercer managed to guide the crippled plane away from the village of Tournai and avoided crashing into a school, church and occupied neighborhood, but in the process, Mercer lost life.

Jolly and Bryant remember vividly the day the news arrived of Mercer’s death.

“I remember I came home and they all were very quiet around the table,” said Bryant. “My dad said, ‘I have bad news. Uncle Bob got killed.’ Momma laid her head on the table and cried.”

Jolly said an aunt that lived in New York City and she went to meet the boat that transported Mercer’s body home. He was killed in the crash in 1945, but his body was not returned to the United States until 1948.

Jolly recalled how the family was notified of Mercer’s fate.

“Hannah and Spurgeon Frink were in the drugstore when the telegram arrived notifying of his death,” said Jolly. “They carried it to the family.”

Jolly said Mercer’s family loaned a lot of his mementos to author Jim Hammond for use in his book, “Tom’s War.” Hammond dedicated a chapter to Mercer.

When asked what the monument and its dedication mean to them the two replied it was exciting.

“It means his memory is still alive. I got teary eyed thinking about it. I remember when they brought his body back. It was very emotional. Granddaddy couldn’t talk about him without tearing up,” said Bryant.

“All of this means to me is he’s come back alive after 63 years. None of us ever forgot him,” said Jolly.
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Kyt · May 20, 2008

335th BS B-17G 43-39055 28th Jan 1945

Also killed was the co-pilot, Charles Taylor, whose parachute failed to open.

Picture of Mercer:

http://95thbg.org/joomla/images/stories/Mercer_Robert_Crew2.jpg

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B-17 pilot to be honored in Belgium

Kyt Άρης

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