Bernard (Barney) Wayne Rawlings (1920 – July 19, 2004[1]) was an American Eighth Air Force pilot. He is noted for having been co-pilot of the B-17 bomber, "G.I. Sheets", which was shot down over Belgium in 1944 during World War II.
Bernard Rawlings | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Bernard Wayne Rawlings |
| Born | 1920 |
| Died | July 19, 2004 (aged 83–84) |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Service |  United States Air Force |
| Battles / wars | Second World War |
Biography
editAfter his plain was shot down, Rawlings was aided by resistance fighters in Belgium and France and made his way to Spain. After a brief incarceration, he was repatriated. Arriving at Gibraltar on 22.5.44 and flown to the UK arriving on 25.5.44.
Following the war, Barney Rawlings became a pilot for Trans World Airlines, ultimately becoming a 747 captain. He retired in 1987.
Legacy and recognition
editRawlings' story is recounted in Half a Wing, Three Engines, and a Prayer by Brian D. O'Neill (McGraw-Hill Professional, 1999), and The Last Airman, by Roger Rawlings (Harper & Row, 1989).
A year prior to his retirement, he and the surviving members of his World War II crew returned to Belgium where, in the town of Solre-Saint-Géry, a granite monument had been erected in their honor - and, by extension, in honor of all Allied air crews who fought for the liberation of Europe.[2]
The dedication ceremony included presentations by NATO, the United States Air Force, and the Belgian Air Force, which conducted a fly-over by four Belgian jet aircraft.
References
edit- ^ "Obituaries". The Daily Reflector. 2004-06-22. Retrieved 2008-03-02.
- ^ Mason, Bobbie Ann (June 19, 2011). "The heartbreaking sight of a WWII icon in flames". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2023-02-14.
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