80th Anniversary of D-Day June 6, 2024

ROBERT EDWARD PEDIGO

WorldWarIID-Day:OPERATIONOVERLORD

TheInvasionofNormandy,France

TheD-DayoperationofJune6,1944,brought togethertheland,air,andseaforcesoftheallied armiesinwhatinfamouslybecameknownasthe largestamphibiousinvasioninmilitaryhistoryThe D-Dayoperation,giventhecodenameOVERLORD, deliveredfivenavalassaultdivisionstothe beachesofNormandy,France.Thebeacheswere giventhecodenamesUTAH,OMAHA,GOLD,JUNO, andSWORD.Theinvasionforceincluded7,000 shipsandlandingcraftmannedbyover195,000 navalpersonnelfromeightalliedcountries.Almost 133,000troopsfromtheUnitedStates,theBritish Commonwealth,andtheirallies,landedonD-Day. Casualtiesfromthesecountriesduringthelanding numbered10,300.ByJune30,over850,000men, 148,000vehicles,and570,000tonsofsupplieshad landedontheNormandyshoresFightingbythe bravesoldiers,sailors,andairmenoftheallied forceswesternfront,andRussianforcesonthe easternfront,ledtotheLiberationofFranceand ,ultimately,thedefeatofGermanNaziforcesOn May7,1945,GermanGeneralAlfredJodlsignedan unconditionalsurrenderatReims,France,marking VictoryinEurope.Today,May7thisobservedasVE DAYSeptember2,1945,wastheendofWWIIas Japansurrendered.Everyyearsincethewar, September2ndisnowobservedasVictoryOver JapanorV-JDay.

Robert “Bob” Pedigo was born in Indianapolis IN on October 20th, 1923. His mother worked in a sewing room and at L.S. Ayres & Co. department store. His father worked at Chapman/Price Steel Mill. He and his older brother, Leland Earl Pedigo, grew up during the Great Depression and Pedigo’s family was extremely poor. Food was scarce.Bobmadeendsmeetwithapaperroute at 7 years old. Bob had multiple jobs as a young man. He was a “ragman” for salvaged scrap metal and had a magazine sales route. The famous World War I Flying Ace, Medal of Honor Recipient, and former owner of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Eddie Rickenbacker, was a customerofBob’sTrueStory&Libertymagazines he sold. Bob worked in a grocery store, too. Bob wasveryredheadedandpickeduphisnickname “Red”,whichwouldfollowhimintothemilitary. Pedigo’s real interest was in technology. He asked for a transfer from his school to Arsenal Technical High School so he could receive technicaltraining.ArsenalTechwasaformerU.S. Civil War era Arsenal from 1864 to 1903, opening asapublichighschoolin1912.Bobsaid,“Arsenal was one of the best technology high schools, of itstime,intheentirecountry.Iwantedtolearnas much as I could”. He rode his bike 10 miles back and forth to Arsenal. He then quickly took additional classes at Lucas-Harold, Indianapolis, learninghowtooperategearcuttingmachines.

LotsofTraining

At 18, Bob was in night school technical training when Pearl Harbor was attacked by Japan on December7,1941.Bob’sworkandtechnicaltraining led to making gears for the Norden Bombsights: The United States number one “Top Secret” that helpedwinWorldWarII.Bob’strainingtobuildthis new secret weapon led to a 6 month stay at the YMCA near Central Park in New York City. He once met Eleanor Roosevelt in the wee hours of the morninginthesubwayatPennStation.

The plans were to build the Norden Bombsights at the Lukas-Harold plant in Indianapolis. New York Citywastoomuchofatargetifthesecretweapon was leaked. Bob eventually retired from that plant in 1972, which was renamed Naval Avionics Facility Indianapolis.

Bob’sbrother,LelandEarlPedigo,was3yearsolder and was drafted to the Army Air Corps. Leland served 6 months stateside. Bob was on a deferral from the draft but joined the Army Air Corps soon after his brother Leland. He felt like he needed to enlistandserve.Pedigosays“IfIwould’vestayed,I would’ve been rich! Instead, I came back a peon. I gave up a respectable job to go into the Air Force, but I’m proud of what I did.” Bob went to Bowman Field for basic training in Louisville, followed by Aircraft Armament School in Denver, Colorado. On to Aerial Gunnery School in Fort Myers, FL, then combatdivebombertraininginMississippi,andon toElPaso,Texas,forhis3rdphaseoftraining.

Pedigo’s ord where his crew picked up e e be a o omber. They flewtheB-24“KingThor”bombertoSouthAmerica,then to Africa, then England. The 10-man crew flew to Scotland to remove the ball turrets on their B-24. Bob wasassignednosegunnerandchiefarmorer.Theyflew backtoNorfolk,England,landingatOldBuckenham(Old Buc) Air Base and was surprised and greeted by a famous 453rd Bombardment Group Operations Officer. It was famous American actor James “Jimmy” Stewart who was a Colonel at the time. During the war, Colonel Stewart led a squadron to complete 20 missions. There atOldBuc,BobwasassignedtoaB-24JLiberator#4440297 named “Silent Yokum” The bomber would soon be named after a comic character from the Lil’ Abner seriesbyAndyCapps

BobPedigopointstotheIndiana-madeNordenBombsighton displayattheIndianaWarMemorialmuseuminIndianapolis,IN. NexttothebombsightitistheLukas-HaroldOldTimersplaque Bobdonatedtothemuseum.Bobisthelastlivingsurvivorofthe 500machinistsengravedontheplaque

Below:AnAutopilotServoforB-24&B-17bombers,foundmany yearsagoatagaragesale,byBob’sson,whodonatedittothe museum.

One day, the famous 16-year-old royal, Princess Elizabeth,visitedOldBucandshookPedigo’shand They smiled at each other, and Bob was at a loss for words He thought she was beautiful Bob didn’t know, at that time, she would become the longest living Queen of Englandandwouldseeherpassat96yearsold

BrigadierGeneralJamesStewart

“Onethingaboutbeingthenosegunner; Iwasalwaysthefirstonetotakeoff andthefirstonehome”saidBobPedigo,withabigsmile.

TheB-24Liberator

TheConsolidatedB-24LiberatorwasanAmericanfour-engineheavybomberusedby the United States Army Air Forces and other allied air forces during World War II Approximately 14,000 B-24 Liberators were produced Over 6,000 of them were lost in combatoroperationalaccidents EveryAmericanautomakerturneditsworkforceand facilitiestomilitaryproductionduringWorldWarII.Butnoprojectcapturedthepublic's imaginationlikeHenryFordAircraftFactoryWillowRun,whereFordMotorCompanybuilt one B-24 Liberator airplane every 63 minutes. The plant was the embodiment of America's "Arsenal of Democracy" - the enormous manufacturing capacity so vital to theAllies'victory.WorkersattheDetroitMichiganfactorystaggering8,685B-24bombers inthreeyears.Noonehadevermanufacturedaircraftonsuchascalebefore.

ThelargewinggavetheLiberatorahighcruisespeed,longrangeandtheabilitytocarry a heavy bomb load. Airmen who flew the Liberator took to naming the airframe the “Flying Coffin” due to its singular entry point near the rear of the aircraft. With only a single point of exit, and far from the majority of the crew, it was nearly impossible for themtoleaveinanemergency.

ThemostdangerouswerethefirsttripandlastfivetripsofabombercrewduringWWII During the whole war, 51% of aircrew were killed on operations, 12% were killed or woundedinnon-operationalaccidentsand13%becameprisonersofwarorevaders Only24%ofAircrewmensurvivedthewar.

Pedigo

B-24 NOSETURRET

ImportantMissions

D-DayInvasion

The day before D-Day, Col. Stewart took each squadron into a wheat field. Col. Stewart said, “Everyone is on lockdown. Men... go get a good night’s rest because we have an important mission tomorrow”. On June 6, 1944, Bob,andacrewofnineothermen,flewthe“SilentYokum” towards France. From the air, Pedigo saw the channel full of boats heading towards land. Pedigo says, “There were so many boats, it looked like you could walk right across the channel from boat to boat”. He saw fighters of all kinds,mediumandheavybombers,andanendlesschain of C-47 troop transports All heading for the invasion coast Everything that could fly or float was in the air as what was described as the Greatest Show on Earth At 0730 hours, they flew over Omaha Beach, 30 minutes before the D-Day invasion started They flew over Caen, then on to St Laurent, past Paris Their mission was to drop bombs on a German encampment in St Laurent Thetargetwasdemolished,themissiona wasasuccess Bob describes D-Day being one of the easiest of his 30 missions “The enemy was caught by surprise, so there wasnotmuchanti-aircraftfire”,saidBob

On July 19, 1944, the day befor the famous “briefcase bombing”, Pedigo was part of an importantmissiontobombafactoryinLaupheim, Germany.Theaimedtargetwasafactoryinwhich GermanMesserschmitt262fighterjetswerebeing manufactured. Thirty-eight brand-new Me 262 airplanes were sitting outside, with 22 more being built inside the factory. The Me 262's were the world’sfirstoperationalturbojetaircraft.Allplanes, parts,andfactoryweredestroyedbythebombing mission. Pedigo said, “The 262’s would have been used to push back the 8th Air Force and probably useddirectlyonus. Westoppedthat!”

July20,1944:NaziGermanleader,AdolphHitler,sat downwithhismilitaryofficersathistop-secret Wolfe’sLairmilitarycompoundtodiscussstrategy forwinningWorldWarII.Hitlerhadnocluethat ColonelClausVonStauffenberg,oneofhismost trustedaides,hadbroughtalongasuitcase containingabombthathehopedwouldblowthe Nazidictatorandhisacolytestosmithereens.That couldhaveclearedthewayforGermanytomake peacewiththealliesandsavemanythousandsof lives,butsomebodyhadmovedthesuitcaseclose toatableandwasn’teffective.

Hitlerlivedanotheryear.VonStauffenbergandhis fellowplotterswereexecutedwithinhours.The Gestapoexecutednearly5,000othersuspected plottersagainstHitler.

Ofthe30missionsBobcompleted,June21,1944over Berlin,Germany,waswhathethoughtwasoneofhis most important missions during the war. They targeted Berlin, and the diesel engine works manufacturing plant. The plant was believed to be manufacturing engines for their V-1 flying bombs. TheMightyEighthAirForcedropped71tonsofbombs on the plant to destroy it. Bob said, “Any time a crew finished a mission, it was a big occasion. It was very emotional. I was just glad I survived my time on the B-24 since 5 percent of crewmen were lost on every mission”. When asked about serving in the military, he said it was “very stressful” as described by Bob. He spent 6 months in the hospital for “combat fatigue”followingthe30combatmissions. So,whatwouldBobtelltheyoungergenerations?

“Wemustdowhateverittakestokeepour freedom...whateverittakes”,saidBobPedigo.

The “Silent Yokum” completed its 30 missions with Pedigo’screw,butsoonafteranewcrewtookitover, theplanecrashedattheendofarunwayonitsway totheBattleoftheBulge.AnewB-24withadifferent serialnumberwasalsonamed“SilentYokum”laterin the war. Silent Yokum was named after Lil’ Abner character and transferred to 392nd from the 453rd BombardmentGroupafter11-Apr-45thenreturnedto theUSAinJuneof1945.

Bob Pedigo retired from Naval Avionics after 28.5 years and keeps very busy. He is proud of the plaquehedonatedtotheIndianaWarMemorial.It is engraved with 500 names of the Lukas-Harold Old-Timers. They were the first workers trained by CarlL.NordentobuildtheNordenBombsightatthe Naval Ordnance Plant during World War II. At 100 years old, Bob is the last living Old-Timer on that list. Bob claims his good health and becoming a centenarian to his staying active. Bob was an avid hikerintheIndianapolisHikingClubfor40years.He is a “celebrity” at the Horseshoe casino, where he walks a few times a week.. “You’ve got to stay movingtostayalive!”,claimsBob,withabigsmile. Pedigo has spoken about his life, family & his military experiences all over Indiana. He is quite a historybuffwithkeeninsightsanmemories.Pedigo wasinductedintotheIndianaMilitaryHallofFame Class of 2023. He also received the Sagamore of the Wabash award from Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb. This prestigious award has only been receivedbyaselectfewIndianaresidents. Bobisa nativeHoosieranda“Nationa

Shrine Room at the Indiana War Memorial

Logan Gay from WRTV 13 interviews Bob: one of his many interviews by journalists throughout the years.

A special award was presented to Bob from the Caroline Scott Harrison Chapter, NSDAR, by the Service to Veterans Committee Chairperson, Janet Shelton.

Laughing with friend and supporter

Vice President Mike Pence

Bob’s B-24 tie

Veterans Advocate, Honor Flight Guardian and friend, Jill Fewell, with Bob at the 2023 Indiana Military Veterans Hall of Fame Dinner.

Bob takes a flight as part of the B-24 All American Crew

(Top) John Lloyd Pedigo, (L) Timothy Bryan Pedigo, wife Helen Marie Wood Pedogo, (R) Robert E. Pedigo

Helen, Bob & John Pedigo

Al Tucker’s R/C Model of the B-24 Witchcraft strapped on the trunk of the 1966 Lincoln Continental Veterans Day Parade car.

The 2024 Senior Class of Jay County Indiana High School gathers around WWII Hero, Bob Pedigo, on the front steps of the Indiana War Memorial.

Indianapolis WWII Roundtable WWII Veterans/members pose with a World War 1 fallen soldier banner discovered and purchased by Allen Andrews at a militaria show. After researching the flag’s origin, it hailed from the Warriors and Soldiers’ Club in Essleborn, Germany, and had been lost during WWII. Allen Andrews contacted the German Consulate and ultimately returned two banners to the town of Esselborn, Huzzah!! to the heroes of the Indianapolis WWII Roundtable!

Bob and his 453rd Bombardment Group Briefing Officer, Brig Gen Jimmy Stewart (famous American actor) have an intense discussion at one of their 8th Air Force Reunions.

L to R: WWII Veterans Bob Begeman, Bob Pedigo, Roy Nicoloff, Walter Stitt

RobertEdwardPedigo

U.S.ArmyAirCorpsWWII,ChiefArmorer-NoseGunner,8thAirForce, 2ndAirDivision,453rdBombardmentGroup,735thSquadron

30MISSIONS

May22,1944-Siracourt,France1 May23,1944-Orleans,France2. May24,1944-Orly,France3 May27,1944-Saarbrucken,Germany4 May29,1944-Politz,Germany5. May30,1944-Oldenburg,Germany6 June02,1944-St.Aubin,France7 June06,1944-St.Laurent,France8. June12,1944-Conches,France9. June13,1944-Viconte,France10 June15,1944-LePortBoulet,France11. June20,1944-Politz,Germany12. June21,1944-Berlin,Germany13 June25,1944-Beuvry,France14 June28,1944-Saarbrucken,Germany15. July11,1944-Munich,Germany16 July12,1944-Munich,Germany17 July13,1944-Saarbrucken,Germany18. July16,1944-Saarbrucken,Germany19 July18,1944-Caen,France20 July19,1944-Laipheim,Germany21. July20,1944-Gotha,Germany22 July24,1944-St.Lo,France23 July25,1944-St.Lo,France24. July28,1944-Paris,France25. July29,1944-Breman,Germany26 Aug03,1944-Paris,France27. Aug16,1944-Dessau,France28. Aug25,1944-Wismar,Germany29 Sept8,1944-Karlsruhe,Germany30

BobPedigowasinductedintotheIndianaMilitaryVeteransHallofFameinNovember2023 Other 2023 military veteran inductees of note were awarded to family members, posthumously:Astronaut&USAFtestpilotVirgil“Gus”Grissom,U.S.SenatorRichardLugar, andUSSIndianapolisSurvivorJimmyO’Donnell.