Vermont, South Africa

Vermont is a small resort village located near Hermanus, on western coast of South Africa, adjacent to the town of Onrus; where a river of the same name, cascades through a lagoon and empties into the sea.  Its closest metropolis is  Cape Town, (where about two-thirds of it's Western Cape Province resides).  Vermont is in the district of Overberg, and in the municipality of Overstrand.  I believe the village of Vermont's original inhabitants were of Dutch descent.  

Photo source:  blog.dhec.co.za

The area boasts dunes, tidal pools, as well as sandy beaches and a rocky coastline.  Many seeking vacations, or need a break from busy Cape Town, come in groves, to bask in the sunshine on Onrus Beach.  Should you seek such a holiday, luxury accommodations await you, according to many of the real estate advertisements that you can easily find on the Web.

Cape Town, South Africa - source: nationalgeographic

Vermont's backdrop to the north is Onrust Mountain, and presumably named.  as you well know, as being roughly translated from the french words, verde monte meaning "Green Mountain".  

Photo source:  taliagoestoafrica.blogspot.com

Vermont appears to be quite pristine, known mostly as a sea-side resort, however it also is home to the "Vermont Salt Pan Nature Conservancy", which are protected wetlands.  Some of these areas are critically threatened, due to construction and development, during the latter half of the last century.  The salt pan (once scraped, most likely for human consumption) has been the home of a large population of birds. Rare plant life which includes beautiful and endangered orchids, rare flora and some of the smallest plant kingdoms in the world - as well as the largest carnivorous plant in the world!  

Drosera (sundew plant) - Source: wikipedia.com

Roridula, the largest carnivorous plant in the world!
- Source: floristtaxonomy.com

"South Africa has a great diversity of insect eating plants, mainly belonging to the genus Drosera (commonly called sundews). These plants capture their prey using sticky droplets on their leaves. The leaves of some species curl slowly around the prey enveloping them and exuding digestive enzymes...  The giant of the carnivorous plant world is called Roridula (or vlieëbos in Afrikaans). This plant can get up to two meters tall and like drosera, its leaves are bedecked in hairs with sticky droplets. The droplets are resinous and much more sticky than Drosera traps. In fact one species of Roridula (Roridula dentata) is even capable of capturing small birds."  Source:  fernkloof.com/

You will not find elephants, lions or rhinos here, as it is home to smaller animal species such as mongoose, bushbuck, clawless otters, duiker, grysbok and steenbok.

Bushbuck -  Source: wildliferanching.com

Clawless Otter - Source: en.wikipedia

Duiker - Source: awf.org

Grysbok - Source: krugerpark.co.za

Steenbok - Source: sa-venues.com

Other small size animal species make their home in this area. Both greater and lesser flamingos now spend their winters in this region - actually up to 6 months of the year!

Photo source;  tripadvisor.co.uk.

"Other wetland birds often seen around the pan include cormorants, herons, Egyptian geese, red-knobbed coots, African snipes, waterhens, blacksmith plowers, black-winged stilts, black crakes and many more."   Source:  geocaching.com

Flamingos near Vermont - Source: tripadvisor

The green belts now, are "priority conservation areas", and several extenuating circumstances that threatened this rare and beautiful land which included private land ownership, lack of funding specifically for protection and/or conservation, invasive vegetation infestation and illegal pollution from previous developers.  However, in recent years, this area has come under scrutiny and serious efforts are being made for its preservation, its natural tranquility, the *endemic fynbos as well as its bird-life. 

Photo source:  xplorio.com (Hermanus)

Vermont has also been a favorite location for many artists during the last century.  In the surrounding area of Hermanus, there are several art galleries and museums from which to choose.  It appears there is also some great shopping adventures to be had with fashion boutiques, jewelry shops, outlets and malls all in the surrounding region.

Zipline in South Africa - Source: sa-venues.com

But your adventure will not end here, as there are many other activities in which one may indulge.  Along it's coast line, you can watch the whales play in the ocean, or, if you are brave enough, you can submerge yourself in the ocean to white shark cage dive.  

Cage Shark Diving - Source:  gansbaaisharkdiving.co.za

Hiking, bird-watching, horse-back riding para-gliding, and mountain-biking are some of the popular activities for tourists and the local population.   There is also kayaking, a zipline tour, (pictured above), a variety of restaurants, river cruises, whale watches, and spas.

Photo source: percytours.com

Hey! Northern "Vermonters"!  You can go sand-boarding!  

Sandboarding: 

"The wind swept ... dune ... is a prime location to experience down-hill adventure to the max. At 200 [meters] atop the dune one can reach great speeds and enjoy the ultimate adrenaline buzz." - Source: sa-venues.com

Photo source: winealign.wordpress.com

AVERAGE WEATHER IN HERMANUS, SOUTH AFRICA

~Hermanus has dry periods in January, February, March, November and December.
~On average, the warmest month is January.
~On average, the coolest month is August.
~June is the wettest month.
~January is the driest month

Source:  weather-and-climate.com

PLACES TO EXPLORE in the Vermont-Hermanus area: 
(links are live)

The Old Fishing Harbor Museum

The Rossouw Modern Art Gallery 

The Walker Bay Art Gallery

Lembu Gallery and Studio

And check out "Hermanus First Fridays Artwalk" on Facebook:

*endemic fynbos (about):  "South Africa’s Western Cape is more botanically diverse than the richest tropical rainforest in South America, including the Amazon."  Of the 9,000 plant species found here, a majority are native fynbos vegetation, which covers the region's magnificent mountains, and lowland valleys and coastal plains.  A large number of fynbos species are very rare and in danger of becoming extinct. Constantly under threat from invading plant species, particularly wattle and acacia trees from Australia, as well as from urban expansion and land conversion for agriculture."

Source:  panda

Photo source: cheapvacationholiday.com

Soon, we'll explore Vermont, Australia!

"Pandora in Blue Jeans" - Peyton Place

During the 1970's, my father had a friendship with George Metalious, and he had visited our home in Poultney.  I believe that Dad had met him through their mutual careers in education.  I remember him as a black haired man with streaks of silver,  he wore a mustache, beard and glasses.   At the time, I had no idea that this man's [deceased] wife had been the world famous author, Grace Metalious, author of the controversial novel "Peyton Place".  I never met Grace, for she had died the year I was born.  Next year will mark the 60th anniversary of the publication of this novel, that was an international smash.

George Metalious

Upon publication of her novel, in September 1956, she became an overnight sensation.  The book hit the New York Times bestseller list, and stayed there for 59 consecutive weeks.  It sold over 32 million copies in both hard cover and paperback.  It sold 60,000 copies within the first ten days of its release!  It was adapted as a 1957 film; albeit, tamed,  and after that, it became a hit 1964–69 television series.

Her life began under difficult conditions, and ironically, read a bit like her own novel.   Grace Metalious was born Marie Grace de Repentigny on September 8, 1924, in Manchester, New Hampshire.  Her family was of French Canadian descent.  She was raised in a very poor and broken home in Manchester, New Hampshire.  At age 11, her father "walked out" on the family leaving behind Grace with her mother and 2 sisters.  Grace's own mother attempted to hide their heritage and moved her family into neighborhoods with less Franco-American populations.  Her mother believed that by doing so, her children may be provided with better opportunities.

"Anxious for Grace to better herself, her mother insisted upon their living in neighborhoods in which there weren't many French Canadians, one of the last groups to emigrate to Manchester and thus, located far down on the social totem pole. From her mother, Grace learned first-hand about dissembling and hiding secrets, the revelation of which would lie at the heart of her first and most famous novel, "Peyton Place."  ...The Catholic Church frowned on divorce and ...made it very difficult for a person who was a Catholic to obtain one and remain a member of the faith in good standing. This meant that it was very unusual for a married French Canadian couple to legally dissolve their marriage in the first half of the last century. Grace and her sisters felt shame, shame for coming from a broken home and shame from the resulting social stigmatization, a psychological state underscored and deepened by the social, economic and political inferiority of the French Canadians by the Yankees ." - Source: imbd

In spite of her social status, or perhaps because of it she began to write at a young age.  She was known to lock herself in a bathroom so that she may employ her over active imagination. 

She had met George, who was younger than her, at Central High School, in Manchester.  George was known for his great intelligence, and had been advanced a grade.   The family was not exactly supportive of her choice in men, as George was of Greek descent and held a different faith, from their own.  After High School, she lived with George - meaning they did not get married right away -  which at the time, was quite scandalous.  They eventually did marry, in a Catholic Church in that same town.   The family objected, but in 1943, love prevailed.  Their first child was born, less than 8 months later.

George and Grace Metalious

After having served his country, George attended UNH in Durham, where the couple had moved.  After graduating college, George worked the day shift at a local mill, and Grace worked nights. Grace had discovered that he was cheating on her, so she did decided to return the favor.  

As time marched on, they had 2 more children while living in extreme poverty.  It was during all of this, that Grace became a serious writer.  Apparently, she had a great disregard for housework, and for being a housewife in general, much to George's chagrin.   In one article I read, while researching for this post, it (with no running water) was a "pig sty".  Apparently, Grace could only be bothered to clean the space in a corner where she had kept her typewriter to write.  George had wanted an ordinary home with an ordinary housewife, but Grace would have nothing of it.

Grace Metalious

To credit Grace's writing, during these times, one must take into account the fact that she wasn't actually writing for sensation-ism.  It took real guts to write about sex, violence and scandal.  Her writing was intended to be a social statement mostly about hypocrisy, and it ended up blowing the lid off of topics that the general population held as taboo.   She wrote from "first hand knowledge", upon growing up in a world of poverty, lies, and dirty secrets.  Her inspiration was somewhat her flat-out reality.

It is said that Grace was inspired by a real-life murder that had sensationalized the town where she now lived, in Gilmanton [Ironworks], New Hampshire about a decade before she began writing the book, were a young girl had shot her father because he had been molesting her.  To hide the murder, she hid his corpse in a barn.  Grace began working on the first draft, and at the end of 10 weeks, in 1955, she completed a book entitled, The Tree and the Blossom, but upon looking at a map, she and George changed the title to it's legendary, fictional name.  The novel's name and fictional location was forever after known as "Peyton Place".  

Her writing style is considered brilliant - how she worked the dialogue, descriptions, and how she used narrative lines -  to connect the different families and their stories.  In the novel, she wrote about abortion, rape, domestic violence, homosexuality, unwed mothers, suicide, incest and murder.  These topics were not found in the mainstream novels being published of the day, with the possible exception of Lolita.  

Every major publishing company rejected the book, and it was a female publisher at Julian Messner and Company, by the name of Katheryn G. Messner, who saw an opportunity and gave the green light to print it.  Upon publication it was the 2nd largest selling book - second only to Gone With The Wind.  Those who bought the book, hid the cover in public, or read it in secret, but they read it....

 From here on, George and Grace's relationship was tumultuous, and had more scandals of their own.  After the publication of Peyton Place, both George and Grace had affairs, and they separated several times. George became a principle at the High School in Gilmanton, New Hampshire.  Also during this time, each had extramarital affairs. It was documented that George crept into his old house to photograph her in bed with a lover.  

She bought a fancy home and then became involved with her manager, Thomas J. Martin, (known as T.J.) before she was divorced.  Her divorce from George was finalized on February 25, 1958.    Just 3 days later on February 28th, (another source indicates it was March 1st) she married T.J. and this marriage only lasted about 20 months.  T.J. was a disc jockey in Laconia at that time. 

 She would leave him to go out on drinking binges for weeks at a time, and their relationship was unstable.  This ultimately lead to divorce on Oct 6, 1960.   During these times the children were shuffled between the George and Grace.  

Eventually, she went back to George, in 1960 when he was living on Martha's Vinyard and they remarried on Oct 12, 1961.  George was there to take care of her, as she was deeply in the throws of alcoholism.

The town of Gilmanton, New Hampshire was outraged at the publication and many felt shamed. Grace was threatened with lawsuits for libel and the town refused to purchase the book for it's own library. George suffered, too, as his contract as school principle was not renewed.  But contrary to what is believed, he was let go due to different reasons - before the book's publication.

Grace made this caustic comment regarding the township in which she lived: "these towns look as peaceful as a postcard picture … beneath that picture it’s like turning over a rock with your foot — all kinds of strange things crawl out … everybody known what’s going on … but they don’t want outsiders to know..."

As I mentioned, her wildly popular book went on to become a movie, and later a television series.  Both are said to have softened the edges of the actual novel. 

Grace was known for wearing men's clothing and her marketing publicists dubbed her "Pandora in Blue Jeans".  In most of the photographs that we see of her, she is wearing denim pants. When she showed up in New York City, wearing her a dreary style of garb, her publicists were rather taken aback.  I guess you could say she was a no nonsense kind of girl, and stuck to her own principles and ideals.

At around 1962 she was back with George, and "swore off the bottle" for about a year, and published another book entitled The Tight White Collar and was well received by reviews.  As her alcoholism grew, she wrote Return to Peyton Place but it never had the success of her first novel.  She also wrote No Adam in Eden which was heavily criticized by her New York publicists, as easily being her worst work.  

                 

 

Grace felt the pressure of her life weighing her down around her like a noose made of lead.  It is believed she committed a slow suicide by drinking.  Those close to her, grew frightened of her and especially afraid to mention her drinking problem.  She became reckless leaving her children with others, while she continued to drink and essentially forgot them, so those left responsible would have to drive them home.  She missed major appearances and one can only imagine that she was in a bitter world of her own. George had truly tried, but the bottom line was that he had finally had enough and left Grace, for good.

To add insult to injury, Grace Metalious never became rich from writing Peyton Place, as she did not maintain money from any of her publications.  In fact, her agent plundered most of her income and at the time of her death, she was penniless and in debt.

Early in life, the Pandora in Blue Jeans had had health issues, especially during childbirth.  Upon the birth of her first child, her physician advised her not to have any more children.  She kept this knowledge secret from George and painfully had 2 more children.  After the 3rd child was born, she finally conceded to have her "tubes tied." 

Grace had also been generous, after Peyton Place hit the book stands.  Fair-weather friends and family crawled out of the woodwork to ask her for money.  Never hesitating, she freely wrote checks out to anyone indicating that they were in need.

At the end of her short life; and, with her husband and money gone, Grace was associated with a British journalist working for the Boston Mirror.  His name was John Rees.  At the time, Rees apparently had a wife of 15 years, along with 5 children but had reported to others that he was single.   His disgraceful behavior deeply embarrassed his wife, Anthea, who only had knowledge of his friendship with Grace in a professional capacity.   Apparently, he had told his wife that he was in the states to obtain a job with the newspapers.  Rees had been present at the hospital at the time of Grace's death, when the doctor quietly told him that she had died at 10:30 a.m.

Grace had died from cirrhosis of the liver at Beth Israel Hospital in Boston on Tuesday, February 25, 1964.  She was only 39 years old. 

Just hours before her death, Grace had changed her will to leave everything to Rees; but, thankfully, the Metalious family was eventually able to reverse this.  Little did it matter in the end, (as previously mentioned) she died heavily in debt.  She had received no royalties for her movies or the television series.  

One of her final wishes was that the family not hold a funeral for her, as she wanted her body to be donated to science, but Harvard refused it in the midst of prevailing lawsuits.  The most prominent legal matter in which the New Hampshire court ruled that her funeral would be held, is known as Holland vs. Metalious, which set a legal precedent that the rights of the body of the deceased belong to the family.  (Attorney, John Holland was the Executor of the Estate).  The family held a funeral, where the children witnessed their father weeping as they knelt near the casket. 

Her body was placed in a vault in the Smith Meeting House Cemetery in Gilmanton, and her burial had to wait until the following Spring when she could be buried, as the ground was frozen at the time of her death.  It is said that the family had received several phone calls stating that they did not want "that bitch" buried in their town. 

One thing that is apparent, is that Grace's presence both while living and posthumously, left an indelible mark in the town of Gilmanton and around the world - whether for good or ill - she opened the door to feminism and boldly went were no woman had gone before.

Story and research by Denise Goodwin, All Rights Reserved.  
November 20, 2015
All photo credits:  Google Images / Pinterest

QUEEN NEFARIOUS

The following poem is an epic tale that I have written in rhyme. 

Obviously, it represents good vs. evil (Light and Dark).

I hope you enjoy it!

~Denise

Long ago, a modest kingdom had risen,

When the King took a damsel from a dismal prison.

She became the Queen, as a woman of exceptional beauty;

She secretly sought the throne; and to rule it, absolutely.

She warned the lovesick Lord of a looming threat,

and revealed to him the mysteries of the undead.

Together they traveled to many lands,

To conquer evil; and, Darkness, to disband.

They commanded elite knights, upon which they relied,

To crush and kill the inhabitants of all who defy.

The Queen gave to each, (scores of men), a golden ring,

bearing the Dragon emblem of the King.

And, a mighty kingdom was built upon the ground of the defeated;

They had vanquished the Dark, and it slowly receded.

Ships docked on land with many seeking the Light,

Bells rang daily, to signal the Sentries, that more had arrived.

And peace fell upon the land, like a summer's trickling stream.

A peace so deep, it was like the memories of a dream.

Lo, darkness returned, because the Kingdom was cursed;

Buried secrets, of myth and magic, were unearthed.

For in the depths of the castle lived a secluded mage,

Who knew the Queen was not really whom she portrayed.

She was the undead, who sought souls to feed her hunger,

She must feast on the souls of the young and the tender.

To sustain her perpetual resurrection, I must mention;

That betwixt the silken folds of her sweeping gown,

She detained the unwilling souls of the dead;

And, no one could hear their wailing laments,

For as long as she wore the imperial crown.

And, so the mage surreptitiously warned the king,

Of the impending doom, she soon would bring.

Suspicion and trepidation slowly increased,

And, across the land, returned terrible beasts.

Many who visited the castle, soon disappeared,

And the people of the region, quietly feared;

The King considered how to preserve the land's fate,

He knew he must smother the shadow and tend the flame.

But, the misty veil grew, casting Darkness from dawn to twilight,

As the Queen summoned greater power from the Eternal Night.

The King, knew he must defy and defeat the cursed Queen,

He summoned the Mage and together, they schemed.

Rushing the stairs, she refused to open the throne door;

Challenging his authority, justifying her insatiable lust for more.

The Mage advised the King they must summon a great fire,

For only Light can extinguish her great desire.

And from his cloak, he produced a seemingly ordinary ember,

But the dull Light radiated an eerie glow, as if it remembered.

A great wind, from his staff,  the mage suddenly produced,

Igniting the ember, and a white Light was unloosed.

A weak Light slowly fell through the castle door cracks,

Then, lightning erupted and thunder clapped,

The Queen could be heard tumbling, expelling a gasp.

The forged hinges and wood were torn from the threshold,

With tortured screams, and burning with merciless holes;

The Queen collapsed and released the souls that were chained,

Charred soot, and Her crown was all that remained.

And Light grew across the Kingdom, and fires again burned,

The tiny ember still flickered, and, humanity returned.

Now the great King lives in peace, and quite alone,

High in the turret on his majestic throne;

He contemplates both the Darkness and Light.

Pondering their secrets, though, still unknown,

The King keeps vigil both day and night,

For neither truly have a beginning, nor an end.

He tends the dying ember, as each night descends.


© Denise Goodwin, November 14, 2015
All rights reserved.

A Veteran in my Family

Veteran's Day has passed; however, a link to a newspaper article that was written by my father (Gerald Hinckley) and, was shared on Facebook by my cousin, Tiffany.  I had actually forgotten about this article that my Dad wrote in honor of my Uncle Burt.  During the 1940's, my Uncle Burt was a World War II Radio Operator-Gunner.  The following article was published in the Rutland Herald, April 28, 2008.  Here is Uncle Burt's harrowing, albeit exciting, story of his life during this era.  Thanks to my family for sharing this!  
***To differentiate any of my comments, or where I posted images, Burt's story appears in white font and was copied and pasted directly from the Rutland Herald article.***   

IN HIS OWN WORDS

Tech. Sgt. Burt Hinckley died in March 2007. His story is told in his own words, from diaries and letters he left behind, compiled by his brother, Gerald Hinckley.

Source: universityicons.com

I was in my second year at Green Mountain Junior College in Poultney [Vermont] when my draft call came, March 8, 1943. My father was working at the Rutland Induction Center as a clerk, with the additional assignment of testing eyes, when my group came through. There was some doubt about my eyes because I had been hit in my left eye with flying glass when I was a child, but they were all right.

We went by train from Rutland to Fort Devens, Mass., for processing. There was quite a crowd at the train station to see us off. I had been told that we would be tested at Devens, so I knew what was coming. We had about four hours sleep when we were given an aptitude test that separated me and one other fellow from our group for Air Force training. The rest went to the Army engineers.

Fort Devens during the 1940's - Source: wikimedia.commons

From Devens I was sent to Miami Beach for Air Force basic training. We lived in hotels in stripped-down rooms, four men to a room. Every morning we were marched two miles to our training area, back at noon and again in the afternoon, for eight weeks. On Wednesday and Saturday afternoons there were parades of more than 10,000 men. After basic training, I was sent to radio operator/mechanic school at Scott Field, Ill.

The radio operator/mechanic school was for 22 weeks. In the mechanics class, we began by building a radio receiver from a kit and a schematic. Then a transmitter the same way. From there we learned about radios in bombers, command sets of low-frequency, push-button tuning (used by pilots), antennas and repairs.

Equipment carried by a Radio-Operator - Source: Pinterest

There was Morse code training for three hours every day. We were trained to use signal lamps as well. When our classes were over, we were given a ride in a Piper Cub airplane, my first! The pilot took me up 10,000 feet, then did every kind of acrobatics he knew to see if I would be sick or panic. He was disappointed on both counts.

From Scott Field, I went to Aerial Gunnery School in Harlingen, Texas, where we fired everything from .45 pistols to 50 caliber machine guns. There were shotguns and skeet shoots, on foot and from the backs of trucks — you name it! For our final session we flew in the back of a trainer, firing 30 caliber machine guns at sleeve targets towed through the air.

LEFT: My beautiful Aunt Jean (Burt's wife) pictured with her sister in law, Mary Lou Lamphere 
(My Dad's sister and my wonderful Aunt).

After all this, I was given a 29-day furlough. I went to my brother Donnie's wedding in Maine, and met Jean Beckwith from Belfast, Maine, who would become my wife. It was a long train ride to Salt Lake City where I was picked up by the crew I would fly combat missions with.

There were nine of us assigned to a B-24. We flew all over the western U.S.

Cockpit of a B-24 - Source:  militaryfactory

We found out we were going overseas, and were given a five-day furlough. I hitched a ride to Bangor, Maine, on a B-24 that was headed for England. I had 24 hours in West Rutland before catching a train for Topeka, Kansas, arriving just minutes before our official crew photo was taken. The date was June 6, 1944, known to the world as D-Day.

Omaha Beach, D-Day 6/6/1944 - Source:  google images

From Camp Kilmer, N.J., we boarded the Athlone Castle, a converted British liner, for our trip to England. It was jammed with infantry. Breakfast was porridge and figs, then nothing until supper.

For entertainment, we could watch the boxer Billy Conn count a big wad of cash he carried with him or watch others playing poker on the fantail of the ship. There were 62 ships in our convoy and ours was short of signal men. I volunteered, and for four hours each day, sent and received Morse code messages with signal lamps. It was an interesting experience, to say the least. When we docked in England, the Queen Mary came alongside, with the Glenn Miller band aboard.

Our orders were for the 392nd bomb group in Wendeling, England. We flew there in a stripped-down B-24, whose pilot thought he was flying a fighter plane. Someone had already named our living quarters "The Purple Heart" barracks (not a good omen) and we flew our first combat mission a few days later.

We were dropping 500-pound bombs on shipyards at Bremen, Germany. We didn't see any fighters, but German flak was uncomfortably close. Their gunners had to aim at where the formation would be 17 seconds later, and they were good at it. In turn, we would throw out "chaff," which were aluminum strips about 8 inches long, through a special slot in the aircraft. This was to confuse their artillery radar, but it still was too close for comfort. Some of the flak was green or red on explosion, and we found out later the Germans used this as signals to their fighter planes. We counted 100 holes in our plane when we got back. On our second mission, our nose wheel was blown away, and the whole crew had to go to the back of the aircraft so the pilot could keep the nose up for our landing.

German Chaff - wikipedia

All of our flights except one were at altitudes of 20,000 to 25,000 feet, with temperatures from minus 50 to 65. During the night, the planes had been repaired, then were loaded with 2,700 gallons of aviation fuel and 8,000 pounds of bombs. The kind of bomb depended on the mission, but usually we carried 500 pounders.

The signal to start engines was a green flare. We taxied to our position, with a plane taking off every 30 seconds. Our runway was 6,500 feet and we weighed 65,000 pounds. We climbed to formation altitude of about 20,000 feet, looking for the flares of our lead plane. By our 19th mission, we were flying lead plane on a high-right section. Lead planes were the favorite targets of the German ack-ack crews and their fighters.

B-24 dropping bombs - Source:  modelismo-wehrmacht-info.com

Every man was cross-trained to take over another's job if for some reason they couldn't do it. I was crossed trained as a gunner, and because I could leave my post, I was the First Aid man, as well.

Our base in England was very close to the village of Beeston, and they only had one pub, "The Plowshare," or something.

One evening some of us went there. Coming from a strong Baptist family, I didn't drink, but the others sampled the stuff. A week or so later, I got a letter from my sister Mary Lou, saying my mother had a dream about me visiting an English pub. She described the place, the bartender and who was there, even to where I was sitting.

Burt with is mother, Gertrude Hinckley

Another weird experience happened in the air on our 11th or 12th mission. We were over France when our tail gunner noticed a B-24 behind and below us. Our gunner told the pilot and after a time, the pilot told him to keep an eye on him, and if it looked as though he was leaving the formation, to shoot him down.

It was a known fact that the Germans had built a few planes that looked like ours from scraps. They would try to join a formation to determine our target and radio it to their people on the ground. Our gunner dropped his guns right dead on the pilot's window, and we flew that way for the next hour and a half.

We watched him during the bomb run, and could see his bombs falling, but it was scary because we almost shot down one of our own planes.

Our most challenging mission had to be Operation Market Garden. It was Gen. Montgomery's idea to drop paratroopers behind enemy lines to capture two bridges and the Germans cut them off.

You probably know it as the *movie "A Bridge Too Far." We were carrying mortar and other ammo when we went in about 50 feet off the ground.

*Vermont DeadLine note:   The miniseries "Band of Brothers" portrays "Operation Market Garden" on an episode.  Here is the YouTube video:

We could see the Dutch civilians waving, and German soldiers shooting at us. Our bombardier was wounded, one gas tank was ruptured and our hydraulic system had been shot away. There were so many bullet holes in the fuselage it took the ground crew three days to patch them all. There were more people killed and wounded on this mission than any other we flew.

It was in the oldest plane in the fleet and the only one painted khaki that we flew the supply mission.

Later, its history became a very personal thing for me. After being repaired, it flew its next mission. As a member of the lead crew, I flew with them and we landed safely.

Its next flight was a practice one with a whole new crew. One engine quit on take off, a second engine died on the downwind leg and a third gave up on the final approach. The plane "pancaked" short of the runway and caught fire. The rest of the crew got out with only minor injuries, but the radio man, in the waist to check the landing gear, was evidently unconscious.

The ammunition started exploding and they couldn't get him out. This was the plane No. 478 that was immortalized in a painting by the British artist William S. Phillips, "No Empty Bunks Tonight."

No Empty Bunks Tonight by William S. Phillips

Our last mission was also the farthest in flight to Dresden, Germany. We made our bomb run, and started back. We were running out of gas and our pilot decided to land at a base in Merville, France. I ran out an antenna and sent a message in English to base we were landing, both of which we were forbidden to do.

I got the antenna reeled back in, and didn't say a word to anyone. Later we were told that our plane was the only one in the entire flight that they knew where we were. It was January, and every single air field in England was shut down. We flew back to our base the next day.

There were some things that even the Army recognized as being too important to let business interfere with. When we came back for our 12th mission, the return briefing was postponed because the Glenn Miller Band was giving a concert in one of the hangers.

Burton Hinckley is pictured wearing a bomber's jacket, in the bottom row, 2nd from the left.

I guess you could say our luck held because our next mission was scheduled for Berlin. Our nose wheel went through the concrete runway before take off, and the mission for us was aborted. Later, I had the opportunity to meet Gen. Jimmy Doolittle at a rest area in England. He stood and talked with a bunch of us. He was a real nice guy and certainly the most important hand I ever shook.

The official name of our crew was "Twining," but we wanted something more colorful. I had suggested "Ned's Nasty Nine." Everyone liked it, and we had our flight jackets so painted. Below the name were 29 bombs and a parachute, which I was pretty proud of.

Note: Here is another person from Burt's crew, I found online at findagrave.com:
John E "J E" Largen, Jr. 6/29/1923 to 5/2/2010

I came back to the States aboard the "Ile de France" with a bunch of wounded soldiers. After a furlough home I reported to Atlantic City, N.J., for reassignment. I had heard there was a certain captain who was looking for people to help him sell war bonds. I volunteered for this and was given a month's time on TDY. We gave speeches about our experiences in schools, factories and steel mills in Pennsylvania. I told them about our low-level mission to Holland. I finished the war as a radio flight instructor at Scott Field, Ill., right where I had started a year or so before.

Today when people express a fear of flying to me, I remind them that we flew in planes, designed, built, flown and maintained by amateurs — plus being shot at — 30 times and returned home safely.

Burton Hinckley

A pic of my sister irritating me with a plastic Coca Cola bottle,  
at a family reunion in the Senior Center, in Springfield, Vermont (1990's).  
Uncle Burt is behind me, 
and it appears he was wisely ignoring this nonsense.

Left to right:  Rose Hinckley, Mary Lou Lamphere, Edwin "Mac" Lamphere, Marjorie Anderson and Rev. Donald Hinckley

Another Veteran in our family:  In the center of this photo, above, is my Uncle "Mac" (Edwin Lamphere).  He was a a combat medic during World War II.  He survived an amazing tour of 5 theater campaigns during World War II.  Uncle Mac was a quiet, dignified man who did not speak of his career during that era, but my father was also able to obtain his story.  I shall post this, on another day.

Here I am, in the back, after graduating from Basic Training at Fort Leonardwood, MO in  November, 1996.  On this day (at age 32!) I was chosen to receive the End of Cycle Perfect Score training award, on behalf of the Battalion.  I was so honored to receive this award, and to have my parents in attendance.  
My father took this picture.

Private First Class Denise Hinckley, 
Fort Leonardwood, MO  Nov. 1996

Publication originally written by Gerald A. Hinckley (deceased on 12/29/13).  Story submitted by Denise Goodwin, All Rights Reserved.
November 13, 2015