“*Closed Out* Killed in Action Certified Correct”
A B-24 Pilot’s Archive of World War II Letters and Papers
On July 29, 1944, 2nd Lt. Barnard “Bernie” J. Eberhardt, and his aviator crew mates, were killed during a bombing mission to Bremen, Germany. Their B-24 (Liberator) bomber collided with another airplane and crashed into the North Sea, off the coast of England.
An archive of 125 letters from 1942–1945 and Eberhardt’s military papers document his war-time service. From aviation cadet to certified pilot. From Fort Worth, Texas and Moses Lake, Washington, back to Texas and on to Boise, Idaho and, finally, to England. The letters follow this young man’s journey.
What We Are Talking About — 2nd Lt. Bernard J. Eberhardt, Jr. et al. Archive of World War II Letters and Papers of B-24 Pilot 2nd Lt. Bernard J. Eberhardt, Jr., 1940–1945. [Texas, WashingtonState, Idaho, England. Approx. 250pp. 125 Letters + 6 additional items, including service record files, a photo postcard, a radio play script.
Eberhardt and his B-24 crew mates arrived in England just weeks before D-Day, June 6, 1944. Their year and a half of training and practicing were at an end. Before leaving the States, Eberhardt wrote to his parents and family:
All in all, I’m very pleased with the whole crew. Now if only I can do as well as I want to, we’ll be one of the best crews in the whole air corps. … We’re all anxious to get going without having instructors along with us all the time. The B-24 is a really good plane, a bit of a work to fly it right, and a nice responsibility. Something to think about and measure up to. I’m confident that, given a little time, a chance to really work with my crew, and a fair share of the breaks, we’ll make the grade with flying colors.
In a letter to his family dated July 11, 1944, Eberhardt wrote that his first war flight had to be aborted. In his final letter here to his parents on July 23, he speaks of a “practice mission” and expresses a hope for better times: “Maybe next year we can all have a vacation together.”
Right around this time, family letters sent to Eberhardt in June and July 1944 begin to be re-directed to their home in Philadelphia. The envelopes are stamped “Return to Sender” and “Missing.”
Missing as in “Missing in Action.” It took a while for these letters to be returned, but by August Eberhardt’s pregnant wife Betty is writing letters referring to her missing husband and efforts to find out what happened.
In December, bad news came to the family. First by telegram, then by official letter from the U.S. Army Adjutant General, Maj. Gen. J.A. Ulio:
It is with profound regret that I confirm the recent telegram informing you of the death of your son, Second Lieutenant Bernard J. Eberhardt, Jr. 0681359, Air Corps, who was previously reported missing in action since 29 July 1944 over the North Sea. …May the knowledge that he made the supreme sacrifice for his home and country be a source of sustaining comfort.
An official printed card of condolence from General George Marshall followed the next day.
Of the 125 letters in the collection, over 90 were written by Eberhardt. The rest are from his wife, military officials, and others. Also included here is Eberhardt’s official U.S. Army Air Forces “Individual Flight Record” and other military training records.
The flight record laconically notes: “*Closed Out* Killed in Action Certified Correct.” Other miscellaneous papers include a real photo postcard, an offprint from the Congressional Record about the “G.I. Bill,” and a 1940 radio script, This Living World: Our Civil Liberties.
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