Dear Bank of Prairie Village Community~
You may recall, back in December, I mentioned how the actor Jimmy Stewert was a decorated B-17 pilot flying missions with the 8th Air Force over Germany. At the time I did not know Apple Plus TV was coming out with a series on a particular squadron of the 8th Air Force entitled Masters of the Air.
In part, because I was interested in what I had read about Jimmy Stewart and the harrowing nature of flying an exposed bomber with a crew of 10 in broad daylight through anti-aircraft fire and swarms of German fighters, I decided to watch the Masters of the Air series.
What I did not know was that the series was based on the stories of real pilots, crews, and actual missions. The nature of the show appears more like an action drama. In fact, every detail of the planes, the bases, the uniforms, and the crews is completely accurate to the smallest detail.
I must admit I had a second reason for waiting to watch the Masters of the Air series. Surprisingly, it was based on a conversation I had with Kansas City businessman legend, Henry Bloch.
I had long admired Mr. Bloch. To me, he was a role model. Early in the days of the Bank of Prairie Village, I invited him to the Bank to speak to our summer interns. To my surprise he agreed.
During the course of the conversation, he mentioned he served in World War II. It was a casual mention. In fact, I believe he only commented about coming home from the war and starting his business with his brother. I began to draw him out on his war time service.
He began by saying he was in the Army Air Corps. He then mentioned he was based in England. As I kept asking questions, he finally said, he was a navigator on B-17s in the 8th Air Force.
At this point my mind started to spin. Somewhere I remembered the casualty rate for 8th Air Force Bombing crews was somewhere in the neighborhood of 75 percent.
I mentioned this to Mr. Bloch. His eyes flashed for just a second, as he realized I had an idea of what being an 8th Air Force B-17 navigator entailed. I asked him how he could have possibly sat still and charted the Bomber’s flying through anti-aircraft fire and German fighter planes.
Mr. Bloch explained he has a small desk in the front of the plane, where he mapped out the mission, and attempted to keep the plane on course. He said, “at times things really got wild.” I asked him for an example. For instance, he said, when the fighters started attacking, he would jump up and man a machine gun mounted outside his window. He smiled and said he was pretty sure he never hit anything, but at least it felt good to shoot back rather than simply sitting there and being shot at.
I kept pressing Mr. Bloch. Finally, he said, “Dan, on one mission, well before the target, I thought I would get up from my seat on the get up and grab a cup of coffee. Our Bomber was suddenly targeted by some unexpected anti-aircraft fire. I rushed back to my seat – only to find a large gaping hole where my seat was.” For one quick second I could see his eyes flash back to that vision of his blasted seat.
He then quickly changed the subject, and said, “Dan, the whole time I was over there, I told my Mother that as a “navigator” I sat back at the headquarter office charting routes – and never had to fly on missions. I did not want her to worry – and I was sure she would never figure out what I really did. She kept writing to me telling me how lucky I was to have such a safe back room administrative job.” Mr. Bloch then smiled and laughed about “pulling one over on his mom!”
Following his visit, I sat at my desk and thinking about what Mr. Bloch had really said. I started doing my “what ifs?” What if Mr. Bloch had not gotten up for that cup of coffee. Would there have been an H&R Block Company? What would the impact have been on Kansas City? I started calculating Mr. Bloch’s legacy – From the various jobs his company created, to his wisdom on the many business and community boards on which he served. I started thinking about all the artwork he donated to the Nelson Gallery and to the many charities he championed.
Yes, in one split instance it could have all been gone with a single shell from a German 88 anti-aircraft gun.
Over the years, I have often reflected on my conversation with Mr. Bloch and the seemingly randomness of life’s moments. We will never know the full extent of how his mere act of “getting a cup of coffee” could impact our entire Kansas City community.
I highly recommend the Masters of the Air series. In watching it, I can see Henry Bloch in his leather flying jacket stationed at his navigator’s seat, trying to map the B-17 Bomber’s route and simply trying to stay alive against the odds of a 75 percent casualty rate.
In a time when Kansas City has just experienced the cruelty of tragic random acts that make no sense, it is comforting to also know sometimes “randomness” can prove beneficial. The challenge of course is we tend to remember the randomness of the cruel and fail to dwell on the randomness of the beneficial.
As we go into March and Spring, let’s try to focus on all the randomness of our days and lives while paying particular attention to the positives of the “lucky breaks” throughout our day which we often fail to see or appreciate.
Yours in making our communities better during the coming fine Spring Season!
~ Dan Bolen
