‘Steel Yourself,’ WWII Bomber Pilot, 101, Tells Air Force ROTC Cadets

John “Jack” Bertram, born in the waning days of the Woodrow Wilson administration, recently spent nearly two hours with a group of University of Virginia Air Force ROTC cadets. He discussed his experience as a B-17 bomber pilot over Europe during World War II.

Bertram, who flew 36 missions over enemy territory, stood slightly stooped at the podium for his March 26 talk, held in the Colonnade Club on UVA’s Grounds. He surveyed the cadets. They were dressed in their civilian clothes, since it was not an official Air Force ROTC function.

The 101-year-old Bertram joked that the room, with its young, eager faces, hard wooden chairs and a black-out curtain across the south-facing windows, reminded him of the room where the B-17 pilots were briefed on their missions.

“A lot more effort went into creating this than went into those briefings,” he said.

Bertram was dapper in his blue blazer and khaki trousers, his white hair thinned on top. He spoke in a soft, but firm voice. His mind sailing back in time, Bertram recalled for the cadets some of what he experienced in a war that ended more than 50 years before they were born.

“The enormity of World War II was indescribable worldwide,” he said. “There were 16 million [American] men and women who served and there were 9 million overseas. And the training in this country was unbelievable. On the bad side, there were 12,000 deaths in training in the United States.”

He said the skies were full of airplanes around the training centers, and there was no air traffic control for them.

“When you were up there, you were on your own,” he said.

Bertram addresses Air Force ROTC cadets about his experiences flying in World War II.

Bertram, drafted in 1942, flew B-17 Flying Fortresses as a first lieutenant in the 95th Bomb Group, the only Bomb Group awarded three presidential citations. The group was stationed out of Horham, England, from June 1943 to May 1945. He flew two missions on D-Day, a moment in history about which the cadets were highly interested.

Bertram said the air crews, when they were brought in for their morning briefing, didn’t realize they were flying support for the land invasion of Europe – until the commander pulled back a curtain to reveal the maps.

“We were so excited, we were jumping up and down,” Bertram said. “We were thrilled to be part of D-Day. You can’t imagine how meaningful that was to us. That is what we were there for, and what we prayed for.”

While he flew two bombing missions on D-Day, Bertram gave credit to the troops on the ground.

When asked about his own perilous missions, Bertram described a bombing run to Munich. Anti-aircraft fire struck the plane after it had dropped its bombs, blowing a hole in the underside and disabling the crew’s oxygen. The damage forced them to a cruising altitude of 5,000 feet, down from their usual 17,000. He had to fly back to England, the crippled bomber unaccompanied by protective fighter planes.

His plane was also disabled in a mission to supply the French resistance. The crew were unable to close the bomb bay doors, and Bertram had to fly the plane back to England that way.

For his service, Bertram received the Europe Campaign Medal, the WWII Victory Medal, the Normandy Invasion Medal, an Air Medal with Five Oak Leaf Clusters, a Distinguished Flying Cross Medal and a French Legion of Honor Medal.

“I was fortunate to have a marvelous crew, a crew that flew every mission,” Bertram said. “I am very proud of them.”

When asked about casualties, he said he dealt with them “silently,” because it was out of his control. Seeing planes shot down was an inevitable part of the missions, but he learned to control his fears.

“It is a discipline you establish,” he said. “You know it isn’t going to be easy, so you steel yourself to the fact that you were going to come back. I always left a very positive feeling with my crew that there is no question we are going to come back. You couldn’t survive living in fear, even though we had fear. You were setting an example. I wouldn’t want to be flying with somebody who wasn’t sure of themselves and didn’t have a positive view. I kept that very strong, and it helped me later in life when I got into business. I didn’t really have any fears. I wasn’t afraid of people, and it taught me to be decisive.”

While he advised the cadets that they were entering an air corps that was much more scientific and technological than in his time, Bertram said the important thing was attitude.

“My best advice is to have the right attitude, a positive attitude, knowing you are going to make it,” he said. “That is pretty critical. Approach the thing in your mind with no doubts you are going to make it. The field you are going to go into is far more advanced than what we had to work with. The technology is changing by the month, and it takes a lot of young, vital, severely interested and dedicated people to move along in the Air Force today. I think if I were in there today, I would probably be sweeping the streets.”

Bertram reminded the cadets that the military exists for the same reason today that it did more than 70 years ago – to protect the country. He said he is concerned about the current state of world affairs, which includes active warring by Russia in Ukraine.

Bertram shares a story with Air Force Cadet Alma Wolf.

“The situation has shaken me personally, probably more so than most people, because of my involvement in World War II,” he said. “It is sad, pathetic and frightening. I am sure we will bring it under control, but it is a very nervous situation.”

Air Force Cadet Jessica Bachman said the talk both gave her pause and inspired her.

“I think especially during these tensions with Russia, I have more insight on how large-scale WWII was, and how close we could be to having another one,” she said. “Nevertheless, he managed to take the looming conflict and motivate us to love what we’re going to do, which is protect the United States.”

The talk was a history lesson for Air Force Cadet Alma Wolf as well.

“I have met several Vietnam veterans, but never a veteran who served in World War II,” Wolf said. “Meeting Jack gave me a greater understanding of the magnitude of World War II in a more personal way, rather than just seeing numbers and facts in books, and also emphasized just how recently this terrible conflict occurred. It helps me see current geo-political and military conflicts in a new light.”

Dr. Gregory Saathoff, a professor at UVA’s School of Medicine, arranged the appearance, which was recorded by the Colonnade Club and ParadeRest Virginia. The nonprofit ParadeRest group previously recorded an oral history interview with Bertram that is now archived with many other area histories in the Library of Congress’ Veterans’ Oral History Project.