Highlights of WWII experiences r

Highlights of WWII experiences reflect a life twice spared
BY PATTY WOOD BARTLE

December 7, 1941 Pearl Harbor had been bombed. America was at war. Men across the United States were being drafted to serve in the war effort. Floyd Fredenburg decided to enlist. On January 7, 1942 he reported to duty with the army air corps.

He began as an aviation cadet and received pilot training. He completed bombardier/navigator training in December 1942. He was told to report to the West Coast. First he went to San Francisco and then to McCord Field in Washington. In April 1943 he was sent overseas as a member of the 42nd Bomb Group, first with the 390th Bomb Squadron and later attached to the 75th Bomb Squadron.

Fredenburg was in the Solomon Islands. He was the Battle of Guadalcanal first hand.

Fredenburg flew on 72 missions. It was on either his 53rd or 54th mission that their plane was shot down by Japanese ground fire. They were flying at a medium high altitude of 12,000 feet when two bursts hit the plane and knocked out both engines. "Our pilot was very capable and made a safe water landing. When we came to a stop, the hatch was opened and we used our floatation gear." The plane had two lifeboats to accommodate the six-member crew. One of the crew had been hit by shrapnel. To add to the men’s distress were sharks that kept circling and hitting the dinghy. The men tied the dinghies together so that they would not become separated. Fredenburg recalls there were six planes in the squadron. One of the other five planes stayed in the air at the site where the plane went down to help the navy locate the downed plane. They were in the water about 1½ hours before they were rescued.

It was the navy’s Dumbo, a flying boat that responded to the distress call and picked up the six-member crew. They were able to land on a calm sea off Rabaul and found the B-25 Jolly Rogers crew. Safely on board the Dumbo the men were returned to base. Fredenburg said once the men were all safe they shared they all had prayed and agreed "the Lord was with us."

Fredenburg shared a reporter with ‘Flying Magazine’ was on board the Dumbo when they got the call. He took photos and wrote a story that showed the Dumbo at work.

On another low-level mission, the wings of Fredenburg’s plane were hit by a 50-caliber machine gun. The vibration of the plane forced it to land Bougainville. It was there he met up with Merritt Ogren, Melvin Bork, Lyle Bethke and several others from the Edgeley area on duty with the ND National Guard 164th Infantry.

Fredenburg shared a little about his living conditions while stationed in the South Pacific. He said the tents were pretty good and allowed the soldiers to stay dry. During air raids the sirens would blow. The men had had it drilled into them that anytime they were out in the open they must wear their helmets. This requirement came after one member of the camp had been killed during the raids. One night, at 11:00 p.m. during an air raid they were required to leave their bunks. He was tired when he returned to his bunk so he laid the helmet next to him, rather than putting it away. As he got up to go on his mission, he accidently kicked the helmet and it rolled outside. Rather than be late, he grabbed it and took it with him on the plane. Since there was no place to put it, he wore it on the bombing run. Fredenburg said a piece of shrapnel breached the nose of the plane and glanced off his helmet, leaving an indentation. He showed the helmet to his commanding officer and shortly after that came an order that all crewmembers were to wear their helmets during bombing missions. Fredenburg felt again the Lord had kept him safe.

Fredenburg returned to the States in June 1944 and was assigned to Big Spring, Texas. While stationed there he trained other bombardiers. He married LaVerne Ogren on February 3, 1945. In 1945, as a First Lieutenant he was given the option for a promotion or to get out of the service. Floyd chose to get out and returned to Fargo, ND to finish his education at NDSU. He taught in Nortonville in 1948 and then moved to LaMoure where he taught a farm-training program for several years. They moved back to the farm in 1954. In 1959 he went into the insurance business but continued to farm and lived there until 1970. Floyd retired in 1982 and continues to remain active in church and community organizations.