Mack Fitzgerald was a 4th generation Irishman who was born and raised in Fitzgerald, Georgia. His father was a farmer. He attended high school but did not graduate, instead leaving school to begin work with the Sears and Roebuck Company in Macon, Georgia. He worked there for approximately one year before the attack on Pearl Harbor, after which he and a friend went and enlisted (they felt that they were going to be drafted anyway, and they wanted to have their choice of service). He was accepted into the Army Air Force and sent to Columbus, Georgia for induction. Following that, he was sent to Wichita Falls, Texas where he trained as a mechanic. He was then sent to the Consolidated Aircraft plant in San Diego, California for more training [Annotator’s Note: based on the manufacturer, location, and details later in the interview, this was likely for the B-24 Liberator]. Subsequently, he went to Tucson, Arizona where his crew came together and flew some flights prior to going to Omaha, Nebraska where they picked up their aircraft. He describes that they flew that same aircraft until they crashed in Romania [Annotator’s Note: this is described later in the interview]. He remarks that they continued their flying training at multiple sites to include Wendover Field, Utah before being told they were being sent overseas. They proceeded first to MacDill Field, Florida, before heading south to Brazil from where they flew to Marrakesh, Morocco. Leaving Marrakesh, they flew to their home station of Norwich, England. After a trip to Belfast, Northern Ireland, for some aircraft modifications, they returned to Norwich and began their operational flying.

Mack Fitzgerald was a B-24 Liberator flight engineer from Georgia, assigned to the 409th Bombardment Squadron, 93rd Bombardment Group, 8th Air Force. He was captured after his airplane made a forced landing following the 01 August 1943 raid on Ploesti, Romania. Having spent just over a year as a Prisoner of War (POW), he was repatriated near Bucharest, Romania in September, 1944. He and other POWs were transported from Bucharest to Bari, Italy via flights of B-17 Flying Fortresses that were escorted by P-51 Mustangs. Once they had had a few days of rest, they were flown to London, England for debriefing. Following that, they returned to their original base in Norwich, England, where they stayed until December, 1944 when they returned to the United States. After some leave, he was sent first to Cochran Field, Georgia, and then to Warner Robins Field, Georgia, where he became a flight inspector for repaired aircraft. He was eventually discharged in July, 1945 after which he returned to his hometown of Fitzgerald, Georgia, where he took up a job working for a furniture store and an undertaker. After some 10 years, he went back to work for Sears Company (where he had worked before the war). He expresses that it’s important for people to understand the war and the sacrifices that were necessary to bring it to a successful end. He also expresses that people must understand the nature of war and that everything should be done to prevent such a war from happening in the future.

Mack Fitzgerald was a Georgian who enlisted in the Army Air Force after the Pearl Harbor attack. He was trained as a mechanic and was stationed at various stateside locations prior to being sent overseas as a member of the 409th Bombardment Squadron, 93rd Bombardment Group, 8th Air Force. Initially based at Norwich, England, he and his crew flew several missions over France and Germany before being sent to Benghazi, Libya. Trained as a B-24 Liberator flight engineer, he had received instruction in all manner of aircraft systems, e.g. engines, propellors, etc. During flight, in addition to his duties to ensure proper function of the various systems, he manned the top turret as a gunner. He describes the B-24 as, “very reliable.” When they arrived at Benghazi, the squadron began to train for low-level bombing, which at the time they had no idea as to why. He briefly describes how his entire group trained together and that the mission they were ultimately to fly “would have been perfect” had not the timing been thrown off by events going to the target area [Annotator’s Note: the day of the mission is described in detail in the following section of the interview].

Mack Fitzgerald was from Georgia and he enlisted in the Army Air Force. After training as a B-24 Liberator flight engineer, he was sent overseas as a member of the 409th Bombardment Squadron, 93rd Bombardment Group, 8th Air Force. His squadron was located in Benghazi, Libya, where they had been training on low-level bombing. [Annotator’s Note: while the interviewee does not specify, it’s clear from his previous description of training and the events in this clip that the mission being described is the 01 August 1943 raid on the oil refineries in Ploesti, Romania.] He recounts that the morning of the mission they awoke very early and that the planes had been fueled and armed. His plane had an extra 500 gallon bladder of fuel installed into the bomb bay, otherwise they would not have had the fuel to make the approximately 3,000 mile roundtrip to the target and back. The takeoff was uneventful with the group forming up over the Mediterranean Sea before proceeding to southern Italy, which was one of their turn points. As they approached land, there was significant cloud cover over mountainous terrain which led to the group scattering and then trying to re-form once through the clouds. As his plane approached the target area, they encountered thick black smoke from fires that had been started by bombs dropped by squadrons that preceded them. There were also barrage balloons. He describes being very scared as he saw a nearby airplane crash into a brick building, but his airplane managed to make it through the target area. One or more of the plane’s engines had been damaged during the bombing run and the plane began losing power, so he and the pilots looked around for a suitable landing area. They were able to set the plane down in a nearby wheat field and everyone in the crew was able to evacuate but the bombardier, who was trapped when the nose wheel collapsed once the plane landed (Fitzgerald comments that he was later rescued by the Romanians). The rest of the crew save for the copilot and navigator had been wounded, but were able to travel. Their briefed plan was to try and make their way to Turkey, so he and one of the waist gunners set out accordingly. The following day (after having rested during the evening), they decided that Turkey was too far to realistically travel and they came across a local farmer, who took them to a crossroads where they found someone who could speak English. They were then taken to a local hospital, where they joined other aircrew from the mission.

Mack Fitzgerald was from Georgia and he enlisted in the Army Air Force. Having trained as a B-24 Liberator flight engineer, he was stationed overseas as a member of the 409th Bombardment Squadron, 93rd Bombardment Group, 8th Air Force. His squadron participated in the 01 August 1943 mission against Ploesti, Romania, during which his airplane was damaged and made a crash-landing in a nearby field. After a brief period of time, he and the other crewman with whom he was traveling were taken prisoner by the Romanians. Since they were both slightly wounded, they were taken to a local hospital where they met other members of their crew including their pilot and bombardier (who had been trapped in the airplane’s fuselage when the airplane crash-landed). He describes being well treated by the Romanians, to include the military honors they provided to the bombardier, who died some 7-10 days after being captured. He and the others were taken to a Prisoner of War (POW) camp outside of Sinaia, Romania. The camp was a converted school and their treatment was very humane. They even were provided a radio with which they could monitor the progress of the war (the radio was occasionally confiscated for infractions of rules, then later returned). He shares an account of Princess Catherine Caradja, a Romanian who ensured that the Americans were well treated and went so far as to stay in contact with many of them after the war. He notes that the hardest thing about his POW experience was the confinement; the prisoner’s moral was excellent and they occupied their time with pinochle, chess, and volleyball. They were able to communicate with their families at home, albeit on a sporadic basis. They were able to receive American Red Cross packages, which were especially good for augmenting their otherwise somewhat sparse food. The prisoners were also active in tunneling in an effort to escape; he describes tunnels that included lighting and air bellows for ventilation. They were able to dispose of the dirt that resulted from tunneling in a variety of ways. Unfortunately, they were never able to effect an escape; he recounts one instance where two prisoners managed to sneak out after dark, but they were quickly recaptured. Fitzgerald comments that he never felt threatened while a POW. Once Italy had been invaded and the Air Force was able to launch raids from Italy, they began to see American airplanes on their way to and from targets. Since they were able to listen to the British Broadcasting Company (BBC), they knew that the Russians were advancing from the east. On 31 August 1944, the Romanians announced to them that the war was over and they were taken to a mountain village where he stayed several days with a local family. Afterwards, he was taken near Bucharest, where he joined numerous other American POWs.