news-record.com

Bill Beavers has an infectious smile. That smile made him a top salesman for Greensboro's Cliff Weil Wholesale, from which Beavers retired in October with 55 years of service. He requested retirement in 1992 but was coaxed into a 16-year "soft retirement."

It must be hard to break away when you're winning trips for your family to Hawaii, Acapulco, Puerto Rico, Alaska and the Bahamas. And going to sales meetings at the Doral, Pinehurst and Greenbrier.

Beavers, raised in a Christian home, made his profession of faith at age 10 at Asheboro Street Baptist Church. He lived in Raleigh during middle school and "golfed about every day at Carolina Pines," he said.

Beavers worked as assistant golf professional at Gillespie Golf Course after graduating from Greensboro High School. In the throes of WWII, he worked as a welder in Wilmington before joining the Army.

"I signed up for Combat Engineers to use my welding experience, but a guy with a bird on his shoulder said I was going to the Army Air Corps." Soon, he was off to Keesler Field, Biloxi, Miss., for basic training.

"When the CO learned I was a scratch golfer, he and I golfed while others were taking serious hikes!"

Next came B-17 gunnery training and overseas training, where Waist Gunner Beavers and his crew were issued their new B-17 "Flying Fortress."

For a "break-in" flight they flew to Foggia, Italy, where they joined Squadron 340, 97th Bomb Group, 15th Air Force, to "destroy Germany's ability to wage war."

On its first combat mission, "we were attacked by five German fighter planes." The crew soon progressed to "lead crew," first plane over targets.

"On about our 30th bombing mission -- Ploesti, Romania -- we had an engine shot out, a second engine failed, then the third lost power. We flew hundreds of miles on one engine before crash-landing," he said.

"We were praying to make it over the Adriatic Sea to safer haven in Italy before ditching."

Beavers was wounded in the crash and awarded a Purple Heart. Later, the Air Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters was added to his military decorations, plus five bronze battle stars.

"The most dangerous place to be in WWII was in a bomber over Germany," according to "Bombers of WWII" by Jeffrey L. Ethell.

With a new pilot and different B-17, Beavers and several of his original crewmen returned to action. They completed 30 sorties and 57 combat missions.

The night before Mission 57, "a strange guy none of us knew came into our barracks talking about a time when his parachute failed to open. He showed us how to unsnap the parachute, allowing it to open, should the ripcord happen to fail."

Beavers believes that strange guy could have been an angel.

The next day, anti-aircraft flak took out their No. 2 engine and wounded the bombardier. "We'll have to bail out," ordered the new pilot.

Beavers and his experienced buddies suggested they try for safe harbor in Switzerland, six minutes away.

"The cockpit was quiet until someone yelled the pilot and co-pilot had already jumped," he said. "We were all scared to death to jump, but our tail gunner was a big guy from Texas. He had always insisted we not worry, he would personally kick our butts out, one by one."

"When his time came, the Texan froze, and we had to boot his butt out," joked Beavers.

Beavers' parachute failed. He remembered the guy from the night before, followed his instructions and landed safely.

Beavers landed in Fussen, Germany, by the Nazi Wehrmacht. Via boxcar and foot, he was taken to a POW Camp at Nuremburg. Each day on their journey, Allied Forces bombed or strafed the POW convoy. "We figured to be killed, we just didn't know by whom!"

From Nuremburg, aviation POWs were marched to Frankfort's Dulag Luft, a Luftwaffe Interrogation Camp.

Finally, after a 10-day march, the POWs arrived in Moosburg's Stalag 7. "The German guards didn't have much to eat themselves, so we had less. We pilfered and lifted what we could along the roadside and villages -- I can tell you, raw radishes will set your mouth afire!"

Stalag 7, about 20 miles northeast of Munich, was built in 1939 to house 10,000 prisoners. When liberated in April 1945, one report said it housed 7,948 officers and 6,944 enlisted POWs, from every Allied country.

"I will never forget those tanks rolling in, the guards rolling out, and a spiffy U.S. general with pearl-handled revolvers atop the lead tank -- it was thrilling."

Patton spent May 1 visiting with the liberated POWs.

Staff Sgt. Beavers, who had lost 50 pounds, was flown to Camp Lucky Strike, near Le Havre, France, for medical attention, then by liberty ship to New York. He volunteered for KP duty. "That way, I could eat all day; I was perpetually hungry!"

After the war, Beavers returned to Gillespie Golf Course as assistant pro for several years before joining Cliff Weil Wholesale in 1953.

He undoubtedly invoked that infectious smile again to win and woo the hand of Mary Martin, whom he married on June 26, 1955. The Beaverses had two children, Randy, who died as a young adult, and Melody, who lives in Matthews. Ashleigh, 20, is the only grandchild.

Beavers once made a par four hole in one. But Mary was in the hospital expecting their first child, so who could he tell?

Mary and Bill Beavers were youth ministry coordinators in their Methodist Church for more than 30 years before joining Friendly Avenue Baptist Church in 1998. Among leadership roles at FABC, they organize and lead fundraising events to support outreach and missions projects -- would you believe golf tournament fundraisers?

Beavers isn't a name-dropper, but you should know this. Gen. Jimmy Doolittle was the first Commanding Officer of his 15th Air Force, and the Enola Gay's Paul Tibbetts once commanded Beavers's Squadron 340.

Harry Thetford retired as store manager of Sears Friendly Center in 1990. Contact him at Htthetford@aol.com.