They were called the ATC - Air Transport Command - and they were a relatively small group, charged with transportation of critical supplies and personnel around the world during World War II. Sometimes they flew the northern route via Newfoundland, through the Azores for refueling, and on to Casablanca. Sometimes they flew the southern route via Bermuda. And sometimes their missions were extended all the way across the Sahara Desert to Karachi, in present day Pakistan. The planes were not pressurized, and that meant flying at lower altitudes at slower speeds (165-175 mph). The planes were not air conditioned either, and that meant uncomfortable conditions.

In the early days of 1942, as American involvement in World War II was beginning, supplies, ships, and airplanes were in short supply. “We had no four engine airplanes,” Jack said, and converted B-24 bombers were used for awhile. In addition, the engines were good, he remembered, “but they’d quit on you.” In the event of trouble, the crew had to assess their position and determine if they had “reached the point of no return.” No one could have rescued them in the cold waters of the North Atlantic if they went down, and they would only have survived for fifteen minutes anyway. Further, early on the planes didn’t have sophisticated equipment. The navigator used the stars to help determine their position, and during cloudy days used dead reckoning. “You could get lost easily,” Jack said. Yes - they were on their own.

Their cargo, however, was important, especially during the winter of 1944-45. The ATC was charged with the transportation back home of casualties from the Battle of the Bulge. On the return flights, “the plane was loaded up with whole blood,” Jack recalled, for the injured. The planes were pushed hard, and the crews as well, as the C-54’s were landed every fifteen minutes. They were then loaded up with the wounded who had been waiting, stacked in the hangars, ready to be flown out. Jack was the loadmaster for the six man crew, and he spent some time speaking with the wounded. The flight conditions might not have been optimal, he recalled, but the boys were happy just to be “going home”.

There was other cargo carried as well, including American POW’s from Japanese camps, and Germans POW’s on their way to barracks in the U.S. There were a couple of German generals, and many Luftwaffe personnel making this trip, and Jack and his crew even transported Axis Sally back for her eventual trial stateside in 1946. Jack estimates that he made fifty long distance trips during his time in service.

When he finally returned home, he finished college and graduate school, and married Fran. They raised two sons, and have been blessed with three grandkids. Jack spent his career as a manager of large law firms. His interest in flying remained, however, and he earned hip pilot’s license in his 60’s. He summed up experiences during the war, and said that he was “grateful that I survived it.” So are we, Jack, and we are pleased to have had you fly with us. Thanks for your fine service, and welcome home!

Jody Kopsky

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