By Jennifer Eisenbart
Staff Writer
The layout of a B-29 Superfortress bomber – a key part of the United States’ arsenal in World War II – was unique.
The first aircraft to have pressurized cabins, there were two crew sections – one in the front, and one in the back, separated by a tube.
That tube saved the life of Robert LeBreck on his final mission the B-29 “Sky Chief” in 1945, and now, after 68 years, resulted in his being awarded a posthumous Purple Heart Sunday at Veterans Terrace in Burlington.
LeBreck received notification that he could receive the medal in 1945 when he was leaving the Army. But he never pursued the award. It took until he died – and a family scrapbook switched hands a few times – before his family pursued the award.
“My dad deserved this,” said Suzanne Kelter, Robert LeBreck’s oldest child. “Even after 68 years, he gets this.
“I think we did it for my mom, and my dad.”
What is surprising about LeBreck is what his children did not know until after he died – his military service record on the B-29 named “Sky Chief.”
“Us kids knew nothing of this,” said Kelter.
In fact, it wasn’t until the last few years – when LaVerne was considering moving and wanted to sell a family scrapbook at a rummage sale – that the children really got a good look at Robert LeBreck’s time in the U.S. Army.
Forced to wait back at home while her husband flew missions – almost literally all over the world – LaVerne decided to keep every newspaper article and clipping she could find about the B-29.
“I was kind of apprehensive, and I think that’s why I kept the scrapbook,” said LaVerne.
LaVerne wasn’t the only one who was apprehensive. The B-29 came into service as a long-range bomber – following several other airplanes with poor service records in World War II.
“Due to the urgency for a long-range bomber to reach Japan’s mainland, it was never tested as thoroughly as it should have (been) and was considered by many to be experimental,” said Steve.
When Robert LeBreck entered the Army in 1942, he began training first in Great Bend, Kan., and then at other bases. He and his crew were some of the first men to train in and operate the B-29, according to Steve – with Robert serving as a radar operator.
Tinian turned into one of the largest U.S. airbases in World War II, covering the entire island. It was taken by force in 1944, with few of the Japanese troops inhabiting the island surviving the attack. The island then became a 40,000-troop strong military base.
To Steve LeBreck’s knowledge, his father was involved in three separate crashes of the B-29s he served on.
Officially, Robert was a member of the U.S. Army 20th Air Force, 58th Bomb Wing, 444th Bombardment Group, 677th Bomb Squadron, serving as a radar operator.
His missions would often last nine or 10 hours, with the B-29 loaded down with fuel to reach its targets in Japan.
“It was a true leap of faith,” said Steve. “I found it to be remarkable courage, that men of that generation ended up having.”
The last of those three crashes would claim the life of six of the 11 members of that flight crew.
With the B-29 laid out as it was, the pilot, co-pilot, flight engineer, bombardier, radio operator and navigator all occupied the front pressurized cabin. In the back cabin were Robert and four gunners.
As far as Steve has been able to figure out, the “Sky Chief” suffered an engine failure shortly after takeoff, and crew was instructed to dump the bombs in the ocean.
However, the heavy load of fuel remained on board. According to what Steve discovered, the bomber came in too low on approach and crashed. The fuel – located near the front of the plane – exploded forward and burned the six crewmembers in that cabin.
The five in the rear survived.
Robert LeBreck’s official “date of separation” from the Army was Sept. 6, 1945. In August of 1946, a letter was issued to him from the headquarters of the 444th Bombardment Group in Arizona, advising him he was to be awarded the Purple Heart.
The letter went into LaVerne’s scrapbook – but Robert never filed the paperwork to receive the medal. Why is a mystery. Steve said it could have been that the paperwork process was too difficult – or that Robert didn’t want the stress, or the reminder of the crash.
“Maybe something slipped through the cracks,” he conceded.
Until two years ago, that scrapbook LaVerne began in 1942 resided in the basement of her son, Paul’s, home. LaVerne didn’t even discover the letter until one night when she was sitting with Steve and looking through the scrapbook.
“I was just kind of shocked,” said LaVerne. “I thought, ‘oh my gosh, all this time that has gone by.’”
Steve stepped up, wanting to secure the medal in his father’s honor. He had seen another veteran in Illinois receive the Purple Heart after an extended period of time, and decided to pursue it through official channels.
But until Suzanne made the suggestion of sending the information to her – so she could send it to retiring Sen. Herb Kohl to ask for his help – Steve got nowhere.
Shortly after sending a two-page letter to Kohl, the family received notification that Kohl was assigning staffer Ryan Knocke to the project. In June of this year, the family found out that the medal would, indeed, be awarded.
That was enough for LaVerne, according to Steve.
“I think she was proud of her husband and his service,” he said. “After receiving the paperwork from the military, she was fine with that.”
Steve and the other children wanted more.
They got it Sunday. With the help of the American Legion’s Jim McKusker and Scott Bourassa, commander of VFW Post 2823, a medal ceremony was held in the Stars and Stripes room at Veterans Terrace.
Various different veterans’ groups were represented, though as far as anyone knew, LeBreck had not been a member of any Burlington posts. It was his memory they gathered to honor.
“It was the matter of the Purple Heart being awarded,” said Bourassa.
The colors were presented, the history of the Purple Heart explained, and then the medal was given to LaVerne. Afterward, family and friends were able to exchange stories and find out more of the history of a Purple Heart recipient.
“I was glad for the ceremony,” said LaVerne, whose husband is buried in Southern Wisconsin Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Union Grove. “It was a lovely ceremony.
“It made me very proud. He was long deserved of it, and he would have been proud himself.”
For the full story with pictures, please see the Oct. 3, 2013 print edition of the Standard Press.
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