Robert S. Rosenberg was born and raised in NYC. He enlisted out of great sense of patriotism and a need to stop cruelty of Hitler and the Third Reich. Growing up, he told me that he joined the Air Force "because he wanted to be able to take a shower". That was his joke. He did his flight training class work at Beaver Falls, PA. He trained as a pilot down south in Greenville, MI, completing his training at Maxwell Field in AL. He was assigned to the 603rd BG 398th BS in Nuthampstead, England after ferrying over a B17 with a stop in Greenland.



His tour of service included 36 missions between the fall of Nov. 1944 through April 1945. For this first half of his tour he flew with Robert E. Steele's group including the following crew:

1) Pilot: Robert E. Steele

2) Co-pilot: Robert S. Roseberg

3) Navigator: Duncan "Bob" Huey

4) Radio operator: Harold Kypta

5) Right waist gunner: William T. McGinnis

6) Left waist gunner: Robert E. Moleworth

7) Ball turrent: David Spelts

8) Tail gunner: A.G. Johnson

9) Top turret/engineer: Orville M.Boeger



In March '45, Robert S. Rosenberg took command of his own ship. The fact that he survived 36 missions was an accomplishment in itself. He recalled his near final missions including dropping incendiaries on a German holdout at Fort Royan and hitting Enschedde Airfield in Belgium. Stories that he told me include:

1) Flew on the fateful RDX explosion mission where he saw one of his ships blow up of his wing

2) Saved the tail gunner when he did not respond to a radio check and found ice had built up in his O2 mask exhaust ports

3) Noticed a pattern of German 88 flak coming up and left formation to avoid a direct his on his ship

3) Returned on more than one occasion with 1 or more engines out

4) Flew tail gunner position with Col Ensign on the Feb 3, 1945 mission to Berlin

5) Was accompanied home once by a Tuskegee airman when he had to leave the group for engine trouble and turn back

6) Bombed Berlin, Dresden, Oranienburg, Cologne, Merseburg, Metz, Fort Royan, Enschedde airfield, Koblenz, Kassel, Oberhoffenfoffen...to name a few



He recalled being forced to land at Gravesend and while waiting to be refueled, he was put in officers quarters where he was served tea in the afternoon, unusual for him having been used to living in a quonset hut. He would trade chocolate bars with the farmboy near the field to get fresh eggs to cook. After the war, he was promoted to captain and became a flight instructor at Lockburne AAF, Columbus, Ohio. He spent time in Smyrna, TN and McDill, AFB in Miami. He was also in the Air Force Reserves, Roosevelt Field, LI, NY.



My dad left me a note on his uniform listing some of his awards:

-Air Medal with 5 oak leaf clusters

-American Theater Medal

-European Theater Medal with 3 battle stars

-Good conduct medal

-Presidential Citation Ribbon (for target Metz)

-Marksmanship, pistol



My dad, like all the other men of the 398th, was a tough dude. He came close to being killed several times. As a boy, he showed me two 'souvenirs' that he pulled out of his cockpit fuselage, just outside of where he was sitting: a 20mm Focke Wulfe cannon shell and a German 88 fusing ring from AAC. He told me that his greatest fear was the FW 190. He also told me that wearing a crush cap, like in the movies, was far from reality. When you entered enemy territory, you had on a flak helmet, flak vest and then the AAC came up, you shortened your neck and scrunched down behind the armor plating in your seat. He was very proud to have been a pilot and he absolutely loved the B17. "She was tough to bring down and always brought you home." My dad's original ship was "P for Peter", Little Max, 42-97317.



After the war, he went into a family business and then opened up his own furniture manufacturing company where he built furniture with European styling. He was a ski instructor, where he met his wife and moved to Long Island where he raised 3 children. He passed in 1995 and was buried in Calverton National Cemetery, LI, NY with full military honors.