JACK GAFFNEY
Age: 91
Born: Oct. 16, 1918
Hometown: San Bernardino
Residence: Cathedral City
Military branch: U.S. Army Air Corps; 8th Air Force; 91st Bomb Group; 401st Bomb Squadron
Years served: September 1941-July 1945
Rank: Master sergeant
Family: Wife Jeannette; two children, Jon Gaffney of La Quinta and Jeff Gaffney of Benton, Ark.; four grandchildren; seven great-grandchildren
About this series
Staff writer Denise Goolsby will profile desert veterans from World War II through the end of 2010 — the 65th anniversary of the end of the war. Contact her at (760) 778-4587 or via e-mail at denise.goolsby@thedesertsun.com
Coming tomorrow
U.S. Marine Corps Women's Reserve veteran Norma Streeter of Palm Desert.
LEARN MORE: Read about other Coachella Valley residents who served in World War II at mydesert.com/wwii.
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B-17 crew chief and nose artist Jack Gaffney kept the big bombers in top-flight condition for their missions over Europe during World War II.
Standing near the flight line around the time the planes were due back from a bomb run, Gaffney would look skyward — anxiously awaiting the return of his B-17 and its crew.
“There was a lot of stress,” Gaffney said. “You just hope and pray. I could always spot mine. (I'd say) ‘Ah, there she is, there she is. She looks good.'”
“It was the crew chief's job to make sure everything was running properly — mechanically,” Gaffney said. “We started the engines, checked engine temperatures and rpm's.”
Gaffney and his crew maintained the engines, while other men repaired the battered B-17s.
“We had sheet metal people,” he said. “It was their job to patch any holes in the plane.”
Gaffney served in the 91st Bomb Group — the same group as the crew of the Memphis Belle — the first heavy bomber to complete 25 combat missions.
The exploits of the Memphis Belle and her crew inspired the making of two motion pictures — a 1944 documentary and the 1990 Hollywood flick “Memphis Belle.”
Gaffney was stationed at Bassingbourn, England, an upscale air base that attracted dignitaries from around the world.
The first plane Gaffney worked with was called Invasion II.
The pilot, Oscar O'Neill, later fathered the actress Jennifer O'Neill, best known for her performance in the film, “Summer of ‘42.”
“That was a rough deal with that first plane,” Gaffney said.
The co-pilot was killed when he was hit by a stray bullet during one of the crew's bombing missions.
A somber Gaffney tearfully wiped up the blood-stained cockpit.
“I got a bucket and a sponge and some water,” he said. “Believe me, there were a lot of tears going into that bucket. He was a marvelous man.”
About a month later, tragedy struck again when the radio operator was “hit at the base of his spine and he bled to death,” Gaffney said. “Guess who had to clean it up?” he said, adding, “Another bunch of tears.”
On yet another mission, all of the squadron's aircraft flying that day were shot down.
“We lost all six from fighter fire and flak,” Gaffney said. “All of our crew got out OK They were POWs for the rest of the war.”
After serving as assistant crew chief from the time he arrived in England, Gaffney got a surprise promotion one day.
He was told to hop in a jeep, which took off across the air base and eventually pulled up in front of a hulking aircraft.
“There's a brand new B-17G, with a chin turret (which provided the aircraft with more firepower),” he said.
He said the man driving the jeep said, “Well Gaff, what do you think?”
Gaffney really didn't know what to think, until he was told, “That's yours. You're the crew chief on it.”
The plane, dubbed Destiny's Child, would soon feature nose art courtesy of the new crew chief.
Destiny's Child would go on to fly 53 missions, including 44 mission on its original four engines.
Gaffney was awarded the Bronze Star for his meticulous maintenance of the bomber.
Gaffney followed in the footsteps of Tony Starcer — the resident artist for the 91st Bomb Group, who painted over 100 pieces of notable B-17 nose art, including Memphis Belle's.
Gaffney designed and created nose art for about 10 B-17s including Destiny's Child, Sunkist Sue and The Shamrock Special.
Gaffney painted a woman on each side of the nose of The Shamrock Special and in October 1943, added a picture of a nude woman with the words, “Call Hollywood 337.”
He thought he was in for it when he spotted a general looking at the naked woman painted on his plane.
“He said, ‘Excuse me, sergeant, I'm just standing here admiring your work. It's a good morale builder. Keep up the good work.'”
During his time on the base, Gaffney served as an honor guard for dignitaries including Winston Churchill, Dwight Eisenhower and the king and queen of England.
He recalled a time King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, parents of the current Queen Elizabeth II, visited Bassingbourn.
They got out of the car and walked by the first row of the honor guard, where Gaffney was standing.
“When she got to me, she said, ‘And where are you from, sergeant?' I said, ‘From California, your majesty.'”
“She said, ‘My, you've come a long way. Thank you for coming to help out.'”
