World War II transport pilots reunited at event
By DAVID LOWE Staff Writer

PHOTO BY GABE WOLF Virginia Locklear holds a frame with her late husband James Locklear's military awards, which include an Asiatic Pacific Medal he earned as a transport pilot during World War II. Mrs. Locklear recently returned from a 317th Airlift Group reunion at Scott Air Force Base near St. Louis, where she visited with veterans' family members, met officers and observed the C-130 aircraft the 317th Airlift Group now uses.

Lost military records kept Virginia Locklear from returning from a 317th Airlift Group reunion in St. Louis with the Bronze Star her late husband earned during World War II. The Lampasas woman's time spent with South Pacific veterans and their families, however, meant much more than awards alone.

Mrs. Locklear's recent four-day trip with her daughter, Brenda Piccirilli, to Scott Air Force Base in Illinois ended with some disappointment, as guests learned the Department of Defense could not verify transport pilots' service records -- and thus could not award the Bronze Stars veterans had been promised in June.

The trip nevertheless allowed the Lampasan to reflect on the military service of her late husband, James Locklear, and to develop friendships with the men whom the Allies trusted to supply and move troops.

"They were a band of brothers for life," Mrs. Locklear said.

A member of the 40th Airlift Squadron, Locklear ferried men and materiel in C-47 aircraft between Australia and Port Moresby, New Guinea, and transported wounded troops for medical care.

When leaving the United States to report for duty, Locklear and his fellow "flying sergeants" made three trips: first from the West Coast to Hawaii, then on to Australia and finally to New Guinea. Early in his career, Locklear trained for eight months with paratroopers in Australia.

Within a month of deployment to Townsville, Australia, 317th Airlift Group pilots began flying in reinforcements, ammunition and artillery to the Wau airstrip, a vital landing spot the Japanese nearly seized from Australian troops.

The first day of battle the squadron made more than 60 landings on the uphill strip -- where a mountain at the end of the runway blocked pilots from circling to retry a landing -- and the Allies pushed the Japanese back into the jungle.

"They went through hell," Mrs. Locklear said of pilots in the 317th Airlift Group.

Locklear respected the noncommissioned officers who worked on the ground to keep the C-47s fueled and in good repair, his wife said.

"The ground crew really saved their lives," she said. "They were a bunch of brave guys, too. They worked like crazy to keep those planes flying."

The transport pilots did not receive their Bronze Stars immediately because ongoing campaigns against the Germans left little time to complete the paperwork necessary to grant awards for service in the Pacific.

"There was a war going on, and medals weren't really on their mind," Mrs. Locklear said of the officers who led the medalawarding process.

Fire destroyed the records when the St. Louis repository housing them burned in 1973.

"It's a big disappointment," Mrs. Locklear said of not returning with the Bronze Star. "He knew and all the people in his squadron knew they had qualified."

Although officers at the reunion could not award the Bronze Star, as guests' invitations stated they would, Mrs. Locklear received one of 75 medals presented to veterans or their family members. Locklear's honors include the American Defense Service Medal, the Air Medal with three oak leaf clusters, the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Asiatic Pacific Ribbon with three bronze battle stars and five good conduct medals.

Locklear graduated with honors from Lampasas High School in 1938 and entered the military in 1941. The Army mandated that flight school candidates have college experience, but Locklear received an exemption from the requirement by providing letters of recommendation from LISD Superintendent Charles Wachendorfer, County Attorney Sylvester Lewis and Willie McGee, then president of First National Bank.

"It must have been good," Mrs. Locklear said of the report the men provided of her husband. "That's what got him in."

Although superior officers tried to convince him to pursue a military career as a flight instructor, Locklear was eager to return home after the war ended. He worked for his step-father's Ford dealership in Lampasas, where he began a 41-year career that took him to Midland, Fort Worth, Houston and the Ford Motor Company School in Dearborn, Mich.

Locklear met his future wife, who worked in the dental corps at Fort Hood during the war, shortly after he returned to Lampasas in 1945. The couple dated for about a year and married on May 10, 1947.

Mrs. Locklear was the only widow to pick up a medal at the recent gathering of pilots and their families, as many veterans and their wives are deceased or were not able to attend.

After a dinner at the reunion, Col. Kevin Jackson, commander of the 317th Airlift Group, asked Mrs. Locklear for a dance. She told the colonel she hadn't danced in years, but he reassured her.

"He said, `That's all right. We're going to dance this dance.' He really was a very charming gentleman," Mrs. Locklear said.

As 1940s tunes played, the song "Stardust" evoked strong memories of the Lampasan's husband. Locklear used to trail his antenna to pick up civilian radio broadcasts as he flew to report for duty. "Stardust" often was the last song he heard as he traveled toward Hawaii, his widow recalled.

The reunion also included a tour of Scott Air Force Base's air strip, where guests observed a C- 130 transport plane. The aircraft, equipped with missile deflector shields, can take off and land automatically, even without lights on the plane or the airstrip. During his World War II service, in contrast, Locklear didn't have radar on flights.

"It's the biggest and the best transport plane they have right now," Mrs. Locklear said of the C- 130. "It just hides the little DC-3 (the civilian version of a C-47) that was the workhorse."

From observing the workings of the modern 317th Airlift Group to visiting with veterans, the Lampasas resident and her daughter found the trip an educational experience. Like many of his fellow servicemen, Locklear did not talk much about the war when he returned home. He always enjoyed seeing other 317th Airlift Group pilots and exchanging stories of the days in the Pacific, though, just as veterans did at the recent reunion.

"They are just so glad to see each other," Mrs. Locklear said, "and they're so busy telling each other things."

The bonds the "band of brothers" forged remain strong, regardless of medals.