World War II B-24 Pilots Reunited After 49 Years-September 18, 1992

Nearly half a century after being separated by wartime fate in the skies over Italy, World War II Army Air Corps veterans Frank Tedesco and Bob Anderson are reunited, brought back together by the very aircraft they flew: the legendary B-24 Liberator.

A 49-Year Wartime Reunion

Tedesco, of Hull, and Anderson, of East Harwich, served together in 1944 with the “Fighting” 451st Heavy Bomber Group stationed in Italy, flying missions as co-pilot and pilot on the same B-24. Their paths diverged abruptly in 1944 when Tedesco contracted malaria and was pulled off flight duty. On a subsequent combat flight, their bomber was shot down. Four members of the 10-man crew perished, while Anderson was captured by German forces and spent nine months enduring harsh conditions in prisoner-of-war camps before liberation. Tedesco recovered from malaria and went on to complete 35 missions, eventually earning the Distinguished Flying Cross—though he carried lingering survivor’s guilt over not being aboard the ill-fated flight.

The nearly five-decade separation came to an end last year when Anderson opened a newspaper in his East Harwich home and spotted a photograph of Tedesco accompanying an article about a vintage aircraft display. “I said, ‘Son of a gun! That looks like my co-pilot,’ ” recalled Anderson, a retired machine tool trade production manager. The two men finally reunited in July, finding profound healing in their renewed bond. “We’ve done a lot of reminiscing, both good and bad,” Anderson noted. “There is no glory [in war],” Tedesco reflected. “There’s a big assumption this is a grand and glorious thing. It is, only if you come back.”

Norwood Airport 50th Anniversary and B-24 Display

The poignant reunion sets the stage for a major weekend attraction at Norwood Airport, which kicks off its 50th-anniversary celebration tonight and runs through Sunday. Airport manager Thomas Maher expects a massive turnout of roughly 6,000 visitors for the free public event, which features more than a dozen antique and modern aircraft alongside rare vintage bombers.

The star attractions are a fully restored B-24 Liberator and a B-17 Flying Fortress brought in by Bob Collings and his Stow-based non-profit foundation. Collings’ organization spent $1.3 million restoring the B-24—christened the All-American—which he asserts is the sole remaining functional B-24 left out of the 18,479 built during World War II. Tedesco will be on site giving guided tours of the aircraft.

Archival Note: This article has been dynamically reconstructed from the original public record print archives of the Patriot Ledger