Evening star., 1944-03-18
Intense War Strains
Leave Mark Of Aqe
On Youthful Faces
By KENNETH L. DIXON,
Associated Press War Corrasnondant

Associated Press War Correspondent.
WITH THE AEF IN ITALY, Mar.
Is Delayed Young men grow un-
believably old In war for many rea-
sons.
Constant exposure to danger
draws deep lines around their eyes
and mouths. Living conditions hol-
low their cheeks, tighten the skin
along their jaws. Responsibilities
keep them tightly coiled with nerv-
Gus energy.
There was no better example of
this last type Of aging than 23-year-
old Bob Whitten, q slim, dark, tense
Texas lieutenant, one of the guys
who lowered the bomb on Mount
Casino Abbey.
Bob, who was born Robert F..
Whitten at Staples, Tex, later
moved to Rosenberg and attended
the Southwest Texas State Teach
ers' College. is a bombardier for
the big tailed birds" a B-26 Ma
rauder outfit based in Sardinia.
Wanted 70 be Pilot.
He wanted to be a pilot, but the
Air Force needed bombardiers, and
before his fingers ever felt stick
he was transferred. Now he thinks
his type of job can't be empha-
sized too much for the boys back
home just entering the Air Force.
He has 40 r,oiccioYc ,,ovrr
He flies almost every mission as
group bombardier, which means he
leads the formations to the bomb
run, signals the release of bombs
far at least one flight OF six ships
and often calls the timing for q
whole formation OF Is.
When you realize that frequently
means dropping thousands OF
pounds of bombs within a few hun
dred yards Of our own men you can
understand why Bob's eyes and
mouth look 10 to 20 years older than
the rest Of his face-why when alone
he often sits staring into space, his
long fingers curling and uncurling-
why when he speaks it is in an en-
forced low tone and quiet voice as
though he is carefully holding him.
self in.
Bob is well known among the air
men. He led the Marauders to the
Abbey Hill that day.
Knew Skyway to Abbey.
The day the abbey was blasted
the weather was so bad that other
formations were forced back. Some
who got through thought accurate
bombing impossible, but Bob had
memorized every possible landmark
along the way and identified them
through breaks in the clouds, and
Bob took them in. When the big
tailed birds were through, high AL
lied ground officers said it was the
best bombing they had ever seen,
some terming the Marauder pomb
concentration magnificent"
There was bridge at Roccasecca,
just behind the German lines on the
5th Army front. Mediums and dive
bombers had attacked it again and
again without luck. Bob's command
ing officer said whoever hit the
bridge would be mayor of Rocca-
secca." On January 8 Bob was lead
bombardier on the first of three Ma
rauder missions over 1T, Cameramen
on the last two missions elected him
mayor-their pictures showed direct
hits cutting the bridge cleanly in
two.
Target Skill Masterful.
Up on the beachhead he was
termed the bombardier who could
put English" on his bombs because
one day he dropped string which
curved around corner in a road we
were blocking.
The doughboys cheered him with
out knowing who he was, and again
for the way his flight knocked out
the Jerires without touching our
own troops.
But it's closeup work such as that,
and the terrible responsibility, which
keeps Bob's nerves always tightly
strung, and add the weight of years
to life which in a peaceful era
11ypI11d hoyo hmm Still q bov,c