Leslie J. Tyler – Father, Scientist, Soldier – A Memorial Day Salute

Part 1 – May 31, 2005 -?It was Sixty years ago today …

Dr. Leslie J. Tyler lived a long life in pursuit of knowledge and understanding, and after a 35-year career as a Chemist for Dow Corning, in 1978 he had become their Vice President for Research. ?In addition to his many published papers, patents, and scientific achievements, he was a self-taught home builder, a community theatre actor and director, a Boy Scouts Troop Leader, a photographer, a skier and world traveler.

But mostly he was a family man. And for most of his life, he rarely spoke of his experiences during World War II. ?Still, he was highly accomplished as an aviator. ?He also had the miraculous good fortune to survive the catastrophic events of March 15, 1945. ?On that afternoon, as lead navigator for the squadron, his B-17 Bomber was hit by enemy anti-aircraft fire. ?Flak bursts all about the craft as explosions rocked their flight. ?Sudden jolts and heaving of the plane, with smoke billowing, indicated fire aboard. One crew member shouted “ENGINE FIRE” and soon the alarm was sounded for all 10 men to immediately bail out!

The events that ensued over the following six weeks of captivity in Germany, became vivid memories that would emerge 47 years later in the publication of his WWII memoir, “Wild Blue Yonder”.

Part 2 – May 27, 2015

It Was 72 years Ago Today (Part II in a series) ...

About the end of May 1943, during a rare visit home in Scranton, when my dad was still stateside training for B-17 Navigator duties in places like Grand Rapids, MI and Hondo, TX. He calculated azimuths and drift speeds, bomber fuel burn rates, and how long it would take to climb to 22,000 feet over the Alps loaded down with 25,000 pounds of TNT.

When at last his orders came to ship out, late Summer of '44, he joined hundreds of others aboard a steamer headed to North Africa, then across the Mediterranean to Italy, where he would join up with others already in Lucera, at the airfield of the 353rd Bomb Squadron. Ten men including Les were destined to meet up there as the crew of a stalwart B-17. Not so many months later, that B-17 and it's crew was destined to be shot down over Bad Muskau, in the far east-central Germany, and wound up as POW's -- "Kriegies" -- for the final 6 weeks of WWII. In his memoir of the war, "Wild Blue Yonder", my dad wrote these thoughts as he touched down under his parachute onto German soil ... and as the Soldaten approached:

"My chute caught in the high branches and was very gently deposited on the forest floor. I had no plan whatsoever. The first action was to unfasten the chute harness and get moving. This I did. After a running step and a half I was snapped back to the chute. I had previously fashioned an escape kit out of a Cracker Jack box and taped it to my chute harness and tied it to my leg. I was to be forever grateful for some of the items in the escape kit." **

During his weeks of captivity, mostly spent in forced marches from one besieged German POW camp to another, or in fitful planning to either escape or just to hear other POW's plans for escape. Such were their days and nights, those Kriegies. One sunny day spent marching and their column of POWs came under brief but heavy friendly fire. But by the time it was all over, and their POW column had reformed, Les' best friend Dutton, from his B-17, crew lay dying by the side of the road.

So this week, I've been remembering my Dad, and his friend "Dutt", and all the brave men who flew in that Flying Fortress, that "Big Ass Bird". And thinking about the world they have handed over to us all.

Part 3 – May 30, 2024

It was 81 years ago today. (Part III in a series.)

There has been much said and written about The Greatest Generation. We justly revere their bravery, devotion, and when we are totally honest, we know it’s hard (and rare) to truly measure up. But in our hearts we know it was their boundless love, their thirst for adventure, and sheer grit to get things done!

Leslie Tyler was born in Salamanca, 1919, eldest of three siblings, to come of age in the Great Depression. He was bequeathed a prodigious intellect, an abiding devotion to his family, and a tenacious work ethic. He graduated valedictorian at Dunmore High in Scranton, PA (‘38) and then his Baccalaureate from U. of Scranton, Dean’s List scholar, Summer of ‘42. And straightaway was commissioned 2Lt. in the US Army Air Corps.

While WWII raged on, Les spent the next 2 1/2 years training to fly B-17 Bombers. Aeronautics, Meteorology, Reconnaissance Photography and Analysis. He missed a bar to earn his wings, but became a crackerjack Navigator and the most senior of all officers in his B-17 flight squadron flying out of Lucera air-field in central Italy.

From November of ‘44 thru March ‘45 he and nine other crew members Braved the fierce winds and storms aloft over the Italian Alps on 16-hour round-trip flights in their house of freezing aluminum - in their “Big Assed Bird” - to rain down their awful tonnage to destroy the Third Reich’s will to fight ( and their refineries, factories, fuel depots, and their advanced anti-aircraft systems.

As fate would have it, on March 15, ‘45 their bomber was hit by exploding flak, both engines caught fire, and 9 men instantly became not-so- reluctant paratroopers!

But the Tenth Man, TSGT Sator Sierra (“Sandy”) Sanchez, B-17 Tail Gunner extraordinaire, never made it out the door. The most decorated airman of their entire squadron, Sgt. Sanchez was - and remains to this day - MIA.

I’ve been pondering their great bravery, their great patriotism, their Great Sacrifice, and their Great Adventure. No wonder we call them The Greatest Generation. No wonder!!

In 1995, Les Tyler (then VP Research Emeritus, Dow Corning Corp) and his son John, returned to Bad Muskau, DE, where Les discovered the remains of his B-17's Tail Section. You can see it here in my photo below, and you can see it on display at the US Air Force Museum in Dayton Ohio!

Or, better yet, read his whole story, "Wild Blue Yonder, A Tale of Hitler’s Hostages”.

Above, John and Leslie J. Tyler, pose in front of the remains of the Tail section of the B-17 in which Les was shot down, on the Ides of March 1945. He survived the chute to the ground (after getting snagged in some tall tree branches). He?survived the “H?NDE HOCH” shouts of scouts with rifles and bayonets high. He survived several weeks in half a dozen POW prison camps and forced marches between them. And then, he survived Coming Home. He earned his PhD in Chemistry at Penn State. He and his young bride, Priscilla Tyler, moved to Midland Michigan, where Les led a lab team as Sr. Managing Chemist, and they both joined the Midland Little Theatre Guild for many years of evening fun. He even survived raising a Family of Seven. ?

We are his testimony and his legacy. And dare I say it? We All are the greatest!