World War II vet talks to Hoffman Estates students

War is hell, Robert Hofmann emphasized to students at Hoffman Estates High School Wednesday morning.

But it also brought him some enjoyment, both socially and in the action of being the tail gunner of a B-17 during World War II in Europe.

Hofmann, 86, of Palatine shared his experiences with about 45 AP U.S. History classmates of his grandson, Austin Pye, during an interview with his son-in-law Jim Pye.

Their teacher, Kevin Mallon, said it was the first time a World War II veteran spoke to his students.

“It was a wonderful experience for them to hear a firsthand account of what war is,” he said, adding that because of the nature of the class they sped through learning about that era.

Hofmann said he enlisted shortly after graduating from Morgan Park High School in Chicago in January 1944. He hoped to be a pilot, but settled for serving in the Army Air Corps as a gunner.

First he went to Florida for basic training, where he stayed in nice hotels and enjoyed the beaches.

“Whenever anyone said they had tough basic training — that’s how tough ours was,” he said.

Hofmann then traveled to Arizona, where he flew in an airplane for the first time and shot at drones for practice. He remembered some friends getting sick because of the smell of ammonia that would arise when shots were fired.

Hofmann also spent a few months training in Iowa where, he recalled, a practice turned into a disaster when a plane flew into a mess hall.

In fall 1944, just a few months shy of turning 19, Hofmann was given the responsibility of controlling two 50-caliber guns without a turret on the tail of a B-17 plane that was heading to Europe.

In his time abroad, Hofmann completed 33 missions, including a 15-hour mission to Italy. He explained to the students the danger of flak in the sky and why the planes flew in formations — “otherwise you’d drop bombs on your own planes.” One time, he admitted, he made the mistake of firing at ally planes, but luckily no one was hurt.

On the B-17, he remembers using his parachute as a pillow and wearing heated clothing. Once he saved the life of a friend who had put on his oxygen mask wrong and had passed out.

At times, Hofmann said, they could have as many as 400 incendiary fire bombs on the plane, and occasionally, when they released the bombs, some would stick. In fear of having the bombs’ timers go off, they would be forced to push the extras out of the plane, hoping they would land somewhere safe.

On weekends, Hofmann and his comrades would enjoy trips to various parts of Europe including Edinburgh and his personal favorite, London, where he and his friends enjoyed meeting women.

“Don’t forget, we were 18 and we were going to die tomorrow,” he said they told the girls they encountered. “They were very nice to us.”

But there were moments of the war that didn’t settle well with Hofmann. He remembers staying in a base about 40 miles outside London and regularly seeing bombers fly overhead.

“The horrible part is we’d see them go over base at night,” he said, adding that he hated knowing they were killing women and children in England. “We’d try to shoot these things down but we couldn’t.”

On the other hand, “I never felt remorse dropping the bombs because they were getting what they wanted,” he added, saying he also personally knew gunners who were tortured by the Nazis.

When a student asked if Hofmann had psychological issues upon his return he said no, but noted that he and his friends sometimes faced “flight fatigue.” He explained it as feelings of anxiety and nervousness that grew worse with the increasing number of missions they did.

“Some of those were pretty hairy missions,” he said, adding that some guys left because they couldn’t face flying anymore.

Hofmann returned home around May 1945, but after a 30-day leave his crew was sent to California in case they were needed in the Pacific.

“We thought we were going to Japan,” he said. “That would have been another adventure for us.”

When the war was officially over, Hofmann was able to attend the University of Illinois for three years, and even thought about enlisting when the Korean War broke.

“At 18, it was fun. I’d do it again,” he said, adding that he decided against going back to war because by then he had a family.

Still, Hofmann said, at the end of World War II he was happy to leave the army and return home.

“They told us what to do, they told us what to eat, how to dress, when to go to bed,” he said. “That was the best day in the world, when I got out. For some of us it was too regimented.”