Robert “Bob” Abney
~ A.K.A. Grandpa ~
This is a story about Robert “Bob” Abney and his amazing life as a father and a veteran of the United States Military.
Bob was born on June 11th, 1924 in Denver, Colorado. He lived there until he was 12 years old then moved to California. He has been a fortunate person since the day he was born. He is the only surviving child of three other siblings. Bob's oldest brother passed when he was 12 days old. His 2nd brother was a stillborn. Bob was the third child. His sister, the youngest, passed when she was only 18 days old. Bob has always felt blessed, fortunate and even “lucky” and carries that attitude through every day of his life.
Bob Abney is a proud and courageous veteran who served in the U.S. Army Air Corps as a Tail Gunner during WWII and then as a Marine during the Korean War. His military journey goes like this…
Bob joined the US Army Air Corps at the age of 18 years. (A different branch than the Army and preceded the Airforce which was born in 1947). He was raring to go to do his service. He was sworn in on December 10th, 1942 in San Francisco, CA. He then boarded a train for the Presidio in Monterey, CA. It was there he received the proper haircut, uniform, and shoes. Bob was now fit to serve. He then traveled again by train to St. Petersburg, FL. where his training first began.
Eventually, after a few more stops, he made his way to Las Vegas where he entered aerial gunner school. Next, was Salt Lake City, UT for combat training. It was there he learned he and his crew were going to be flying in B17 aircrafts. The military called them the “Flying Fortress” but Bob and his crew called them "Big-Ass Birds”. He was assigned to be a Tail Gunner for these aircrafts. He was as excited as he could ever be.
Once the last phases of training were completed, Bob and his crew received notice of their first mission. They were assigned to be in the “100th Bomb Group.” This group was referred to as the “Bloody Hundreds” or the group of “Vanishing Americans”. Their purpose was to be the "replacement" crew. Their first mission was to take the place of the 18 aircraft and 170 men that were lost in combat. Bob didn’t think anything of this at the time he just wanted to be of service and was eager for his first mission. He wasn't concerned about what a “replacement” really meant. The crew boarded the plane in England, got into position, and flew to Regensburg, Germany. As they were flying over Germany the sky abruptly turned from sunny and clear to dark and smokey. The excitement they once had turned to fear. The crew knew what was happening below. Sadly, 60 bombers & 600 hundred men were lost that day. Bob and his crew survived. He had been blessed or maybe just “lucky” several more times after this.
On December 5th, 1943, a year into his service, Bob found himself needing to be hospitalized. In his words, he says, “The flak got to me” (“Flak” is referred to as exploding gun shells). Disappointed, Bob was unable to go on the next mission. His replacement crew who he had trained with had to carry on without him. Sadly, their plane was shot down. Only one airmen survived, he was captured and held as a prisoner of war for two years. Thankfully, Bob recovered from his injuries and was released from the hospital.
Bob said, his fellow comrades labeled him as the “bastard crewman”, which means if you don’t have a crew to fly with you fly with any crew in need. And that’s what he did.
On January 29th, 1944 the flak injured him again which lead to another hospitalization. This injury prevented him from going up with the crew he had flown with for three missions prior. Unfortunately, their aircraft took a direct hit and blew up. All on board had perished. In that moment, he says he felt like “someone” was looking out for him, again. Bob's tells us his toughest mission was over Berlin. They lost 21 aircraft that day and Bob's plane and crew were the only ones that returned.
During Bob’s Army Air Corps career he had served 27 missions. His flight surgeon stated that he’d had enough and “grounded” him. His service was complete. Bob has four Purple Hearts, a Distinguished Flying Cross, four Air Metals, and countless others but, most importantly, they honored him with a plaque that appropriately says, “LUCKY BASTARD”.
After he was discharged on September 11th, 1945 he studied and received a degree in Speech Pathology at the University of Denver. After graduating, Bob felt he wasn’t quite finished serving his country so he enlisted with the U.S. Marine Corps (this man never stops!). He says he’s always wanted to be a Marine and this was his opportunity. He served one year in Korea during the war and six years total as a U.S. Marine. Today, at age 94, he is still so grateful he was able to serve his country and appreciates all the fellow soldiers he served with. They were a big part of his life. After his service, Bob couldn’t get work as a Speech Pathologist. He took many different jobs to pay the bills but ultimately decided to buy a pizza parlor. Many of his grandchildren had an opportunity to work and be part of this next chapter of his life.
Bob Abney is not only a proud veteran but a proud father of four amazing and loving children. He has 12 grandchildren and ten great-grandchildren who can’t get enough of him. They love him, and all of his amazing stories.
Currently, Bob, lives at Oakmont of Redding, an assisted living community, where he has quickly made 90 new friends. Some of his fellow residents speak so fondly of him and they say, “each day your grandpa says to us…today is going to be a good day”. He is loved and adored. Bob also stays very active in his woodshop making countless wooden piggy-banks for children. It’s been a passion for many years which brings immense joy to his life.
Bob's courage was tested once again when Oakmont had to evacuate due to the Carr Fire. Bob describes his experience as a “small military maneuver”… only he’ll understand what that means. He maintained a positive attitude during the whole experience and feels that Oakmont did a good job keeping everyone safe.
Bob's "luck" continues... Over the past year, he has been in & out of the hospital with several health issues but has always recovered. He even had a stint with Hospice but graduated! I guess he is not quite ready for heaven just yet. Bob truly is a fighter, first for his country and now his health! I believe God still needs him here on earth but for a different kind of service. A service of spreading a message of positivity, inspiration and courage while putting a smile on all the faces of people who have had the pleasure of meeting him.