Warner Robins man remembers fighting near the front lines during World War Two

“I was 23 years old and they gave me a new airplane. Oh, I was just so proud of myself,” recalls Hicks.

The same type of plane that’s coming to the Warner Robins Museum of Aviation in August.

“We’re getting a B-17 Flying Fortress which was a very famous World War Two bomber,” explains Mike Rowland, the Museum of Aviation’s Curator.

Which will bring back a lot of memories for Hicks since he piloted a B-17 during WWII. The plane was designed to carry bombs over long distances and attack enemy targets to make it harder for them to keep fighting.

“You had thousands of these airplanes flying missions deep over enemy territory and these men risked their lives, faced really tough conditions,” continues Rowland.

Hicks remembers these conditions well.

“Five miles up in the air and they could still hit us with their guns. Quite honestly, I was scared to death,” says Hicks.

He flew ten missions out of Polebrook, England.

“They’d pull a map out and tell us what our target for the day was to be,” remembers Hicks.

While the targets changed, Hicks’ fear remained constant.

“I woke up in the morning and I said ‘Lord, is today the day that I get killed?’ I became resigned to what might happen and I didn’t worry about it,” explains Hicks.

His last mission seemed like all the others. His plane’s bomb hit its target and the crew was on its way back to the base. That’s when a German fighter plane appeared.

“I saw the shells coming in and I could not duck. The fighter made another pass at us and killed the bombardier,” adds Hicks.

The German plane shot Hicks’ plane in the right wing and set two engines on fire. The rest of the crew parachuted out of the plane. Hicks landed in a tree and shortly after, a German officer appeared. Hicks knew what happened next.

“We were the prisoners of war,” expresses Hicks.

The officer took him to jail.

“Jail was a cell with a wooden bed and given some coffee and bread. The coffee was horrible, the bread was horrible, but it was something to eat,” Hicks tells 41NBC.

He spent 11 months as a P.O.W., but he never lost hope that someday he would be rescued.

“Patton’s tanks came over the hill and came and broke the gates down, and put the flag up and we all started crying. I could have kissed him, but he wouldn’t let me,” says Hicks.

At 94 years old, Hicks will get to see a B-17 again. This time, near his own backyard.

“This hangar is important to us because it allows us to bring together airplanes from the World War Two Era and put them in context. You can see training airplanes, you can see fighting airplanes, you can see bombers, and so on,” explains Rowland.

Once the hangar becomes the home of the Museum of Aviation’s B-17, Hicks has one little request.

Hicks moved to Warner Robins after he retired because he wanted to be close to the base. Even though pieces of the plane start arriving in August, they’ll need to be fixed up. The museum curator expects the final product to be ready in about 3 years.