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MEMORIAL ARTICLE
Published Assembly Jul '54
Fred Brinson Rountree NO. 16068 CLASS OF 1946
Missing in action since January 14, 1951, in Korea officially
declared dead as of January 31, 1954, aged 31 years. |
FRED BRINSON ROUNTREE was mighty proud of his wristwatch. Graduation
from Guyton High School entitled a lad to his own timepiece,
did it not? Could the watch possibly be slow? Saturday
seemed an awful long time getting around when he was to get his
real graduation present. Ever since Fred had been a little shaver,
helping his Dad around his tenant farms in Egypt, Georgia, he
had one great longing. Even the excitement of the annual cattle
branding couldn't quite blot it out. Fred wanted to fly.
But just wait until Saturday. What a graduation present! His
first flight! What a thrill! Just to think that while
going through grammar school in Egypt, he had thoughts of being
a doctor. Fred was ever thoughtful of the other fellow's troubles
and most likely he would have made a wonderful doctor. But always
there was that old obsession . . . the thrill of flying.
Things began to break for Fred. It seemed natural when graduation
from Georgia Military College led to West Point. The Academy
was becoming more conscious of the importance of air power. Stewart
Field, just a short distance from West Point, was the cadets'
training field in aviation in those days, and it was there that
Fred got his initiation in being master of the skies.
His "drag" at West Point, Dorothy Carnright of Newburgh,
NY, never heard the end of the wonders of the airplane. Romantic
it was too. On many a flight did Dorothy accompany Fred. In fancy
of course, but nonetheless realistic. After graduation
from the Academy, Fred and Dorothy truly became pilot and copilot.
They were married on July 31, 1946. Fred Brinson Rountree, Jr.
signed aboard in El Paso. Texas, on
September 3, 1947 and James Carnright Rountree completed the
crew on November 17, 1949, in Japan.
Fred was now stationed at Yakota Air Force Base in Japan. In
between his plane flights, he didn't have too much time with
his earthbound crew. Dorothy, Brince and Jim were mighty proud
of Dad and were most happy that his tour of duty was about to
terminate. Then came the Chinese Communist invasion of South
Korea. Volunteers were sought. You guessed it. Fred was among
those who passed up the opportunity to go home. He
volunteered.
Forty missions had been accomplished and then just another routine
flight. So thought Captain Fred B. Rountree, the pilot; so thought
Captain Don Thomas, the navigator and so thought Sergeant Bernard
Mitchell, the gunner. The fighter bomber, a B26, made its usual
graceful takeoff. Fred was in his element. He was airborne. Just
another "milk run". Headquarters had suggested reconnaissance
and possible offensive action on the return trip. Consultation
brought forth a decision to investigate an old thorn in the side.
An enemy airstrip, which had been responsible for casualties
in the past, had been reported as abandoned. "Let's take
a look," was the unanimous decision. At 200 feet Fred
and his crew took that look. The field was not abandoned. Ground
fire hit the plane. The plane was on fire. Momentum was sufficient
to bring the plane over a nearby mountain. A white chute
opened. Navigator Thomas was on his way. The last he saw of the
plane was someone bailing out, just as it passed over the mountain
into enemy territory.
It was a sad visit for Captain Thomas. Fortunately he had been
able to reach American territory by assistance from the Korean
underground. From him, Dorothy Rountree learned that it was her
husband who had bailed out. The gunner, Sergeant Bernard Mitchell,
was presumably caught in the flames of the plane. Don Thomas
had been able to make it. Any day, please God, Fred would be
back in friendly hands. Such were the hopes of Fred's ground
crew, his wife and two sons, now back in Newburgh, and also that
of his parents and two brothers. It was a long vigil. Prayers
are powerful but they cannot resurrect the dead. Fred was gone.
It
was made official on February 1, 1954. "It can no longer
be reasonably assumed. . ." read the message. This was the
end of a long watch for Dorothy and Fred's folks in Georgia,
but it was the beginning of a new career for the first of Fred's
sons.
Fred, Jr., Brince to his friends, and all of six years of age,
is now enrolled at Mt. St. Joseph's Military Academy just across
the road from the entrance to Stewart Field. Jim will follow
him. How can oppressors ever win against such a heritage?
—F. G.
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