Bob Chappuis - Service in World War II

Service in World War II

Chappuis' college program was interrupted by military service from 1943 to 1945. During World War II, Chappuis earned the rank of Lieutenant in the U.S. Army Air Forces. He flew 21 missions as a radio operator and aerial gunner in B-25 bombers. His crew sunk a cruiser in an Italian harbor, which earned it a citation in September 1944. He flew his first mission, which was targeting a railroad bridge in the heavily-fortified Brenner Pass on Christmas Day 1944. At the time he flew this first mission, he was a sergeant. On February 13, 1945, Chappuis flew his 21st mission when he was assigned to fill in for a sick crew member. Chappuis’ B-25 bomber was assigned to bomb a railroad tunnel in the Italian mountains north of the Po River. “Over the target, a burst of flak knocked out one engine, then the other engine went out. When the order came to bail out, the tailgunner went out first, and got stuck in the escape hatch, pinned against the rear of it by the wind pressure. Chappuis kicked him in the only accessible place—his head—and knocked him loose. Then he jumped.”

Chappuis was rescued by an Italian partisan, Aldo Comucci, a 21-year old who was in charge of one of the many underground groups operating in the area. Comucci and his band of resistance fighters got to Chappuis before the Germans and hid him and two other American flyers from the same plane for nearly three months until the end of the war. The partisans passed Chappuis and the two other Americans from house to house, and village to village, toward the Swiss frontier. Dressed in shawls — but still wearing G.I. shoes — they once walked undetected past a German sentry.

Chappuis and his crewmates finally reached a home in the small town of Asola, Italy, in the Province of Mantua, Lombardy, about 80 miles (130 km) from Milan. The German headquarters was two houses away, and the drill grounds were across the street. Accordingly, Chappuis and the other Americans could not walk near a window or talk above a whisper. They passed the time playing cards with each other and with the Ugolini family with whom they stayed, and reading a well-worn copy of Uncle Tom's Cabin. The Americans were nearly captured one evening when the Fascist fiancé of one of the Ugolini daughters entered the house unannounced and found the Americans playing cards. He threatened to turn the Americans in, but was persuaded not to when told it would mean the death of his fiancée and her family for aiding the Americans.

When V-E Day arrived in early May 1945, Chappuis and his crewmates stayed in Asola for a week-long celebration. On the night the war ended, residents of Asola removed the seats from the town’s theater for a victory ball. While two orchestras played onstage, the liberated townspeople toasted the Americans, and Chappuis danced with the Ugolinis' daughters. When Chappuis returned to the United States, he stayed in touch with the Ugolinis and sent them weekly food packages. Chappuis also stayed in touch with Comucci, the resistance leader who rescued him. In 1974, Chappuis returned to Italy to meet with Comucci for the first time in 20 years. And in August 1975, Comucci and his wife traveled to Michigan to visit Chappuis.