WWII bomber crew finally awarded medals

Ervin Molzan receives medals for the crew who successfully flew 11 combat missions in World War II. "It was an honor to serve with them and get to know them and their families," Molzan says.

By Ed Garsten
CNN Detroit Bureau Chief

GROSSE ILE, Michigan (CNN) -- Ervin Molzan remembers his last bombing mission as if it was last night. It was August 26, 1945.

"The war technically was over on August 16, but they didn't sign the documents until September 2, 1945," said Molzan, who was a tail gunner in World War II. "Our instructions were, 'You will fly to the Chinese coast. You will go over Shanghai, the airfield, and if fired upon, drop your bombs.'"

He said he and his buddies of the 11th Battalion of the 26th Squadron of the U.S. Army Air Corps never were fired upon that day. But through 10 other combat missions over the Pacific there was plenty of flying ordnance to dodge aboard the B-24 bomber that the squadron nicknamed "Sweet Routine."

"In any one of our missions," Molzan told CNN, "we were never hit or wounded .... We had a lot of close calls, a lot of shakes and shimmies, but nothing that bothered us."

With 11 successful combat missions, Molzan and his crew mates were each entitled to an Air Medal and Oak Leaf Cluster, but they never received the honors.

As Molzan tells it, homecoming at the end of the war was hectic. Veterans rushed to get home, and most people didn't want to fool with squaring away service records.

When an official asked him about completing some paperwork, Molzan declined. "I said, 'No, my train is leaving at four o'clock, I'm going home.' That was a mistake," Molzan said.

Fast forward to 1998. Molzan says his grandchildren asked him where his medals were. He told them about the homecoming chaos and how the medals just never made it to the crew of "Sweet Routine."

They prodded him to right the wrong, and Molzan's 18-month effort began. He immediately discovered a major obstacle. A fire in 1973 at a federal document depository in St. Louis destroyed most of the paperwork.

Undeterred, Molzan enlisted the help of his congressman, John Dingell. The Democratic representative pulled a few strings, cut through the red tape, and on December 21, more than half a century after earning the medals, the former tail gunner received his medals and those of his crew mates in a brief, but emotional ceremony on Grosse Ile, Michigan, where he lives.

Molzan told the audience in a halting voice that he was accepting the medals on behalf of all the crew of "Sweet Routine," including the five who have died. He promised to make sure the medals were distributed to the surviving members of the crew and the families of those who are deceased.

Barely able to contain himself, Molzan said "it was an honor to serve with them and get to know them and their families. All I want to say is God bless this fabulous country. I love it with all my heart."

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