Art Palmer piloted the B-24 Liberator during World War II, a slow, drafty bomber nicknamed the Flying Coffin
When Capt. Art Palmer, 103, talks about his war years, he leans forward in his chair, his voice intensifies, and his hands fidget, like he’s back in combat.
His memory seems uncommonly clear for his age. He can recall the specific time he rose each morning after being shipped to North Africa (3 a.m.). He remembers the entirety of what he ate during his eight days on the run after being shot down in enemy territory – a tablespoon’s worth of wild strawberries.
Art was born Sept. 21, 1919, in South Dakota, into a homesteading family with six children. Money was always tight, but during his boyhood they had plenty of food, plus a hundred head of cattle and two teams of horses. Then came five years of drought. The wind picked up. Dust blotted out the sun. Their farm became worthless. His father sold their machinery for scrap.
At 17, Art hopped a freight train and headed west, searching for work. He picked cherries and hops near Yakima. When the weather turned cold, he found work in a grocery store and returned to high school so he could graduate.