By Jennifer Rice
Managing Editor
ASTORIA, N.Y. — Over the years, the Davison brothers have searched for information on their father, Robert “Bob” Davison, who was a bombardier in the Army Air Force during WWII in the 73rd bomb wing on a B-29 Superfortress heavy bomber.
They had little if any documents from the time their father served in WWII. If given the time, Bob Davison may have told his sons about his combat missions aboard the B-29 planes he flew. Unfortunately, Davison died from a heart attack when he was 47, on June 27, 1967.
After WWII, Davison joined the Air Force Reserves and became a member of the New York Police Department. He made his way up the ranks to sergeant.
His son Jeffrey was 11 when his father died. “The loss of my father still hurts,” Davison said. “He touched so many lives. He had a very profound effect on people. My uncles still talk about him to this day,” he said.
For these reasons, the Davison brothers occasionally search the Internet for information on their father, coming across various bits of news on the plane he was on — Miss Behavin’. In late May they decided to search once again. They were feeling nostalgic — Memorial Day was approaching.
They came across a Fox Valley Labor News article on Auroran Paul Linden. He was a radar operator on Miss Behavin’ and flew 39 combat missions. The article was written during the summer of 2011. The Davison brothers wondered if Linden was still alive? Did he fly with their father, and if Linden did, would he remember Bob Davison?
Another search on the Internet led to a phone number and address for Paul Linden. “I’m a little more reserved and I thought, ‘this Paul Linden is now 89, maybe we should write him a letter instead of calling him,’” Jeffrey said.
His brother John wanted to call. So they did. It was Memorial Day evening. On the other end, Paul Linden picked up the phone.
“We talked to Paul for more than an hour. It really was astonishing,” Jeffery said.
Paul Linden remembers the phone ringing Memorial Day evening. The two men on the other end said their father, Bob Davison, was on his crew. “When they mentioned the name, I said, ‘that was our bombardier for 39 missions,’” Linden said.
For more than an hour, Linden talked to the Davison men. “I still remember him. I have a good mind yet and very vivid memories of things that took place,” Linden said. “They found me after almost 70 years. It’s unbelievable.”
During the war, Bob Davison was responsible for bombing targets. He flew in the nose of the B-29, “because that’s where you saw the target as you came up on it,” Linden remembered. “Bob would press a button to open the bombay doors, and he was the one who let the bombs go.”
He told the Davison brothers there were times that a bomb would get hung up on shackles and get stuck. It was the sight gunner’s job to make sure all the bombs were gone, but it was Davison’s job to get the bomb loose.
“He’s put on a safety strap, open the door and climb out there. Usually, just giving it a kick would be enough to make it go. Bob would do this over Japan. He did it very well,” Linden said.
Time was of the essence. Linden explained that every bomb had a safety wire. Once the bombs start moving, the safety wire comes out of the bomb and activate. “Now, if it’s hung up, we know that wire’s been pulled and Bob’s got to move fast. He was a good bombardier,” Linden said.
These stories and memories about their dad were what Jeffrey called, “an absolute gift.”
“It’s so easy to forget what a difference one person can make, but just look at the gift [Paul’s] given everyone in my family. He’s connecting people to events that happened so long ago,” Jeffrey said.
After so many years, Linden was able to open doors that had otherwise been closed for the Davison family. Doors that Jeffrey never thought would be open.
To better allow the Davison family to re-connect with their father, Linden mailed them more than 100 pages of documents he’s saved, which contain photographs and news clippings.
“These children had nothing on their father. It was the least I could do,” Linden remarked. “A child needs to know something about their father.”

Jennifer Rice’s e-mail address is Jen@foxvalleylabornews.com.