Clovis native was 'busy surviving' in World War II

Bennie Aday, 94, narrowly escaped death twice in World War II.

A left-seat pilot on B-24s, the Clovis native flew 50 missions against railroads, oil refineries and aircraft plants in France, Italy and Germany.

“We bombed railroads constantly to keep their troops from moving,” the first lieutenant said. “The Germans had two-thirds of occupied Europe working for them as slave labor and would rebuild the lines in a few days.”

Living in 14-foot tents with no lights, heat, water or bathrooms in Allied territory in Italy, some raids required eight-hour round-trips — with American fighter planes protecting the dozens of B-24s from German fighters.

“Sometimes seven or eight bombers would get shot down and you’d see parachutes,” Aday said. “A few made it back to Allied lines, but you’d never see most of them again. I felt sad, but got used to it.”

The first time the 21-year-old Aday’s plane got shot up, it crash-landed just inside Allied lines.

The second time “a hole big enough to drive a jeep through” got blasted out the side, he said.

“The left pedal fell to the floor and it took five miles to turn the plane,” Aday said. Chased by German fighters, Aday managed to climb up and hide in clouds. His crew of 10 gave him the only oxygen canisters not destroyed so he could stay conscious as some of them passed out.

Once again, he managed to crash-land a few miles inside Allied lines south of Rome.

“We were young; you couldn’t hardly kill us,” he laughed from his bed in Portales’ Heartland Continuing Care Center.

Joining thousands of soldiers, he returned home on a luxury liner “protected by warships in case German subs hadn’t heard the war was over.”

Back in Clovis, he worked at Preston Northcutt’s car dealership, then opened Aday Salvage Company.

At 20, Aday had married “the most beautiful girl in the world” — Dixie Gamble (“Miss Clovis” and daughter of state Sen. Claude Gamble). She has passed, but they have three sons, two daughters and “about 14 grandkids, I think.”

“I didn’t hate the Germans, but we had to kill them before they killed us,” Aday said.

“I never was afraid of dying; I was too busy surviving.”

Contact Wendel Sloan at: [email protected]