Former flier keeps WWII memories alive for new generation

APPOMATTOX — Sixty-six years ago, Robert “Cal” Moore Jr. was 800 feet above the beaches of Normandy in a military cargo glider.

It was June 4, 1944, and Moore, then 25, was flying support troops and an ambulance jeep to a landing zone 13 miles inland from Omaha Beach.

Weighed down with a flack vest, a gas mask, a large M1 rifle and “everything you could think of on a belt,” he said landing his glider was almost easier than getting out of the plane.

That mission was the first of three harrowing flights he made during World War II and his first time in combat. He shares the details of those missions at speaking engagements across the state, giving a first-hand account of his military experiences to audiences at colleges, churches and community centers.

These days, though, he is becoming less of a storyteller and more of an oral historian as the U.S. loses more than 1,000 World War II veterans each day.

Moore, who lives in Appomattox, recognizes that changing role. As a state commander of the national WWII glider pilots association, he’s seen his yearly reunions become smaller and smaller each year.

“We only have just a few left,” Moore said, “but we’re still holding those reunions.”

At age 92, Moore continues to travel as much as he can to share his experiences; it is his way of securing recognition for his fellow veterans’ sacrifices.

Jeff Worley, pastor of Glory Baptist Church in Appomattox, is glad for Moore’s dedication.

He invited Moore to speak last year while the church was collecting supplies to send to soldiers in Iraq.

“I think our younger generation needs to understand what a lot of these guys went through in the World War II era,” Worley said.

Several years ago, Moore made a visit to the National D-Day Memorial in Bedford on his way to a scheduled speech to ROTC cadets at Virginia Tech. The memorial’s funding problems, he said, inspired the opening lines of his speech:

“If you’d seen what I’d seen flying 800 feet above the beachhead,” he told the cadets, “you’d be glad to help the memorial.”

After his speech, he received a notice from the college that the cadets had donated about $9,000 to the memorial.

Moore said that while he told them of D-Day, “you could hear a pin drop.”

At 800 feet in a CG4-A glider, used to carry troops and equipment, Moore had an aerial view of the bloodshed below.

“I saw our troops just being mowed down,” he said. “Empty helmets and all.

“That’s when the ol’ adrenaline starts to pour in.”

Moore’s mission was to fly past the beaches and land the cargo glider in a cow pasture. German soldiers had tampered with his landing zone by digging holes and then hiding them with green grass on top.

He managed to notice the holes beforehand and was able to make a safe landing. That was just half the battle, though, as he had to make a 13-mile trek back to the beach on blistered feet.

“I don’t know how long it took,” Moore said. “Time didn’t mean a thing.”

He said his chlorine-impregnated socks — worn to protect against mustard gas — combined with his high body temperature, caused painful blisters.

“Your adrenaline goes up sky high and with that your body temperature increases tremendously,” he said. “Particularly your first time in combat.”

Moore said that day was part of what he calls “the worst war ever in the world.”

“And that’s the reason I’m keeping on with these talks … to tell the people and to put it in the history the sacrifice that was made around the world,” Moore said.

“And I hope I can keep that alive through the years so that history will tell what had happened.

“I don’t want people to forget.”