2nd Lt. Turchette Killed in Air
Crash
in
Nutley co-pilot and crew honored for avoiding populated area |
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SERVICES MONDAY FOR ARMY FLYER, 8TH CASUALTY (March 19, 1943) – 2nd Lt. Robert Turchette was killed
aboard a bomber that crashed Friday afternoon in His family was notified Saturday morning. On Sunday they received a telegram from Robert’s
commanding officer stating that he had been among those definitely killed in
the crash. The flier’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Turchette of
It would have been his first since joining the Air
Force shortly after the attack on His mother remarked that he was strongly incensed over
the Japanese attack. Although she was reluctant to see him go, she couldn’t
stand in his way. “You wouldn’t want me to stay home, mother,” he said, “you
wouldn’t want that kind of a son.” Robert, the eighth local war casualty, always liked
planes and made many model planes as a youngster. When the Turchettes moved to Aside from airplanes, Robert’s other great love was
music. He was an accomplished pianist, and he practiced incessantly. He
loved classical music, and he regularly attended concerts at Carnegie Hall.
He was such an enthusiastic admirer of Horowitz, the
gifted pianist, that he sometimes followed him out of “Music to him was like another life,” his mother said.
“Once he took me to Carnegie Hall and I saw him trembling all over as he
listened to the music. And I could understand his great love for it. It
lifted him to a life above our own.” Robert developed not only his own interest in music but
encouraged his sister, Jacqueline, of whom he was very fond, to develop her
talents as a pianist and accordionist. He often wrote her urging her to
practice as much as she could. Once he wrote: “I’m dying to hear you play.” His interest in music created a conflict as to his
future life work owing to his equally great enthusiasm for airplanes.
He finally decided to earn a livelihood in the latter
field, and in 1939, following his graduation from Barringer High in He was in the middle of his sophomore year when he
decided to enlist in the Army. His letters home, his mother said, were masterpieces of
prose. He would write not only of his work, but also of the cloud
formations, the canyons and the mountains over which he flew. Lt. Turchette was very fond of dogs and his particular
favorite was Tipple, a scion of a line of police dogs and With the current goings on, Tipple seems to sense that
something is wrong. But like the little toy dog in Eugene Field’s “Little
Boy Blue,” he patiently sits back and awaits his master’s return.
Mrs. Turchette said that she has received letters and
visits from hundreds of people, many of whom she never knew before now.
“They have all be very kind,” she added, “wonderfully kind.” The Turchettes have another son, Ernest, who is married
and lives in Services were conducted Monday at Stirratt Funeral Home
followed by interment at Immaculate Conception Cemetery, From The B17 bomber crew honored
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While the construction and ongoing upkeep of the
Sheridan B-17 Memorial Park is our primary mission, the secondary mission is
to clear the record of Pilot Davis. Local Veterans and area residents
believe that 2nd Lieutenant George Davis should not have been held
responsible for the loss of his B-17F Flying Fortress and its crew.
