This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: sgs14 Surnames: Classification: obituary Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/localities.northam.usa.states.washington.counties.king/4170.1.1.1/mb.ashx Message Board Post: The Seattle Times Tuesday, February 17, 1970 Borland, Harper 330 Summit Avenue East. Husband of Emily. Brother of Esther Betts, England; William Borland, St. Helena, California. Member of Seattle Lodge No. 164 F. and A.M. [Free and Accepted Masons], Scottish Rite Bodies, Nile Temple of Shrine, Post Patrol Amethyst Chapter No. 138 O.E.S. [Order of the Eastern Star]. Services Thursday, 1{M, Green Lake Funeral Home. Interment, Evergreen. ***** The Seattle Times Wednesday, February 18, 1970 Deaths Borland, R. [Robert] J. [John] Harper, 70, 330 Summit Avenue East, February 14. ***** The Seattle Times Sunday, March 4, 1945 Officers Bail Out; Seattle Sergeant Flies Limping Fort They were on their own. The Flying Fortress, 21,000 feet over Germany and all shot up, was minus pilot, co-pilot, navigator and bombardier. They had bailed out, certain the plane would crash. The two sergeants left knew it was up to them. So they got to work at the controls and began racing for friendly territory. One of the sergeants was Charles Harper Borland, now home on leave and "glad to be alive." Staff Sergeant Borland sat on the arm of a chair in his home, 5406 Woodlawn Avenue, yesterday and told how he was "pilot for a day" September 10. "Our formation was attacking Haguenau, near Ludwigshaven in southwest Germany," he related. "There weren't any German fighters but plenty of flak. From my tail gun position I watched a couple of ships drop out. "We'd planted our bombs - all except one which was jammed in the bomb bay - and were turning to head home. Then it began to look bad for us. Number 4 engine was smoking and we started to drop behind. "Our oxygen was out, hydraulics shot out and the controls on No. 4 engine gone. Then I heard the pilot say, 'Prepare to bail out.' Borland sighed. "What a feeling" Things Look Brighter "So there I was, waiting, when I saw four chutes floating out behind us. The co-pilot, pilot and two other officers bailed out, leaving us with the ship on automatic pilot. "Four men were still in the waist so I crawled up there to go out the bigger door. I knew we were still over German territory so I grabbed the engineer and started for the front of the Fort." No. 4 engine had stopped smoking by this time and things looked brighter. Sergeant Borland took the co-pilot's seat, switched off the automatic pilot and began to fly the plane. The engineer took the pilot's position. "I held onto the stick lightly at first and we were all over the sky for a minute there," Borland went on. "Then the engineer yelled over to 'Grab that stick hard,' and we began to straighten up. "A couple of P-51 fighters came up. I made contact with one of them and explained out situation. They gave us a heading and we tried to keep on it. Headed Into Germany "When we first had started flying, the ship had turned itself around and headed back into Germany. So were were lucky to run into the P-51's. We flew for an hour and I was very surprised to know I could keep the darn thing up with so many things wrong." The proxy pilots consulted over the earphones and decided they were over Free French territory. They were losing altitude and decided to bail out. "They made me stay with the ship because I was smallest and could get out faster." Borland continued. "So I waited while the four men bailed out. Then I pulled her hard to the left to compensate for the drop of the right wing and engine and scrambled for the nose." After six tries, Borland got the chute to open. He landed in a tree outside the town of Ayatte, France. "By the time I got down, the whole town had turned out," he said. "Our plane had circled three times with a roar like ten dive bombers. It spread out for a thousand feet when it hit. Girls Sit on Bomb "The pieces were all small and you couldn't recognize anything. The Frenchmen were picking up bits of the plane for souvenirs. The bomb which had been stuck still hadn't exploded and I looked around for it. "It had rolled upon a small hill and sitting proudly on it were three little French girls. I shooed them off fast and found a man to stand guard over it until it could be exploded." Borland spent the night in Ayatte being feted by the citizens with wine, cognac and beer. The following day he went on to Paris and was flown back to his Eighth Air Force base in England. Borland, son of Mr. and Mrs. Harper Borland, has been in the service two years and overseas since May 1944, completing 35 missions. "One thing griped me the most about that mission - my 16th," he said. "It was a brand new plane and had been on only two flights. I really was burned up to lose it." ***** The Seattle Times Sunday, April 17, 1949 Chas. H. Borland Funeral Funeral services for Charles H. Borland, 25 years old, of 5406 Woodlawn Avenue, will be held at 3 o'clock tomorrow at the Green Lake Funeral Home, with burial in Washelli. Mr. Borland died yesterday. Mr. Borland was an Army Air Force veteran of the Second World War and a member of University Post No. 11, American Legion. A graduate of Lincoln High School, Mr. Borland attended the University of Washington for 18 months. He was working as a service station operator at the time of his death. Surviving are his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Harper Borland of Seattle and a grandmother, Mrs. I.A. Borland of Ottawa, Ontario. ***** The Seattle Times Sunday, April 17, 1949 Deaths, Funerals Borland, Charles H., 5406 Woodlawn Avenue, aged 25 years. Beloved son of Mr. and Mrs. Harper Borland, grandson of Mrs. I.A. Borland, Ottawa, Ontario. Member University Post No. 11, American Legion. Services Monday 3PM, Green Lake Funeral Home. Interment Veterans' plot, Washelli. Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board.