By Tina Huang

Staff Writer

Before entering the Coppell home of Captain Robert Lee Swofford, there are already indicators of the patriotic past inside the household. The American flag hangs proudly by the door and posted on the door is a plaque with the words ‘Captain’ engraved.

Swofford served in the United States Army during World War II and even at age 90, he remembers his experience vividly.

In 1939, when he was 17, he joined the local national guard by lying about his age, and thus his journey began.

He initially drove trucks, but at the first opportunity he joined a program to train to be a pilot for the army.

“I had dreamed of being a pilot since I was 8 years old,” Swofford said.

And now his dream was coming true. Of the large number of people that had signed up, he was one in three people who passed the initial test.

After, the training course began in Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Ala.

He recalls the difficulty of the course, but he loved every moment of it. He was able to overcome the difficulty for he was chosen to be an actual pilot in the army. Consequently, he was transferred to Arcadia, Fla. for pre-flight training.

“It was interesting. I had never been within a mile of an airplane until I climbed into the back seat with my instructor. It was difficult. I had never worked so hard in all my life… I didn’t allow myself one moment of looking around saying ‘Hey, this is nice,’ I worked hard,” Swofford said.

As such a hard worker, it was inevitable that he would see the battlefield during such a large scale war. He was soon busy being part of protecting the people and the country that he loves while doing what he loved.

“I was never scared. I was never scared for my safety because there was law enforcement. And the reason that we won we because we were determined to win and we were not afraid,” wife Jane Swofford said.

It would not be a surprise if she was referencing to her husband as she described her lackof fear. During the war, he was flying bombers.

As a pilot, Swofford’s highlight was the role his D-Day on June 6, 1944. It was morning time when he was called for a mission and when he got on the plane, he found he was carrying eight 1,000 pound bombs.

“Our target was a bridge across the River Orne and adjacent canal…at the north edge of a town called Cannes…and we bombed that bridge that morning,” Swofford said.

He didn’t know how important his job was until after the war was over. The Germans were held back for four hours because they could not get their tanks to the other side.

“We were fortunate to escape with our lives out of that situation. I was awarded Distinguish Flying Cross for that flight. There are 51 pilots that have two DFC’s and I am one of them,” said Swofford, proudly.

“All in all I’ve flown airplanes for 40 years. But I loved it. I really loved it… it was the most rewarding work in my life,” Swofford said.