World War II vet from Altoona recalls bombing experience

ALTOONA - "The Bridge on the River Kwai" -- the 1957 Academy Award-winning motion picture -- is a fictional story based on a book inspired by actual events.

One 93-year-old veteran from Altoona played a role in the actual event during World War II.

Clyde Saylor served in the Army Air National Guard when allied bombers destroyed the bridge in April 1945, delivering a blow to Japanese forces who were determined to advance their occupation of Thailand and Burma.

"The Japanese occupied all of Burma and all of Thailand, and in order to supply their troops, they built a runway. it was called the runway of death," Saylor said.

There were 13,000 prisoners of war, along with up to 100,000 civilians, that died building the Burma-Siam Railway. Part of that railway was the so-called Bridge on the River Kwai, an incorrect assumption by the book's author.

The actual bridge was a critical span on the railway, but it crossed the Mae Kong River. To Saylor, it was just a target.

"It was a large bridge that went across a large river that led into Burma from Thailand,” he said.

Saylor and his crew on the B-24, which was based in India, received instructions to make three passes at 6,000 feet and drop two 1,000-pound bombs on each pass,

But his plane, which arrived before what is called a flak suppression support plane, delivered its payload anyway, but took a hit on its final pass after it was better targeted by anti-aircraft.

"As soon as we had bombs away, the anti-aircraft hit the plane pretty hard, blew off the bomb bay doors, cut off a lot of the aileron cables in the bomb bay area, shot out three of our radios, blew three feet of the wing off and the plane started to go into a spiraling dive," Saylor said.

Saylor, who later wondered why they didn't alter their elevation on the final pass, says the pilot was able to control the plane. the crippled B-24 eventually made it back to a safe area before it crash landed, and all on board survived.

"The good Lord saved us," Saylor said.

With the bridge destroyed, Saylor said the Japanese could no longer support their troops with food and ammunition.

"It certainly shortened the war in that area by the success of downing that bridge," he said.

As for the Oscar-winning movie, it doesn't exactly mesh with Saylor's account.

"(In) the end it shows the British officer wading in the river to attach explosives to it,” Saylor said. “That was Hollywood's version of how the bridge was destroyed.”

In his later years, Saylor continued to serve his country as an honor guard who presided in more the 600 funerals.

"I enjoyed doing that. we had all kind of weather -- good weather and bad weather -- but it was an honor to bury your fellow man.” he said.

Saylor is now on emeritus status with the honor guard. Looking back at his time in the military, he still marvels at the accomplishments of American young men -- many just like him at the time -- in their late teens or early 20s -- and what they had accomplished in World War II.

"It's a shame that the people of this generation aren't the same type of people we were then. As Tom Brokaw said, ’We were the greatest generation and America will never be like that again,’” Saylor said.

Saylor said he was thankful for the experience to serve and to be able to come home and raise a family.

He said he was thankful for the experience to serve and to be able to come home and raise a family.

The bridge was repaired briefly after the Allied bombing, before British pilots hit it one last time in June 1945 to put it out of commission for the rest of the war.

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