Description
Mr. Goettler talks about a lesson he learned the hard way about drinking the night before a flight.
George Angus Goettler
George Angus Goettler was born in Palmerston, Ontario on October 23rd in 1923. Mr. Goettler’s father had a grocery store where he, his two brothers and his sister worked. He had a second sister who died at a young age. Mr. Goettler served as a wireless operator, radar operator and tail gunner with the 160 Squadron. After completing their tour, Mr. Goettler’s crew was put on a rest tour where they tested aircrafts. After the war, Mr. Goettler returned to the grocery business, running his own store in Palmerston, Ontario.
Transcript
I and the engineer went to Cairo to join the crew, to carry on to Karachi. This Jack - or in those days we called him Jock - and I’m still in touch with Jack in Scotland, Jack Burgess. We went to the mess or the canteen, I think. Well, anyway, amazingly we met two crews from Russia. But, naturally they couldn’t tell what we were saying and we couldn’t tell what they were saying. But somehow, because we were air crew, we got together and we sat around and drank more than we should’ve. I did anyway. The next morning we’re taken off at 8 o’clock in the morning. And I am standing beside the aircraft and maybe my breath was still bad. And the captain, Les, he said, “Gus, were you drinking last night? ” “Yes.” He said, “You know that you’re not supposed to drink 12, within 12 hours of taking off on a trip? ” “Oh, I guess I should have known.” And so we got up in that aircraft and I’m sitting as a wireless operator, captain’s here and I’m just back here looking that way. And apparently I was tired with a hangover, and my head would go down. And the earphones, “Gus, wake up!” and I don’t know how many times he said that to me. And he taught me a lesson that I hadn’t been really aware of - that you just don’t drink the night before you go on a trip. So that’s what I thought of - how foolish I had been to be drinking before a trip.