Our Boys with the Colors

Of all the Gulf County men who saw action in World War II, none were as celebrated as Army Air Force Captain George G. Tapper.

Tapper, a fighter pilot whose bomber bore the likeness of his mother, wracked up 13 decorations during his four years with the AAF.

The Star proudly reported Tapper's exploits in North Africa, Sicily, Italy and other locales in its World War II-era "Our Boys with the Colors" column.

The coverage was so frequent and so exuberant that even Tapper's fellow soldiers took notice.

In a Jan. 12, 1944 letter to The Star, "Red" Herring, a former Port St. Joe resident then stationed in England, closed with a nod to Tapper's globe-trotting ways.

"George Tapper seems to be getting around for a St. Joe boy, don't you think?"

Bombs away

"It's now Lieut. George G. Tapper," The Star proclaimed on Jan. 22, 1943, in announcing Tapper's receipt of his pilot's wings.

Tapper entered flying training a year earlier, on Jan. 20, 1942. He received instruction in Arcadia, Fla. and Bainbridge, Ga. before graduating from advanced flying school in Columbus, Miss.

From there, it was off to destinations unknown. The May 21, 1943 "Our Boys with the Colors" reported the safe landing of Tapper "somewhere."

"George flew his ship to South America and hopped off from there across the Atlantic perhaps to England, Dakar, Tunisia, China, Australia or most any place," The Star guessed.

Three months later, the previously censored details of Tapper's whereabouts emerged in The Star's Aug. 6, 1943 coverage of the now decorated war hero.

For his activities in the North African and Italian air campaigns, Tapper received the Air Medal and Oak Leaf Cluster.

He participated in 15 bombing expeditions over Sicily and the Italian mainland, and was credited with shooting down seven enemy planes on one Italian raid.

Tapper named his bomber "the Madam of Port St. Joe," an homage to his father's pet name for his mother.

Mrs. Tapper was depicted on the side, in the image of an old, bent, gray-haired woman resting beside the other flight markings.

In a letter home, excerpted by The Star, Tapper wrote that he participated in the bombing of Rome, a prelude to the unseating of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini.

 "We did a very nice job on Rome, and boy did it burn!" Tapper boasted. "Nothing was hit except railroad yards, air fields, supply dumps and ammunition plants."

Upon leaving the U.S., Tapper had initially been assigned to the India and China theaters, but was rerouted to the North African coast, where he participated in campaigns in Tunisia and Algiers.

Appointed censor for his squadron, Tapper reported good health and spirits.

In his letter, he sent his mother a piece of handmade lace from Malta.

Applauds Red Cross

Sitting in the middle of a Mediterranean wheat field ringed by mountains, Tapper expressed his gratitude for American Red Cross workers at home and abroad in a letter to Mrs. Basil E. Kenney.

"My main motive in writing this letter was to say, 'More power to you in your Red Cross work.' The Red Cross is doing more to win this war than most people realize," Tapper wrote in the letter, excerpted in The Star's Aug. 8, 1943 edition.

The Red Cross shadowed the troops, Tapper noted, "making a home for the boys in every town," complete with shows, dances, food and other comforts.

"Where we are there is no town, but after each raid when we get back, they have hot coffee and doughnuts ready for the boys. They have some of the nicest women in charge that you would want to meet."

Though he could talk for hours about the merits of the Red Cross, Tapper kept his message to Kenney brief.

"I just wanted you to know how myself and all the other boys feel about the Red Cross, and how much we appreciate word from people at home, like you are making it all possible."

Hero's Welcome

A slender but fit Tapper returned home to rest in April 1944 after 12 months in the African and European theaters.

The Star gave him a hero's welcome by listing his catalogue of accomplishments, including a recent promotion to captain.

"George had been holding out on us folks here at home," Star editor William S. "Bill" Smith quipped in his "Our Boys with the Colors" column. "As far as we all knew he was only a lieutenant, and here he comes barging in with a captain's bar on his shoulders."

Tapper's parents had not even known about the promotion for some time, Smith noted, even though his letters home had "Capt." on the return address.

Tapper proved modest about his military commendations, swearing Smith to secrecy. During his time overseas, he'd received 13 decorations in total, including the Distinguished Flying Cross and Silver Star.

With 55 missions to his credit, Tapper participated in bombing raids on North Africa Sicily, Corsica and Italy.

His was in the first bombing group stationed in Italy, and he bombed cities in Albania, Greece, Yugoslavia, Romania, Bulgaria and Munich.

Before returning home on a B-25 to La Guardia Field, New York, Tapper had let a few loose over the monastery at Cassino, utilized by German troops as an observation post.

Tapper told the Star that a pre-emptive bombing of the monastery would have saved at least 1,000 American lives.

"His pride is his cap which he wore on every mission. It is somewhat frayed and worn but still serviceable," wrote Smith in language that could've easily described the weary but triumphant Tapper.

War Hero to Politician

With his newly earned war hero credentials, Tapper tossed his hat in the political ring in January 1946, announcing his bid for the Florida legislature.

Tapper previously served one year as Gulf County commissioner from 1941-1942, having resigned early to enter the Air Force.

In a front page notice of Tapper's political bid, The Star reported Tapper's military decorations and campaigns in North Africa, Sicily and Italy.

The article closed with an official Star endorsement: "He is well known and well liked from his past record. If elected representative, we can all feel assured that the county will be well and ably represented at Tallahassee."

With the support of his hometown, Tapper won the election in 1946. He served four terms in the Florida House of Representatives, as well as three terms in the Florida Senate, including one term as president pro-tem.

Tapper became one of the area's premiere politicos.

He served as chairman of the port authority, chairman of the Gulf Coast Community College Board of Trustees and was the special representative of President Jimmy Carter to the coronation of Pope John Paul II in Rome.

He established the George G. Tapper Foundation, which continues today, donated the land on which the St. Joseph's Bay Country Club was built and received an honorary doctorate of public service from the University of West Florida.

Gulf County's George G. Tapper Bridge bears his name.

Tapper passed away at his home on June 28, 1986. He was 69.