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Samuel "Buddy" Estis
Copies of the photographs on this page and documents were donated by Steve Estis, son of Samuel Estis, in November 2020. The full collection also includes 17 photographs of flight logs from Sgt Estis' time at Morris Field.
Samuel "Buddy" Estis was born in New Jersey in 1924 and enlisted in the US Army Air Force in 1942. He was trained at Seymour Johnson Field in Goldsboro, NC, and Morris Field in Charlotte as a Flight Engineer Instructor and an A&E (Aircraft and Engine) instructor for the B-25 bomber and the A-20 and A-26 attack aircraft. He rose to the rank of Sergeant in 1945
Sgt. Estis' son, Steve, sent copies of photographs to the Carolina Room of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library. They show Sgt. Estis in training at Goldsboro and in service at Morris Field in Charlotte. Steve Estis provided the following notes on the photographs:
- There is a great photo of his group of buddies at Seymour Johnson Field in Goldsboro, NC. Samuel is standing on the far left of the back row.
- The picture of Samuel in uniform, at 19 years old in 1943, as a Corporal based at Morris Field was sent to his mother, my (Steve’s) grandmother. He wrote a note on the pic to his mom. “From Your loving son.”
- My father said that charcoal portrait was done freehand by another soldier.
- There is also a photo of Samuel at 20 years old in 1944 at Morris Field next to his B-25G with his hand on the prop of his bomber. Upper right corner of pic is handwritten "“Morris Field, 1944-45."
- Corporal Estis volunteered to go from Morris Field to Columbia, South Carolina for a 3 week camouflage training school. as the squadron needed someone versed in this skill. His classmates are looking on as the camo paint is being applied.
- The photo taken c2018 mimicking the same pose was a special shot at an air show in New York. The crew of “Panchito,” a B-25J, was told about Samuel’s background and couldn’t wait to grab him. They were honored to offer him a ride which was 75 years since his last one in his old plane. We tried to duplicate the pic of his Morris Field pic above showing him next to Panchito at 94 years old
Samuel turned 96 years old in 2020. He is blessed with good health and still talks very fondly of his time at Morris Field. Since this information was submitted to us, Samuel Estis died in New Jersey in May of 2022.
There is also a photograph of the flight log from April, 1945, in the Gallery below. The following details are noteworthy:
- In the top line, the entry for "Rank" shows that Corporal Estis has been promoted to Sergeant.
- The first column records 16 days when he nade at least one flight in the month of April
- The second column shows that Sgt. Estis flew the B-25C, B-25D, and B-25G that month
- The third colum shows that Sgt. Estis made 30 flights in April.
