From New Marlborough vacation home, 97-year-old recalls life of a WWII bomber

By Dick Lindsay, The Berkshire Eagle
Sep 2, 2019 Updated Nov 3, 2020

NEW MARLBOROUGH — Martin Biener has seemingly done it all and done it well for decades.

The New York City native has crafted furniture, sold cars for a living, flown his own airplane and owned a race car team. He even taught his family to ski — on snow and water — went on numerous cruises and continues to paint, having just finished his latest piece of artwork.

What's next for the 97-year-old World War II veteran?

"Skydiving," he said with a smile.

The answer is not surprising as Biener has always felt at his best above ground. Marrying his prewar sweetheart and raising four children aside, the Renaissance man's biggest achievement was completing — and surviving — 51 bomber missions over North Africa and Italy from 1943 to 1944.

He piloted a B-25 Mitchell Bomber with the 321st Bomb Squadron of the Army Air Corps, and lived to tell about it. Biener feels fortunate given nearly half of U.S. bomber airmen died in combat during the war.

A pilot already before the war, Biener was confident about leading his squadron into battle and that he would return safely to his future wife.

"We were all really good friends; we supported each other," he said. "I knew I could do it. I had a girlfriend back home."

That girlfriend was Phyllis Axelrod, who became Biener's wife of 69 years. She died in May 2013.

Until Phyllis' death, her husband rarely spoke of his role in World War II. Now he freely shares his war stories and proudly wears his hat commemorating his service during World War II.

Biener recently spoke about his military and civilian life with The Eagle during an interview at his family's 85-year-old summer retreat on Lake Buel. Two of his daughters and two of his aunts joined the conversation, giving their perspective of a patriarch who has kept the family hopping.

"Dad would always be doing exciting things. We learned to snow ski and we learned to water ski," said daughter Margie Biener.

Biener's aunt, Esther Birnbaum added, "There was never a week he didn't have a new hobby. He would master it and move on to something else."

Martin B. Biener grew up in Flushing, N.Y., heading to Northeastern University in Boston before the 19-year-old enlisted in the Army shortly after the Japanese navy bombed Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. He trained at the Army Air Corps Southeast Training Center in Blytheville, Ark., graduating in 1943 as an Army pilot. He was then deployed to the Mediterranean region in southern Europe as part of the 321st Bomb Squadron. Prior to deployment, Biener briefly trained under Lt. Col. James Doolittle and came close to being part of the famous "Doolittle Raid" on Tokyo in April of 1942. The air raid was revenge for the Pearl Harbor attack and intended to boost American morale by showing Japan was vulnerable to a U.S. attack.

Biener survived 51 bombing missions, including his closest brush with death. During one air raid, a cluster bomb failed to drop from the bomb bay doors of the B-25. Biener left the co-pilot to fly the plane, went below to the bomb bay and, with a crewman holding his legs, he reached down to manually drop the live bomb.

Biener felt he was the one obligated to save the crew.

"I did it because I was the pilot," he said.

Support from a close-knit family helped Biener cope with the danger of air warfare. Aunt Elaine Wolf would write him often while he was overseas, even though she got few letters in return.

"He's my best friend; we've never had an argument," she said.

Following combat duty, Biener returned to the states in 1944 and a year later was discharged from the Army with the rank of captain. The veteran's next mission — the 52nd mission he would often say — was marrying Phyllis.

"She was gorgeous, perfect. She couldn't do anything wrong," Biener said.

The couple would raise three daughters and a son on Long Island, N.Y., where Martin Biener joined the 90-year-old family-owned car dealership in Great Neck, now on its fourth generation.

Longevity appears to be a hallmark of the war veteran.

He flew his own plane until the age of 75, enjoyed decades of marital bliss and his creations were made to last.

"Martin loved to build things," said his daughter, Ru Biener. "He would build furniture for our house and some my brother still has."

Biener also loved taking a cruise with his wife, but on occasion making it a big family-affair.

"For his 40th wedding anniversary, he took about 25 of us on the QE2," said Margie Biener, referring to the ocean liner/cruise ship Queen Elizabeth 2.

In October of 2015, Biener's richly fulfilled life came full circle when he climbed into a B-25 bomber, 71 years after his final mission.

He was one of six veterans who boarded the plane that flew over New Orleans as part of an airshow featuring World War II aircraft.

Although Biener was in the unfamiliar position of being seated next to the gunner's position, he told The Eagle, "I felt at home."

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Martin B Biener