Necessity is the Mother of Invention would probably be the best phrase I could use to describe Garland J. Robinson. More commonly known as Robbie to all who served with the 89th Attack Squadron of the 3rd Attack Group during WWII, he exemplifies ( In My Opinion ) a breed of people that are slowly but surely disappearing. Robbie and others just like him during WWII could fix something broken with what they had on hand.

Robbie was born June 10, 1917 in Houston, Texas. His case of fixititis began at the early age of 10 with his being the one to keep the Model T Ford running that was the means of transportation for his M.D. father. As we will learn on this page, his innate talent didn't stop with the Model T.

My source for research has been a series of letters from Robbie to various individuals. Excerpts from these letters will be the basis for this page. We will learn more about Paul I. ( Pappy ) Gunn and the A-20 Steak & Eggs on this page as they play a role in Robbie's story. The people that he had the highest respect for during this period of time would have been first and foremost the men of the 89th Attack Squadron Engineering Section - the Flight, Line & Crew Chiefs and all of those that were vital to keeping the aircraft flying.

THE GROUND POUNDERS

 A KEEPER