Bertram Bank (September 1, 1914 – June 22, 2009) was an American

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

, war hero and

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...

pioneer who was best known as the founder of the Alabama Football Radio Network. He was also the founder of two

Tuscaloosa, Alabama Tuscaloosa ( ) is a city in and the seat of Tuscaloosa County in west-central Alabama, United States, on the Black Warrior River where the Gulf Coastal and Piedmont plains meet. Alabama's fifth-largest city, it had an estimated population of 1 ...

radio stations (

WTBC WTBC (1230 AM) is a radio station broadcasting a classic country format. Licensed to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States, the station serves the greater Tuscaloosa area. The station is owned by Townsquare Media and features programming from Loca ...

and WUOA) and wrote the book, ''Back From the Living Dead'', about his experiences as a

POW A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war ...

and

Bataan Death March The Bataan Death March (Filipino: ''Martsa ng Kamatayan sa Bataan''; Spanish: ''Marcha de la muerte de Bataán'' ; Kapampangan: ''Martsa ning Kematayan quing Bataan''; Japanese: バターン死の行進, Hepburn: ''Batān Shi no Kōshin'') was ...

survivor.

Life and career

Bank was born in

Montgomery, Alabama Montgomery is the capital city of the U.S. state of Alabama and the county seat of Montgomery County. Named for the Irish soldier Richard Montgomery, it stands beside the Alabama River, on the coastal Plain of the Gulf of Mexico. In the 202 ...

, to Sam and Bessie Bank. He earned a law degree from the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and la ...

in 1940. After graduating, he received a commission as a second lieutenant through the University's ROTC program and was assigned to the 27th Bomb Group. Bank served in the

Pacific Theater The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He was captured in 1942 and held as a POW by

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

while serving in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, surviving the Bataan Death March in the process. During his time as POW he was held at Camp O'Donnell (

Cabanatuan Cabanatuan, officially the City of Cabanatuan ( fil, Lungsod ng Cabanatuan; ilo, Siudad ti Cabanatuan), is a 1st class component city in the province of Nueva Ecija, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 327,325 peop ...

) before being relocated to the island of

Mindanao Mindanao ( ) ( Jawi: مينداناو) is the second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the island is part of an island group of ...

. He was back at Cabanatuan by the time of its

liberation Liberation or liberate may refer to: Film and television * ''Liberation'' (film series), a 1970–1971 series about the Great Patriotic War * "Liberation" (''The Flash''), a TV episode * "Liberation" (''K-9''), an episode Gaming * '' Liberati ...

by US Rangers near the end of the war. After the war, Bank retired from the

Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an a ...

with the rank of

Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

and returned to Tuscaloosa and took over WTBC as owner and general manager. He then secured the rights to broadcast

Alabama Crimson Tide The Alabama Crimson Tide refers to the intercollegiate athletic varsity teams that represent the University of Alabama, located in Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide teams compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I as a mem ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

in 1953 and built a network of affiliates that became the Alabama Football Radio Network. Bank served as producer of the network until 1985 and held the title of producer emeritus of the AFRN and its successors until his death. He was known for watching games from the broadcast booth up to the 2008 season before his death, being acknowledged by Alabama Radio play by play commentator

Eli Gold Elias Leo Gold (born December 15, 1953) is an American sportscaster. Gold is best known as the radio voice for the Alabama Crimson Tide football team, along with Tom Roberts, as part of the Crimson Tide Sports Network since 1988. He was the hos ...

every broadcast. Bank was also a pioneer in broadcasting

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

, having his station become the first in the state to broadcast a game over the air. Bank also served as a member of both the

Alabama House of Representatives The Alabama State House of Representatives is the lower house of the Alabama Legislature, the state legislature of state of Alabama. The House is composed of 105 members representing an equal number of districts, with each constituency contai ...

and Alabama Senate. He served two terms in the State House, first being elected in 1966, and one term as a State Senator, being elected in 1974 for the 30th district. He chose to forgo a second term in the State Senate to unsuccessfully run for Lieutenant Governor in 1978. His most famous accomplishments while serving in the

Alabama Legislature The Alabama Legislature is the legislative branch of the state government of Alabama. It is a bicameral body composed of the House of Representatives and Senate. It is one of the few state legislatures in which members of both chambers serv ...

included the introduction of legislation that made it a felony to burn an American Flag or draft card, making Alabama the first state in the nation to address the issue, as well as legislation requiring the philosophy of patriotism to be taught in Alabama public schools.

Death

Bank lived in Tuscaloosa until he died on June 22, 2009, aged 94, shortly after being admitted into a local hospital. He was survived by two sons and four grandchildren.

Awards and honors

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, w ...

Bronze Star The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

* Alabama Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame and Lifetime Achievement Award * National Veterans Award

References

Tuscaloosa News
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bank, Bert 1914 births 2009 deaths Politicians from Montgomery, Alabama Politicians from Tuscaloosa, Alabama Members of the Alabama House of Representatives Alabama state senators Bataan Death March prisoners United States Air Force officers United States Army officers Military personnel from Montgomery, Alabama 20th-century American legislators 20th-century Alabama politicians