tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-72250171979608658242024-03-04T22:55:22.756-07:00466th Bomb Group 785th Squadron Crew #555This site has an ongoing topic of my Dads' 8th Army Air Corps service during WW2. There is duplication of some photos and statements. I condensed these posts from another Blog I write to contain everything in one space. The existance of this Blog has brought forth the reuniting of old comrades. This is a Tribute to all those who have sacrificed for our country.BMW HACKERhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13918586672379085225noreply@blogger.comBlogger53125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7225017197960865824.post-17158934113331604922017-09-25T21:23:00.001-06:002017-09-25T21:28:34.002-06:00Passing Dad peacefully passed August 7th, 2017 at 5:00 AM in our presence. <br />
He was 101 years, 6 months, 5 days of age and was independent until the end. <br />
He will be missed.<br />
<br />
1st. LT. John William (Bill) Smith<br />
Feb. 2nd. 1916 - Aug. 7th. 2017<br />
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<br />
Recipient of Air Medal with 5 Oak Leaf Clusters<br />
<br />
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Cadet Pilot Training in Alabama<br />
<br />
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<br />
Welcome home from Europe<br />
<br />
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Dad lived a full life and was as tough as nails until the end.<br />
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BMW HACKERhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13918586672379085225noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7225017197960865824.post-15544720071931940492016-11-18T19:57:00.000-07:002016-11-18T19:57:39.622-07:00Lt. Woodrow Cornelison, 486th. Bomb Group / 833rd. Bomb Squadron.<br />
"We had a uncle, Lt. Woodrow Cornelison, get shot down in his B-17 fall of 1943. I don't know much about it or his aircraft."<br />
<br />
Erik Cornelison<br />
<br />
This statement was made on another sight I frequent....so I went to work to get some details....<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Lt. Woodrow Cornelison<br />
<br />
Here is some info: .....Pilot in the 486th. Bomb Group / 833rd. Bomb Squadron. The plane they were flying when shot down:<br />
<br />
Boeing B-17G-75-BO Fortress serial # 43-37948<br />
<br />
Delivered Cheyenne 8/6/44; Kearney 20/6/44; Dow Fd 7/7/44; Assigned
837BS/487BG Lavenham 9/7/44; transferred 833BS/486BG [2N-T] Sudbury
27/10/44; {7m}<br />
Missing in Action Merseburg 30/11/44 with Woodrow Cornelison, Herman
Sigal, Ernie Glass, Bob Volkman, Melvin Adams, Ed Smolinski, George
Scott, Bob Burchard (8 Prisoner of War); Billy Spieles (Killed in
Action); mech fault, crashed Stolzenbach, Ger. Missing Air Crew Report
11153.<br />
<br />
Lt. Cornelison was captured by German forces on 11/30/1944, and was
eventually interned at Stalag Luft I - North III - Barracks 306 - Room
2. They were liberated on May 1, 1945 by American Forces, Russian Forces
arrived May 2, 1945. Did not evacuate the Prison until May 12th. /
13th.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: 15px;">Cornelison's Crew<br />
<br />
The aircraft the Cornelison crew flew was shot up by FLAK over the
target at Lutzkendorf. Witnesses say the aircraft went down in the North
Sea; however, Cornelison was able to set the plane between Borkener
Lake and Stolzenbach, Germany. It is not clear if LT Spieles was killed
in the crash, or in the air. The remainder of the crew survived and was
taken prisoner. LT Spieles was later found in the burnt out wreckage
of the aircraft. A volunteer gunner, Edmund Smolinski from the Howard
crew, flew on this mission. (MACR 11153)<br />
<br />
Buchard flew his last mission on November 25th, perhaps being replaced
by Smolinski. Buchard's status is unknown. It is not known if LT
Roberts was on this misssion.<br />
<br />
Crew Info:<br />
Name Rank Position First Mission Last Mission Status<br />
<br />
Woodrow Cornelison 2nd LT Pilot 10/05/44 11/30/44 POW<br />
Billy W. Spieles 2nd LT Copilot 10/09/44 11/30/44 KIA<br />
Herman Sigal 2nd LT Navigator 10/09/44 11/30/44 POW<br />
R. D. Smith (Robert) 2nd LT Bombardier 08/09/44 (?) 11/30/44 (?) UNK<br />
Ernest H. Glass S/SGT Flight Engineer 10/09/44 11/30/44 POW<br />
Robert E. Volkman T/SGT Radio Operator 10/09/44 11/30/44 POW<br />
Melvin T. Adams S/SGT Gunner 10/09/44 11/30/44 POW<br />
George L. Scott S/SGT Gunner 10/09/44 11/30/44 POW<br />
Robert E. Buchard CPL Gunner 10/09/44 11/30/44 POW<br />
<br />
MISSION INFO<br />
<br />
MISSION DATE NAME ID S/N TYPE<br />
090 10/09/44 "My Prayer" DB 43-38010 B17G<br />
091 10/14/44 TS 43-38140 B17G<br />
093 10/17/44 TG 43-37943 B17G<br />
097 10/25/44 TN 43-38194 B17G<br />
100 11/02/44 "Sleepy Time Gal" ND 42-98007 B17G<br />
103 11/06/44 "Batchelor's Delight"TR 43-38027 B17G<br />
105 11/10/44 TG 43-37927 B17G<br />
106 11/16/44 "My Prayer" DB 43-38010 B17G<br />
107 11/21/44 PD 44-6599 B17G<br />
108 11/25/44 "Vermont Maid" ND 43-38246 B17G<br />
109 11/27/44 NR 44-6599 B17G<br />
110 11/30/44 PT 43-37948 B17G</span></span><br />
<br />
Below are "Diary entries" (YMCA Log Book Entries) from a fellow Airman,<br />
<b>2nd Lt. John A. Kirkham</b> in the same Prison Camp / Barracks as LT. Cornelison.<br />
<br />
<b>30 November 1944</b><br />
Crash landed in vicinity of Erfurt. Captured at landing by Germans.
Taken to Luftwaffe post. Relieved of 1 pound 15 sterling. Transferred
same night ot Erfurt. Searched and confined at Erfurt. Injured Back
and ankle.<br />
<br />
<b>2 December 1944</b><br />
Left Erfurt for Frankfurt<br />
<br />
<b>3 December 1944</b><br />
Arrived Frankfurt and marched to Oberursel and interrogated.<br />
<br />
<b>4 December 1944</b><br />
Left Oberursel by train for Wetzler<br />
<br />
<b>4 December 1944</b><br />
Arrived Wetzler (Dulag Luft)<br />
<br />
<b>10 December 1944</b><br />
Left Dulag. Feet Frozen (or frost bite) en route<br />
<br />
<b>14 December 1944</b><br />
Arrived Barth (Stalag Luft I)<br />
Barracks 306 - Room 2 6484<br />
<br />
<b>9 March 1945</b><br />
Typhoid Booster<br />
<br />
<b>30 April 1945</b><br />
Dug trenches. Jerrys evacuating and demolishing installations.<br />
<br />
<b>1 May 1945</b><br />
Americans take control of Stalag Luft I<br />
<br />
<b>2 May 1945</b><br />
Russian forces arrive. Orders of Russian and American commands conflice.
Preparations made for march to Rostockmade. Fences and guard towers
torn down. Jerry warehouses ramsacked. POW's stream into Barth. Uter
chaos.<br />
<br />
<b>3 May 1945</b><br />
POW's allowed to stay. Chaos continues. Saw German suicide victims (3
women, 2 children). POW's leaving camp in large numbers against orders.
Tents, fireplaces and various odd sights spring up. Reports and rumors
of POW's being shot pour in. Flak school and Barth off limits but
POW's ignore in some cases.<br />
<br />
<b>4 May - 6 May 1945</b><br />
Chaos subsides gradually. Many are sick from overeating. POW's
continue to leave but in smaller numbers. Fish, chickens, sheep, deer,
eggs and food of all sorts pouring in. Food supply arrived. Swift
evacuation promised.<br />
<br />
<b>7 May 1945</b><br />
Russian show preformed for Kriegies. Singing, music and dancing. All <span style="text-decoration: underline;">excellent</span>
particularly the dancing. Groups consisted of Red Army men and women.
Russian, English and American present. English contact made. An
English officer promises air evacuation in a few days. Kriegies put on
impromptu (First Priorities).<br />
<br />
Fireworks display. Reports of and promised visit to concentration
camps in area. Collection made for victims of German atrocities.
Several fights in camp. Showers started.<br />
<br />
<b>8 May 1945</b><br />
Oder more or less restored, visiting parties to airport started. Fireworks and bonfires WAR ENDS<br />
<br />
<b>9 May 1945</b><br />
Walking trip to Barth, airport and concentration camp. Much filth and
disorder. Talked to liberated French. Saw atrocity victims graves
being dug.<br />
<br />
<b>11 May</b><br />
First definite info on evacuation<br />
<br />
<b>12 May</b><br />
Evacuation starts<br />
<br />
<b>13 May</b><br />
Evacuated by B-17 (379 Gr) Flew over Rhur, Dusseldorf, Essen, Hamm,
Gelesenkerchen, Cologne, etc. Landed at A-77, took truck to Rheims.<br />
<br />
<b>14 May</b><br />
Saw Rheims catherdral from air. Flown to Le Harve by C-47's. Turck to
Camp Lucky (RAMP Camp 1 St. Valery) Strike (Vittefleur). Utter
confusion in camp.<br />
<br />
<b>17 May</b><br />
Walked to Vittefleur<br />
<br />
<b>18 May</b><br />
Ran into Les Hairson<br />
<br />
<b>21 May</b><br />
Walked to Camp, Hitch-hiked to Le Harve<br />
<br />
<b>1 June</b><br />
Paid 5000 Francs ($100.00)<br />
<br />
<b>9 June</b><br />
Embarked at Le Harve (USS Hermitage)<br />
<br />
<b>17 June</b><br />
Debarked New York - Camp Shanks<br />
<br />
<b>18 June</b><br />
Fort George G. Meade - <b>HOME</b> <br />
<br />BMW HACKERhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13918586672379085225noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7225017197960865824.post-64403214928499648822016-11-18T19:47:00.001-07:002016-11-18T19:47:09.418-07:00 13th. Air Force, 5th. Bomb Group, 394th. Bomb Squadron.I've been attempting to research my late Uncle Jim's WW 2 Bomb Group /
Squadron but am not finding as much data available for the for the
Pacific Theater Bomb Groups. The European Theater Groups seem to have
been better documented than their Pacific counterparts.<br />
<br />
Uncle James Carl Bussinger was a 1st. LT. Piloting a B-24. - 13th. Air Force, 5th. Bomb Group, 394th. Bomb Squadron.<br />
Jim was from Plentywood Montana.<br />
<br />
<br />
<img alt="[IMG]" class="bbCodeImage LbImage" data-url="http://www.hmdb.org/Photos3/308/Photo308180.jpg" height="252" src="http://www.hmdb.org/Photos3/308/Photo308180.jpg" width="320" /><br />
<br />
<img alt="[IMG]" class="bbCodeImage LbImage" data-url="http://www.warcollectiblesforsale.com/photos/231765729659_1.jpg" height="179" src="http://www.warcollectiblesforsale.com/photos/231765729659_1.jpg" width="320" /><br />
<br />
<img alt="[IMG]" class="bbCodeImage LbImage" data-url="https://tse2.mm.bing.net/th?id=OIP.Md122e688f8f993e281eab88747b43d64o0&pid=15.1&P=0&w=300&h=300" src="https://tse2.mm.bing.net/th?id=OIP.Md122e688f8f993e281eab88747b43d64o0&pid=15.1&P=0&w=300&h=300" /><br />
5th. Bomb Group<br />
<br />
<img alt="[IMG]" class="bbCodeImage LbImage" data-url="https://tse4.mm.bing.net/th?id=OIP.M4efc9cadf96321a80a04af2535ffabb6o0&pid=15.1&P=0&w=300&h=300" src="https://tse4.mm.bing.net/th?id=OIP.M4efc9cadf96321a80a04af2535ffabb6o0&pid=15.1&P=0&w=300&h=300" /><br />
<br />
394th. Combat Squadron<br />
<br />
<img alt="[IMG]" class="bbCodeImage LbImage" data-url="http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/46/52/51/465251e0e7b649e0c353ec5f8a6bc358.jpg" height="180" src="http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/46/52/51/465251e0e7b649e0c353ec5f8a6bc358.jpg" width="320" /><br />
<br />
5th Bomb Group Little Queen Mary<br />
B-24 13th A.F. 5th Bomb Group 394th Bomb Squadron Serial #44-40536<br />
Sharpe 23 (Thomas Sharpe Collection)<br />
<br />
I found the fate of the plane pictured above:<br />
Serial # 44-40536 (5th BG) lost Jan 5, 1945, SW Pacific.<br />
Missing Air Crew Report #11532<br />
Scrolling through the Army Air Corps Aircraft Data Base I found that
large numbers of 5th. Bomb Group B-24's were lost during the S/SW
Pacific Campaign.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<img alt="[IMG]" class="bbCodeImage LbImage" data-url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimEzelKOf3EXJOQZxAzWWD0myUHpim4lY0fz6IYA_NJX2VYZPia31tiDUOj2GVubim32aWx8Uu3FlkFxFT2PYRZOKHQjRFmnnZwYG6m9-xbXDoZ-74b6cIa9QNblN0Bzw0rXi2M7GUEsM/s1600/Bussingers+1944+001.jpg" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimEzelKOf3EXJOQZxAzWWD0myUHpim4lY0fz6IYA_NJX2VYZPia31tiDUOj2GVubim32aWx8Uu3FlkFxFT2PYRZOKHQjRFmnnZwYG6m9-xbXDoZ-74b6cIa9QNblN0Bzw0rXi2M7GUEsM/s320/Bussingers+1944+001.jpg" width="228" /><br />
<br />
B-24 Pilot 1st. LT. James Carl Bussinger and my Mothers younger sister, Janie (Fitzgerald) Bussinger.<br />
<br />
I have not been able to find any specifics on Uncle Jim's service, other
than he flew numerous combat missions and was with the 394th. Squadron
until the end of the War. Jim passed away a few years ago and never
spoke about his WW2 experiences with me.<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 22px;"><b>13th Air Force</b></span><br />
Constituted as 13th Air Force on December 14, 1942 and activated January 13, 1943.<br />
<br />
The 13th AF served in the South and Southwest Pacific.<br />
<br />
It was also known as the Cactus Airforce<br />
<br />
<img alt="[IMG]" class="bbCodeImage LbImage" data-url="http://www.armyaircorpsmuseum.org/pictures/13thAirForce.jpg" src="http://www.armyaircorpsmuseum.org/pictures/13thAirForce.jpg" /><br />
Constituted as Thirteenth AF on 14 Dec 1942. Activated in New Caledonia
on 13 Jan 1943. Served in the South Pacific and, later, Southwest
Pacific, participating in the Allied drive north and west from the
Solomons to the Philippines. Remained in the Philippines, as part of Far
East Air Forces, after the war. Transferred, without personnel and
equipment, to Okinawa in Dec 1948 and back to the Philippines in May
1949.<br />
<br />
Commands. XIII Bomber: 1943-1946. XIII Fighter: 1943-1946.<br />
<br />
Stations. New Caledonia, 13 Jan 1943; Espiritu Santo, 21 Jan 1943;
Guadalcanal, 13 Jan 1944; Los Negros, 15 Jun 1944; Hollandia, New
Guinea, 13 Sep 1944; Noemfoor, 23 Sep 1944; Morotai, 29 OCt 1944; Leyte,
1 Mar 1945; Clark Field, Luzon, c. 1 Jan 1946; Ft William McKinley,
Luzon, 20 May 1946; Clark Field, Luzon, 15 Aug 1947; Kadena, Okinawa, 1
Dec 1948; Clark AFB, Luzon, 16 May 1949-.<br />
<br />
Commanders. Maj Gen Nathan F Twining, 13 Jan 1943; Brig Gen Ray L Owens,
27 Jul 1943; Maj Gen Hubert R Harmon, 7 Jan 1944; Maj Gen St Clair
Streett, 15 Jun 1944; Maj Gen Paul B Wurtsmith, 19 Feb 1945; Maj Gen
Eugene L Eubank, 4 Jul 1946; Maj Gen Charles T Myers, 1 Dec 1948; Maj
Gen Howard M Turner, Jun 1949; Maj Gen Ernest Moore, 16 Oct 1951; Maj
Gen John W Sessums Jr, 10 Oct 1952; Brig Gen William L Lee, 27 Aug
1954-.<br />
<br />
Campaigns. China Defensive; Guadalcanal; New Guinea; Northern Solomons;
Eastern Mandates; Bismarck Archipelago; Western Pacific; Leyte; Luzon;
Southern Philippines; China Offensive.<br />
<br />
Decorations. Philippine Presidential Unit Citation.<br />
<br />
Insigne. On a blue disc, bordered golden orange, a pair of golden orange
wings surmounted in base by a white star charged with a red disc; all
below the Arabic numeral "13" in white. (Approved 18 Jan 1944.)<br />
<br />
A miraculous story about a 394th. Squadron Survivor:<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 22px;"><b>Lt. Pete Konduros </b></span><br />
<br />
B-24 Bombardier / mid-air explosion survivor Pete Gus Konduros was born
in Anderson, South Carolina on April 27th, 1922. He was a student at
Clemson University in South Carolina when Pearl Harbor was attacked. As
an ROTC cadet at Clemson he was encouraged to remain in the ROTC program
and to continue his coursework. In 1943, during his junior year, he was
inducted into the Army as an infantryman. Through sheer luck and
determination Pete managed to get transferred into the US Army Air Corp
where he was trained as a bombardier in B-24’s. Pete was assigned to the
394th Bomb Squadron, 5th Bomb Group, 13th Air Force and was shipped off
to fight in the Pacific Theatre in mid-1945.
<br />
<br />
<br />
<img alt="[IMG]" class="bbCodeImage LbImage" data-url="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v223/tlanders/Airshow009.jpg" height="222" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v223/tlanders/Airshow009.jpg" width="320" /><br />
Pete had several brushes with death during his training and also while
flying over ninety hours of combat during nine missions over enemy held
territory. Pete was nearly shot down in an earlier mission but it was
the events that transpired while flying his 9th mission that would
change his life forever. It was during this 9th mission that Pete
Konduros was quite literally blown out of his bomber when a flight of
B-24’s on the same bombing run inadvertently dropped their ordinance
into Pete’s bomber formation flying below.<br />
<br />
<img alt="[IMG]" class="bbCodeImage LbImage" data-url="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v223/tlanders/Airshow/Konduras_B24_aerial_before_edited.jpg" height="256" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v223/tlanders/Airshow/Konduras_B24_aerial_before_edited.jpg" width="320" /><br />
<br />
The results were catastrophic. Two 1000 lbs. bombs with 0.10 second
delayed fuses ripped through Pete’s B-24, exploded directly beneath it
and, in an instant, Pete found himself in the forward section of the
nose of the B-24. The rest of the plane was vaporized. Nothing remained
of Pete’s B-24 except for the small section of the nose which he found
himself in. Immediately Pete realized that he didn’t have his parachute
on and his movement was limited by the centrifugal forces that were
being generated as the nose section of his B-24 twirled and tumbled
towards the Pacific Ocean below.<br />
<br />
<img alt="[IMG]" class="bbCodeImage LbImage" data-url="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v223/tlanders/Airshow/Konduras_B24_aerial_after_edited.jpg" height="251" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v223/tlanders/Airshow/Konduras_B24_aerial_after_edited.jpg" width="320" /><br />
<br />
In what Pete describes as a miracle, he managed to get his flak vest
off, his parachute on and, during the last precious moments before the
nose section of the B-24 he was trapped in crashed into the ocean, he
was able to get out and pull the ripcord. Pete was the lone survivor.
All nine of his fellow crew members perished. He survived the explosion
but he was not out of trouble yet. Still stunned from his ordeal, he
bobbed in the water just offshore of Zamboanga, Mindanao in the
Philippines. From his vantage point he could see, hear and feel the
bombs from his flight of B-24’s exploding on a Japanese held airfield
that was being targeted. He was just a few hundred yards away from the
action and it didn’t take long for Pete to realize that by staying there
he risked being a casualty of his own exploding bombs. Also, to be
taken prisoner by the Japanese may have resulted in death. He decided to
swim away from the shoreline and distance himself from the maelstrom.
Pete swam through the wreckage of his own plane, he swam through the
bodies of his fallen comrades and when he felt he was far enough away
from the shoreline, he stopped and waited to be rescued…he hoped. Pete
was fortunate enough to be spotted by a seaplane from the USS Phoenix.<br />
<img alt="[IMG]" class="bbCodeImage LbImage" data-url="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v223/tlanders/Airshow/Konduras_Kingfisher_edited.jpg" height="254" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v223/tlanders/Airshow/Konduras_Kingfisher_edited.jpg" width="320" /><br />
<br />
Under covering fire from US Navy Corsairs, the seaplane rescued him and
transported him back to the ship where he spent several days resting and
recuperating.<br />
<br />
<img alt="[IMG]" class="bbCodeImage LbImage" data-url="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v223/tlanders/Airshow/Konduras_on_deck_edited.jpg" height="320" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v223/tlanders/Airshow/Konduras_on_deck_edited.jpg" width="254" /><br />
<br />
<br />
Pete was delivered back to his base on Bougainville but, by then, the
war in the Pacific was winding down and Pete was released from active
duty in the US Army Air Corp on October 28th, 1945. After the war Pete
went back to school, finished getting his degree and moved to Houston to
work as a stock broker and started a family. Over time, photos of
Pete’s rescue and, amazingly, his B-24 being destroyed by friendly fire
were made available to him. They stand in mute testament to the 9th
mission the Pete survived over sixty years ago.
<br />
<br />
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<br />
<br />
<br />
BMW HACKERhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13918586672379085225noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7225017197960865824.post-89353893555146728872016-09-05T20:44:00.002-06:002017-02-26T12:02:29.908-07:00S/Sgt. Roland Magee - Tail Gunner - 306th. Bomb Group - 368th. Squadron<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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My Wife recently
received an old photo album of her late Father, </div>
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J. Udall Magee.</div>
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He was a U.S. Navy
Medic on Saipan and then <st1:place w:st="on">Tinian</st1:place>. <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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We knew
his Brother Roland Magee tradically died in</div>
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a motorcycle wreck in
the 40's but knew nothing much more </div>
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about his Brother Roland. <o:p></o:p></div>
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This newpaper clipping was in the photo album revealed he </div>
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was an 8th. Air Corps Gunner on a B-17. </div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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This knowledge got my interest so the afternoon <o:p></o:p></div>
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was spent digging into archives and data bases.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAqNV74YEd1VXAb1Kj8bSV3sUW86CwN3pzZ-eYNjk9W6Q5qd2lZz5FEIMM9C5uBuhNvzKcRYkqAwbYMCWVLF6WZdju0yYFsLkCxBI19Hdv5o8QccUhCzSl47MGCsCtv_-DAh6IH8rGFD4/s1600/IMG_2016-09-05_17-33-42.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="336" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAqNV74YEd1VXAb1Kj8bSV3sUW86CwN3pzZ-eYNjk9W6Q5qd2lZz5FEIMM9C5uBuhNvzKcRYkqAwbYMCWVLF6WZdju0yYFsLkCxBI19Hdv5o8QccUhCzSl47MGCsCtv_-DAh6IH8rGFD4/s400/IMG_2016-09-05_17-33-42.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
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With only his name and the date he was shot down<br />
I started my search to find out more about Roland.<br />
I began my search by looking for B-17's shot down on the<br />
given date of April 5, 1943.<br />
Numerous data bases are available. Finding numerous B-17's<br />
lost in april 1943<br />
I recorded each aircraft serial # and then researched the<br />
U.S. Air Forces Aircraft Serial Number data bases.<br />
Every aircraft designated for Military use is logged<br />
on the data base...<br />
sometimes some are not listed, or listed incorrectly.<br />
Eventually I found he was a member of the 308th. Bomb Group.<br />
With this finding I searched the "MACR"'s<br />
(Missing Air Crew Reports) for the Group.<br />
Eventually the "MACR" was located and more<br />
details began to emerge.<br />
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The earliest MACR listed S/Sgt. Magee as "Dead", but that was later<br />
amended as "Wounded" after he was captured and interned<br />
as a POW.<br />
The newspaper article listed him as a "Ball Turret Gunner",<br />
but other documents listed him as the "Tail Gunner".<br />
The "MACR" listed the B-17 Aircraft Serial Number as "42-24465".<br />
Searching the Air Force Data Base I found that Aircraft # 42-24465<br />
was not delivered to the Air Corps until after April 5th. 1943<br />
so something was awry.....looking at the data base again<br />
I checked Aircraft # 41-24465 and found the proper aircraft.<br />
I've found conflicting information in the past so this didn't<br />
surprise me. </td><td style="width: 48pt;" width="64"><br /></td><td style="width: 48pt;" width="64"><br /></td><td style="width: 48pt;" width="64"><br /></td><td style="width: 48pt;" width="64"><br /></td><td style="width: 48pt;" width="64"><br /></td><td style="width: 48pt;" width="64"><br /></td><td style="width: 48pt;" width="64"><br /></td></tr>
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<td colspan="12" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt; mso-ignore: colspan; width: 576pt;" width="768" x:str="Assigned 368BS/306BG [BO- ] Westover 17/8/42; Thurleigh 16/10/42; Missing in Action to the ERLA works in Antwerp 5 April 1943 ">Assigned
368BS/306BG [BO- ] Westover 17/8/42; Thurleigh<br />
16/10/42; <br />
Missing in Action to
the ERLA works in Antwerp 5 April 1943 </td>
<td style="width: 48pt;" width="64"></td>
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<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">
<td colspan="8" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt; mso-ignore: colspan;"> with Pilot Robert W. Seelos (POW).<br />
Co-pilot:
Alexander Kramarinko (Evaded - POW)</td>
<td></td>
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<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">
<td colspan="13" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt; mso-ignore: colspan;" x:str="; Navigator: William W. Saunders (POW); Ball turret gunner: William H. Keskey (Evaded - POW); Left Waist gunner: William E. Baker ">Navigator: William W. Saunders (POW); <br />
Ball turret gunner: William H. Keskey
(Evaded - POW); <br />
Left Waist gunner: William E. Baker (Evaded - POW);</td>
</tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">
<td colspan="10" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt; mso-ignore: colspan;">Right Waist gunner: Raymond E. Walls (Evaded); <br />
<b><u>Tail gunner: Roland
Magee (POW);</u></b></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">
<td colspan="10" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt; mso-ignore: colspan;" x:str="Bombardier: James E. Murray (KIA); Flight engineer/top turret gunner: Stanley P. Stemkoski (KIA); ">Bombardier:
James E. Murray (KIA); <br />
Flight engineer/top turret gunner: Stanley P.
Stemkoski (KIA); </td>
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<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">
<td colspan="10" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt; mso-ignore: colspan;">Radio
Operator: Fred R. Hampton (KIA). <br />
Hit by Flak and shot down by Oblt Otto
Stammberger (4/JG26),</td>
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<td></td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">
<td colspan="12" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt; mso-ignore: colspan;" x:str=" lost #1 engine and unable to feather, crashed in the Heikant hamlet, 4km South West of Kalmthout, North of Antwerp, Belgium. "> lost #1 engine and unable to feather,
crashed in the Heikant<br />
hamlet, 4km South West of Kalmthout,<br />
North of Antwerp,
Belgium. </td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">
<td colspan="5" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt; mso-ignore: colspan;">Missing Air
Crew Report 15534<br />
MONTANA POWER.</td>
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<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;"><td class="xl22" colspan="4" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 192pt;" width="256">Boeing B-17F-10-BO Fortress</td><td style="width: 48pt;" width="64"></td><td style="width: 48pt;" width="64"></td><td style="width: 48pt;" width="64"></td><td style="width: 48pt;" width="64"></td><td style="width: 48pt;" width="64"></td><td style="width: 48pt;" width="64"></td><td style="width: 48pt;" width="64"></td></tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;"><td class="xl22" colspan="10" height="20" style="height: 15pt;">B-17E 41-24465 (306th BG, 368th BS, "Montana Power")<br />
damaged by AAA, shot down</td><td></td></tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;"><td class="xl22" colspan="10" height="20" style="height: 15pt;">by Maj. Josef Priller in Fw 190A-5 of JG 26/Stab and crashed</td><td></td></tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;"><td class="xl22" colspan="11" height="20" style="height: 15pt;">at West Kapelle, Belgium Apr 5, 1943.<br />
MACR 15534. 3 KIA, 7 POW <br />
<br />
The Target on April 5th., 1943: "ERLA Aircraft Works"<br />
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 896px;" x:str="">
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<td class="xl24" colspan="14" height="20" style="height: 15.0pt; mso-ignore: colspan; width: 672pt;" width="896">The industrial area of Antwerp, Belgium is
the primary target<br />
of this mission. More specifically the Erla </td>
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<td class="xl24" colspan="14" height="20" style="height: 15.0pt; mso-ignore: colspan;">aircraft
and engine factories are the highest priority. <br />
79 B-17s are depatched: 91BG
(20); 303BG (21); </td>
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<td class="xl24" colspan="13" height="20" style="height: 15.0pt; mso-ignore: colspan;">305BG
(18); 306BG (20). 64 of the 79 are effective on the target.<br />
The fighter
opposition is fierce, </td>
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<td class="xl24" colspan="14" height="20" style="height: 15.0pt; mso-ignore: colspan;">especially
on 306BG which loses 4 aircraft MIA. <br />
It so happens that Brigadier General
Frank A. Armstrong </td>
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<td class="xl24" colspan="14" height="20" style="height: 15.0pt; mso-ignore: colspan;">has
tagged along as an observer on the lead B-17 from 306BG. <br />
The aircraft is
damaged and several of </td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td class="xl24" colspan="14" height="20" style="height: 15.0pt; mso-ignore: colspan;">the
crew are wounded, but the aircraft manages to make it back <br />
to England.
BrigGen Armstrong later </td>
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<td class="xl24" colspan="13" height="20" style="height: 15.0pt; mso-ignore: colspan;">recounted
the lead aircraft was attacked from head-on at least <br />
25 times by the German
fighters.</td>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdTwbAn-CQ2pykKdELfAxiQrh-ehFmfFvaPREJID13IzjaRk_vYNZg11wbxiS_tlnJp-Xl86VC3HyL3cKyEvUty6Q2A52HGEsQeoHL44VETK4ZrMLWXkAWGC4AfYA4SGSu3oMSzsBFopU/s1600/IMG_2016-09-05_19-05-23.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="177" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdTwbAn-CQ2pykKdELfAxiQrh-ehFmfFvaPREJID13IzjaRk_vYNZg11wbxiS_tlnJp-Xl86VC3HyL3cKyEvUty6Q2A52HGEsQeoHL44VETK4ZrMLWXkAWGC4AfYA4SGSu3oMSzsBFopU/s400/IMG_2016-09-05_19-05-23.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br />
<br />
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 1024px;" x:str=""><tbody>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;"><td class="xl24" colspan="10" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 480pt;" width="640">Early 1943 Group Photo so Wife's Uncle Roland is likely in there<br />
somewhere.<br />
<br />
Also found this little content on a 306th. Bomb Group Site:<br />
<br />
"Roland Magee was Tail Gunner on B-17 #41-24465<br />
'Montana Power', shot down 5 April 1943 in Belgium. </td><td style="width: 48pt;" width="64"></td><td style="width: 48pt;" width="64"></td><td style="width: 48pt;" width="64"></td><td style="width: 48pt;" width="64"></td><td style="width: 48pt;" width="64"></td><td style="width: 48pt;" width="64"></td></tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;"><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;"><td class="xl24" colspan="11" height="20" style="height: 15pt;">Prisoner of War (POW). He had lost his eye to a Flak fragment<br />
during the attack. </td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;"><td class="xl24" colspan="16" height="20" style="height: 15pt;">After landing in parachute, he was hidden by a farmer near<br />
Loenhout (12km East of the crash place in Kalmthout, Belgium), </td></tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;"><td class="xl24" colspan="9" height="20" style="height: 15pt;">where the Germans brought his Pilot Robert Seelos<br />
to identify him. </td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;"><td class="xl24" colspan="14" height="20" style="height: 15pt;" x:str="Also captured, he was sent to a German field hospital, from where he left around the end of April 1943 ">Also captured, he was sent to a German field hospital,<br />
from where he left around the end of April 1943 </td><td></td><td></td></tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;"><td class="xl25" colspan="9" height="20" style="height: 15pt;">to the Luftwaffe Interrogation Center at Dulag Luft, Oberursel.</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;"><td class="xl24" colspan="16" height="20" style="height: 15pt;">From there, he was sent to Stalag 17B, in Braunau Gneikendorf,<br />
near Krems, Austria, where he was in Barrack 36B. </td></tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;"><td class="xl24" colspan="9" height="20" style="height: 15pt;">NARA POW records : “Returned to Military control 27 01 1945”. </td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;"><td class="xl24" colspan="11" height="20" style="height: 15pt;">As many other wounded POWs, he was part of a prisoner<br />
exchange program. </td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;"><td class="xl24" colspan="13" height="20" style="height: 15pt;">Sent to Stockholm, Sweden, he boarded the “Gripsholm”,<br />
a Swedish liner transformed into a hospital ship and<br />
arrived in New York on 16 February 1945 as one of 463 US, </td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;"><td class="xl24" colspan="11" height="20" style="height: 15pt;"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 1024px;" x:str=""><tbody>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;"><td class="xl24" colspan="9" height="20" style="height: 15pt;">70 Canadian and more than 600 civilians repatriated from Europe. </td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;"><td class="xl24" colspan="10" height="20" style="height: 15pt;">After being transferred to the Halloran Hospital,<br />
Staten Island, New York, </td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;"><td class="xl24" colspan="8" height="20" style="height: 15pt;">he got a furlough and was ultimately honorably discharged. </td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;"><td class="xl24" colspan="11" height="20" style="height: 15pt;">Sadly, he died a few months later, apparently in a motorcycle<br />
accident in California."</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;"><td><br /></td><td><br /></td><td><br /></td><td><br /></td><td><br /></td><td><br /></td><td><br /></td></tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;"><td class="xl24" colspan="11" height="20" style="height: 15pt;"><br />
Sad to think he survived such a deadly situation in the Air Corps,<br />
make it home from a POW Camp<br />
only to die in a motorcycle accident as a civilian.<br />
Interestly, his Brother J.Udall Magee repaired the<br />
motorcycle and was involved in an accident soon after<br />
getting it repaired.<br />
He gave the old Harley away.<br />
<br />
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</tbody></table>
Some 306th. Bomb Group Photos:<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgruL-vDmgBuh1AIBhhLQD5Je5bjKw2jYVzV_GRPE6jTipSc3LDJ4SjK_UIrchIHRSlBvDqTNzUrRkdgwNwi7RjNU1MRZtVeK7S_RQ2NaoZZhbU2db4DMZ6rz__1f7ff2dr7Yl2ErNhlNM/s1600/IMG_2016-09-05_19-04-39.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgruL-vDmgBuh1AIBhhLQD5Je5bjKw2jYVzV_GRPE6jTipSc3LDJ4SjK_UIrchIHRSlBvDqTNzUrRkdgwNwi7RjNU1MRZtVeK7S_RQ2NaoZZhbU2db4DMZ6rz__1f7ff2dr7Yl2ErNhlNM/s320/IMG_2016-09-05_19-04-39.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 896px;" x:str="">
<colgroup><col span="14" style="width: 48pt;" width="64"></col>
</colgroup><tbody>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td class="xl24" colspan="13" height="20" style="height: 15.0pt; mso-ignore: colspan; width: 624pt;" width="832">A flight of B-17 Flying Fortresses of the
306th Bomb Group <br />
leave contrails behind as they fly in </td>
<td style="width: 48pt;" width="64"></td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td class="xl24" colspan="13" height="20" style="height: 15.0pt; mso-ignore: colspan;">formation.
B-17 (serial number 42-31539) is visible in the foreground. <br />
Printed caption
on reverse: </td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td class="xl24" colspan="14" height="20" style="height: 15.0pt; mso-ignore: colspan;">'27814
USAF - with their contrails blending into the clouds below them, <br />
these Flying
Fortresses of the </td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td class="xl24" colspan="14" height="20" style="height: 15.0pt; mso-ignore: colspan;">U.S.
Army 8th Ari Force head out over Europe to blast <br />
Nazi installations deep
inside Germany. The large </td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td class="xl24" colspan="14" height="20" style="height: 15.0pt; mso-ignore: colspan;">black
burst in the centre of the photo is thought to be a ground fired <br />
enemy
rocket.<br />
U.S. AIR FORCE PHOTO</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td class="xl24" colspan="9" height="20" style="height: 15.0pt; mso-ignore: colspan;"> Handwritten caption on reverse: '306th BG Thurleigh.'<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfxUam8XPcPC49tyZGKanqEt6ZgQAFJHoclrKF-Sj4p6cCgBI7ADXHIQnj5a3LSnE0geBxG5AqkWlmAwvDWCkQd3aIyuyakZAM-gTgjCvKwwuAzbF_b3h-n_n5ygmW9HKt07-zirIAyRE/s1600/IMG_2016-09-05_19-17-24.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfxUam8XPcPC49tyZGKanqEt6ZgQAFJHoclrKF-Sj4p6cCgBI7ADXHIQnj5a3LSnE0geBxG5AqkWlmAwvDWCkQd3aIyuyakZAM-gTgjCvKwwuAzbF_b3h-n_n5ygmW9HKt07-zirIAyRE/s320/IMG_2016-09-05_19-17-24.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
</td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 640px;" x:str="">
<colgroup><col span="10" style="width: 48pt;" width="64"></col>
</colgroup><tbody>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td class="xl24" colspan="4" height="20" style="height: 15.0pt; mso-ignore: colspan; width: 192pt;" width="256">(Roger Freeman Collection)</td>
<td style="width: 48pt;" width="64"></td>
<td style="width: 48pt;" width="64"></td>
<td style="width: 48pt;" width="64"></td>
<td style="width: 48pt;" width="64"></td>
<td style="width: 48pt;" width="64"></td>
<td style="width: 48pt;" width="64"></td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td class="xl24" colspan="8" height="20" style="height: 15.0pt; mso-ignore: colspan;">Two
306th Bomb Group B-17 Flying Fortresses collided </td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td class="xl24" colspan="7" height="20" style="height: 15.0pt; mso-ignore: colspan;">in
mid-air in heavy fog over Thurleigh airbase </td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">
<td class="xl24" colspan="10" height="20" style="height: 15.0pt; mso-ignore: colspan;">after
returning from a mission; both were destroyed with all hands lost.</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
</td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">
<td height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"></td>
<td></td>
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</td>
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BMW HACKERhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13918586672379085225noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7225017197960865824.post-2357017229485864392015-04-13T22:18:00.004-06:002015-04-13T22:18:43.200-06:00"Get them Home"B-24 Educational Video:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/IRAPAh78ntM/0.jpg" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/IRAPAh78ntM?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<br />BMW HACKERhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13918586672379085225noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7225017197960865824.post-26600647161734702162015-01-01T11:46:00.003-07:002015-01-01T12:21:10.465-07:00In rememberance of Pilot Lt. Melvin Westbrook <!--[if !mso]>
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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--><span style="color: white;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">MELVIN D. WESTBROOK<br />
<span style="color: black;">SEP. 2, 1922-DEC. 22, 2014</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: white;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_iUKduVqWDIj4apioI8S0r6Z3t-KZJkzDgyy7YP42qAxPZAIqWEOD9scziBnmVnaqh4-xUdkaHCZRfKP4iNa7pVA_vABl-uwMuBJNFlwnrKi89eCsE8en58ZOOD5R4M0uqTLq2pXDLdU/s1600/WMB0039531-1_20141229.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_iUKduVqWDIj4apioI8S0r6Z3t-KZJkzDgyy7YP42qAxPZAIqWEOD9scziBnmVnaqh4-xUdkaHCZRfKP4iNa7pVA_vABl-uwMuBJNFlwnrKi89eCsE8en58ZOOD5R4M0uqTLq2pXDLdU/s1600/WMB0039531-1_20141229.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><br />
Melvin "Mel" Westbrook, of Turlock,
was born into a farming family in Genoa,
NE. He died at age 92 on Dec. 22.<br />
Mel moved to Turlock
in 1940 where he worked as a carpenter for H. A. Hubbard. During WWII he joined
the US <a href="http://www.legacy.com/memorial-sites/army/?personid=173656309&affiliateID=97" target="_blank" title="http://www.legacy.com/memorial-sites/army/?personid=173656309&affiliateID=97"><span style="color: purple; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Army</span></a>
Air Corps, and as a B-24 pilot he flew 35 missions over Europe "on the
books" and two OSS
missions "off the books." <br />
He was proud of his country and of his crew, only one (Richard Chapdelaine) of
whom now survives him. Richard was a Tail Gunner who Mel considered to be the
brother he never had. Mel loved to tell war stories and his family heard them
almost daily. One of his favorite expressions was, "I got a million of
'em!"<br />
Mel was an excellent carpenter, and after working all day he spent evenings and
weekends building the house he and his wife, Barbara, shared together for over
50 years. Other hidden talents included his penchant for growing the best Stockton red onions,
snowmobiling, playing guitar, a huge love of the outdoors, hunting (he was an
excellent marksman) and fishing, and dancing.<br />
Mel also loved his friends and community, where he involved himself in
activities all over town. He was an active member of the Turlock Kiwanis Club, <a href="http://www.legacy.com/memorial-sites/vfw/?personid=173656309&affiliateID=97" target="_blank" title="http://www.legacy.com/memorial-sites/vfw/?personid=173656309&affiliateID=97"><span style="color: purple; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">VFW</span></a>
and <a href="https://givalike.org/dm/Melvin%20Westbrook/R/2329359/Nonprofit-Directory/Nonprofit/946101585/American-Legion-Post-0668-Ballico?eqg=1" target="_blank" title="https://givalike.org/dm/Melvin Westbrook/R/2329359/Nonprofit-Directory/Nonprofit/946101585/American-Legion-Post-0668-Ballico?eqg=1">American Legion</a>. He assisted in delivering
pumpkins to local elementary schools, ushered at the fair, made enchiladas with
the Soroptomist Club, and worked with the Arrowhead Club.<br />
He had a smile and handshake for everyone, and as a member of the
"greatest generation" he will be missed.<br />
Mel is survived by his wife, Betty Westbrook, son Chris (Sheila) Westbrook,
daughter Anne (Jim) Walls, step-children Byron, Joyce, Mark, and Joyce
Anderson, Kari Doo, and one grandchild. His first wife, Barbara Westbrook, and
son Kevin Westbrook, preceded him in death. <br />
A visitation will be held at Turlock Funeral Home on Fri., Jan. 2, from 3 to 7
p.m., with funeral services to be conducted at the same location on Sat., Jan.
3, at 1 p.m. Private interment will take place at Turlock Memorial Park.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Dad flew as Navigator for Pilot Westbrook during their final months in the European Theater. This timeframe included the O.S.S. Missions into Neutral Sweden. Lt. Westbrook also piloted their final flight from England to the United States in late May of 1945. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"> Westbrook with his Bomber Crew: </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><br /></span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyWRDDm8-ylKcUEEcTRui2TG-u2l0YXrOxvrlnYRNzxJMRjYhVg7puXdQc3a9cyhJppS37xd0voK_P6_nV8klaMVBNpwqy1bxLhZdL9qkK2zY6r3gaC28Pa8qtq_4rrFIUVqspbNZZmpA/s1600/My%20Pictures%20365%20-%20CopyMA25142419-0026.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyWRDDm8-ylKcUEEcTRui2TG-u2l0YXrOxvrlnYRNzxJMRjYhVg7puXdQc3a9cyhJppS37xd0voK_P6_nV8klaMVBNpwqy1bxLhZdL9qkK2zY6r3gaC28Pa8qtq_4rrFIUVqspbNZZmpA/s1600/My%20Pictures%20365%20-%20CopyMA25142419-0026.JPG" height="245" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"> "Civilian" Westbrook (2nd. from Right) in Sweden in early 1945 during layover on an O.S.S. clandestine supply mission.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbltYA_8QVBcWPQlaArHGX8oD1_6V2LNzw9jp30LiN-iV3kXyQU8TzOgQhV0VH464CzUNkAA3T0djwqzzFvcO9WwrHSSjxSSUENW2clE4L9QdYAvKcudv6S5tNiVXagBcwbcFFZ0psVS4/s1600/My%20Pictures%20367MA25142419-0020.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbltYA_8QVBcWPQlaArHGX8oD1_6V2LNzw9jp30LiN-iV3kXyQU8TzOgQhV0VH464CzUNkAA3T0djwqzzFvcO9WwrHSSjxSSUENW2clE4L9QdYAvKcudv6S5tNiVXagBcwbcFFZ0psVS4/s1600/My%20Pictures%20367MA25142419-0020.jpg" height="320" width="203" /></a></div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Dad commented favorably to Mel's piloting skills </span>during one especially harrowing night flight into Stockholm Sweden. While being "tracked" by a German radar equipped night fighter, Mel took the unarmed bomber down to wave top level over the North Sea to avoid the deadly advisery. <br />
During another of these night missions the weather was terrible, with unbelievable cross winds. As Dad gave Mel navigation corrections, Mel could hardly believe the huge course changes Dad (Navigator) was dictating to him. Always the "Crews Pilot", Mel trusted Dads' Navigation skills and he followed the given course corrections getting them safely to their Swedish Airstrip.<br />
Complete trust of your crew mates was an essential of survival. <br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Time marches on, the WW2 Veterans List quickly grows smaller. </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
</span>BMW HACKERhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13918586672379085225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7225017197960865824.post-18956818565052181182014-10-25T21:45:00.000-06:002014-10-25T21:46:31.152-06:00Nose Gunner William E. Gilbert<div class="smallfont">
<b><br /></b>
</div>
<hr size="1" style="background-color: #575757; color: #575757;" />
<div id="post_message_25268372">
"Gil" Gilbert, Aerial Gunner, Crew #555, 466th. Bomb Group, 785th. Sq.<br />
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<img alt="" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9jKvxaABIP6bHQ0w1Ekzlnb3VFa2D8IjqA_sUN_Tri8Xbj6wp1Y3xzzj_2lUopYX7z-WhJMWMlQqLVrwjupvnKy8EqERCIT8nj5Gpy9wnCeKXCM4_NmDTK-PaN1XIfF6i5bj7WBYcVJM/w550-h708-no/" width="310" /><br />
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<img alt="" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCkLmsqHhyUsZKsQrbY0xNsoduXJtZ_VbfqZYWwt6sULJORMCMuPCeBFePAkV_Qkf9yQw58imPGSvjhzvCOvc9m66mOCInCUaTjjolIPYYRc3FU8_y0USVRmEnZbQ2BAkJCRNuWRCgAlA/w400-h600-no/BillandCecileGilbert_0001.jpg" width="266" /><br />
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"Gil" with Pilot Paul Bridgman (center) and Ball Turret Gunner Allan Miller <br />
<img alt="" border="0" height="273" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzHOXqSYLDa8BZajtMfEd9riz7wNoK7qGEWsVESZPeWGyp8qwbOVIMvP9QsmsZRSRE_m9CfGEBWgnijnpZUll_t9b6XxD0F7DPM2bX_ttJqOa30EDh1qTyoVGliODY5dE8T6hOGZnzUV8/w1034-h709-no/Bill,Paul,Miller-CaveoftheWindsColoradoSprings.jpg" width="400" /><br />
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"Gil" on right with Crewmates out for a little golf.<br />
<img alt="" border="0" height="273" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY62lpVjnlnNsQ7izjOoS_cva17xiCcE3AxlWJ7lfDL_M1wnZTWAIashOkdGypvbKxD3Gfb3JVS-iZ4E_rBS1khF4hq-3huSakB0RGbp8R2Yi-icLAK1utLS0doYZAM7FTWOUbiQMCiSM/w1032-h709-no/Adderholt,StudNorton,Wecherly,Gilbert-June1944.jpg" width="400" /><br />
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William E. Gilberts Flight Jacket:<br />
<img alt="" border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRcnzr5iAzZ5BdXTzwTgfeDUsOx4EE6M39gJ2R-WbmxBh3_u-KY4RyosKmQ5S2cfPY-rRwsrzPI9GYJ8Ou9I9oMnyp0MwHPzmAMvvZukgYdlEEHIPJkAH_ZihO0HAvexs3WXcJ7nlXLFI/w945-h709-no/" width="400" /><br />
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"Gil" (standing left) with Crew #555 mates and a couple of the ground crew.<br />
<img alt="" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl8G_vzYsrDFhYJtAxvNJrRDBHOUfQ8np9qHpEDd-DKnO26KCKptTF6nDPjG7LBAFo7afyJgMVPXNR4dN4zvdTtnF42Wd84SlH4d9cncEk4g67bvg5VHr7ZySXREkzuFz3FL7rYHDsyg4/w525-h709-no/IMG_0008.jpg" width="295" /><br />
Photos courtesy of John Gilbert </div>
BMW HACKERhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13918586672379085225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7225017197960865824.post-73502776872191840812014-09-14T11:43:00.001-06:002014-12-03T21:46:47.407-07:00Tail Gunner Raymond "R.E." Weckerly - "Weck"<div class="dg-post-title" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border-bottom-color: rgb(77, 77, 77); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #cccccc; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px 0px 5px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<b>another Crewmen located</b></div>
<div id="post_message_25071820" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: #cccccc; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 20px; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<b>Received an e-mail this AM from the Nephew of Raymond "R.E" Weckerly, affectionately known as "Weck" by the other crewmen. He is alive and well and living in Delaware. My Dad will be happy to know that "Weck" is still with us.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br /><br /><br />Tail Gunner "R. E. Weckerly" - "Weck"</b><br />
<img alt="" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0fFBUsjxrEinFOGvUQoMOgz3Jp-LwWVKj2vFLc7phxpxUNDiJiFK_JPmVqJGbl3tWyvOUSdDKBZ-Hh1qoZJiftjzv2iM_g1ggjkey9JbuYge0Sw79RPmMj3Qndw-1h36JCo_ZbnktCsA/w498-h708-no/My+Pictures+355.jpg" width="280" /><br />
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<img alt="" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSV3cvaTuMvrKOCxVHcsUF7KPqyJc0DjIaY-SiVgw1shXdwJtLl_X-UlpfoAFmnU3u5Jkql1josDiv2xDU0wFkUrPq6zeBGqZjN5cq7h-eebHL6Tqgkxq2YXf2DP8yZPHb5OsEFKiGKrA/w501-h708-no/IMG_0005.jpg" width="282" /><br />
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<img alt="" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicQETxSHkrqVNT7bbEuj61qMIjP6Jfvgi5EOoRmUYxtCoVyk0MWz_etUBStx0fkolwZec7xFPbfBYOGyYciHwKKqKQyTh2bDRd3NGbQf3BY615P8mby81-Du5N2Q9an72wOLTz60PCCLs/w495-h709-no/IMG_0006.jpg" width="279" /><br />
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<img alt="" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEPQ5zBCcO0x_0bD5cDCtAZX088g0rC8NmHVFt7UQuMSpHLTrmt3nQx5Wtv7PFPPIaWs7PaOQjP-G9UeRSToCr4CWja6_hY-ySmt8PAjejAykzSU0aNbkQ8Dg8ZhNB0kBIg6f7305Ngus/w704-h709-no/IMG_0009.jpg" width="397" /><br />
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<b>"Weck" in his position</b><br />
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<img alt="" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi69cP17KlP6hIz29URt6oAnX8g3nrDgS1LXmirt7J8RoVToBiQLBVH-WX-gPtnNjjm6ucmFJ3k0Mxq57hWZ_ozRkvuhpscfdVbGXmD4n0rr9M45K5yf0abLxxnlmAmt8gTyJ1TJZILhP8/w517-h709-no/IMG_0005.jpg" width="291" /><br />
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<span style="background-color: #0d0600; color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.78333282470703px;">Photos courtesy of John Gilbert</span>
</div>
BMW HACKERhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13918586672379085225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7225017197960865824.post-60476376714920878612014-07-24T23:04:00.002-06:002014-07-24T23:04:29.427-06:00Miracles or Luck?<div id="post_message_24608872">
Some background about Airman William E. Gilbert of Crew # 555. <br />
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<img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUVM-Z3HVMDyIxQvD0KBnzPjTlaq9zZzfLxYbWvpV2h_Ky6m7oI_mOjo0mVwMtuZl4OC_FwKX5DqCfDjEBxeHy37YyD5kvcjerbAHdJhMA5jteEJUQrKtesPWdaxDhV_rHyZth_anWdxE/w196-h207-p-no/" /><br />
<br />
William "Gil" Gilbert joined the L.A. Police Force directly after leaving the Air Corps. <br />
He served with Law Enforcement until his retirement.<br />
<br />
One of the stories my Dad told me was of a crewman having his oxygen
mask knocked of his face by a piece of AA shrapnel coming through the
aircraft. The lucky fellow was Gil, and he was unscathed. He found the
chunk of shrapnel lodged in the body of the plane. He retrieved it, and
his son has it to this day. <br />
<br />
During one long mission the Tail Gunner, Airman R.E. Weckerly, moved
from his position to stretch his legs for a minute, at that precise
moment a German 88 mm anti aircraft round passed upward through the
aircraft's body, passing right between his legs. The rounds fuse must
have been altitude controlled as it exploded well above the plane after
passing through the fuselage. Weckerly was shaken but didn't receive
so much as a scratch.<br />
<br />
Miraculous that these guys came through unscathed..... or just luckier
than many. In those situations a fraction of a second would have meant
the difference between life and death.<br />
<br />
<b>LUCKY HUT #13<br />
</b><br />
According to Gil's son, when the crew arrived at Attlebridge England
they had to choose a Quonset hut for their quarters. They found an
entire hut empty and decided to take it. As they were getting situated
another Airman came in and told them that the Hut, #13, was to be
avoided as other crews had been billeted there and not returned from
Missions. The Crew must have figured that having the entire hut to
themselves was better than worrying about superstition, they stayed and
had the entire hut to themselves. <br />
<br />
Each hut was only rationed a small supply of coal for the heating stove
so most huts were like refrigerators in the damp, wet seasons. Dad's
told me more than once about being the coal "supplier" for the coke
stove. They were given a weeks allotment which would last no more than a
couple of days and were not happy about being cold all the time. Dad
was a wiry fellow at 27 and found that the Coal Supply "Depot" was
secured right near hut # 13. He made "night runs" over the fence and
kept their coal supply buckets full and the stove a cook'in. Others
would visit hut #13 and comment on how damned nice is was in there
compared to the other huts. Dad would just smile and tell them "they
rationed carefully".<br />
Dad is the most honest soul whoever walked the earth, but his
"liberation" of a little of Englands coal supply has not played on his
conscience.
</div>
<br />
BMW HACKERhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13918586672379085225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7225017197960865824.post-22361259765088321652014-07-24T23:01:00.003-06:002014-07-24T23:01:44.602-06:00"DAMIFINO"Produced matte of "DAMIFINO"<br />
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<img alt="" border="0" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDdoOdMKJgGZCZ5r8RX8RxBizGnk9RuesOmVrhxnuHLDF99SZwBs4uK_uN_SYPmUwp6fmmJQarlEd4Ki-4VVdZHfOEIHgqdULYhLVWm-vfreGwrK1mDCvV2bvUhsmP9fQ8DzRIA6RzBQI/w1039-h709-no/20140716_201032.jpg" width="400" /><br />
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Tail gunner R.E. Weckerly in position on "DAMIFINO"<br />
A good sense of humor must have helped.<br />
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<img alt="" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ7_SdohwGMpssj4zRIEsRS1BDX0x0Vl0Cv6Lo-g-xGLGYwqN7FwiFe5opb2hdR_iT-58WFxvVerM1AbG9x3qyXNqEnwLhDec8gEqXiqb7uemAr7Lc_bBwjdWsrHPBF5sLHASEdfHLNtk/w517-h709-no/" width="291" /><br />
<br />
Photos courtesy of John Gilbert
BMW HACKERhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13918586672379085225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7225017197960865824.post-51121896546979391162014-07-24T22:54:00.000-06:002014-07-25T14:36:38.852-06:00Sgt. Corodon Norton Crew #555 - 785th, bomb SquadronTop Turret Gunner, Sgt. Corodon Norton, or "Stud" as he was nicknamed by his crew mates:<br />
<br />
<img alt="" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQMOh4s6f2xusVp-AMMQQ13EetkAufsArPRmXhKtOsfcS7EYwe6LMYafl2v1qC-MOMa7aVfbpsNhSwxmrXkUII1k8JExWUdjJa4mO71IPaBEaxEIP4ARRTEhoN30N9h2mxg7nMMdV3178/w504-h708-no/StudNorton-MartinGunner.jpg" width="283" /><br />
<br />
<br />
A few years ago, Norton's son contacted me and informed me that his Dad,
Corodon, was still alive and well, living in Florida. I was able to
connect him and my Father together via phone. Their "reunion" was brief
as both are seriously hearing impaired, likely a result of their Air
Corps Service. <br />
<br />
"Stud's" nickname didn't stick for his civilian life, as one would
suspect. He was known by his friends as "Buzz" after the war. <br />
Viewing a number of "Studs" photos, I really get the sense that he must
have been quite the character. His loose posturing is much different
than all his peers....kind of a "James Dean" look about him. <br />
<br />
The photo below was taken shortly before their departure for England in 1944.<br />
They flew the "Northern route" to Newfoundland / Iceland before arriving in Scotland.<br />
The majority of their combat flight training was as a developed stable
crew, which bonded them into a tight "family". Each depended on the
others to perform their jobs.<br />
<br />
<img alt="" border="0" height="326" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh51op0W9RiCjswjvHOfMrDRqFeD897Guh9O2nIwaUnq3HB6xkwbuHKoFnEDxsnpu-35XXHwjKjhlzUQxiS8S1YZZHtQUy4FhBSWOcEW3tcTH7lWzb8Psw_oJGaBJZohcSM11KIhNVyWcE/w575-h471-no/" width="400" /><br />
<br />
<br />
The seriousness of the "business at hand" is apparent in their faces after a few missions:<br />
<br />
<img alt="" border="0" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_8fwbaOOI5d_fQ31ObtszD9Zn86OXUnVqVwZWVgMwpOWRuLZRY1HoOvdlxU6d-2qGpJQjnRvjS30PdQQue8GVzKKmttQ7_OExHNkyZDTfEEO4_w2DqWniKFRBe5FtkDMFcr0yEX79lH0/w1118-h655-no/" width="400" /><br />
<br />
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<img alt="" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEPQ5zBCcO0x_0bD5cDCtAZX088g0rC8NmHVFt7UQuMSpHLTrmt3nQx5Wtv7PFPPIaWs7PaOQjP-G9UeRSToCr4CWja6_hY-ySmt8PAjejAykzSU0aNbkQ8Dg8ZhNB0kBIg6f7305Ngus/w704-h709-no/IMG_0009.jpg" width="396" /><br />
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<img alt="" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkvR6sWc-lneSwz4AxHJxvJBWvGYoDsg7nqEAQQ6sE12NE7kIIRXBtGhCgkR_RDkH47_uH8k83-6ip_4kuaBZU2J-ObvGapqTOjfLvzhjce53O2rf3dCO_P15PvJocDUj17EXi2bL6l94/w494-h709-no/" width="277" /><br />
<br />
"Stud" standing on left.<br />
<br />
<img alt="" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS9p_HkWSG45JNe3_vhSUzAicIbKUOWL5nGDvBs5S5gV76hwMXkyIaQh6Ep8NmYhkuomqPyvNmksItwnLqrmgGXwCSwTIEpowe1rqIeyI12nX7Kf5vBSZsd3T1jyxJubxQcnAnzKT0bSY/w514-h709-no/" width="288" /><br />
<br />
<br />
Corodon Norton, William Gilbert, Elijah Porter, R.E. Weckerly<br />
<br />
<img alt="" border="0" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr93jcatmaHzBIi1jp47v4SNEKYO6b9IeQ88Xdl0dnXXmnVdd9h99bfD6mogGxIChui3jWdFq7Ebt31ElulIAx8WlpUj5fyuCtWk4jphItp4qU07Rz0RHRHsw1x5SWSG-qlzgFIBpG6gw/w979-h709-no/IMG_0007.jpg" width="400" /><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
I've lost contact with the Norton Family, I wish them the best and sincerely hope that this post finds "Stud" alive and well.<br />
<br />
<img alt="" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglLNHfW-aaybpD0ub_s7OvSiGFgvzBzgjVBZh7xpCXq58evpkJjXptOp8Q0cV8k3UXBwqeD9lGn4RN_u3mNCZ8r44jbI57p9-yznn8ZaagmCkKw78xh0r8k5jGmF5jkZHDi0rCAGFw-vE/w490-h709-no/" width="275" /><br />
<br />
"Stud" Norton assisting(?) a ground crewman:<br />
<br />
<img alt="" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGkZp8wESe8Wxhj7_B7rAu9tcvGZkHAH2QiPOidVS2u8Ctr7T2xbVQ_0H8rRAcLgP_ZFjpBWoGvDmqvU5eeIRk-8Y9-qPrIxsdbI-XEIe2LvfcaOwOwOvssWZJh05j6FdaMrnidNep7vc/w394-h541-no/IMG_0010.jpg" width="291" /><br />
<br />
I attempted to identify the aircraft from the serial number on the tail,
but it comes up with a B-24 from a different Squadron. Possible that it
was a transient aircraft, or the tail ID number was different than the
USAF Serial Number.<br />
<br />
<br />
These men entered the Service as kids, beat the odds and served with determination.<br />
<br />
Photos courtesy of John Gilbert. BMW HACKERhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13918586672379085225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7225017197960865824.post-86987776613826265902014-06-07T16:52:00.001-06:002014-06-07T16:52:28.224-06:00Men & Planes of the 466th. Bomb Group<div id="post_message_23439802">
466th. Bomb Group B-24 "Nose Art"<br />
<br />
Notice that nearly every aircraft has a "plate" attached below the Pilots / Co-Pilots windows.<br />
These were light steel plates installed to provide a bit more
protection from shrapnel for the Pilots..... for what it was worth.<br />
Considering the thin aircraft skin could be penetrated easily by an ink pen, anything helped.<br />
<br />
<img alt="" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF5gwZiE-bNsSt69MZXNfO7wWezv253ze137_XiUGtThdQ8YvhjHQBkdq9BLUbEnDcHic3r3YKrW8MrHvisszz0YtVuzmyp_3z2GMdpseYWxpEo9oHNrdjEAqJXENaAuarRKQvzmRDzaY/w269-h350-no/" width="307" /><br />
"Blockbuster" - Declared war weary after losing two engines on the bomb
run on the 12 Aug 44 mission to Mourmelon-le-Grand, France, and landing
at Beccles, Suffolk, where it was repaired. It flew no more combat
missions and was eventually salvaged by BAD 3, Langford Lodge, Northern
Ireland.<br />
<br />
<img alt="" border="0" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYRIorvDP7OJStXF55Wh9z9h0Y0iblIZaJ-aHdZUvg-G-FKejViB4vaoIIpoyi5GuDzGwOf6ai9thtcaqLHVfsYMf_nZUde2s6L5ro2tj-zljpCvKKVvN3JCVcB19EGDcG5L_Fw1vrT5U/w538-h350-no/My+Pictures+452.JPG" width="400" /><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">"Chris's Crate" - Flown to England as an original
aircraft by 491st BG / 853rd BS (T8 -L). Transferred before flying any
combat missions to 466th BG / 784th BS (T9 T). Transferred to 785th BS
(2U V+). Ditched 23 Feb 45.</span><br />
<br />
<img alt="" border="0" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinPY9f4RneaJUAH6mCyk9IdMCrhZLA1qLBHxyGIwV4W7NuDXEKyGVNsGTc4EGGS_K6tTMX8h6PxFQkDNM6HYQXZbY8oWrVweJUNvNBzPhRAgfTTgVrPz9VDAlXfCphIK486M9-t3Trkew/w508-h350-no/My+Pictures+444.JPG" width="400" /><br />
<br />
<img alt="" border="0" height="214" src="http://www.b24bestweb.com/images/B24/SPLASH1.JPG" width="400" /><br />
<br />
"Splash!"<br />
Later assigned to 406th BS (NL) as J6 U and RZI from Harrington on 8 Jul 45.<br />
<br />
<br />
<img alt="" border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEWLLli5PMZ-u38hPD1Bd3q38n_ju-8Q5kP7tefNix3pVv2dmjR1hK6Yeyd3Eup9cFQj1HQQNgshfKBo2K0i4ysUfRRzX9xxMBikR9FKDkeE0Si1WY2HdwuHQjte8f0PVax9YUk9sZNOY/w527-h350-no/My+Pictures+441.JPG" width="400" /><br />
<br />
"Dumbo" - Lead Formation Assembly Ship<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">The D style nose has been grafted on to this H model. It became the second assembly ship.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<img alt="" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAlCpV6MK9UWonwQa2JZjP3Ws6cy2S4KdceP4sYR571jkRyj6Gb-d7r6POSJM_3rmgJDOGoeyFbjXt7BfJKTuIthhJKsF6OHfGQW0rmxt01uYen5CEwEb3DAin-7-tVbgcDviTK6gJZSI/w363-h463-no/My+Pictures+437.jpg" width="313" /><br />
<br />
<img alt="" border="0" height="153" src="http://www.b24bestweb.com/images/B24/BELLE1.JPG" width="400" /><br />
<br />
"Belle"<br />
<br />
<img alt="" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfsv_Q9mk91XnEgD-vCgJgPyQTOr6Kn6xQ5DL3LBofUCNpANmF0pi5Q0BwjIgJZDnzespN_0VrF8sjYlUO-yDtyWFqEeJDTdzZuJFwg1EjnXwzQVIBID8sCispR_yK7yyhnXum9mOohn8/w273-h350-no/My+Pictures+433.JPG" width="312" /><br />
<br />
<img alt="" border="0" height="358" src="http://www.b24bestweb.com/images/B24/GRANSLAM2.JPG" width="400" /><br />
<br />
"Gran Slam"<br />
<br />
<br />
<img alt="" border="0" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYlBCEP_Hw6Fjd7akfPf9ERtzOU_EGTN4Gutr2qpTUZMRVWPS0QJB7c7UJuXFOVD8wpzZKbDYM6vjOjmKUjTxxJkBtI9TzijV7Msf4dmH84nKpmypufNuo-FE6W9fCc9ReaGtDYwSfiXI/w536-h350-no/My+Pictures+430.JPG" width="400" /><br />
<br />
<img alt="" border="0" height="105" src="http://www.b24bestweb.com/images/B24/DUFFYSTAVERN1.JPG" width="400" /><br />
<br />
"Duffy's Tavern"<br />
<br />
<img alt="" border="0" height="222" src="http://www.b24bestweb.com/images/B24/PARSONSCHARIOT-V1-1.JPG" width="400" /><br />
<br />
<img alt="" border="0" height="309" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidMmcqXhgxg_5u5DD5haTjv9I6w74cyP1yfe7dFh1YM7nb7ltsWkW5iKWu6hDP_-4qEalciPN6CHGj-NwrHOGT_2-w43H1orj9kNmZeekEJKA3UF5hn0e4HHmyofoqGKY-uoh17GiCOoc/w452-h350-no/My+Pictures+428.JPG" width="400" /><br />
<br />
"Parson's Chariot"<br />
Transferred from the 491st BG immediately after arrival in England.<br />
<br />
<br />
<img alt="" border="0" height="264" src="http://www.b24bestweb.com/images/B24/NOBODYSBABY-V1-3.JPG" width="400" /><br />
<br />
Before Name and Nose-Art were Applied<br />
<br />
<img alt="" border="0" height="104" src="http://www.b24bestweb.com/images/B24/NOBODYSBABY-V1-1.JPG" width="400" /><br />
<br />
"Nobody's Baby"<br />
<br />
<img alt="" border="0" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWdVP-BxbFCxTidAbVf-RweSNr09vD4b3Knbjo6C_dYs4m86odcb_XlFz66_ugxAiJibbpmgiwpj8ZZY6tDzfQbJ8Z9dQZ9xkJd-dNT4w_b2kd94sceEZ3OzUvkUH-EuBEYqbnESk82zk/w454-h350-no/My+Pictures+425.JPG" width="400" /><br />
<br />
"Merchant of Venice"<br />
<br />
<br />
<img alt="" border="0" height="267" src="http://www.b24bestweb.com/images/B24/LEMON-THE-V2-1.JPG" width="400" /><br />
<br />
<img alt="" border="0" height="229" src="http://www.b24bestweb.com/images/B24/LEMON-THE-V2-3.JPG" width="400" /><br />
<br />
"The Lemon"....I wonder if it was a "Ford" Produced B-24?<br />
<br />
<img alt="" border="0" height="327" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibnZnsJJrM84ajSMPNN7wB6ioGfocJjl_N7vpT-x8MWGV4aph_ib461qJQ1NfI_u63Eui1fALI5_CMWSXEm9evsMLWyQF81sEIF7f_14OmrEBsgmbmCwknONAJaW7jyfpa63FA6dwlKNE/w877-h719-no/My+Pictures+380.jpg" width="400" /><br />
<br />
<img alt="" border="0" height="219" src="http://www.b24bestweb.com/images/B24/WHATSCOOKINDOC-V3-5.JPG" width="400" /><br />
<br />
<img alt="" border="0" height="208" src="http://www.b24bestweb.com/images/B24/WHATSCOOKINDOC-V3-4.JPG" width="400" /><br />
<br />
"What's Cookin' Doc?"<br />
Originally 8/491/855 (V2 Q+). Transferred before 14 Jun 44 to 466th BG.<br />
<br />
<img alt="" border="0" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnNOHGLlM6ephok-_L4snxshD6esqcVf2-NQwwpfeXFA0RliIPv2YG7jeVX_IXdcH5xOOpDEKzkctWvHOhyphenhyphenv2cfUcUX85naI8XyS19weKvTfjAuyNRY8XT5A-6t1Ickue-3dcSnGblRaY/w799-h523-no/My+Pictures+379.jpg" width="400" /><br />
<br />
<img alt="" border="0" height="400" src="http://www.b24bestweb.com/images/B24/FALCON-V2-3.JPG" width="320" /><br />
<br />
<br />
<img alt="" border="0" height="102" src="http://www.b24bestweb.com/images/B24/FALCON-V2-1.JPG" width="400" /><br />
<br />
<img alt="" border="0" height="237" src="http://www.b24bestweb.com/images/B24/FALCON-V2-4.JPG" width="400" /><br />
<br />
"The Falcon"<br />
Crashed 8 Jan 45 on return from a mission to Wittlich about 1000 yards
WNW of Shipdham airbase, after making one low level pass over the
airfield and running out of fuel, it lost about 10 ft of the right wing
in a tree, hit a haystack, went through two hedges and into an
ice-covered pond, coming to rest in the pond, having stopped some 75 ft
from a cottage. The nose was crushed and the left wing was torn off.
Salvaged 9 & 10 Jan 45.
</div>
__________________BMW HACKERhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13918586672379085225noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7225017197960865824.post-10171321973690490592014-06-07T16:44:00.000-06:002014-06-07T16:48:07.886-06:00Selman Field, Monroe Louisiana<div id="post_message_24288237">
Dad completed his Navigation Training in LA.<br />
<br />
<br />
Selman Army Airfield<br />
<br />
The military base was built at the site of a small Monroe, Louisiana
civil airport constructed in the 1930s named "Selman Airport", which was
named after a Navy Pilot, Lieutenant Augustus J. Selman, a native of
Monroe, LA, who died at Norfolk, Virginia, on November 28, 1921, of
injuries received in an airplane crash in the line of duty. The airport
housed a small Delta Airlines terminal serving regular flights, a
weather station, a regional center of Delta Crop Dusting (a large hangar
and maintenance facility, the number of aircraft varying with the
season) and a two-plane private aviation flight school.<br />
<br />
Selman Army Airfield construction was activated on June 15, 1942, that
is, given an official existence on paper. Land construction began soon
after June 15th. On August 15th Pre-Flight (B-N) was transferred here
from Maxwell Field, AL. A month later the Advanced Navigation School
arrived here from Turner Field, GA. Selman Field was in full operation
three months after starting from scratch. Selman Field was the only
complete navigation training station in the country. Of the hundreds of
fields that were operated by the Army Air Forces, it was only at Selman
that a cadet could get his entire training-- pre-flight and
advanced--and wind up with a commission and navigators wings without
ever leaving the field.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<img alt="" border="0" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/88/Selman_Army_Airfield_Louisiana_19_May_1943.jpg" height="250" width="400" /><br />
<br />
<br />
<img alt="" border="0" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/76/Monroeapt-la-12feb1998.jpg/220px-Monroeapt-la-12feb1998.jpg" height="302" width="400" /><br />
<br />
<br />
<img alt="" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhznbs1G7js1X2BqBi7-4OxF2vqmBgES2UkszXVpu3fZaEXrRHJgJF1I3KGlSC1jLktxOFYEKqY-yoQWrzuPIBuxQd4_PHdfy1nat_wBY47gURIAQ5i91AcHI4UDpWNRZ88EIeCFgkF_20/w546-h709-no/" width="307" /><br />
<br />
<br />
<img alt="" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHzJOx8JUJomU6TivCMQ2ZTzrab8lthUW5YJcvgIxfaoqSDQm7WmCyfh8dd7ymzKV2kXBZHqRJZ2FNdcvaiIYSn-7odErXN0JtUoeMcuh5qtqFLN_9JiJx7DpxUvYJFlflplRa7fXe0eU/w516-h709-no/Selman+Field+007.JPG" width="290" /><br />
<br />
<img alt="" border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLQ3m55ZuDWq9pBw-p4xvuCYrELbcrNlNE_oHOiG4EtX8DVHtbSnB3FULrTquyflKnMBUIHMv8uBP4zwWdz9stsQ6mFyn2_TPr1sv_acIR-sdav8osRqQ-IkJN97bVnP968PeRmVjzLWM/w945-h709-no/Selman+Field+009.JPG" width="400" />
</div>
__________________BMW HACKERhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13918586672379085225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7225017197960865824.post-26000302867691020652014-02-06T22:15:00.001-07:002014-02-06T22:49:36.487-07:00War Time StockholmWar time Stockholm:<br />
LT. Smith, Navigator with Co-Pilot LT. Bill Pond. They flew into neutral
Stockholm together in April 1945 on clandestine supply missions.<br />
<br />
<i> [click to enlarge] </i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzJmf-hs6LnU8sQEjR9ENjZnKT5lrkXmXggtn5cIAbHyWwonHBCC96PLGS7DYWrYQB7oCGrkVU6iuJZSIuE7fgm5TOdB5WF60LpDmvf22nFbw7sQgdAhvIznk0hwlTUSWPLK9k-ERlyMU/s1600/Lt.+Smith+-+Lt.+Pond+001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzJmf-hs6LnU8sQEjR9ENjZnKT5lrkXmXggtn5cIAbHyWwonHBCC96PLGS7DYWrYQB7oCGrkVU6iuJZSIuE7fgm5TOdB5WF60LpDmvf22nFbw7sQgdAhvIznk0hwlTUSWPLK9k-ERlyMU/s1600/Lt.+Smith+-+Lt.+Pond+001.jpg" height="320" width="227" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlgj2foIJp5M8b4tcoKoc87FSAy7w9AKf33sO0e30gRTuX6C5X4EH3_sCPFpGodcRD8MrXc4Tn_sxGF4s8tQV359HGOyFAtAmBaOE3Uns95D7ybZo3MvoMpatI3cBMP4nlL770-XraXjk/s1600/Stockholm+Sweden+001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlgj2foIJp5M8b4tcoKoc87FSAy7w9AKf33sO0e30gRTuX6C5X4EH3_sCPFpGodcRD8MrXc4Tn_sxGF4s8tQV359HGOyFAtAmBaOE3Uns95D7ybZo3MvoMpatI3cBMP4nlL770-XraXjk/s1600/Stockholm+Sweden+001.jpg" height="320" width="234" /></a></div>
<br />
Period post card souvenirs. Dad also brought home a large supply of
unused Swedish Ration Stamps. The Ration Stamps were distributed to the
fliers going over as everything was rationed in Sweden, as it was in the
US and most all other "civilized" countries during the war.<br />
They were held over in Stockholm for a few days on each mission. <br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyHxavR_NHlQT2IoKZHtDxph_lAwhQOdgorIC_UHE35rQnlvQyUMicwhm3fNlIacfrTIwYE57qbsQoayaf2TUGcw9ejWq_9qNEAftH3ICirSGqOT4e7eKCkJBuxRZ_zZ6MCUia0chAgAI/s1600/Stockholm+-+4+001.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyHxavR_NHlQT2IoKZHtDxph_lAwhQOdgorIC_UHE35rQnlvQyUMicwhm3fNlIacfrTIwYE57qbsQoayaf2TUGcw9ejWq_9qNEAftH3ICirSGqOT4e7eKCkJBuxRZ_zZ6MCUia0chAgAI/s1600/Stockholm+-+4+001.jpg" height="209" width="320" /></a><br />
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BMW HACKERhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13918586672379085225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7225017197960865824.post-37287958788545543402014-01-30T11:26:00.001-07:002014-01-30T11:27:15.838-07:00Cadet Training My Dad's first meeting with his first born son in Montgomery AL., Oct. 1943 while he was in Pilot Cadet Training.<br />
Mom followed him around the country when she could afford it, which wasn't often.<br />
<br />
<img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFk-ITkALFPzYl-vu4oQH6KTtejiE9RR___UEcVkSTnALiH1ivz-47sBP8T5oA4A6WKcSTwY0vtxlzaKaVA54YHJgAasoJhi2N3MdqWWv5sCWnQj61ZooFJa2djbZmgrCpesMUvOgKOvo/w410-h718-no/Smith+Family%252C+Montgomery+AL.+Oct.+1943+001.jpg" /><br />
<br />
Dad with a couple of his buddies during Cadet Training. <br />
He was good friends with these guys, but lost track of them after
leaving training, he was never able to find out what happened to either
of them. <br />
"Hal Orndorff & ?? Andreson<br />
Dad nearly became a "statistic" while in training there. The old
underpowered, heavy, 2 seat trainers took a lot of lives. He was in the
"stall" maneuver and very near didn't get the plane back under control.
He said he was WAY too low when he was finally able to get the plane
into control. He figured he was within a couple seconds from "meeting
his maker". During the last few seconds another low flying aircraft
nearly collided with them. <br />
Dad ended up with 250 + solo flying hours and was given the option to
fly as a "Forward Observer" for the Army Artillery, or continue training
and go into Navigation School, as the Air Corps was desperately short
of Navigators. Luckily he chose the later and went into Navigation. In
civilian life he was an accountant, so was a "numbers guy". ...good fit
for Navigation.<br />
Who knows, If he had gone out as a forward artillery observer in an unarmed "paper plane", he likely might not have come home.<br />
<br />
<img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj94x5Fa72AC-MqH1_98cHbljgTjZjGlaN-_RFqyRowkN45PVf9hGDQmNI50GRtyS3ukBwmgARHS94uxrOWPpHYZZmJZzuC4Bq1Qa0i1T21xgFMc2Epi8krsxCNe2uWEYoyUJQERIKtxNw/w439-h553-no/Cadets+-+Smith%252C+Orndorff%252C+Andreson+001.jpg" />BMW HACKERhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13918586672379085225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7225017197960865824.post-89791852443915243992014-01-30T11:25:00.002-07:002014-02-04T00:49:20.131-07:00R & R at the "Flak Castle"During their "tours", airmen were given occasional "R & R' periods
to have a few days off, away from the daily mission routine. <br />
Becoming "Flak Happy" was a term used for "Combat Fatigue" when guys
couldn't take any more. Dad only witnessed the breakdown of one guy
throughout all his missions. During an intense bomb run with
anti-aircraft bursts all around them, they took numerous hits on the
aircraft. The Bombardier's oxygen mask was torn off his face by a chunk
of shrapnel passing through the plane. Apparantly one of the other
crewmen had a minor panic episode on that mission. <br />
Dad said he was always scared on these missions, but just kept busy
focusing on his job. "Anyone who said they were not scared was a liar",
according to Dad. <br />
Going on "R & R", they were sent to an old English Estate. The crews referred to it as the "Flak Castle." <br />
Dad took some photos while on leave at one of the "Flak Castles".<br />
Not sure if only officers were given "leaves" to these Estates or if
lower ranking "Enlisted" men were given the same "R & R"
locations.(?)<br />
Dad said the entire crew were always treated as "equals", regardless of
rank, amongst themselves. They had a "bond" that went beyond rank.<br />
<br />
He sent these photos to my Mom in the States:<br />
<i>[click to enlarge] </i><br />
<br />
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<br />
His main form of local transportation was on 2 wheels.<br />
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<br />
Not sure where this old estate was located or if it still exsists.<br />
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Big ass place.....<br />
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<br />
The Photo below was marked "Lowestoft" ...not sure where that was, so
looked it up on wikipedia.....Suffolk on the North Sea Coast.<br />
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<br />BMW HACKERhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13918586672379085225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7225017197960865824.post-31167183726155666552014-01-30T11:24:00.002-07:002014-02-04T00:52:45.717-07:00OrdersCrew #555 Orders for the European Theater:<br />
<br />
Apparently the Crews flew over without any Unit Disposition. Their Bomb
Group assignment must have been determined upon arrival to England.
This group appears to have flown over with 4 aircraft. The Orders are
dated July 19, 1944.<br />
Crew #555 (Dad's crew - 1st. on list - Paul Bridgman - Pilot ) began
further training immediately upon arrival and were flying bombing
missions by the end of August 1944.<br />
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<br />
The crewmen were allowed $7.00 Per Diem each for their trip.<br />
<br />
Pilot Paul Bridgman in England:<br />
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<img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR9c4NTweHBAU2XO_4Pl9bzniOqna-lrZlVMlwBu3rmtWqkq_bk44bKAflSnnUfEq7_vg6vKANwbR5E1C04fqLgorQnJ6eakmfsScE6KxhEev9YKVsnUh8EbHGgiJSHSGrO5kxqoPSxrQ/s400/PWBBurialInfo.jpg" />BMW HACKERhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13918586672379085225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7225017197960865824.post-14776107443807311672014-01-28T12:18:00.003-07:002014-01-28T12:24:50.073-07:00Some photosRecently came across this "Flak Map" of Germany which my Dad used during missions.<br />
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<i>[click on photos to enlarge]</i><br />
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<br />
<br />
This newspaper - "Boston American" May 23, 1945. Dad marked himself on
the photo. He ended up with all these other flyers heading for the
Pacific Theater. He had completed his required missions, plus a few more
so wasn't sent to the Pacific.<br />
The photo was taken minutes after their arrival to the US. He said the
Airfield was so crowded with returning aircraft that they barely had
room to park. <br />
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<br />
<br />
I did find other flight logs which show he actually kept flying until
September 1945. Some of his flights were aboard B-17's. Those flights
were based out of a South Dakota Air Base. <br />
I also found that he was promoted to 1st. LT. in late 1944.<br />
<br />
Photo of my Aunt & Uncle. <br />
Uncle "Jim" Bussinger was a B-24 Pilot in the Pacific. <br />
What a dashing looking guy he was. Kind of an "Errol Flynn" look about him. <br />
Aunt Janie was my Moms' sister. <br />
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<br />
My Uncle "Ben Badger" was also a Pacific Theater Pilot.<br />
He flew one of these: <br />
I'm not familiar with this aircraft.(?)<br />
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<br />
Between these 2 photos he has appeared to "gain" in Rank.<br />
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<br />
Uncle Ben in MT.<br />
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<br />BMW HACKERhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13918586672379085225noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7225017197960865824.post-64602422342159570712013-05-03T21:53:00.002-06:002013-05-03T21:53:29.535-06:00In RememberanceRoyal Canadian Air Force <br /><br /><img alt="" border="0" src="https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/157055_1499975654581_3018008_n.jpg" /><br />Les
and son<br /><br />Airman, Les Duffield of Alberta Canada sadly passed on today at
the age of 90 years.<br />Les and his Wife were our Winter neighbors in Arizona
for 14 years or so. He was a remarkably gentile man who I cannot ever remember
seeing without a smile on his face. I spent a lot of hours sitting in the
wonderful AZ. Winter sunshine visiting with him. They became our Canadian family
over the years. Fortunately, he and his Wife made a final journey to Montana
last Summer to visit my 97 year old Dad. Les and Dad were serious Cribbage
players and had hundreds of games over the years. He will be missed by
many.<br />Les enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force at 18 years of age. We
only talked about his service History a few times.<br />He was involved in the
salvage / recovery of downed military aircraft. Picking up whatever could be
salvaged or recovering the bodies of lost airmen. A sad job.<br />One of his first
recoveries was of an aircraft that had nosed into an open concrete basement
foundation. It was the damnest thing he said, that the plane came into such a
small space almost perfectly. A terrible mess since the plane had a number of
occupants. No fire, as the plane must have run out of fuel. <br /><br />Rest in
Peace Airman Duffield. <img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://d26ya5yqg8yyvs.cloudfront.net/DevilDog.gif" title="DevilDog" />BMW HACKERhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13918586672379085225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7225017197960865824.post-88445487118434050882013-04-02T17:55:00.000-06:002013-08-27T23:29:45.697-06:00Cpl. Gerald Fitzgerald U.S. Army Veterinary Corps.<br />
Grandfather Gerald Fitzgerald. <br />
Enlisted in the United States Army in 1917 at 26 years of age. <br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4vsKZDtaY4NeFT9TSQ2Iy4EeCiVfQMmMXtSRz03uNwdsLxl6Zgbby4VLNfSwLOBGFi0r8YtkNItingGNrDDJirZMH5IJSCDAyZq1l7GrLSbHf9yb37Kntel-FVF5XhtfLAU4a8_pXjuQ/s1600/scan0032+-+Copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4vsKZDtaY4NeFT9TSQ2Iy4EeCiVfQMmMXtSRz03uNwdsLxl6Zgbby4VLNfSwLOBGFi0r8YtkNItingGNrDDJirZMH5IJSCDAyZq1l7GrLSbHf9yb37Kntel-FVF5XhtfLAU4a8_pXjuQ/s320/scan0032+-+Copy.jpg" width="214" /></a></div>
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At times they were close to the front lines. Witnessed battles in France, Belgium and Germany.</div>
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Was with the U.S. Army Veterinary Corps. as horses were a main source of transport during the war.</div>
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I remember seeing German Medals and misc. items when I was a kid in his attic. After some battles, they would come into possession of German Military Horses. He found items in saddle bags of captured animals.</div>
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Grandpa and Grandma Fitzgerald. Gentile souls. May they Rest in Peace. </div>
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BMW HACKERhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13918586672379085225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7225017197960865824.post-72817219636334804612013-01-30T18:34:00.001-07:002014-07-24T23:23:27.103-06:002nd. LT. Charles E. Sweeney, 96th. Bomb Group, 339th. Bomb Squadron.<img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.frankhogan.org/scrapbook/96thbombgroup/96thseal.gif" /><br />
<br />
<br />
This MACR documents the loss of B-17 #42-29756 "Big Chief" which my cousin
(2nd. LT. Charles E. Sweeney) was aboard on June 13, 1943. His plane was listed
as "missing" and quite a bit of time passed before he was reported as a Prisoner
Of War by the German Authorities.<br />
<br />
He documented his story for Family members a year or so before his death,
last year. The story is somewhat long, but I think it needs to be told.<br />
<br />
I'll be relaying a large part of his story, in his own words in the few
following posts. <br />
<br />
<br />
MACR (Missing Air Crew Report) #16142.<br />
<br />
<img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8ik9zVS9EBEhMBzhpi2T3vBoow78MmuQYFddZ-I6w5f5hDigMjVasJZNN6XxJbvwvteRRC1OoNXlkylPlSACNFrp7xEBv9ytYGUVFIwoxocWt0-DNkCXS6OUDRrp5biFdihdV19WylB0/s512/MACR%252016142%2520001.JPG" /><br />
<br />
<b><u>Beating the odds in Texas?</u></b><br />
<br />
<b>This first entry starts in February, 1943. The crew is training in the
southern US before deployment to England:</b><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">"Our crew flew down to Pyote, where a large bomber base was
under construction. The wind blew constantly, with a dust storm in the air all
the time. We said Old Mexico would blow by one day and New Mexico the next. We
practiced dropping bombs on targets, air to ground gunnery practice, and many
lengthy flights."</span></b><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">"One evening in February 1943, we took off to fly the airline
beams to Albuquerque, NM when there was a fog blanket of 1500 feet.The Tower
said we could fly above it and when we were due to come back about 2 AM the next
morning we would have a cloud ceiling of 1000 feet. We arrived back the next
morning with a dense fog below us." </span></b><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">"We called the Tower and they told us to do a procedure let
down and turn around on the beam, which we did. When we got down to 1000 feet we
were still in dense fog so we decided to let down to 500 feet as that country is
very flat and there were lots of gas flares burning from the local gas wells
which we thought we could see easily at 500 feet. If we didn't get down at
Pyote, we would have to fly back to Albuquerque or some other location to rest
and refuel. If we didn't see flares at 500 feet, we would pull up to land
elsewhere. "</span></b><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">"We let down to 500 feet and did not see any flares and was
just starting to pull up when SMASH, BANG, we hit the ground. We plowed along
the ground; all the propellers had hit and become deformed, the number 3 engine
was torn off the wing, and wind milled through the tail of the plane, and the
nose had scooped up a couple feet of dirt. The plane had cracked and bent behind
the bomb bay and the fuel line to the torn away engine was spewing gasoline on
the ground near the plane. We opened the window on the left side of the cockpit
and all of us in the front climbed out that window. The rest of the crew came
out through the door in the rear of the fuselage. Luckily, the tail gunner had
left his station and come up to the radio room before we hit the ground, and the
engine went through the tail. All ten members of the crew survived with no
broken bones, but a lot of bruises and scratches. The flight Engineer took a
roll of toilet paper and plugged the leaking gas line."</span></b><br />
<b></b><br />
(net photo)<br />
<img alt="" border="0" src="http://cletrac.org/media/pictures/pope/crashed%20B17.jpg" height="138" width="400" /><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">"We built a small bonfire some distance from the wreck and
the fog on the ground was so thick you could see your shadow from the fire on
the fog bank. We got out the emergency raft which had an emergency locator in it
by continually turning a crank, which we started operating immediately. We knew
about where we were, as we had been flying the beam when we went down, so the
Navigator, Stewart Bachtelle, and I started hiking toward the base. We had a
compass and a pen light that we used in the cockpit, and started out in the fog
and darkness. We walked about 13 miles and got to the base at about 7:30 in the
morning. The Base knew we were down somewhere but they didn't know where, as
they had not picked up any signal from our location finder. "</span></b><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">"Equipment was sent out to bring back the crew and the plane
and the verdict of the investigation was that our altimeter was off about 500
feet. We returned to duty that same day and we all survived with no ill
effects."</span></b><br />
<b></b><br />
<b>Pyote Airbase, Pyote Texas in 2006 <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyote_Air_Force_Base">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyote_Air_Force_Base</a></b><br />
<a class="image" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Pyote_Air_Force_Base_TX_2006_USGS.jpg"><img alt="Pyote Air Force Base TX 2006 USGS.jpg" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f8/Pyote_Air_Force_Base_TX_2006_USGS.jpg/300px-Pyote_Air_Force_Base_TX_2006_USGS.jpg" height="308" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f8/Pyote_Air_Force_Base_TX_2006_USGS.jpg/450px-Pyote_Air_Force_Base_TX_2006_USGS.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f8/Pyote_Air_Force_Base_TX_2006_USGS.jpg/600px-Pyote_Air_Force_Base_TX_2006_USGS.jpg 2x" width="300" /></a><br />
<br />
Mix of B-17's & B-29's in mid 1940<br />
<a class="image" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Pyoteab-1.jpg"><img alt="" class="thumbimage" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e9/Pyoteab-1.jpg/220px-Pyoteab-1.jpg" height="161" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e9/Pyoteab-1.jpg/330px-Pyoteab-1.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e9/Pyoteab-1.jpg/440px-Pyoteab-1.jpg 2x" width="220" /></a><br />
<br />
<br />
<b><u>1st. LT. Clark Gable & On to England</u></b><br />
<b></b><br />
<br />
<br />
<img alt="" border="0" src="http://dmn.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/138-214x169.jpg" /><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>The crew had a few stops before heading over seas. The plane had it's name
"BIG CHIEF" painted on the nose, guns were installed and additional armor
plating was installed for additional protection of the Pilot / Co-Pilot. While
stuck for a few days for repairs, the crew visited New York City, leaving after
a bit too much night life and spending all their money.....</b><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>We'll pick up the story as they leave the US:</b><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>"<span style="font-size: small;">We then flew to Gander Newfoundland from where we would take
off for the hop over the North Atlantic to England. We stayed in the Bachelor
Officers' Quarters </span></b><span style="font-size: small;"><b>at Gander</b> <b>and when another
crew moved in accross the hall we visited them. "</b></span><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">"We met Clark Gable who was going overseas with them to
photograph some of the air combat over Germany. He was the first man I had ever
seen wearing a girdle, but the crew members said he was a regular guy. He had a
case of whiskey and a case of coca cola in the waist of the plane, and stayed
pretty happy. While we were at Gander, Gable was promoted to 1st. Lieutenant and
bought all the drinks in the Officers Club that day."</span></b><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">"When the weather was right for the flight across to England
we took off, and except for flying through a weather front and picking up ice on
the props and wings, which we eliminated by flying about 50 feet above the
waves, we had an uneventful trip."</span></b><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">"We landed at Prestwick Scotland, and were directed to our
parking area by the Tower, telling us to follow the "ditty car", so we knew we
were overseas. From Prestwick we were sent to Grafton - Underwood, England as
our new base in</span> <span style="font-size: small;">England."</span></b><br />
<b></b><br />
<b></b><br />
<b><u>The early missions</u></b><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">"We immediately started flying daylight bombing missions over
Germany even though our ground support crews had not yet arrived. They came over
by boat, while we had flown over. Their absence meant that we had to service our
planes engines, fuel it up, and load bombs ourselves. Sometimes we would load
500 lb. bombs and then the orders would be changed to unload the 500 lb. bombs,
and load 1000 lb. bombs."</span></b><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">"Since all these bombs had to be loaded and unloaded into the
bomb bay using a chain hoist, it became very time consuming. We speeded up the
unloading process by bringing our mattresses out to the plane, spreading them on
the hard stand under the bomb bay and having our Bombardier, Andy Anderegg,
toggle them out one by one. We would roll them out of the way until they were
all unloaded and then haul them back to the bomb dumpwhere we could load up the
1000 lb. bombs."</span></b><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">"A crew of a Bomb Group near us started unloading their bombs
the same way we were doing it on our mattresses, and a bomb exploded, doing a
lot of damage and killing the entire crew. We stopped using our mattresses, and
as our ground crew arrived about this time, we were much relieved to be finished
with that duty. We were not getting much sleep when we had to do all the service
work as well as fly the missions."</span></b><br />
<b></b><br />
<img alt="" border="0" src="http://img4.fold3.com/img/thumbnail/38257294/400/400/0_0_4532_3512.jpg" /><br />
<b>S.Sgt. Roy D. Crozier & T.Sgt. George N. Treece with their flying nanny</b><br />
<b></b><br />
<b><b><span style="font-size: small;">"After a mission, we had an engine damaged and had to have it
replaced. After replacement, we had to fly the plane to make sure the new engine
was performing correctly, so we we took off with a full crew for a trial flight.
After we had been in the air for a while I went back to the waist of the plane
to check on the crew. I found the tail gunner the radio operator with a nanny
goat, resting comfortably. Because we only had powdered milk to drink in
England, these two fellows had bought the goat, milked her daily and sold the
fresh milk to the crews. They thought their nanny would enjoy a plane ride, and
since it would be a short ride without being shot at, they brought her
onboard."</span></b><br />
<br />
<u>Mission #5 - The final Mission - "Tail End Charlie"</u></b><br />
<b><u></u></b><br />
<b><img alt="" border="0" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/54/Uboatsafterthewar.jpg/240px-Uboatsafterthewar.jpg" /></b><br />
<b></b><br />
<b><b><span style="font-size: small;">"On June 13th. we were called to fly a mission to bomb the
Submarine Pens at Kiel, Germany. Every American bomber that could fly was to
take part in this raid. Each group consisted of 18 planes of 3 squadrons flying
in a formation, which would put maximum fire power on the German fighter planes.
We had no fighter cover or support at that time, so had to depend on our crew
gunners. Our planes had guns in the nose, a top turret, the radio room, a ball
turret, both sides of the waist, and in the tail."</span></b><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">"Since every bomber was to be in the air in this raid, extra
planes from each group formed a composite Group. We were assigned to this
composite Group and designated as the last plane on the lowest Squadron, which
position was called "Tail End Charlie", also our Group was not a complete unit
of 18 planes as we had only 14 planes in the Group."</span></b><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">"We rendezvoused over England to form our Group and then flew
over the Channel to Germany. We were immediately met by German fighter planes -
Focke-Wulf 190's and Messerschmitt 109's. When I first them above and to our
right, I thought they were birds because there were so many of them, but knew
birds did not fly at 20000 feet. Also. as soon as we crossed to Europe we were
fired at by ground ack-ack gunners. At times the flack bursts were so thick that
it seemed you could almost walk on them."</span></b><br />
<br />
<img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.acc.af.mil/shared/media/photodb/web/060517-F-1234S-013.jpg" /><br />
<u></u><br />
<u><img alt="" border="0" src="http://freepages.military.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~josephkennedy/images/Combat/flak!.jpg" /></u><br />
<u></u><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">"When the fighters were attacking us, the flak stopped, but
when the flak stopped the fighters would again attack. The fighter planes would
get ahead of, and above us and then dive on our formation, flipping over on
their backs, which were amored, as they sprayed us with bullets on the way down.
Once and a while a fighter pilot would miscalculate and dive into a formation
which would usually be fatal to both parties. We saw a plane near us hit in the
bomb bay by a burst of flak and explode completely. We were lucky not to be hit
by pieces as we flew through the debris."</span></b><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">"We lost several planes on the way to the target but we made
the run over Keil. The submarine pens were made of reinforced concrete and I
think they were invincible to our bombs. On the final approach to the target we
could not take any evasive action but had to fly straight and level until the
bombs were dropped. This was the most dangerous part of the
mission."</span></b><br />
<br /><br /><br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">"Immediately after dropping our bombs we could not close the
bomb bay doors and had one engine on fire. We could not feather the propeller to
stop its' wind milling because our hydraulic system had been hit. By that time
there was only a flight of three planes left out of the 14 we had started with.
"</span></b><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">"German fighters were ganging up on us and shot out our
controls and started a fire in the Radio Room. We were descending in a tight
spiral and had to bail out over the North Sea. We had been briefed that the
North Sea was very cold and life expectancy in it was thirty to forty minutes.
There was a stiff wind blowing, and it was a cloudy day, so we had no way of
telling directions. Andy, our Bombardier, later said he had seen eight chutes
beside his own after he had jumped."</span></b><br />
<u>
</u><br />
<u> POW</u><br /><br /><b><span style="font-size: small;">"I did not pull my rip
cord on my chute until I was close to the water as we had been briefed that the
German Fighters were shooting parachuters. Waves were several feet high due to
the wind, but I lit on top of a wave and surf-boarded with the chute for a sail
for several minutes. I was traveling in the direction of a fog bank which I
thought might be land, so I continued in that direction for a while. Then I
dumped the chute and started swimming. When I was tired, I would rest on my Mae
West, then swim some more."</span></b></b><b>GE52 FK58 Channel Patrol Boat<br /><br /><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ptdockyardat.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/flb2.jpg?w=468&h=192" height="163" width="400" /></b><br />
<b></b><br />
<b>"As I was swimming along I heard a noise, looked around, and
there was a small German Patrol boat behind me. They threw me a rope and I
climbed over the side into their boat. They had guns trained on me until I had
been searched and then they took me to the bow of the boat where I found McKell,
who had been picked up earlier. By this time I had been in the water for about 2
hours, and then I stood in the bow in the wind looking for the other crew
members. This boat then took us to an island where we were taken to a farm
house. The people there were very kind to us - gave us some dry clothes, food
and hot wine."<br /><span style="font-size: small;">"About five o'clock that evening we
were taken by motor boat, under guard, to Pellworm Island where we met
Bachtelle, Anderegg, and Smithson. They had seen two coffins there but had not
been allowed to see the bodies, so we did not know if they were our crew
members. I was very cold from the water and did not stop shivering for over a
day."</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">About nine o'clock that evening, the five of
us were put on board a good sized boat and put off for the mainland. The crew of
the boat gave each of us three small bottles of beer and some crackers. We
arrived at Hasum, Germany at midnight and were marched through the town to an
S.S. Headquarters, where we were interogated and searched. We were then taken by
truck to an Army barracks where we were put up for the rest of the night. Five
other officers were already there who had been captured that day. The next
morning we were given first aid and spent the day in the barracks under guard.
We were visited by two German Fighter pilots who said they shot us down. If
verified they would get a weeks leavefor shooting down a B-17. We verified it
for them to keep them out of the air for a week, even though we had been hit
pretty badly by flak."</span></b><br />
<img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.med-dept.com/images/hosp_train_images/main.jpg" /><br />
<br />
<b>"That evening at four o'clock we were taken to the railroad
station at Hasum, and left it at five o'clock for Frankfurt on the Mainz,
accompanied by three guards. We changed trains at Hamburg, and were joined by
twenty five or thirty prisoners, both Royal Air Force and American. We traveled
in compartments on the train and were closely guarded for two nights and a
day."<br /><span style="font-size: small;">"We arrived in Frankfurt about eleven
o'clock on the morning of June 16th, where we were put on a local Dulag Luft,
and were marched to the prison camp which was the interrogation center for all
air war prisoners. We were placed in solitary confinement there at 5 P.M. on the
16th and not removed until June 24th. I was interrogated by well dressed, smooth
talking men who told me they were from the Red Cross and asked questions which
had to do with military matters rather than personal. They said if I answered
their questions they would notify my family I was a P.O.W. I told them nothing
but name, rank, and serial number even though I was anxious about Naomi." (his
wife in the States)</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">"On the 24th. I was taken out
of solitary confinement and placed in a temporary camp where we were fed
decently, given cigarettes, took a shower, and given some Red Cross food. I was
allowed to shave with a safety razor which must have shaved a hundred men
because it pulled out as many whiskers as it cut off. I was interested in
finding out if the Nazi's were as efficient as an Army as the newspapers had
indicated they were. I had become accustomed ti the Nazi salute, but found out
they were no more efficient than we were. Also, I think their non-commisioned
officers were chosen and promoted on how loud they could talk and
shout."</span></b><br />
<b></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;"><u>Sagan - Stalag Luft III</u></span></b><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">"Saturday evening we were marched into Frankfurt and crowded
into third class carriages. We were forced to give up our shoes and our belts
and spent two nights and a day on the train, arriving at Sagan, Germany about
7:00 AM on June 29th. From Sagan we were marched to a Prison Camp Complex called
Stalag Luft III, where we were marched to the forlager of the Center Camp, a
Royal Air Force prisoner camp. Here we were searched, G.I. clothes and equipment
taken from us, and then placed in the Center Camp with the
British."</span></b><br />
<br />
<img alt="" border="0" src="http://powvets.com/wp-content/gallery/pow_camps/stalag_luft_3/StalagLuft31.png" /><br />
<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">"We ate from a communal mess for a couple of weeks, prepared
by R.A.F. Sergeants. We scrounged for prison made tin pans, brushes, cupboards,
and any other equipment we thought we could use to set up our own mess.Everyone
was very hungry at this time as we had been on restricted rations for about a
month. I was made Reich rations officer for our block and I distributed black
bread, blood sausage, and cabbage when available."</span></b><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">"Shortly after this we started cooking for ourselves and
received one Red Cross food parcel per man per week, plus what came from the
Reich. We formed an eight man combine with Anderegg, McKell, Power, Pinson,
Meyers, Summers, and myself. The British were good to us, gave and loaned us
equipment and taught us the ropes on how to get along in prison
camp."</span></b><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">"The German word for a war prisoner was kriegsgefangenen, so
we shortened it and called ourselves Kriegies....."</span></b><br />
<br />
<br />
<img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.muzeum.eline2.serwery.pl/e-cms/ob.php/LUFT%20III%20-%20widok%20z%20góry.jpg?id=465" /><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">"The British had started an escape tunnel from the abort
behind Block 39 but it was discovered by Ferrets. Ferrets were Germans who
prowled around the camp both day and night, and at night brought in dogs.They
spent their time looking for tunnels or any other type of escape plan which the
prisoners might use."</span></b><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">"On september 9, 1943, we left the British at Center Camp and
moved into the newly completed South Camp into an eight man room. The rooms were
new and clean and we had some enlisted men to do the work. This was the first
American Air Corps Prison Camp."</span></b><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.ateal.co.uk/greatescape/GoonTower.jpg" /><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>"In December, 1943, I received a Church Bulletin from Hardin
(</b><span style="font-family: Arial Narrow;">home</span><b>) in which reverand England stated
he had met with Naomi and Rick (</b><span style="font-family: Arial Narrow;">wife and
son</span><b>) and both were doing well. This was the first news I had that I
was a father and Naomi and Rick were both fine."</b></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">"We immediately began work on a theater, started a library
from books sent to prisoners from home, sang songs on Sunday nights, played
volley ball and base ball, and pulled stumps from the athletic field. The stumps
became fuel for our little tin can cooking stoves. We were well organized with
Colonel Goodrich as Commanding Officer, and Lt. Colonel Clark as the number two
American Kriegie, in charge of any and all escape activities."</span></b><br />
<b></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;"><u>CAMP LIFE</u></span></b><br />
<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.b24.net/pow/luft3images/stalag3.jpg" /></span></b><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">"Winter set in and we started doing lots of reading and
having bull sessions. We set up a large bulletin board on the outside of the
cook house and on we posted "Dear John" letters to prisoners whose girl friends
had decided not to wait for them. One letter to a Kriegie from his Aunt said,
"you are having a wonderful experience over there, and while you are there be
sure to eat lots of the good nut brown bread and be sure to attend a performance
of the symphonyin Budapest." We also had a Kriegie cartoonist who started a
comic strip called "Miss Penney", who had been shot down, and weekly told about
her life in Stalag Luft III. there was always a crowd around the bulletin board
whenever a new strip was posted."</span></b><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">Colonel Stevenson was a Kriegie, who was sitting in his room
during the Christmas Season when one of the guards on the perimeter thought he
saw some movement, fired a shot into the block, which hit Stevenson in the leg.
He recovered nicely without much medical help."</span></b><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">"Band shows and plays were given in the theater which was
completed in January. We had the part of our pay, which had not been alloted to
our wives or family, going into a pool, and from it we bought the athletic
equipment, band instruments, and theater curtain and equipment."</span></b><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">"We had a few Kriegies who let their hair grow long, dressed
in dresses, put on makeup, and took female parts in plays and sang in the band.
Some of them were pretty good we thought, but we also hadn't seen any females
for quite some time."</span></b><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;"><u>FOOD</u></span></b><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.b24.net/pow/luft3images/food.jpg" /><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">At this time we were getting our Red Cross food parcels, a
few briquets of coal from the Germans, our Reich rations, and we were given a
G.I. blanket in January. </span></b><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">This was the best period in our camp."</span></b><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">"The black bread which we were given had the following
compisition:</span></b><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">50% bruised rye grain</span></b><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">20% sliced sugar beets</span></b><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">20% saw dust</span></b><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">10% minced leaves and straw.</span></b><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">Sometimes we found a little sand or glass in it, but it
didn't improve the taste much."</span></b><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">"On holidays we tried to have special meals and programs. Our
pans were made of tin cans from our parcels, and we were given a table knife,
fork, and spoon by the Germans. In our combine of eight men we took turns as
cook, dish washer, etc."</span></b><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">On Easter sunday we had an air raid and a Corporal Miles, who
worked in the cook house, was shot and killed by a parimeter guard. He was
standing in the open door of the cook house and should have been
inside."</span></b><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">"Some of the Kriegies, who evidently knew something about
making moonshine in a still, used some of the raisins and prunes from their food
parcels, took some large round light globes from their rooms, filled them with
water, sugar, and the fruit and let it ferment.They used some of the band
instruments to make the still, which condensed the the alchohol strong enough to
give them a head ache for a week. One of the Ferrets, who let them run the still
at night in return for several drinks of the stuff, passed out and was carried
out of the camp the next morning on a shutter by his coworkers. We understood
that he was sent to the Russian Front for this escapade, and we had the prunes
and raisins taken from our parcels for a while."</span></b><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">"On July 4th. I had the cooking detail and I had made a
marble cake.To make flour we had to use hard tack biscuits rasped by a tin with
holes in it. We had dried milk, oleo, chocolate bars and we used tooth powder
that contained baking powder to make it rise. We thought it was good, but we
were not hard to please."</span></b><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">"Another favorite was lemon pie, which was made by mixing
condendo milk with a lemonade powder containing acid that made the milk thicken.
The pie crust was made from the cake material and baked, and the condendo milk
and lemonade powder was poured in. It was delicious then, but not very
appetizing now."</span></b><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;"><u>Escape Activities</u></span></b><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">"Colonel Clark was in charge of escape activities and all
plans had to be approved by him. Our camp had two lines of fencing about ten or
twelve feet high., spaced about eight feet apart with the space between them
filled with crumpled barb wire., running all around the perimeter of the camp.
Inside this fence was a forty foot space known as "No Mans Land", running all
the way around the camp. There were tree stumps on it and it was bordered on the
inside by a low fence. On the outside of the high fence were frequent guard
posts about twenty feet high, each of which contained a machine gun on a swivel
and a search light also on a swivel. These Guard posts were manned by the
Germans twenty-four hours a day every day, and any Kriegie seen in "No Mans
Land" could be shot without warning."</span></b><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.pegasusarchive.org/pow/SL3/PicSL_3_Camp.jpg" height="259" width="400" /><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">"Another fellow and I decided on a plan where we would take
our pallet covers, spread a gluey mixture on them, sprinkle them with sand, and
attach a stump made of cardboard on the end. We would pull the pallet cover over
us and use the stump to cover our head and crawl out to the high fence with some
camp made wire cutters. We would do this at dusk, and have some kind of
diversion to attract the attention of the guards while we were doing our thing.
We didn't get our plan into operation and someone else tried it later, but were
shot at, captured, and spent a month in the "cooler" on bread and
water."</span></b><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">"Most plans were unsuccessful, but the British Camp where we
were first placed, had three tunnels under construction at one time called Tom,
Dick, and Harry. Two tunnels were discovered by the German Ferrets, whom we
called "Goons." But one was completed and over seventy men made it outside the
wire. Several were caught quickly and others were rounded up later and gathered
at a town south of Sagan. There they were all shot and killed. This action
tended to slow down escape activities."</span></b><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.acesofww2.com/Canada/z_images/boulton_stalag-luft3.jpg" /><br />
<br />
<img alt="" border="0" src="http://urbantitan.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Stalag_Luft_III_.jpg" /><br />
<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">"As the war continued, more airmen were shot down and sent to
our camp. Our eight man room was increased to a fourteen man room, and our food
parcels went from one man per week to one per three men per week. We were all
losing weight and were hungry all the time. Even the Reich "green death" soup
began to taste pretty good."</span></b><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">"We sometimes saw huge air armadas of American planes going
over, and also could hear faint bombardments from the east. We were hoping that
the war would soon be over."</span></b><br />
<br />
<u><b>Winter Death March</b></u><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">"At 8:10 p.m. on January 27, 1945, we received the
anticipated, but hard to believe, order from the German authorities to evacuate
South Camp in thirty minutes. Some preparations had been made but bedlam broke
loose when the order came."</span></b><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">"I had a pants pack made by tying the pant cuffs tightly and
then stuffing each leg and the waist, cinching it with a cord. It could be
carried over your shoulder. I started out with two blankets, two sets of summer
underwear, one pair Officers pinks, toilet articles, two towels, one first aid
equipment, five pairs of socks, a dozen handkerchiefs, two cartons of
cigarettes, extra soap, food, and a log book."</span></b><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">"I wore a suit of summer underwear, a suit of winter
underwear, one pair of wool pants, two pairs of socks, two olive drab wool
shirts, one sweater, one sweatshirt, leather jacket, overcoat and a scarf. Later
I put the pinks on and wore them also, and was never too warm."</span></b><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">"After packing we ravaged the cupboard of food we were unable
to carry. Kriegie dreams came true when we bashed our food. Barracks were in
chaos, with papers, furniture, food, etc. strewn through the rooms and the
hall."</span></b><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">"We fell out at 9:30 p.m. in front of our block and marched
to the gate.Morale was high though the future was uncertain. We had no idea
where we were going, how far the march would take us, all in sub zero
temperature with a stiff wind blowing snow.The crippled and sick were left at
the gate and many of us pondered their fate. Rumor had the Russians only twenty
five miles away."</span></b><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">"After one and a half hours wait standing in the snow, we
were counted out the gate </span></b><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">and started the march at 11:00 p.m. We marched in column and
were closely guarded by ample guards and dogs. The weather was cold, but we were
warmly dressed and with three ten minute stops, we marched until 4:00 a.m., when
we stopped for one and a half hours and received one fourth of a loaf of bread
and some margarine."</span></b><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.b24.net/pow/luft3images/marchmap.jpg" /></span></b><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">"It became colder and Kriegies began throwing stuff away and
building fires with it. My log book went along with seventy five of the best
"There I Was" stories of both British and Americans being shot down. A cold wind
was blowing, it was below zero, and we had no protection from the
wind."</span></b><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">"We marched again at 5:30 a.m., and at 9:30 a.m., arrived at
Gross Settin, which was about thirty kilometers from Sagan. We were housed in a
barn after standing in the road two hours awaiting accomodations. There was no
heat in the barn, but we burrowed in the hay, and the farm people gave us hot
water for brews. Water froze when left sitting in the barn. It was too cold to
sleep so I changed to dry socks and rested. I was amazed by the apparent
unconcern of females when Kriegies were forced to use open ground for
latrines."</span></b><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.b24.net/pow/luft3images/march1.jpg" /><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">"At 4:30 p.m., with a leaden sky, and blowing snow, we
continued the march. It was colder than ever, but the march was through hilly
country offering some protection from the wind. We were told the distance to
Moskau, our next stop, was seventeen kilometers, but it turned out to be twenty
five kilometers because they had put us on the wrong road. This was the hardest
part of our trip since we were not in the best physical condition for such a
trip."</span></b><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">"Several men dropped out along the way and were picked up by
a horse drawn cart, others stopped at some of the farms we passed. Goon guards
suffered more than the average Kriegie as they were mostly older men. Some of
the guards deserted, others had frozen feet or dropped from exhaustion. Two
guards were reported to have died. One Kriegie actually carried a guards rifle
for him."</span></b><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">"About 1:30 a.m. we arrived at a glass factory where we had
to stand outside for a half an hour before entering. It had one large room with
three kilns in operation. It could accommodate about four hundred men, but
sixteen hundred were jammed into it. It would have been fatal to remain outside
in our exhausted condition. Upon entering, men passed out like flies due to the
change in temperature. It was warm inside. Many were suffering from chilblains,
blisters, frostbite, and frozen feet. Many were sick and vomiting, while others
found space on lockers and equipment and went to sleep."</span></b><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">"Another factory was opened three kilometers away and five
hundred men moved into it. It was the best accommodation at the stop. I set my
pack on a box and got warm at a kiln, then helped move the sick. Later I slept
on the box."</span></b><br />
<br />
<div class="dg-post-title">
<b><u>The March Continues</u></b> </div>
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<div id="post_message_20955479">
<b><span style="font-size: small;">"January 29th. we were supposed to
continue the march, but due to the exhausted condition of the men, Colonel
goodrich got an extension until eight o'clock the next morning. The day was
spent massaging limbs, locating a place to sleep, treating sorea, and building
sleds to replace carrying our packs. We spent most of the time resting and
sleeping. Here, we also received one fourth of a loaf of bread and some
margarine. I suffered no ill effects from the march. Pete and I built a crude
sled to hold both our packs which we would take turns
pulling."</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">On January 30th. , we fell out at 10
a.m., and were marched three kilos through town and started for our next
destination, Graushin, about 17 kilometers away. We arrived there about 6 p.m.
and again were housed in barns. We obtained hot water from farmer for brews and
also got a few shriveled apples - the first in twenty four months. We received
one sixth of a loaf of bread from the Goons. We slept in all our clothes each
night, including our caps, and again burrowed into the hay for
warmth."</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">"On January 31st. we felll in line at 8
a.m., and started marching at 9 a.m. arriving at Spremberg abour 12 p.m. after
marching about seven kilometers. We were marched into a Wermacht Infantry Post,
and stood on the parade ground for an hour until we were dispersed into unheated
garages. We were then sent out to a soup line where we were given hot barley
soup. I had two Klim (powdered milk) tins full. It tasted good and was the first
hot food we had eaten since leaving Sagan."</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">"We
fell in line at 4 p.m. and marched three kilometers to the trains. We were put
fifty men to a car which were considerably smaller than American train cars. It
was impossible for all to lie down at once without lying on top of each other.
Our car recently had horses in it and had not been cleaned, so several of us
sacrificed a blanket to cover the floor so we could take turns sitting and lying
down. "</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">"We spent three nights and two days in
this car and received one half loaf of bread, one fourth can of meat, one
teaspoon of jam, and one third pound of margarine from the Goons. After getting
aboard the train, it was not stopped until the following afternoon for personal
relief. We used cans and an overshoe in my car and poured it out in a crack by
the door. After this, we made approximately two stops a day. It was quite a
sight at one of these ten minute stops, usually near a village where all the
people from the village came out to see the sight. With the wet floors and
having to take turns sitting down, conditions were pretty bad, and it was easy
to note the best and the worst in a human being."</span></b><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">Moosberg - Stalag Vll A</span></b><br />
<br />
<img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.b24.net/pow/luft3images/moosburg.jpg" /><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">"On February 3rd., a Saturday, we arrived at Moosberg and Stalag VII A,
our destination, which was northeast of Munich. There, we were detrained and
marched into a transient Wermacht Camp. Here we were housed three hundred men to
a barracks and six hundred men to a barracks, and stayed there until Monday
afternoon. Those living in six hundred men barracks had the same sleeping
conditions as we had on the train. We had one water spigot and field (slit
trench) or French latrine for eighteen hundred men. Several officers jumped off
the train near Moosberg to try to escape, but it appeared to be so near the wars
end that the danger inherent in an escape attempt did not make the try
worthwhile."</span></b><br />
"<b><span style="font-size: small;">Monday, February 5th., we were
searched, deloused, hot showered and placed into permanent Wermacht quarters
with four hundred men to each barracks and twelve men to each bed block, which
was very crowded. We were also put on one half Red Cross food parcel per man per
week."</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">"We had marched, on foot, eighty kilometers
or about fifty miles, of which fifty kilometers, or thirty miles, was marched in
the first twenty six hours after leaving Sagan. Sagan was taken by the Russian
Army two weeks after we left. on Saturday, February 11th."</span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="dg-post-title">
<b><u>Liberation!</u></b> </div>
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<div id="post_message_20959022">
<b><span style="font-size: small;">Stalag VIIA</span></b><br />
<br />
<img alt="" border="0" src="http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSUvqyz79RoRlECP24MOB0tBCS2YY7VvbjEHiyIkGwvqz_erhb_Zw:www.45thdivision.org/Pictures/Maps/StalagVIIA.jpg" /><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>"Stalag VIIA was a very crowded, filthy, and very unhealthy living
conditions. It was a large compound and held thousands of prisoners from many
different countries and different branches of Service. We were all very hungry
and a black market developed for food. Enlisted personnel were taken out of the
camp every day to work on details, and were sometimes able to pick up some extra
food which they would sell to the officers who were not allowed to leave
camp."</b></span><br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">"One fellow offered me about half of a one
pound coffee can of wheat for my wedding ring my wife had given me. I would not
give up the ring even though the wheat looked very enticing and I was very
hungry. We finally made a deal and I got the wheat and he got my leather pilots
jacket."</span></b><br />
<br />
<b>Stalag Luft VIIA Prisoners</b><br />
<img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.303rdbg.com/pow-7a-peklinsky-s.jpg" /><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">"Dysentery was rampant in this camp and Anderegg had a severe case.
Blankets were hanging everywhere to dry out and there was no medical help for
any problems. The aborts ran over and it was a terrible mess. Our only hope was
that the war would end soon and we would get out of
there."</span></b><br />
<br />
<br />
<img alt="" border="0" src="http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/etexts/WH2-1Epi/WH2-1Epi-h021c.jpg" height="159" width="400" /><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">"On April 29th. , a small arms fight was held by S.S. Troops and American
Army personnel right at the camp. Most of us lay down on the floor of the
barracks, as the bullets whizzed by overhead, until the firing
ceased."</span></b><br />
<br />
<img alt="" border="0" src="http://mva.sd.gov/sdwwiimemorial/subpages/testimonies/images/christensen/Christ96.jpg" /><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">"Shortly after getting up we saw one of General Pattons Army Tanks
driving right over the gate into our camp. It had hardly gotten through the
fence when it was covered completely with American prisoners. Then on a smoke
stack near our camp appeared the Stars and Stripes. It was such a wonderful
sight, and also meant our liberation.There were very few dry eyes among us. I
still get tears in my eyes when I visualize our Flag waving over the scene of
our misery.To top it off, a P-51 American fighter plane flew low right over the
camp and performed slow rolls into the distance. WHAT A
DAY!!!!"</span></b><br />
<br />
<b>Photo of Stalag VIIA's Liberation Day</b><br />
<img alt="" border="0" src="http://mva.sd.gov/sdwwiimemorial/subpages/testimonies/images/christensen/Christ95.jpg" height="317" width="400" /><br />
<br />
<b>Note: My Father, now 97 years old, flew his
flag proudly in his front yard as long as he was able. He dutifully raised it
early in the morning, and always paused stoically and saluted before carefully
lowering it each day, making sure it never touched the ground. So many people
these days do not understand the meaning of that flag, nor have sacrificed so
much to see it fly. <img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://d26ya5yqg8yyvs.cloudfront.net/DevilDog.gif" title="DevilDog" /></b> </div>
<!-- / message --><!-- sig -->
<div>
<div class="dg-post-title">
<u><b>Fending for themselves</b> </u></div>
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<div id="post_message_20962171">
<b>Many of Chucks' comments are about food.
Something we take for granted, but once one experiences real hunger, becoming
reaquainted with enough to eat is an experience in itself. Chuck dropped eighty
pounds during his experience and he was not a large guy. He often states how he
"faired well" and had "no ill effects" during many of these experiences. In
reality, he looked awful when my folks and him were reunited in the States, and
he had gained back quite a bit of weight before they were
reunited.</b><br />
<br />
<b>The years of imprisonment left these starving men with
little patience. Sweeney and a couple of his buddies gave up waiting on the Army
to get them out of there and took it upon themselves......</b><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">"After being liberated on April 29th., most of us left the camp looking
for food. We stopped at farms asking for milk and eggs. Some of the ex-prisoners
found rifles and shot some deer in the area. Others took over a farmers pig pen
and provided fresh pork for several messes."</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">"The
U.S. Army took over management of the Camp after a couple days, placed American
guards in the Goon Towers, and ordered us to wait in the camp for transportation
orders. The Army also provided some food, so conditions in the camp had
improved."</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">"Because nothing in the way of moving
us out of there seemed to be forthcoming, Anderegg, Power and I took off on May
7th. by joining a funeral procession, to get out of the camp. We were heading
towards Paris and our first stop was an American Infantry kitchen where the cook
had just taken several loaves of white bread from the oven. I can still remember
how sweet it tasted, almost like angel food cake.That night we stayed with an
Engineering outfit and ate dinner at a table with a table cloth, china plates,
and silver utensils, for the first time in almost two
years."</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">"The Engineering outfit was sending a
truck to Ypres, France, so we caught a ride on it to Frankfort. They also gave
us a case of K Rations and the three of us sat in the back and munched on food
most of the way. We got off the truck at the air base in Frankfort, and found a
tent where the Red Cross was making doughnuts. We thought we were in heaven,
eating fresh, warm doughnuts. After eating about a dozen apiece, they shut down
the operation because they were afraid we would die from
overeating."</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">"On May 7th., while at the air base
in Frankfort, we met a pilot who had been in our old Bomb Group, but was now
flying General Staff people in and out of S.H.E.A.F. (Supreme Headquarters
European Allied Forces) located in Paris. He was the person who had packed my
belongings back in England, after I was missing in action, and shipped them home
to my Wife."</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">"He flew us to Manheim and then on to
Paris, and took us to his base where we stayed in a Bachelor Officers Quarters.
First, however, we went through a de-lousing area where we were sprayed with DDT
and given a hot shower, and clean G.I. clothes. We went to the pay office after
that and they let us draw eighty dollars each."</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">"We then went to a barber shop where I ordered every service they
offered, including a manicure. We ate at the Officers mess on the base and I
remember a sign over the door which read "Seconds on Everything except Butter".
We always had two breakfasts, two lunches, and two dinners, and a bottle of
Burgandy wine with dinner."</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">"The General Staff at
S.H.E.A.F. had not seen or interviewed any ex-prisoners yet so we were invited
tp a party in their Officers Club where we were questioned and feted. One of the
Generals gave each of us a pad of chits that we could use to pay for whatever we
needed or wanted in the way of services. We used them for taxis, meals,and for
Hotel rooms when we moved to downtown Paris to take in the sights. It was in
Paris that I was first able to call my wife and tell her I was on my way
home."</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">We were in Paris on V.E. Day, and were in a
jeep on the Champs de L'ycees with some Americans we had met. People had filled
the street, and everyone was celebrating, we could hardly move. It was a joyous
occasion for all of us."</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://stories.mnhs.org/mgg/resources/artifacts/img_thm/ve_paris.jpg" />
</span></b><br />
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<img alt="" border="0" src="http://ww3.hdnux.com/photos/03/57/51/981626/3/628x471.jpg" height="311" width="400" /><br />
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__________________</div>
</div>
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<div class="dg-post-title">
<u><b>Home</b> </u></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: small;">"My pilot friend from S.H.E.A.F.
agreed to fly us to Camp Lucky Strike at LeHavre, France on May 11th. Lucky
Strike was a departure point for troops leaving Europe, so we were very happy to
be flown out there. The plane we rode in had S.H.E.A.F. markings on it, so when
we appeared at Lucky Strike, our plane was met by all the Brass on the Base, but
they immediately left when they saw three lowly Lieutenants get
off."</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">"On May 12th. we started the processing
procedure to get shipped back to the United States. We had paper work to do
because we were unattached personnel. We also had to have a complete physical
examination, among other things. To take the physical examination we had to
strip down in a large squad tent, and then proceed through a dozen squad tents
with a Doctor in each one asking questions and making their examinations. In
most cases, if you told them you were o.k., they would send you to the next
tent, so i was surprised to see a large group of men held up at one tent. When I
got there I found the holdup was caused by one doctor who was giving rectal
exams, and insisted on actually doing it."</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">"On May
17th. we were trucked out of Camp Lucky Strike to a tent camp in the LeHavre
harbor area. We remained in this tent camp on a 30 minute alert schedule until
May 20th. when we were trucked to the harbor and put aboard the "Sea Owl". This
was one of Mr. Kaiser's ships."</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">"We remained in
the harbor taking on passengers through the 21st., and on the 22nd. about 7:00
p.m., we were tugged out of the harbor and the anchor was dropped. At about
11:00 p.m. we shipped anchor and headed for southhampton, England. we arrived in
the Southhampton harbor at about 7:00 a.m. on the 23rd. and were tugged in. We
took on a number of wounded passengers and remained at the dock
overnight."</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">"On May 24th. we were tugged out of
the harbor about 8:00 a.m. and then dropped anchor, waiting to form a convoy for
the trip home. We were told that we should reach the New York harbor in about 10
days, or by June 3rd. The convoy was formed about 11:00 a.m. and we were
underway to the U.S.A."</span></b><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">After many days of
travel by ship and trains, Lt. Sweeney finally was home in Montana and reunited
with his Wife and the son he had never seen on June 9th. 1945. He and his Wife
had been separated since February, 1942. </span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">My
parents met up with them on June 18th. 1945.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">My
Father had just returned from his Bomber Group.</span></b><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">2nd. Lt. Sweeney, standing. My Mother sitting in the back seat, Charles'
Wife in the front seat.</span></b><br />
<br />
<img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHEG2z5ZGxinHM8g7ZpYU56rXP-vyEKGbr-vHdrXrWUXAACwn_0JlgrzYUYkWgs0EzHD7l9y9pBEpfULJiqwtevXWKWUmeZY4kzOd8ttgE17K-L8iEMC-vxApJt9zLJL4JzGpGXPMIw4g/s501/My%2520Pictures%2520030.jpg" /><br />
<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">This story was repeated thousands of times around the country for the
lucky ones who came home. </span></b></div>
<!-- / message --><!-- sig --><b><span style="font-size: small;"></span></b><br />
<b></b><br />
<b></b><br />BMW HACKERhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13918586672379085225noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7225017197960865824.post-90605057305173133932012-09-29T20:23:00.000-06:002013-01-24T15:52:15.037-07:00ATTLEBRIDGE DIARIES - SIGNED, HARD BACK FIRST EDITIONI've listed my copy of "Attlebridge Diaries" on EBay today. It is a Signed, First Edition Hard Back. <br />
It has been stored away and collecting dust. Time for someone else to enjoy it. Paperback editions, when you can find them, go up to $250.00.<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHGU5q8eyVgW1W7N3S5MAEPAdWCFfr0aXhWHe_y07Qpgg_frzpZYDpNTw70C9KfzDRj99c_t_chZaNRRY7XUOHXpO1pxBRlWL9EKQljvKAhmmgSdjK88-I2Ong5oAr5EicoaAYN7FaJio/s1600/Sept.+2012+-+misc.+photos+041.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHGU5q8eyVgW1W7N3S5MAEPAdWCFfr0aXhWHe_y07Qpgg_frzpZYDpNTw70C9KfzDRj99c_t_chZaNRRY7XUOHXpO1pxBRlWL9EKQljvKAhmmgSdjK88-I2Ong5oAr5EicoaAYN7FaJio/s320/Sept.+2012+-+misc.+photos+041.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<strong>This rare book is still available on EBay . Bid now!</strong></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.ebay.com/itm/300850201752?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1586.l2649">http://www.ebay.com/itm/300850201752?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1586.l2649</a></div>
BMW HACKERhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13918586672379085225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7225017197960865824.post-52951832763323813482012-06-25T18:37:00.003-06:002012-06-25T18:37:27.946-06:00Billings Gazette Article: Honor FlightHere's a couple links to the pieces that the Billings Gazette ran......<br />
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<a href="http://billingsgazette.com/special-section/fear-did-not-keep-young-bombardier-from-doing-his-job/article_9b7afa37-5691-5c4a-9695-8ee227836771.html">http://billingsgazette.com/special-section/fear-did-not-keep-young-bombardier-from-doing-his-job/article_9b7afa37-5691-5c4a-9695-8ee227836771.html</a><br />
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<a href="http://billingsgazette.com/news/local/honor-flight-j-william-smith/vmix_042f295f-9482-52dc-a17c-b78d28f39cb8.html">http://billingsgazette.com/news/local/honor-flight-j-william-smith/vmix_042f295f-9482-52dc-a17c-b78d28f39cb8.html</a><br />
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<a href="http://billingsgazette.com/special-section/storyteller/image_9397ba6e-54d6-51dd-8261-abdaa0c628a5.html">http://billingsgazette.com/special-section/storyteller/image_9397ba6e-54d6-51dd-8261-abdaa0c628a5.html</a><br />
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<br />BMW HACKERhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13918586672379085225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7225017197960865824.post-32457951289740359692012-02-29T19:46:00.003-07:002012-02-29T19:49:34.173-07:00"DAMIFINO"<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPsGzBozZ4nyLsQbSQH_6RWQo1Du7oxt_KO28Jqtytc7lYzgB7zJJcL9LnWaoD0oilUJyjP8sYsB02Gynxc_SZzOFG5_EXgHqps1zhoEOw-_WYfwO1JvjeblXbyvHHPaZS715nbi2rHfQ/s1600/28839_106062536105505_106061169438975_51994_183869_n+-+Copy.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 278px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPsGzBozZ4nyLsQbSQH_6RWQo1Du7oxt_KO28Jqtytc7lYzgB7zJJcL9LnWaoD0oilUJyjP8sYsB02Gynxc_SZzOFG5_EXgHqps1zhoEOw-_WYfwO1JvjeblXbyvHHPaZS715nbi2rHfQ/s400/28839_106062536105505_106061169438975_51994_183869_n+-+Copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5714754889643115074" border="0" /></a><br />Came across this photo of Damifino recently. Definitely later in the war due to the number of mission "penguins" painted on the fuselage. The earlier photos my Dad took show only a few penguins.BMW HACKERhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13918586672379085225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7225017197960865824.post-3956077029825456562011-11-04T20:33:00.004-06:002012-05-21T21:07:16.736-06:00Walk back in time"Witchcraft" one of the last flying B-24's visited Billings MT. last 4th. of July.<br />
Brother Gary was able to take the time to go up to check it out with Dad.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDrnBNaeREgdDnxdTWzPSSmQy6a6i-iIQ-ec_hP6f0NKZdw1uodavPdM-joQUHxaPicnpPIQPKFpI_u0CZ9dYktM-d1rbuLV0Hlb2QqCA5LP6R89pqzBgRmRF5Efhq98GSp8Q_4hEEVOQ/s1600/IMG_2625.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5671336547094863634" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDrnBNaeREgdDnxdTWzPSSmQy6a6i-iIQ-ec_hP6f0NKZdw1uodavPdM-joQUHxaPicnpPIQPKFpI_u0CZ9dYktM-d1rbuLV0Hlb2QqCA5LP6R89pqzBgRmRF5Efhq98GSp8Q_4hEEVOQ/s400/IMG_2625.JPG" style="display: block; height: 300px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN5AIZrNUuSR_R3D8Vnjs8CvsX4EH6auvBbughx53MK_601Uid2H1VR4Tdu06lpCmGZ56vs5qJYDocjXKVCVzMub_yAzTxF_e7UwGOSbZ7Zi7W-15YKolcdsvXuT09mxpI17xg1_rbMc0/s1600/IMG_2563.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5671336526454703234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN5AIZrNUuSR_R3D8Vnjs8CvsX4EH6auvBbughx53MK_601Uid2H1VR4Tdu06lpCmGZ56vs5qJYDocjXKVCVzMub_yAzTxF_e7UwGOSbZ7Zi7W-15YKolcdsvXuT09mxpI17xg1_rbMc0/s400/IMG_2563.JPG" style="display: block; height: 300px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
Dad ran into another B-24 veteran of the Pacific Theater.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-Mue-EtZBK6UNvTb5j-jgq5dSc44JPYoiwgXmszmYOpn9N8tpCHcaXrjK2qdu76TjHgpZ-RIK0-D-yB72blDZgorfpH4V8DpSp8SPJCgzwIUjx5PFk2Eo8LVPqo0uJa0O9aq_Uk1pno8/s1600/IMG_2603.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5671336520961134242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-Mue-EtZBK6UNvTb5j-jgq5dSc44JPYoiwgXmszmYOpn9N8tpCHcaXrjK2qdu76TjHgpZ-RIK0-D-yB72blDZgorfpH4V8DpSp8SPJCgzwIUjx5PFk2Eo8LVPqo0uJa0O9aq_Uk1pno8/s400/IMG_2603.JPG" style="display: block; height: 300px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
2nd. Lt. J. William Smith next to "Witchcraft".<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDuhbJXMrlc5WBP7QSj-8W8n0IU-sl6gsjVQCKrU1QowQ4elZRYbyh-_XnczlagDfHatnnUMKYq_JqBFw9Fa8OtIQnGCGqAqyohcM3zAp94WTxeIaCDS0GBhw0QqQYtymg7f1tMeHzSVs/s1600/BestofMr.Smith.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5671336500526123938" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDuhbJXMrlc5WBP7QSj-8W8n0IU-sl6gsjVQCKrU1QowQ4elZRYbyh-_XnczlagDfHatnnUMKYq_JqBFw9Fa8OtIQnGCGqAqyohcM3zAp94WTxeIaCDS0GBhw0QqQYtymg7f1tMeHzSVs/s400/BestofMr.Smith.JPG" style="display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 300px;" /></a><br />
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Dad in 1944 with "Dixie"<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglFbbWUVweL99zJ3jXGzfmELN_25THpUki2Lo17QNNTGBxxfdr__9TiI1edJQYB2k-k9ldUrd7MjXpr98Jq0AvLTJWUzlhXoyIQe5P4Qucg4JnyW7FclVTFST-QdPNK91dx2dn6Ro6jB8/s1600/My+Pictures+364.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglFbbWUVweL99zJ3jXGzfmELN_25THpUki2Lo17QNNTGBxxfdr__9TiI1edJQYB2k-k9ldUrd7MjXpr98Jq0AvLTJWUzlhXoyIQe5P4Qucg4JnyW7FclVTFST-QdPNK91dx2dn6Ro6jB8/s320/My+Pictures+364.jpg" width="216" /></a></div>
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The Honor list of volunteers who have kept the plane going.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtMH9oFSgDuf28D0Z7EwLAIr5dZ4OJ4ZrpLI8eGSFvc1rHJhE-45yK71r-9bhur8z_kWZTxZ4UbWuox563HXRmOOTCUvxrUVfOPRnuANw7RG4HnZ4Yz4KYWTVv0egjr_MbRALbjRJr40g/s1600/VETERAN.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5671336492163499938" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtMH9oFSgDuf28D0Z7EwLAIr5dZ4OJ4ZrpLI8eGSFvc1rHJhE-45yK71r-9bhur8z_kWZTxZ4UbWuox563HXRmOOTCUvxrUVfOPRnuANw7RG4HnZ4Yz4KYWTVv0egjr_MbRALbjRJr40g/s400/VETERAN.jpg" style="display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 300px;" /></a><br />
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</div>BMW HACKERhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13918586672379085225noreply@blogger.com0