C E R I G N O L AC O N N E C T I O N

455th Bomb Group Association Newsletter

Spr ing 2002 - Ed i to r , To1n Rxmcy . l 2 l l l l on tc l r i r c C t . . Ap | l c ton . \V I 5 - i 915 (910 ) 7J1 2 t00

Duesl5;t l r Innlr l ) Gf()up meorbers

\e \ . r lue ,v.)Lrr rnenn)ership, xnnualclucs rre prv:r l , le N(^,eml)er 1 f() lt l re t i r l l rxr ing ve.Lr k) br: (uf l ( 'ntrhurgh Novcrrbcr L, 2t)01

l)LLcs i r lc onl \ '$1t: l ycrf . A l i feincnlbcrshi l ) c iD hc olnr ine( l f ()rS60 r l lco yr)u dont hl \ r- L() $r)rNj l ! a ) u l r j ( ( u r l r o L ( ) r D ( ) 1 . l l \ ( ) ulrL! ! l0 c(nir- !c lr l i \ , ( \ t r rs t)r i r l .y < , L r r l i l t r r , - l l r l r , - t s l t i t r i s r ) r ) L \ \ : i

' l i ) r , ) J r l i n r ( l l ) r . \ s i ( x i r l i . ) ni r n r i l ) r L l t i \ l r l l ) ( ' ( l r r i S n ( ) l x ( l o n n e ct or r c, neci l \ ( )uf l )elp. ( lbcrk\ l rcn \r)u List pr i ( l rn. l then rDir i lr oLrr c lrcck ro: 455th BombGroup dssociatlon, 5100 John D.Ryan Blvd. #542, San Antooio,T){,7a2-45-3535.

l l r : r n k \ ( ) u

Your New Associa-tion Officers -Boardof DirectorsofficersPfeslLlent - S Sgr. f fxncis I- .lxshinsk\, - retxined - 7+l)

Vrcc PfcsLclcnt lsr Lt. Sran]ev Xl.IycNorl rclirinccl 710

Secfetirrl - TSgt Cx.l R. Loiocit]o

'ifexslrref - l-t Col Gus H \\t'nclt

Directorslst Ll . Jxck l l Bl l rm - Ne$' 711

Col. Rodcrick \\i Clffkercrainccl 7.i1

Cirl Tdrn F. Divis rcl3irtecl 7:i1

S, Sgr ll.tYi.l J. 1rrr\\ lL-\

Lr Col \\:'illi3 r Ll. llr. rn ll l{cw

\lx j lxrres l ) ( ; ()Lr ld - rer ine. l -

Lsl Lt Fl(l\'rfd (i. ]!ile.rli - felxincrt,-.1J

XI:r t l ( )hf N' Nrsh ( l r l f ( ( l ; r l

( . r P t . . l r m c s I L S n r i t h f t l r l f ( 1 1l r I

S/Sgt I i l l r r \ l l . St)(r l r - f r l r incr l7rJ

Exec iv€ Director( ; L L s 1 1 . \ \ t ' n ( l l . l r . r ( l r i r i a l 1 1 .( i ) l I r l

Final Flightsl)r!1 ' lJr( nh(]rs I l l l2001I l()rr l ) , r( t i (J. - +Jrrr l SclLrrclrolr

l . to lr .n 1)Lrnnent I l / ( ) -10{) lN1r\ i .grtor. I l0th Si lurdf lnr

Scor.Jcf i l ld Ll f r l l 12 12/2001]]ngiDrL-r CLrnnef, l r - /n( l S( lruclr lnr

Jo. B Ihrnrcf t /z i ) l r l

l.i-lrcl Squ3clron

l l lcr L. Tt i rbl ' .J/28/.20017+ lst SqrL. ldr!n

\ \ ' i l l ixrn ( ; i rn 10./20,200 |71lsr SqrLiLLlr .rn

l im Shrnn;rrd l0121,:1001Pil.r. 7:i.Jrcl SquedfonFornlcr Prcsiclcor. i;5rh B()nrl)Liroup,{ssocietion

Our hexrs ere $irh rnLl s\nrp:Lthiesgo lo the loIe.l ones of the .15irh

J^lal;ary 12,2OO^1,TocLiy I lost irnothcl vcr! (lc.rr

ffrcnd. To sclcl Dr\ c llrcthcrs 1r1n€to thc l i f i l f l lghi c{r lul l ] r is \cr\( l i l l icrLLt l )n this hr ' i ! r ' r i ! I l ighr Irnslr f ! - l l r l t G().1 lLrs r ver_r, :pcc|Llpl:rcc- firr .r vrrr speci,Ll gLn

He \ \ ' : rs ul \1x,rs snr i l ing. .hccfiirl ancl gn.]ng. He nr:rclr ].(nr li cl

T n r c l l ) x l ( ' r s r l ) ( ) W ( ) n i ri i r rr( l nrrr( f i , )Lrt o1 S:rgi [r . L] ! frrr iLr\ . i

sul) z(11) t lJnrIer i r t rLreslrrrd rL l r l inr l in{ sn{)$ sl()rr l r | \ \ 'usl i r r P l r r r - r r r l o n g u l l h c ( ' I l ( ) l t h ( , . o 1 -r i r l I r \ \ . l rcn I)u\ ' ( dnre i rL(nrgp L r l l i n g , L l i t t l c , s l c r l h c h , r r l n r : r d cI I I sr i r l r1r ' \ , )u 1r l()nc l )u( lc ly, let s!(1 lhf{)Uglr l l r is l ( ,gf thcf. l : ( )rrrl l lx l l l t ( )r l ( l r l ( )u \ \c l )L(11trrclr icncls. lLL sl rcLl \ \ ' l rxt l i l r lc lkl rrLl | rr :Lnx.. lecl 1o l ro:r(1 i rn(tsrn)LLfgf lx ' i i , r 'c rhc Inir( i ._ lhr ' r ,Lrrrh

tn 'o i i )1\ ' ( l nrxfch(-s, iDl1ln r ( , r L s i l ) i L n ( l t i c r L t r l r . , r i r i d ( . t l n dir l l rh( () thrr pf isur rrLnr l) .or)cl it i ( r)s hc \ ' :Ls i r aorsl iLol cfaourirgalrcnt t() sLtl\'i\'(-. IIc rnd his alcrrrvi lc Rut l t havc lx-cn l i iencls ever

Left Over from theflnl iderrcChristmas Thought

Three Wise Women Would Have...

Asked dlrectionsArrived on timeHe ped deilver the baby,Cleaned the stable,Made a casserole,Brought practica gjfts andThere would be Peace on Earlh.

st.I-ouis Reunion - Reunion Revisited2001 Gus Wendt

2001Photos,Credit, Elmo Henske

ReportsThe 2001 rcunion wes e suc

cess. 271 membcrs ?rttended widlthcir wivcs. Attenclees lrt the f()Lrrday event totalecl:

151h Aiforce 1wldows 4455th Hdq 1740d Sqd 31741st Sqcl lB7'12ncl Sqcl 26743rd Sqd 21

There were 152 lluests. Wjves,chilclrer'r. i:rvitees. 4 widows wcrcin xltenclxnce. Wc llavc 110 s'iclows on our roster ancl hopc thatnn)re l\.icl()ws wil] xttcncl thc ncxtreunion A special bxnquct tablcn-ill l)e sct Lrp fbr thcln.

Two si8llt sccing toLrrs wereconducted, clownlown St, I-ouis.r !rd Old St. Chx es, rhe or iginir lc pilnl of the stnte of Missolr'i.

,{t thc ijencfxl ltcmbcrshil)nrccting, thc mclrrl)crs v()tcd ()llavc the nex! feunion sr>nrewherein llorida. A (olrltllttee wasrppoilltcd !o cxpl()re the vrfi()LrslocatkDs aDd fec(nDlnend a l(xrx-l i (m lo the presidert Thc fal l 2002issue of the Ccrignolx Connc'ctionwill indicere the locirtioll choscn.

"Play it again John" John Davis entettains in the hospitality roam.

Stranded! The last ol the abandoned group,bus failed to show up lot rctum to the hotel.Appleton, Wl, 743d Sqd, on right.

wailing lo be rescued after the tourCarl and Barbara Stracket,

ITf,11En rhe Eyes ofA kindergarten teacher wasobserving her classroom of chil-dren while they drew pictures, andwalked around to see each child'sartwork- When she got to one littlegirl who was working dil igently, sheasked what the girl was drawing.The girl replied, ' l 'm drawing a pic-ture of God." The teacher pausedand said. 'But nobody knows whatGod looks l ike.'Without missing abeat or looking up from her draw-ing, the girl replied, "They wil l in aminute."

2

"When they run out of beer here we can always ga an to Milwaukee." Ted andJane Tronaft with Ema Lee and Elno Henske prepaing to sample the AmberBock and Michelob in the Budweiser hospitality room.

The 455th dlso has pretty ladies tending bat in the ho6pi-tality rcom

"l thought they werc going to show a movie," Attendees atSaturday moming businegs meeting.

"lf we dink sitting down we can hold morc!' Elmo Henske,Charles and Peggy Painter, Ed & Anne Soderstrcm, Ted &Jane Tronoff, Erma Henske. Budweiser hogpitality rcom.

"Now betore our guest speaket, I"n going to havo nrydessett." Ftank Lashinsky, President, Mastot of Cercmonyfor group banquet,

"l thought Generals bought S/Sgtb ddnks!" Dotothy andFrank Lashinsl<y visiting with Geneal an.l Mts. Hudson inthe hospitality room.

And a good line was had by all! SL Louis reunion - 2001.

Mav L0. 2OO1455th Bomb GroupAssociation15th Air ForceDcar Menbers and Fellow lXrorldlx7ar Il Veteritns:

It is a plcasure t() offtr mythanks and congratulations forreachin€l the "Defencler" donorlevel for the National V/orld War IIMemorial Cempaign. You hayehelpecl to preserve the lcgacy oIthe entire \Vorld \var II gencrationfor years to come.

This mcmodal cannot Iell crurnatioll or the world whal it feelslike to grieve ovcr a fallen comradcor what it w,Ls like lor millions offimilies bxck hollrc: waiting fbrncws fronr dre battlefnrtls arounddre w(rld. It will nol express dlcwxy we xll ftft when the tnolnentfinally came 10 fa(e lhc enenty incombat or d1e way fuilerican f.nni-lics lelt when thc blue star in dtewin(k)w turned !o gold. It coulclnevel adequatcly repay tltc dcbt ofgr titudc that this corrntly owes anextraordindry generarion ol Ameri-crrns who helped snvc thc wollcl.'l'he lncmorjal will lte, alier all, ir isonly slone an(l rrroftaf.

It c{n, howcver, temincl gcncra-licxrs () follow tlut freedom corlcs$,ith responsibilities ancl one ofdbse is a willingness to fjghr topreserue it xt any cost. It will scrveas a testxrnent to the spirir oiAmerica and what a trcc peoplecan do when unitcd in I just causc.It will help to complete rhe srory o1'our democracy tolcl by all the monurDents end mcmorials on ourneti()nal rnall

Thank you all f<rr dtc supponyou havc Eiiven to dris most wolth-whilc ancL lonll overdue project,rncl lor y()ur clistinguishecl seivjcedudng World \far IL

Sincerely,Flob Dolc

Protectors Gifts of$25,ooo - $49,999Italian American \var VeteGns ofthe tlnired StatesMarine Corps LeagueReseFe Oflicers Association of theIhlited StatesScrvice Club of IncliaflapolisThc Retired Enlisted Association(TRXA)TuskeSee Aimen, Incorpomted(TAI)Victnaln Vetemns oI AnrericnState of AlaskaStatc of Ark:rnsasStatc oI West Virginixtsranson Vetefans 'l'itsk Force

Defenders Glfts of910,000 - $24,9992nd Alr Division Assocrilttion25th Inf.rnlry Divisi(11 As$ociation31$! Int 'antry 'Dixie" l) ivision40 ct 8 V)i lLrrc41st lnfantry l)ivision Associnrk)n{JTth lnf ntry l)ivision Associntion446th B(rnllardlnent Group4551h lJomb croup Association,Incofpora!eclA ny Avirtion Associalion of Anrer-icnJewish \X/ar Veterans 01 the USAMililary OKler of the PLrrple HerrtService FoundrrionNrtion.Ll Timbcrwolf Associxlior),10/1th Inf:rnfry Divisi(nlPolish Legion ol Ajnerican Vcrct.ans, USASociery ol drc Third lnfllnily Divi-rionSons of the Amcr'ican LegiolUSS lntrepicl Associati()nVeterxns of thc Batle of rhe BulticYaikee Division Veterxns Association

Life\we convince ourselves that lile

will be lrtter alter we gct mairied,have a baby, then anoths. Thenwe xrc frustlatecl that rhe kiclsxrent oicl enolrgh ancl we'll bemore content whcn drey are. Aftcrthat wele irustlate.l that we haveteenxge$ to cleel with. \fe will cer-

taiily be happy when rhey arc outof that stage. \Ye lell ourselvcs rhrtour ljfe will be complete whenyour spouse gets his or her acttogetne! wiren we gel a nicer car,are aDle to go on a nice vacation,

'lhe trut]l is there's no bettcrtime to be happy fian righr now. Ifnot now, when? Your life willalways be filled with challenges.It's best 1() e.lmit this to yourselfancl clecicle to be happy anyrvay.One of llly fhvorite quotes conesliom Allied D. Souza. llc seid, 'For

a long tinle it had seemed t() rnethxt ljtc was abour ro bcliin reallitc. Thcrc was :rlways some obsta-c1e in the \\'ny, something to beg()tten througb first, some unfinishecl business, time still to beservecl. or a debt ro be paid. ' lhenlife would begin. At hsr it dawneclon me tllat these obstacles weremy life." Tltis perspecrivc hashclpcd me to see that there is noway to hnppincss. Ilappiness is dteway, So, treasurc cvery morncnttlul you havc. And lrcasurc it ,n(rebeciLulie yorr shAred it wilh sonre,(n1c spccial, special cnough |()sllcocl yolrr lifire.,.ancl rer:renrbcrth3t tjlllc waits fir' tlo one, So stopwxhins unlil yoLr tlnish sch(xt,uniil you go bxck ro scll(xt untilv()Lr l()se tcn pounds, until you gaintcn p(\rn(is. Lr11!il y()u hivc kicls,unlil yorrr ldcls leave thc house,unril v()Lr snfi w()rk, unril yorlretire. until vou get nrxrriccl, unrllv()u get divorced, Lrntil Friclayniliht, until SLrnclxy morninlt, unrilyou ger I new cNl or Jt(nre, untllyour car or homc is paid ol l , unr i lspring, until sul]xner, unlil fall, Lrnrllwinter. unril you lre off q,clfare,until the firsr or fifreenlh, until y()Lrfs()ng comes on. unlil you've had adrink, until you'r'e sobcrecl rrp, olrmtil you clie to decide drx! there isno better time than right no\\, to behappy. Happiness is lL journey. nottL clestination.

Thought for the day:Work like you don't need money,Love like you've never been hurt,And dance like no one's watching.

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455thF.-l'{:ail RostefBelow is a listing of e-mail

address' of 455th members thatwere sent ro us for publicati()n inthe Cerignola Connection. *Indi-cates a new listing since last published in the Cerignola Connection.If you want your e mail addressincluded in this rosrer, please sendit ro:.i55th Bomb croup Assn, Inc.5100 John D. Ryan Blvd. #542San Antonio, fi 78245-3535

' William A. Arnold (743)Apalxchin. NY.iarnoldTT@iuno.com

Hxny V/. Anderson (740), SanAntonio, TX. pomganny@aol.com

Gene V Bcnson, (740) Livingston,N.It. dayflyguy@mcn.net

.Jack BILuD O41), New Port Richey,Ft. iblum 15677@aol.com

" \viniielcl S. llowcrs (741), MounrDom, !-1. lr'lnbow20@aol.com

Marlin L (BLrd) Brown. (742), LakePlacid, FL. bafbud@htn.net

Rol)elr Caldwcll (7,1 lsr), Prcscor!Vdlley, AZ. rc7306@aol.com

Howard Coopef, Sraton Island, NY.howgladcoop@worldnet.att,n€t

Itoberr (Bob) C()llette, St. Peters-bl.rrg, FL. dotybobl@iuno.com

Janrcs A. Cowclen (742),Tascal()ose, ,{L.icowden@earthlink.net

-l,rnes P. Daly (740),Aberdecn, NJ.panadal,.@aol.com

lack Dekker (743), cl.tnci R1pids,Ml. idek457@aol.com'l heodore Deppe (741), Bloomingl()n, IN.tdeppe@indiana.edu

Cunis Diles (740), Dayrr)n, OILbudynez@aol.corn

Paul H. Ditchetl, (7.12), Safery Harbor, Fl. pau1546@iuno.com

Bob Ernick (741), Battle Creek, MLrfemlck@aol.com

James A. Fedewa (7,13), Dunnellon,FL. icfedewa@cs.com

\rilliam B. cemmill (740), SpringHiII, FL.i/gemmill@tampabay.ff.com

William C. Graves {742), lack-sonville, !'L. wgfaves2lo@aol,com

Lou Hansen (743), Spenccr, LA..lohansen@nwiora.com

Ha.vey ilewit (7.i3), Ilaverforcl, PA.lhhew@aol.corn

Eulaenc M. Hurley, (742) CalverrCity KY. ghurle)@apex.net

Thonns L. Knblack (7,i2), CrownPoint, lN.techmart@mall.lcongrp,com

Milton Kxpl.ro (743), Scotlsclxlc, AZ.ftlaplan@bestweb. net

Erling Kinclcm (7,12), Farminliron,MN. erllngk@aol.com

Jack Lanc.rster (742), Ck)vi$, NM.mandi@ 3leftles,com

.John L. Larma (740), Oflzrhx. NE.ilarma@uswest.net

George 1,. Licldle (742), Slr11 Ciry,CA. olgeorge@ez2.net

* Dave Mxtheson (742), Harison,,\R. ihatebugs@cox-lnternet.com

C.E. McMullen (741) Tomball, ' t Xememullenif@aol.com

Vic Murray (743), Longwood, FLvemuff ay@eaf thlink.net

Robcrt L Newbcry (743), Wesr DesMoines, LA.newaces@ho|ne.com

Chxrles Oltarzewski (740), callnrin,'l N. murph824@aol.com

' Petcr Payant (743) Phoenix, AZpbpayant@home.com

Rolancl J. Pepin (741),.Johns|om,RL pep440o@aol-com

Jack Phelps (740), Dallas, TX.87606@ix.netcom,com

\fesley Powe1l (740), Seabrook TX.wesjulia@gateway,net

- Bob Prcbs! (741), \trest ColumbiaSC. rtprobst@aol.com

Sid Schoengold (740), MorrJoe,T\gP, NJ. har:sidl @iuno.com

Gus R. Seefluth (742), Lebanon,OH. gus@go-concepts.com

\ralt Shostxck (7,11), Da}1on, OH.shid''stack@compusefi /e.com' Edward G Spencer (740) CT.ebne2r@qrebtv.net

Charles E. Stark, (740), Pi$sborg,PA. Carchar@aol.com

(Dr) Stanley Vogelfxng (741),Hou$rcn, fi . stanvog@aol,com

A Must See!One of thc ll'lusl-

see attraclrons nt tlleMardr Ficl(l Air Mu$eurD, especiallyf()r tl]ose who hxve becn ass()ciaLt-ecl with lhc |ifteenth ,\t l.()rce inirs 58-year history. is the t5rh ,{FVrall.

'lhis memorial was finnnced bythe 971ll Bomb Group RcunionIssociati()n and declicated in 1998.A fitiing cenrcrpiece fof thc wall isa bronze sculplure of Lt. CcnJames FL D()olitde, tirsl conmandcrof dle 15th Air Folce.

\X/e extencl a corciial welcome|o all l5th AI veterans to visir thelnuselnn ro sce this and the manyotlrer xttractions. W()rld Ilrar It Lrnitsare urged to evrllrxte the possibilityof holding their ocxt reuni()n in theRivcrside area.

If you would like informarionab()ut how you crn get your grouprecognized on the lith AI Yrall,please call the Museun lbunciationofficc at 909-697 066A2

ort

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- $ - $ -

Crews

Frcnt rcw L ta R - S/Sgt Eugene E. Scerbo, Nose TuftetGunner; S/Sgt. Arthut R. Boucher, Upper Tuftet Gunner;T/Sgt. Chades Crcwley, Engineet; S/Sgt. Paul E. Brown,Armor Gunner: S/Sgt. Henry C. Belcher, Radio OpeQtor;5/5rJt. uana J. ̂ ennener. ta

turret (tunner,Ba;k Bow, L to B - lst Lt. Walter Gunn, Pitot; 1st Lt. Wat-ter H. Barton, Co-Pilot: lst Lt. A an C. Johnson, Bom-bardior; lst Lt. Wi iam J. Frogoe, Navigatot, 740 Squadron.

L to R - Hank Everhatl, Roy Chlan, Roget Caple.

Front Row, L to R - Harold Powell, Tail Turret Gunner;Richard Hass, Fladio Operator; Arlhu Zegeer, Ball TurretGunner,Middle Row L to R - Wallace Hamnond, Engineet HarcldMarch, Armorer, Waist Gunnet; Louis Lyons, Nose TuftetGunner,Back Bow, L to R - fted Caryentet, Ca-Pilot; Nomanstewart, Bombadiet; Haffy Blount, Navigatot Donald B.Graf, Pilot.

Roger Caple Writes -t

Our crew was assigned to.the 743rd 7Squadron. Our pilot was Martin (,lvlaurer, Roy Chlan, Radio Operator;Hank Everhart, TailTurrel Gunner;and Roger Caple,Navigator

Chlan, Everhart and Caple are believed to be theonly surviving members of the crew' All three attend-ed the last reunion.

Plane without a crcw! ls il youts?

Szymon SerwatkaWrites From Poland

Thank you very much for yourshort letter and the two isslres ofthe Cerignola Connection. Theyfiere very interesting rcading,incleed- For example, in the Spring2000 issue, page 7, I read aboutFred Czerwi()nka who could havebeen in the crew lost on December17th 1944 over Hungary during amission to Oclertal. As y()u mayremember from my letter ofNovember 23d 2000, missions tothis target an.l t() Blechhammer areof grext interest to me.

Piotr wjsniewski, a fiicnd ofminc and an Aircraft Missing InAction Project (AMLA.P) member isplanning a trip to the (JSAFarchives in Maxwell to retrieve doc-uments that we neecl f()f olr-research project. I will apprecixtevery mLrch if you could give ushints .rs to where we should lookfbr infbrmalion on the l5ith BGmission rcporls fbr the foll()winiiclAtesl

7 JUL 44 Odenal7 AUG 4,1 lllechhamnlcr Sor"rth22 AllG 14 Blechharnrrer27 ALIG 14 Rlechhannrer13 SEP,14 odertal13 OCT 44 tslccliramlDer14 oCT 41 oderal12 DEC 41 Blechhammer17 DEC 44 Oclertel26 DEC 44 Auschwitz

(Oswiecifl)

We shall have our Proicct Wcbsite updated soon with a lot oIintefesting information, But youcan view it also today atwww.samolory.ip.pvamiapl

Best &jshcs fiom Warsew,

PS I arn elso sending informatirnlon the Americln Airmen Memodal

I n'as involved in buildinEl it.

Szylnon

American Airmen MemorialDedicated to 41 802 USAAF flyers who gave their lives in battles over

Europe in WWll erected in Woroniec, Poland on July gth 2000.

Can You Help?NIy uncle, SSGT

Theo.k)re J. (Toclge)Olszewski (7,12ndsquadron) nevel talkedabout his WWI expedenccs. Interestingly. aflelretulniog to lhe IIS afterthe war, Ile woulcl neverfly in an airplancl Unfbr-tunaiely. his officiel military rccord was destroyeclin the 1t73 flre in St.Louis, efid his pcrso]ulrecords/rncmorxbilix wer'enisplaccd upon his derthin 1983 (he was a wid-owef left with x leenrgeson).

I woulcl now l ike l t ;pull togcther wh:rtevefinlbfnntbn I .()Lrl.l alx)Lrlhis scl."icc widr the7/i2ncl Sqr.u(lfon f(n lhebcnef i t ( , his 2 grancl 'sons. The lnmily is Lrwarcdldt SSG'I' Olszewskiscrvcd with the 7.'12n(lSqua(lron jn Cerignolas(nnet irDc cluf ing lhcsrrnrrrrer of 194,i. IIc \l'.rsawarcled "t i r c lcwnlnn'\\,ings ancl wc bclicvc hcscrvecl primxily 4s r gun-ner. IIc completecl hisrequirccl 50' lnissi(nrs".

I hrvc fecently l()cat-e.l 2 phorogfaphs thatwerc in thc possessi()n oIhis .lcc.isccl sister. Ihefilst is a crew photo

(SSGT Olszewski is tlle31d fiom the left in thefront row) ln tront ()n aB 2/+ bearing the number198 and the narne "Glam

()ur cal" plxne. The sec-ond shows hlm (5th frornrhe left) in fliEiht lacar(lightjnit a cigare e) inlront of :r B-24 beadngthe numbcr 494 whichappears to havc creshlanded. A coLrsin (whowes 8 yexm ol.l al thetiDrc) fecalls thnt hisLroclc haci trrash landed",probxbly trvice cluring lis

'lhe lemily wod(lgre:rtly apprecielc it ifanyone coulcl providr.rany infonnrtion as to thciclcntiticxtl(rl1 of thc Pilotor cfcnr mel1ll)e$ ol" l9i i " or "191" l l ish(rpecL drxt by knowingrlre pilot, I migh! bc :rlrleto Prece sonlc nfofll)il-tion xs 10 thc lrissions inwhich ly uncle t()()kp.1n. \fith the flnc mis-sion hisrory of 1he .i55(h

norv publishecl, I w()uldh()pc ro bc xblc t() pr'()-vjde his gr.|nclscnr's vithinfbfnlirli()n xborl rgrxncltather they rcvcrkncwl Thxnk y()Lrl

Cl) l t Mxrk D. Floir , LISNR12666 w. loNr Drl\'eLekewoocl, co ,s0228

Stil l prettier than a B-17

Peter Kass6kWrites Fromthe SlovakRepublic

Many thanks for the issuc ofCerignola Connection Fall 2001. I\\'as happy to receive it and to reaclxn anicle of Bob Newberg. And Iwonderecl, Ih:rt there were reprinted addresses resp. emails of someof the members of the 455th tsc.Assn. Now I would like to ask you,it it is possible, please, sencl rneeny contacts to these men ()r tlreirfdnilies:

Eciwald J. Bolten Jr.Dxvi.l fruchsJohr Il. C:ampbcllJxmcs F. PittmanFrank E. BivcnsClirrcncc L. Madscn Jr.J:rkc Shahccn Jr.Bcnc'clict Il. RrczleIt w()ulcl l)e great t() contx(

then) ()r their f lnri l ies nncl i lsk themfi)r sonre support for nly pfojcc! inwny of infb ndrion dncl photo sruffTllrnks.

I wds !rls() very unhappy tofe,rci that 1,1..Johlr N. (] nlnr pnsseclnway ()n ALrSLrst I , 2001. I wasl<xrking for 'hinr t ir l nrr>re than halfn yenr 1() ((nrl(cl hi i d xsl i hirrsonlc qucstions. Ncvcr rrind, CODBLISS IIINfI BLrt plcrsc, I wouldlike to .sk yolr lbr dre x.ldress t.)his wil i or l l rr i ly, whcrc I coLrldscnd my clccpcst honors to thelnrncl esk thcrn fbr sonc piclule o1'.lolln Gdnlllr lfom wxr times t()conrplete ry coliection. Hc wasshot down on July 7. 194.1 ovcrCzcch, bur nmdc it ro Slovakii rnd$'is cepturcd hcrc on July 13,1944 Thcn wis in Pow c1lmp. anclwhcn Slovik Netional Llpdsingstarted, ile ancl other 4 rnen wenlxlone k) Lhe w()()ds, but Fere cxp-turcd in micl Novcmbcr 1944 b)'Germans. So his war story is closL-ly bind to Slovaki?r.

I am lookiltg ftrrlercL to yrxrranswer and h) y()ur help in whkrh I

With Best (ireetingsPeter Kass:ik

Ed -Mxny thanks to all of you who

have slrbmitted ph(xos, stoies andother materlal for inclusion in theCeriJlnol:r Cornection. Filling 2.1 to28 pages twice a ycxr with humaninterest, photos and hclpful articlcsis a monurental t3sk. Keep theflcomlnElI

Remenlber to place y()uraddress label on the back of sub-mitted photos so thcy can bcletLrrned alter plinling. I lry tcrlrack clown unclairnecl ()iginxis bLrtnot alweYs willr slrccess.

Anicles pLrblishecl ale as sul>rniued with lillle ()r xny cllnnge. lfthere is an emor - jt s thc comput-cr, not thc cditor.

I ilways look lblwad 1() youlsLrFl!{cstiorN on how Lo ilDplove ournclvsic:ttg, fccl ftce l() collnlent,

The Grand r=-Finale - A 1:-

True StoryOn Lake Isrrbelln, loc:rte(l in lhe

high clesert , an hrxrr 'erst r>f Bal<errflel(|, Crlif()nri0, s<>nre firlks, new t<rboa!ing, were having n problenl.N() nlatLer how h:Lrcl they tried,rllcy coLrlcln\ llcr thcb brlrd nc\.r22-fi. Brylincr to pcrlbnr. Itwoulcln t gct up on the phie rt all,,r)cl ii was very slufa!{ish in iLlostcvcry mancuvcr, no netlcr howmuch pos'cr wes .pplied.

Alter eb()Lrl an ll;rrr of trying t<rmxke il g(), fhey puttecl ()vcr io xncxrby rDxrinr, tlinkinll solnconethcrc could rcll rhcm whar wxswrong. ,^. thororLgh topside checkrc!celcd cvcrydring in perfectworkinfi order. So, ol]e of dre mari-na glrys jl|lnped in 1he wxtef tocheck undernexth. He came up(h()klng on wxter, hc wes leuEihingso had.

Remembet tbis is !rue...Uncler dre boet, still strappecl

securely in place, v\'as the t.ailer.

ChaplainsCornerLet there be peace onearth and let it beginwith me;Let there be peace on earth, thepeace that was meant to be.With God as our Father, brothersa

are we.Let me walk with my brother inperfect harmony.

Let peace begin with me, let thisbe the moment nowWith ev'ry step I take, let this bemy solemn vow:To take each moment and liveeach moment in peace eternally.Let there be peace on earth andlet it begin with me.

While StormCloudsGatherWhile storm clouds gather faracross ne sea,Lel us sweat allegiance to a landthat's free,Let us all be gratetul lor a land sofait,As we nise out voices in a solemnprayet:

God Bless America.Land that I loveStand beside her, and guide herThru the night with a l ight fromabove-From the mountains, to theprarnes,To the oceans, white with foamGod bless Ame.icaIvly home sweet home.

-lrving Berlin-

Clever SignsSome ol the most clever signswe've seen have been posted infront of churches. Here are just a

"Try our Sundays. They are betterthan Baskin-Robins.'" Come in and pray today. Beat theChristmas rush."

- S - $ -

Forty-Nine MissionsIn One Hundred andSeventeen Da'�'s7 /r2/ 44 to 11/ 5/ 44

F,.l: 7he folloui?tg ^rticle is extracted Jrom tbe autobiagrapb! (permission granted) of Gene V. Bensan.Itis interestirrq. I tbougbt lou uouldenjat reacling il. (;ene Lrds ar Bon-bdrdier u)ith tbe 71oth SEBdron.

Our crew was assigfled to the740th squadron of the 455th bombgroup, 15th Air Force. We hacl atent to live in and a bare foldingcot to sleep on. ThaI wxs it. 'fhere

was no pilbw, no malucss, no!h-ing. lhe Sergeants had cxactly thcsxme cieluxe rccommodations. Itwas still a lot betler lhan thc troopshad in France I m sure thc inlantrywoulcl have wclcomcd it. Thc inva-sion had taken placc cadicr in Juncanc| wc were geltlng reponli ()rwhat was happening. \Fe pncliceclall kincLs ()f nrissionli lbf nbou!threc weeks xnd dren wc weicc(nlrl):Lt fe:rdy. Thcy look our new824 and gavc us an olcl bea! uponc ancl that wrs dre one wc flewfbr drc ncxt nondl or s().

Our iirsl corrbat rnissk)n wason July 12!h to a nrarshaling yardin N,lirenras, France. Wc cncounlerecl very hea\'y fhk, lost anengine, ancl hird ro llrncl .r 3 ilghtcfbxse wel l nol th of our homc biscThe fillhter b,Lse wxs thc homcbxse ot the Tuskcgcc Air Mcn andwc had never' hearcl about them.They were e great Lrurrch of guys.Thev ied us, reftreled us, hclpcd rNget the engjne stated and sent usoff to home, We never saw themagajn or the ground, but lookecltor theln on mlssions. They wcreFlreat escorts and as far as I know,they never lost a bolnber t() enemyfighte$. \X/e went on to Uy 49 mis-sions the next four months. 'We

Uew from luly 12th, which was theMiramas raid, until November 5dr,our last nissiofl uhich \'"as to Vienni. Wc bombcd rargets in ten diflerent counrries in Eur()pe, xll ()fcourse occupied bJ' the cemlens.Flak damagc was constaff and

1 0

severe and we went through sever-a] B24's but never got our new oneback.

Charles Jenl<ins was a reallysuperb pilot and always Faot ushome to Italy. Somehow he dicl,not always on oLrr own base, buIback. we losl Dolsofl Meaker earlyon so we hxd :L series of copllots.They u,ere all okay, and Jenkinsmade first pjlots out of thosc thatsuffived. The only good foocl weever got in those four moflths e,asarmy breacl ancl orange marrnalade.Everything else was K-rations or Crati()ns. We ciid get fiesh donutsflorn the Reci Cross ladies xtierexch mission. We supplementedour diet nith cillirette trading k)the Ilalians, trecling ciltrrettes f()rolive oil, eggs, rnelrns, ancl pota-toes. They were not alwxys avail-able bul hequelltly enouiah t() keepus going. P:Lckages irom home,when tlley macle it (x'ef, fillecl outour larcler. We 1ud frcsh lxe| oncein thc lbur lnonths. 'll11ll was thc.100 rlrission bnsh.

L!1ter in ()Lrr l()Ln it wilsannouncecL that several planes onnlissjon :Ls x trinl wcrc to lict lhcnew 'Aif Forcc in liighl tcn l11cnnreill.' \ire wcrc clatccL nnd wesefe lhosen, wc took no rrmybreacl with us on drat flight. Wewc-rc not 1() open the lal-ge b()xunLil dre Lrryet was borlrl)ecl anclwc were hexcled h(nne. Aftelbornbs awiy. I worrlcl be the leestbusy person so I wxs elected r()opr.-n the b()x xnd LlistribLrte thewonclers it contxincci. It \\,'xs October xnd the tenperature oulsiclefte plene wes 15 below zer(). Y/es'crc all ready f()r f(x)d. when Iopcned the box, the fil..st fiing Isaw \,"as r printecl list of directionstllat stalecli bdng the $.ater to ab()il. V/e dicln t have watel; we didn't have a pot, ancl it was 45 belowzero at ther altitLrde ancL you could-n't have boilecl u,ater with a blowtorch. Tllat td)k cxre of the wxrrncourse. 'lhele we.e a few frozencrackers you could work oo xocl efew frozen aprrcots yorl could suckon and that n-as it. Nobody saidmuch. They were kxr tired xnd dls-appoiflted, but $Jren we landed,

the crews that received this largess,threw the remains of the boxes oLrtthe bomb bays on the hard standand walked ofi !?e reponecl ourfindinlis at briefing afld that wasdle last any of us ever heard of the"'len men in flight dinner." Back toa[rry bread and marmalade and theold suffival tactics. If you dicLn\have a sense of humor in thatmans army, you were lost.

At lhis point I should mentionhow Harry Jordan rcally saved my1ife. Most of our B24's hxd two 50calibcr guns mounted in new nosetuffets that were. I believe, madeby Consolidaled. They wo*eds,{3ll. Eerly on, Harry and I hadsent ()ur s:rist gunners back to thex-:rist and took turns manning theh-(nn turre! The si€lht and mrvig:l-tbn equipmcnt were in the arexjr-rst behind the lLrrrct so it w3s logi-cal. This pafticular turret w:rs n()twoflring well and since I wxs sLrP-posecL to be a turlet expeIt, havin€ibeen ft) xclvancecl {+lnncry school,I was chosen to 1ix it. The tuflctwxs n lnte modcl uprigh! piecc ofolachinery witlt lwo 50 calil)erlluns, l)oxes ol arnlnLrniti()n, opticnlsighrs, x bunch of fltk vests, a scrr.xncl wide rrea of llre Lrp lrnd clownrncl s ide t() s ic le. ' lhefe \ \ 'as xrele:lse mechanis r :Lt thc b:Lsc. soon thc gfouncl thc gun coulcl beDrxnuxlly swung lioil sicle L() sideiLncl up 3nd dos,n for seNice. lnthe ru, of coursc, it woulcl only be()per.Lled b,v rhe scitcd gunnerinsicle the tur.cr usinll power. 'fhe

po\\"er wrs slrppliecl by m()tors anclsen'(rs. lh:rt sort ot ihinEl. Vre werext nlissir)n altituclc xncl I wrsn'tgoing t() get jnro rhc tufrL'I unlil IkneR- it $ls firDctionin!{ pftrperly. Istoocl rn fiont of dlc bomb sightilnd reached in though dre smallcnry door to sce if I hxd power. Atthar point, dre releese mechanismpoppeci and the turct bcgan toturn on its axis. I hatl about one ortwo seconds tops to get my Lrpperbody out ol thcre ancl no leverageto shove out. Hxry, slnn(:llngbehind nle, reache.l in ancigrabbed ny <:oliar and yxnkccl mcour physicall)' as thc luffet swungto thc left ancl completely dosecl

fie openinE{ aperture. Any pal1 ofme lhat would have still been inthe tuffet woulcl have still been inthe lurret. and the rest of me allover fie bomb sighi. I sort ofthanked Harry and he sofi of mumbled sornething like, he wouldluve had to have broken sorneoneelse in, and that was it. lt was aterrilying incident but in those daysalmost everything wes solt of terd-fying so you had to find thehurnorous side of it. We flew ro thetarget. bombed it, ancl flew homewithout incident. Our prxrr planelooked likc a whipped dog n-ithhis tonfiue hanginEl out xncl cl()wnon the sicle. The gunne$ werexlefled thnt we had no gun proteclion in the ftont. Wc vlcre the leadxlr crrft So they werc tolcl to keepxn eye out when wl: lancled, oLrgrourcl crcw chicf saicl, 'Well itlix)ks like it did it agein, dris limewe wi l l rcal ly gct i t l jxed. ' I sxid, " I

hope so. l:lalry sh(x)k his hcadancl we went ol'f li)r .lonuts xncl

As t i r 'nc nnd misslons went byxncl bcc^Lrsc I w1$ bctlcf with theSpcrry bo11ll) sight than I was wirhtllc Norclcn, I wrs t() leacl ntissionsr4lcre the Spery wofked best. TheNorcLcn workcd fine ()n large tlrgets like ()il relineries encl on rirfielcls, but I think thc Spery wasbettcr ti)f snrxll t3rgcts like r bd.lge()r a facl()ry. Othefs a€treed with nleand thxfs the wry wc went. Deforewe wcre tinishcd, I ha.l eighlsquadron xnd |\\'o gr'oup leeds. Iwas in the lelcl plane anci rhc others cLr<4rpecl at my relcesc. I \\,as.n nlv sec()ncl group lcacl wi|hseni()r- ()fficers rrnninfi the p1aie.The pikn I think sras a nlej()r tncldre navigxtor a cap|ain, bdh fronlrhe group. I dlcln't like io fly $"ithxnothcr crcw eway fron mine, butthet's the way it Bas, It sras October 1,ith, 19.i.1 and the target thatwas lefi wxs a $'nrhcric oil refineryat Ociertxl cermany. We had beento Bleckhammcr, cermany near byon three othcr occasions end botlrrarliets s,crc synfieric oil refinervbases. Together they had overthousands of 88's and 105 anti air-cratt guns. The Germans werc

pulling back all over Europe ands'ere taking their guns with them.They were especialiy concentratedon what was left of their oil capability. Vre were told by a briefingthat they were dos.n to 7 percentof normal. I s,.as oo the sight, halfway throrrlih the bomb run, leadingthe gror.rp l'ten we got hrt. Thatburst, or one of the ()thers, lookout an engine, clarnaged anotherengine, nnd iiped out the bombslght. The manual bomb rcleasemcchanism at my left was alsoknocked out ancl I soon tbund outthat the pilots energency releasclevel failed. \Ve stafteci to lose eltitucle and fell olrt of dre group. Ig()t :L poftable o),Tgen bottle end rscrewdrivcr rnd he:tde.l bxck tolhe bomb bays. I told tire enlaineerwhom I did not know, t() get o)'l'-gen ancl gca a scrcw cliver ancl joinnrc. Thc boml> bays were open,the wincL wirs horvling, :rnd wewefe still nt xltitucle xnd freezing.The en{ainecf jo inccl nrc l )Lrt he wascovered with hydraulic flLrid andwxs slipping on the nxfr()w w|tlkuy, I reaLly wirs w(r'ried bouthim. we wcrc cnnving six 1,000p()Lrnd high cxplosjvc bornl)s :rndto release thenr nrxnuxlly wc hrdto llrfn the lwo s(.lcrls on drc incli-viclLr:11 shxckle on clch l)onrl)sirrultancously. We wor'kecl rogethcr iucl one by one got the lxrmbsorlt slfftinll et the bottonr, I l(noiir r'3s only . felv minutes but itrlxs horlibly co1d. OLrr hxnds wcreirozcn in spiLe of gl()ves. \are gotulell oulj slated to fcgarn sonlcaltitlrcle and flcw to Italy. As wewefe flying elone we v"efc pickeclup lry two P47's. Chxmring guyswho cscofied us t() the Aclfixtic.Thc Major, oul pilot of themomenl, nonrinxteLl me tirr thcDistinglrishe.l Flying Cross encl Idicl the sxnre. I wrorc up dre engi-neer for onc. I received nine three$'eeks latcr, just before we left forhomc. I hope the engineer got his.I never found out. That was our44th missi(n ancl we hacl 3 fewmore ro g().

The last mission I flew was\'llh my o$n cle\\, t() \rienna on asquadron lead t() an oil storallc

depot. This v/as on November 5th.1944. We flew through the hea1f,flak like the pfos we had becomeand when we turned off the targetI rhought "l Eill never go rhroughanything like this again and damnit if I dicln'r miss ir."

Tail Lookoutby Heffy B. EverhartS/Sgt 74frd Squadroncop,-rtght 2oo1Reprinted with pemtsslon

Ecl Hcntl' L'erhdft zorites anexce[le7i corerage (t a creros tour oJcl1try in ltal.y, WWIL EnJoy!

Of lour fiotebooks I kept fromApril 1 until -July of 1944, ||lo n-crcconflscatccl by fiilitary sensorsprior to l$ving ltxly, July oi 19.14.

Refcr to noles fr(nn the pcriodof Apri l 2, 1941r r() . tuIy 6, 1944rnrcle l)y Chafley Clullcy which w:rsltiven b Ro8cr C,rple l)y Chxrley'swidow, Prt. Clllulcy was b(nn 1922nncL dicd l99l in Kcnllrcky.

The li)ll()\'',ing r]oles \{crccopied fr(nn (r'igin.ll hnnd wriltcnn(rt€s I nude |tl dre tilrc dre evenlsoccLrnecl in 194.1 whiic with rhe15lh Air l r {ncc in I taly.

Thc .i55th Bornl) croup lLnclour 7.i3d SqLrrLlf()n rver'e locatcdsever.i nriles ()ulsicle of Ccrignoh,Itely. Thc fielcl hxcl one lindingstrip. The existing b ilclings lookecles thou!{h they have l)een hcrc :rlong tirrc. The largesr buildlngnust lrxve been r lalgc bem thxtthe group uscd lor'Irriefings Smallcr buildings mry have been thclilrDL'r's houses ancl our buildings.'$lc

livecL in 6-nen rents rhit wereset up behveen the olivc trccs Alarge colnmon shower $as constrlrcted fi)r bathinli. It was a sedesof i0 gxllon barrels sirting (nrbeams ovcdread. The barrels wcrchcxted wifi wd)d uncicr thcmPipes \'"ere connected to the bar-rels thxt had a chain you pulled togel a spray of hot water forbathing.

The sLrmrners were hot anddusty.. the \'"inteb were a wct penetrating c()lcl with rains that p()-

conliiued on Pase 12 11

duced a very slippeN nlud that

Aprll29, 1944Took off 8:30 A.M. to bomb

T()Lrlon, Fr':rnce. Again the guns

ianmed on me. Hed t{) use thefbot firing mechanism, n]y left solenoid was out. \ve hit the targclwirh 100 lb. bombs

One sl p wen!. lown., . I s l lwonly three chlrtes,.,saw one FW190 figlrtcr. Ray saw hinl first anclstaned firing at him. The 190 staft-ed !o conlc in rt 5 o'clock on mYtLlret xnd gave lifl a bursl.. hcafdthc waist gunner clo thc s:rme.Afier a few shoft bu$ts hc tumeclxn.l wcnt ink) thc fbmxtion behincl

He \1'as still within mngc, so Ikepl on flring at him. He mecie xpa$s at the s:rist gunner il] that f()r'mnti(nr, My t cers scenle( to go 1nIioDt of his nose. I llred nt himuntil rny guns jxmnled. .. \\'orkedl ike h( l l to clear them... l )ut dlearmnro would no! ftcd in, chnrgedthem bu! the ll-urlo l|()uld go (n1ly

pa|! wxy into l]atleryl Looked lorthc fighter nnd snw hirn nb(Nl 600yr,lrcls olrt... pointjnli his nosetowlrcl nrc,..llalf:sc:rrccl he wc\ d

'fook my glovc otT dncl workedon the gLrns xgain.. .seened l ike xnhour hecl gone by.. . looked lbr the190.. .c l id not see him.. .he mlrsthave pecled off. fclt somewhatbetter. \vofked on the glrns solnemore l)Lrt hxd n() luck so clecidedt() quit. Clexrcd my glrns. lfhen wcgot back to the bllse, I hrd anarnorer s(r'k on the guns th4tn1gnr.

Aprtl 30, 1944Goa up 11 ,4..N1. I hxcl cxr Prob

lems end ll:ry thc$' uP fivc timeson the mission yestclclay. So wewcnt r() sec the Flight surgeon. Helookecl at my exrs at]d groundedme fbf t!u() cL^ys an.l gave rne twopi11s end said to come back drateveninli.

\Ve are suPPosecl t() test hoPour new ship. Went down to theship...went over the guns. Decideclto nalnc the tuffcl JC)" aflcr a galin the starcs. \fent bick rc dle tent'12

an.l thcn to see the doctor, He

EIe\'€ me sorne n()se droPs. I Eaotsome oil, trnrshes and swabs toclcan my guns Bidr. ouJ crew issupposed to fly t()morrow. . .lail enclCharley.

M^y 1, 1944Sae Doc tocixy. Got back on

flight st,rtus. Coing on e missrcnR)morrox'. \&e are t() fly teil enciCharley again. All the crew arclooking lbrwald 1.) flying in our

M^y 2, 1944(;ot up 5 A.Nl. SuPPosed to rxict

northe , Italy. Trrck off B:30 A.M'Wc gol oLrt over the ocean ancl No3 engine blew a cylincler hcad. Vechoppccl out of ibnnation and heclro get rid of ten 1000 poundbonrbs in the rte:rn 'ife turnr:clarr>uncL ancl weot bacl( () thc bxseAbolrt 1 P.M. the rcst ot dlcscluaclmn carre back. TheY \\'cfelhlos! to the targel rncl wefecalled bnci( to thc bxse. Tige{ wnstlying copil(x with xnolhcr crcw onthat nrn ancl on tltcir way bncl<they sank an eneriy vcssel,

Rxy, John, Fl fr ie, Joe xnd Iwcnt ft) Cerignol.L. wcn! t() thc lledCross CeDtc!, Sx$ lhis cute llcclCross gal rvho sang lhcre. Shc hid

\{/e liq brck to lhe basc xt 6P.M. I rnissecl sonrc steak drcy haclt i ) r suppcr. . .got s i lnnn inslcrcl .\Yy'ent ro x rnovie...sxw Bob HoPein "Lefs Face lt

lI'.a'y 3, 1944G()t up at ll A.M ItaY xnci I

ivcot t() town xncl srw "S()n oiMonte Cristo". Returicd t() lhe bsse3t 5 PM. Wcnt over to OPenuonsand tbuncl out I lud bccn proll�olecl to S/sgt. First tln]e I liol two letlersl One from Ded xnd enothelone liom Prtricie.

May 4, 1941Wcnt to t()\\,n with Ernic end

Ray. wc tnet Jollrl wanderinElarouncL town. Tried to tlnd somepaint brushes...n() 1uck. Cane back|o the base, ate clxrw tn.l lventdght back in tostr. \ve listenecl toa five piece G.L band play. A trumpet, sdx, base ficldle, Piano and

.lrunN. we got back to lhe bxseabout nine. Some guys flised hellhxlf the ni[iht.

M^y 5, 1944'lllcy lu'oke us up B:45 ,4..1V1.

Told us to be clo$,'n to the ship et9:15. \Ve migllt go on a mission

\vish drey wolrld tell us s()oflerlFded lwo eggs in my mcss krt onthe stovc One eEa[l that wes justright and pretty...i dropPed it ontlre floor in thc cl]ft| so I frieclxnothel one. Atc f\:!1) oranges irnds(rrc nuts for bfeakfesl.

waited xbout a half hour firr atru(k. \xre were late getlinli dovlnto dre ship. Pilot \1'as pissecL ofT.S$.abbed thc guns out and we tookofl.

Cloing to bomb somc oil tefin-ery:rnd st.rragc knks in Ploesti,.li(nnlnix. \Xrhcn we calrc rlear lllet:rrgcl I sxw sorie escoft, An enemyfightcr wa$ prowLiDg around thecngine ancl brJ$! inlo llnnres ^.couple oI cncnry fighlcr$ c() inucclt,', iire :rt thcm. A B-2.1 broke for-n}. l l i ( rn ancl lc l l nway.. . in ME 109fi)llowccl hinr. Morc fiijhle$ cxnleax>uncl :Lncl nr:rclc nrr>re passcs etthe B-24. srs tlucc ten l)lil oulencl srw therr llorlirlg (k)rvn ncnf alo$'n on r river. Ahcr Pxssiig dlistotr'n I lhcn slw rn(rrc- chutes lloet-irg down. 'lhcn hunks of bells olf i rcs i : r l l ing.. . f i t l i )wed by.t R-24spinning down errgulfed inilelrres...$,itched it lit thc gr()undrncl crpl(J(lc One lrt1rn in his chutchndcd aboLrt 100 feel from dte\lreckecl ship. 'Ihouliht k)r an nute he $'xs g()ing to hnd dghlin the vureckage. Other cre\\'s saidLhcy sxw all 10 rnen bxil out.

Flxk is no$'heavy rs hel l . . .d lesklcs tu-ned almost black. Theenemy tlghters conrinuecl to e(ackdespite the heavy flek. So manyfighters to fire x1...so much goillElon., .crnnot rcmember muchdetails

Could helr the flxk burst endspl i t . . .a l f l ost l crushrng sound., ,ncrunch...dragged ottl sPlittinEi

The crew seid the flak bouncedrhe ship arouncl.. I uas toodlmnecl busJ' t() nolicc. My guns

worked great wilhout jamming.Fiflally got out of the flakarea...seemed like hoursl

The enemy fighters w€rc stillaround...they seemecl to bc havinga holiday. . .wonder where ouresco fighters werc? The fightersfinally clisappeared and let us

The sky is still black. I t(x)k al{)ok at the target area...a lot ofblx.k smoke was comjng uP lromthe target to ebout 17.000 feet.

'we Etot back to our base al 5:30

P.M. we wcre rewarded to x delicious chickcn stew with can{)ls.

Wenl to the shiP and clexnedmy guns. Hydrar,rlic tluicl al1 overthe placcl Pressurc switchlexkecL. . . cont()l unit must havcleaked, bu! .licln't bolher l(x)kingft)r the lcdk nr)w. Came bxck to theteit. |oLLncl otrl wc rrc g()lug onanothel lnissi()n tolnorrow it1 ()lrr

new shlp. It will bc thc slrip's firstrrission. Went to bed 11 11 P.M

M^y 6, 1944Star{ed on x nrission lllis nl()rn-

ing in our new shlp. liied !o fxisetlle lrndin!{ gerr blrt cotrlcl not as ahydraulic li e hxcl bufst. Hycltlr.rlictlLricl rll over thc bomb bay. Vc goover dtc ocetn lnd cfi()ppecl our500 p()und b(nnlls. Sincc we hadno hyc|ruLic pfessLrre lnd nobrikcs, lhe pilot t()]d evcryone l()

!{ct in the Liil cncl ()f lhc ship !()wcigh dre tril d()wn xncl drxg it tohclp us to stop we openccl thehydlaulic emcrgency fluicL vxlve.'l he ship hit Lhe grouncl ancl thctail encl draligecl ()11 thc runwaycncl rhe whole tuselegc of tail sectlon was wipecl olrt. Thc ship v'es

M^y 7,1944l,inally got off on a missi(n in

another ship. uornbed a railroxclinarshxling yxrd in Bucharest anclblew rhe heil out of itl ve Ilew ]ndre lest formation, elmost 'iail cndChrrlie" Sweeting out the pibt'sf ly ing.. . rough as hel l . . .got bounccclaround thc tunet quirc r bit.

When $-e cxrne over the largetthc flak wes llllht and inaccLuate. Isaw an ME 109 sitling out r)f rangeat ,1 o'clock...then slafied comlng

in on us,..the waist gunners end Ifired on hinr as he canre in...hethen changed his mind and clovcon the ship below us.

My a mo hed jammcd in leriElht booster mot()r. Now ha.l onlyone gun left to fire wi1h. rMren Isalv no fighters around, I staned toclear thc gun.. .workcd ()n i t fbr:rwhile...finally got it cleared endfeed the annno back into thegun...by thc time I had cverythingworking...lher€ s.ere no (lamned

llghters aroundl we dropped ourbornb load ancl headcd fbr homc.Fe were almost oLLt of cneny tcrfi-tory and passecl over a srnalltown...they threw up some flxk atus.. .wey ol l .

May 12, 1944They wokc us a1 3 A.M .. . lakes

a lot ()f will powcr t() gc! out oftllc snck d s time ()f the momingCot !o the ship al 4 A.M. Cl]eckedthc gr,n1s.. . thcy are dir ty ns lTel l l Infnecl the power to check thcsolenoi(ls ..pressecl thc tdgger anclthc rouncl gocs off . . .scarc$ the hel lorr ol 'n lc. . .ancl blew a holc in letuffct cover, A "live" founcL wxs inthe right guD charlbcrll 'llle lastguy ncvcf bodlered to clexr andcleln t l te guns,, .alnnlo can$ lLcenrpty.. Iurcl l() relill drenl...evcfy-thjng donc in hxste. Thc Pik)1 stan-cd taxing thc ship.. .xndJohn js st i l lo lrrs ide.. .got hi on b().rd lncltook off xt 5:45 A.M. goinEi lobornb a cenal. docks xllcL .rnd l1r1r-sl l i l ing yird. . .al l in {)ne phce 1l faSpezix, Italy. Got over the tar

Jlet . . .mi lde a run.. . thcn the lof lnttion mxde e 180 clegreetuln.. .xnd.. .mxde ANOTIIER runon the txrget. .bltt, dris tlncDROPPED our bombs.. .some l ig lr tIlak cene up ..so fxr, no fiUhrers.Somch(n. thoLrght Re would catclthell todry. ()n our way back to ourbxse, I turned on dre radro ancl Etotsome nice musjc. A gal singjn,l"Thet OLd Blech lvlxglc" Don tkios' \!'ho broaclcesr it. Wereturned to ()ur basc at 12 noon,

Arc lunch ancl slcpt untll 5 PI{.G()t my mxi l . . .one from l)a.1,enother from Kink rcLcLrcssed hele.More m:Lil ftom NIom, Aunt Bessjeand Dad again. Wrote Jo a long b

page lelter.

M^y 1.3, 7944Got Lrp at 11 A.M. Checked on

the rnail...none for mc. Charley,Rly, Frcihcil, and N{aurer 8ot m3il.Took Ray's mail t() l in lhe hospital. He has ye11ow jaundice fronsome bacl swect potat()es hc hacleaten. Came back to the bese. SlePtuntil 4 P.M.

Nl^y 14,7944lJp r t 10 A.M... . chcclrecl the

mai1...got r l€ltef from Aunt Nellie.'Iook x letler to Ray at the hospitxl.The hospitxl is supposecl 1() rnove

Cot olrr passcs ;tt I P.M. John,Ernie, Charley, Joe and I jl()l on atruck xnd wcnt to Brri. A roulth 21/2 hour ride...got there .1t 4P.M....weflt to thc Red Cross Cxn-teen to see il' v/c could get some-lhinEi to eat. 1yy'c did nlinalic to getsomc cookies, icc cte:lIl] encl somefiing thaL was supposecl to beo|anl ie iLr icc.. .b t s l i l l hLrngry.

\I/e wen! acror.'s the strce! t()drc Recl cross builcling and sefficeclLrb in h()pes wc coulcl find sonreplxce to rileep. An l!4lian gal gavcus x n1llp of []ad itncl difections.

John sdid she spoke Angl ish.. . l d ic l-n't hear what she said.

we takc off to ilnd fic saclSeck H()tel and we wandcrcdarorrncl...bu! cen\ fild i!. SlopPccls()nre guy ancl rskcd hirn.. .hc seiclin rhc next block. Ndicecl his 15thAir Fofce palch on his shotddcrxncL isl(ecl him rvhere lte goti r . . .said hc $,as going therenow.,.s() wc wcnt \\,ith him.

Joc ;rn.l Cherlcy $ent on to thehotel. We go into this txil()r shoP.'lherc were four giJls there sewingpntchcs on...nonc of then lookcclover 16 years olcl.

Onc gal \_as tight. .the ()thergals saicL some Anledcxns broughtin somc cognac and she gol dnrnkfron it. she was cute as helll Thcothers lookecl uncLer nou shecl.The gal who \\,'xs tight wes lxughing al l thr ' t ime \ : te $ercrhere...just bcfbre &e left she wasvcry quiet...hcr hustrafld was therexncl must have trawlecl her our fbrbeing drunk, srn()kilrpl and fli ng

conlinuod on Pase i4 13

conlinu€d irom Pase 1 3 my gun lock spring by carving awith lhe soldiers. She seemed inde- handle out of a block of wood afldpendent as hell. I finally got the filing a nail to a sharp point. Putpatch sewed on my blouse. we left rem together...looks like an iceto fifld the Sad Sack Hote1...after a pick. Our ship returns. Take thelittle search we find it...but the 1eft gun out ancl work on the lockoffice rvas closedl It looks like wc spring...seems t() work oK. Put itare out of a room.. .or worse. .. a all back together. After chox', Ray,place to sleep...ancl we are a :loocl John ancl I put the rnetal floor90 mjles from our base. We go down. In the wxist.

V\ve then hacl toback to the Red Cross to see if we cllt a hole in Ihe side of the tailcould fine Joe end Charley. No tuner to get to the body lockl | | ! k . . na she f ( i n s ieh r . . p r i n !

M^y la, 1944we were awakened at 5 A.M.

fbr a bricfing ..se missed the brief:jng...nisscd the trucks. The Pilot,Capt. Bechtold, sxici we shoulciwalk doe'n. An arnlor truck cxmeby and took Lrs to our ship. This isthe flst time we will all g() on acomplete mission in our clxte,

Takc off xt 9 A.M. going toboml) oil dr-rmps in Ploesti, RolDa-nia ngain.. .means healy f lak.Checkecl the turrc! xnd gLtns attelwe got in the air ovcr the AdrialicSea. They $()rked l)clrutifLrlly.

Eveq4hing went siloothly allthe wry !o die tx4jel. As we werencnr d1e largct I n()ticed 'lloollr IR^ng Belsy" hxd dropped herbombs lhoLLgh the bomlr bxydools. 'l hey wcre Uappin!! in thebfeezc, bLrt she wcnt on over thetxrget with us. Fltk started coningup.. drcy were off 2t f l rst . . .1henihey llot ou' range...wow, thlt wasdre hcrviest ancl most acclrr-ate flxkI have cver seen. .. continuous brnstone lfter thc other. Onc burst wesright un.ler the clevat()r...fclt theconcussion {)f it. Chcckecl to sec ifI wlrs ell there. HaId to believc Icould nor see any holes ]n lny tur-fer...thcn hearcl dre boml:rlr.liel saywe hacl a hole in the No. ,l eiginec()r'lin!J and wxs bsinlt oil. Heercldre waist gunnets shooting enclsaid rhere were 6 ME l09s on'Betsy", Our escofi ceme to thcrescue and got rid of the fighters.

Over Yugoslavie wc had t()feadrer No. .1 engine. Wc got backto dre base at 3 PM. Vre lbunct outour gas tenks R'efe alflosl cmpl-vexcept for No. 3 enlline. 11 hadonly 50 gallons 1eft. Tolq'o tankswcre full

we decidc to heacl back to thef ield. . . i t is now 7 PM... .John, Erniexnd I hop a truck. It takes Lrs to theeclge of town. lYr'e get enother ddeas far as the Eight Arrny RestCamp. we wnit inother half llourancl got a Limey truck that to()k usas fxr as Barlettir.

I t is now dxrk.. .we wxlk to lhccenter ()f town...we Flot on irnothcrsmall truck fuil of half drunk G I's.The trLrck did about 60 MPH all theway...sonre ridel we got 1.) cerig-nola al 9,30 PM... .1lnol l rer t rLrcktirkes us !o our l):lse.,.I nn1 hLrn€iryxs hel l . . .but nothing to cxt lJohnsrfipes a he^cl o1' cxbl)agc fionl therncss hxll, culs it up ancl boils it iDhis mess ki t . . . tastcs 1l(x)dl

Tige{ i$ xlcrt otncet(xlight ..he rlnost drives his jeePinto thc terlt. He linds Nv() boxcsof K-Rarions for Lrs. . .but le l l nsLeepon my becL.. .with lny clotheson.. . l t forc he opened thcrat i (n$.. I $okc Lrp at 5 A.M... . f lotundressecl rncl gr)1 beck inr() becl.

M^y 77, 1944Got LLp et 5 A.M. SupPosecl to

be ar briefing at 7 A.l\'1. but it s'ascallcd ofT. 'fhey ere !o test hoP ourship. went down to the sl p .lndcheckeci my guns to see if thcy hadf ixed the spr ing.. .as usuaL, no. Theback plete covet was in the serncplace rvhcre I hxcl left it the .lay

The pilot end Joe came out arldtook the ship up for a prxcticc mis-sion. John got somc tin ftom thcfrag boxes t() make a iloor for drcweist arca. \(rent LLp to tech supplyfb. a file, sheet netal cuater and ascres. driver John works on thefrag box, straightcn it for the floot.I am tryinEl lo make a Punch for

1 4

Joe didn l know about a valvethat hxd to be opened before transferring frLel.,,so no fuel was trxns_ferred. The No. 4 engiire fuel linewas shot oL!t,.,means a cylinderhead change. The only hit we gotl

ll{ay 19, 7944A! 3 A.M. some guy came in

ancl wakes us up lo lell Lrs wc areflying this morning...after telling uslast night we were not going on amissjonl I ate a hxmbu€er forbreakfast. \fent to briefing at 4A.M. v/e are going to bonb Genoa,Itxly. We took off xl 6 A.M. as wccxme Io the target, we hacl a lot ofescod P-Jlls all over the skyl Flakwas l ight and way oi | . . the wxy Ilikc jt. No enemy fighterstoduy.. . i t s x ni lk runl

There wes g heary uncler castxnd w(: coulcl not see the tal€et.on thc &ay bxck I saw l'-51s, SPit-fires and 6 B 25s. Wc dren hit sonreroLrgh weathef. . .qui tc x r<)ughricle.. our fbrmation was :r1l overthe skyl we were overtlking olrlLeadcr. Four groups flying si.lc bysicle. we got bac:k to dre base a!12:30 P.M. I n()w hxvc 13,s()r t ies:rncl I nissions.

M^y 20, 1944'Woke

up rt l0 A.lvl. Alier lLrnchI wenr clown () the ship. J()hn gottwo long 3m lo clns 1br lhe waistpositi(n ol the ship. 'Lhe sheetrnctiLl en \\,cre,l()ing lo prtt themin xnd should make Joln incl Rayhxpp-v our crew chief is stlll $()rk-ilrg on rhe bloq,'n engine cylincler.Found ()Lrt the shlp got a llak holcin the inductjon svstem.

llxy rnd I went ln lo to$n t()sce llin!! Crosby h "Going l\'I-v\\ray" !'ilst ti e I sxw hiin since ilcft dre Statcs.

May 22,1914Gol up at 6:30 A.NL \Vent to

brlcfing rt 7:30 xncl t(Dk off 3t 11A.M. \are tlev' in a "ncs'" ship thesquedron got...il looks more likc x"lemon". They chanftcd targe$ atdre last nioute. Aje goin[a () bornbsome ship docks in Genoa, ItalyThe mission was a milk Iun. Verylittle flek ancl no fighte$. ourscluadron was the only one to hllthc target. I saw four lalge ships

Conuiued on PaA€ 15

sitting in the ha.bor docks.Our bomb bay dools got

jammed and would not close.Emie s ball tuffel wouldnt comeup. They worked on it for anhour...they had to hand crank il upwith cables and they lost one ofthe handles . . . it clropped out of theship. \ie lan.lecl at 6 PM. It $raslale by the time 1 finished cleaningthe guns. we are going to fly ourown crale tomoffow in the No. 4position in the lead flight.

Nlay 23, 1944Got up at 4:30 A.M SupPosed

to raicl no(hcrn Itnly. Got out tothe ship xt 5:30 and No. 2 enginewould no! nrn smoothly and No. 1engine would n()t sta . . .so we dicl-nt get of l on the mission.. .was anilk run anFv'ay. wenl l)ack to ourlent :uea, Cot a letter hom AuntNel l ie.

M^y 24, 1,944\Ve Eiot ofT on x mission .rl 6

A l \ '1. this norning t() b(nnl) rn ! l i r -fielcl n r Vicnnx. Auslr'ix. llxn inlosoure flnk xb()u! xn holrf befineoL

targct. 'l he l1ak guns lookecllikc lilcl'lies lighting up.

' lhcrc were qLri le i t le\v gtrnsxlon!! thc river. As we cdnc to thet.rget rhc lbl xtion was cilcling ellover the sky. \xre di(Lnt hrt the tir-gct Flxk w,.rs hcrvy ,lnd accu lells hcll. 'l here wcrc l1o cncmyfighlers xs wc hecl plcnty of escor-t.One ()f ()uf ships wcor cl()wn. A11dre guys brilccL out We returnecl tc)orr base ar I P.M. Yrc ftoi six flxkholes. Two in the tlrsehge, onc inlhe top tulrct. one in the b(nnb beyxn.l 2 in the \./in!is.

M^y 25,1944Cot up at 7 A.Nl. and bdcfcd at

8 xnd took off at l0 A.I1. our targer is an eirfield we are going tobomb rvith fiags in nonhern ltal!,.\Ue gd t() dre talget at 1 P.M. Noflek so faf. T\() ME 109s attacked aship bchind us befi)re we camc torhe LP. (Initiel Point of starl of thcbomb run) ,^.t flrsr I tholrUht theywere I,51s. I fired .rl thern until myguns jxDlmecL. Found out laier theammo link chLrte jamnred.

\i/c clid a nice j()tr ()n the air

field. we landecl at 4 PM. I cleanedmy guns and had an annormentman fix the chute and gun solenoid. we ere not flying tomofrow.

May 27,1944They got us up at 3 A.M.

tsiefed at 4 and took off at 6 A.M.We are going to bomb another airfield in Mafieilles, Frence s.ith 40,100 pound bombs. As se came tothe targe! xt 10 A.M. llak slafieclc()ming up.. .didn' t seem to bemuch of it or close et first...then allof a sudden I heard and felt some-thinfi hit and came up tlrrough thebottom of my turr-et betwcen myfeet. My turret just happcned !o bestraight and not set on an angle. Itit hacL been turned a little sideways,lhe flak would havc li! my f{)ot.

I-ooked like we did a 8(x)d jol)on the :rirfield. I sew x couple of

JU 8Bs flying around thc ield. 'lhey

must hILve tnken off fiom the xir-flcld ju$t before we got !o dre txrget and there were no enemy figh!-ers arouncl On our way back toorrr bxse, I listcncd to some g(x)drnLrsic on the rrdio. \vy'e landecl ?Lt 3PM. Later, atier we lanclcd, I szLw rlllole unclef nry turrel rncl ibund nlarlte picce of flxk ()n the floor oi

M^y 24, 7944They got us up at 5 A.M.

Briefed rt 6 Lrncl took off it 7 A M.we are laoing ro bornb a rxilroadyxrcl in norrhem ltaly wjlh 500pouncl bornbs, As s,e cxlne to thetxrgcl, tlreic wxs an Lrndef arst cov-ering dre tarfict. Wc went lo xnaltcrnlte tarllet in Genox, Itxly t()bolnb tllc hirbor thxt wrs full ofships. wc hjr sever;rl s14rs. lhk\\'xs lighr, bur accurxte. \1/e Etot xfe\\, holcs in the bornb bay. Noenenry iilthtcrs odxy. .Lucky as mylefi gun wouldnt tire again. \velancteLl at 1130 PM Later T g'ent

down to the ship to cleen nly llunsbut ficy took it 1() Ilet lwo ncwcre\\,s. liill have to wxit untilt()no[ow to clcan the guns.

lIay 29,1944Thcy got us up at 3 .A..M. I had

t() cleen my guns betbre txking oft.Briefe.l at 4 and took off at 6 A \'1.Today we xre !l()ing to make sever-

al bomb runs in Yugoslavia. whenwe got to the coast of Yugoslavia. Iuieci to fire my guns and the bohin dre lefi gun stuck to the rear.Could not get it fixcd, so clidn'tworry as we did not cxpect anyfightcrs today and we do not haveany escort toclay.

My heated sui! rheostat isntworking...don't need it anyhow aswe are only lioing up to 15,000feet. we cafle over thetarget...macle:r clry run thc flrstt ime. . lucky there was no f lak.. .dida 180 clegree turn ancl came beckand dropped thc.i0 100 poundbombs or, a concentration of Ger

we made several direct hits ona brid€ie and coverecl the town fair-ly well. we landecl at our base at11 A.M. I told the crew chief aboutthe problcm with nry left gLrn andhxd my electric suit checked out.

Cxme back to the ship xnclcheckecl my guns and they wereflxccl and reloaclecl. Took olT againt]t 2 PM \t'ent bxck iust easl of thesanre town with lhe sxme sizebrrrrb loacl .

Thc fi$! lbrnrrrion hefi)re usclroppeci their l)onhs 1t (l wc lLgxir'lmxcle r c lry run on thc txrget. , .$,ccLjd x 1li0 degree tum betorc wedroppccl our l)()lrbs on the tsrget.'lhere eias no flxk bu! we clid havc30 llJil L'scort. Sle lxndecl .lt oufbxse a1 6 P.M.

Went to chow and we got c()lcLhot dogs right ol-lt of the can whilcdre cl.rgos had a steek for supper.Aftef cleaninEl l]ry guns at 10 P.M. Irtcnt to becl. V/e are not flolng tofly tomorrow. Thank G()cL. t nowhave 21 sorrics .lnd 16 missi(n$.Gol x letter fiom Jo.

M^y 30,1944I slcpt until n(x)n. \l/ent to

chow. .not roo goocl. wrote r 3page lefler ro Jo. Alter supper Rayend I sem int() tow'lr. \When \e'e

Elot in ro\lrr we sxw John encl hcsaid hc v'-alked all the way in flodre base wc $'ent t() see lhemovie "Mirlclc of i\'Iorgxn Creek" Isxw it in th Statcs at lwestover

Field. \t got back lo the base at11:30 P.NI. No nissions lomorrow.

conlnued on Pase 16 15

June 1, 1944Anothcr cre\!_ flew our ship

bd,ry. I am drcd any'gv ay. . . ha1'eflown five mission in a row. Iloafecl around all day. Ray an.lsome of our crews wcnt to the lsleof Capri f()r R & R for a wcek. Ine!_cr macle the list...gLress I wasenjoying lhe wxr t()() rnuch. Oursquadron has been flying for thcpasl ten days striright.

Ju'ne 2, 7944Di.lfl\ Ily eg.in today. The

sarne crew who Ilcw our ship yesterclay flew il again todiy. On dren'ay ckrwn io the linding strip, as Igot to the encl crl thc landing strip.r B 2.i hecl lancled xncl ceme to thcencl of drc slrip xn.l I expectecl it tosk4) xnd tLuo off . . .but h. 'keptc(rning to thc cncl of thc stdp :rnclwent o1[ thc cnd of the rtrrwrvint() r shillow clitch. Evcryonescranrbles out of thc ship. Anarrl)u1 nce xrrives rnLl caflics tl'rclni l gunncf oLr l on IL stktchcf, Thccrew ltacl ccrrrre bxck firr r roughnrissi(n ancl l$,o $hips were shotLrP very bndly.

Jlo'le 3, 1944I $,en1 do\\,n ro thc ship 1()

check r)ll lrry lniL Liuns. They rccli|ty as helll I clcincd thcnr xndfbLurd thc prr>blenr causing thc bdtsticking to lhe rcdr w.rs s(Drc tccthfrorD thc clevator gerf h.rd brokL'IlolJ rncL \!xs in ihe lx)tL(nr (]1 thc

Thc .ril l)ody lock spdng would

ixm agrinst rhc bfokcr icdh xn.lhclcl the boLt to the lear. Thcsprilrg wes ches'ed up. I went tolLrnch and carne beck anLl slafiedweshinli the tail end of the shipwhen so|re guys tool( the shD uplo get x nc\\r crew When tlleyretLrmed John put bis girltiicncl'sname on his sicle of thc slip. Henemed i t " l ! lx[hx'

Jw're 4, 1941They got Lrs Lrp at 3 30 A.M

Bricfed at .i,:i5 .rnd t(x)k off at 6A.I1 Toda], $.e nre g()ing b bombe talgct in Hungary.

Engine No. .1 stxfied srnokingon rake ()ff. \"e bloke formadonand $rent to dre Acb-iatic Sea ro gct

1 6

rid of orrr bombs. Came back toour base at 7 A.M. I went lo mytcnr and slept until n.Dn. In lheafternoon Ray, John anci I wcnt lotown and sa$/ a rnovie with AnnMiller ln "Rcvllle r'lth Beverly". Cotback to the basc et 6 P.M.

J\ne 5, 1944They laot us rrp at 3 A M.

BriefecL at 4. vc tiot hxltuxythrough the blielng xncl they cancclcd the missi()n. Everyonc prettywell pisscd off. 'went to the lnessh:rll and ate brcakfist.

Slepl until noon. Johr, ILry xn.lI .lecidecl to lio swimminjl at thebexch nerr Barlcttar, 1wc went t{)the <rrclerly rooln encl found out wewcrc to stancl x knrmlion xt 5130P.M. \Vc dccicled !o jlo t() the berchrnyhow and hopcci *e woulcl getl)xck in tinlc.

whcn wc got !o ihe berch.. . i twas cl i r ty rs hcl l wi tb pi les ofmarure c)n 1hc bc:rch tha! sfiellcdawfr.rL. The snnd l(xrkecl iikLr rnixe(lsLrlt encl pcpper. I dlcln t want tostAy lhcrc. John irnnlecl in tirewaLel, I put nry l funl<s on nnclstuck nry lixrr iD to !cs! thcw.rrer. . . t (x) c() ld. l l l id on thcbcddr. .which t(x)k r 1() ! oI wi l lpower..l()hn xncl Iky wilkccl ckx\'rlrhc berrh. vherr rhcy ttot lxckthcy sricl lr iitrle gifl rb()Lrl tenyer|s of age rskcd thcm if the)rwrnled ig-i-fi!{ (to hrvc scx) vesaw x sh()w ltivcn by so re Ftnchpelfirrnrers Sorne nicc lool(inllb!()xls. one had i vcry g(x).]s inging v() ice. They srnl l s lcw

We ltot brck ro thc base in tirlcro eat cll(rw \{rc stoocl in the f(r'rratu;n rvhile Lr. crplc ancl Lt.Tigert goL their Air Mcdils. Thlswxs the fiNr lime I did.rny rxrch-ing since I left Sah Leke City, t]tah.

Jv're 6, 1941cot up xt n(xn \Vent clo$.n to

thc ship to check to see how clcrnmy lluns wclc ..OK. Iirent t() 'ltch

Supply to scc lf I coulcl get x newelecrlic Leatecl suir. They saicl s()mes-ould be in that evening. Ray xn.lI went in() t()wn. I took my civicowbol' boots. I had l)()Lrght inBmzil, in to hevc the heels fixed.

The olcl guy gave us e small glass

We went up to the Red Cross.There was a good looking bkrndItxllan gal fiere who was abou! 5'2anci eyes of blue...WOWI

An lt:rlian guy sl3ps hcr on herrear end.,.ancl llity moaned abouthis actions. Yrhen we laot back |othe base. I chcckeci wjth Tech Supply ancl did EIct my electric hextedsuit

Ir're 9, 1944They got ns up at 3 A.NI.

Bricfi'd xt ,1 xnd t(x)k off .r1 6 A.M.lvc iLrc going to h(nb an aircreltenginc tac(ny in MLrnich, Germany. Thc ri5'ith ale hornbing anxnti xircldlt lectoly ncxf thcre.There rre I xirfields in thc arca.

Attef $e i{()t over the sca I tcstlirccl nry guns xncl lhey would not1i fc. I let the pi l (n know ol thcploblcnr. I liept lrying () clcartilcfi xncl workecl ()n tllerrt lbrl lx)Lrt an hou1., .n i tholr t success.

AS We Carle lnlo cncmy lcrlllo-ry itnd we were nl)oul !o cLoss ovcr'thc Alps t l rc pi lot lurd to lai thcrNo. I cnginc. \Ve cl()ppecl ouL ol 'r l le l luni l t ion . . the rai l v i l ) fale( l nndshrxrk likc hclL \{'c no s(xnrer wcre()Lr! ol ' rhc lbr l rat ion whcn i t r4H109juirrps ()uf l rss lTc rrdale r pufsLr i trrrNe x! lril]st xnal ctlrc lllound'.Uairin He rrusl hxve n()ticrcl nrygLr11s lvoe nof firing xnd he fxnrcstflright jf ()I!xrcl nle. I coul.l sL'ehis rr-rLccrs tlying xll xr()un.l us.

T could hexr J()e. in the top tulrer, 3nd Ernic, in the br l l LLrf let , 1lring xt lhe NfI 109 . .r hel l of : rriclierl A11 I q)ulll .lo \\'.rs to tricltlhc lightcr erd hrDe he r.orrlcl gox\\,ry. As he cxne in xgxin the ccnrer of the nose lit Lrp like r blinking light f|orr the 20nlm canndlxnd dle wings \\'!'rc like blinking(lhfistrnrs liglrts fiofir his guns. Alot of snloke \\rs corlinEl fiom thefightcr's guns rnLl engine es heapproirchcd encl peelerl rway. He.li.l ft)t sccn to be hitting us an.lthen carre ill rt 3 oi:locl{. Thewaist. L()p xnd l)ottom tufrels 1'erefiring at him. IIe camc around anclcamc at us fron dre tailagain...srraiElht in. He cane in veryclose.. . fel t i f i had a bxse bxl l

bat...I could have hit him. I couldclea y see his face as he wentunder me. The ljElhtcr was a lightand dark mottled tan ancl Elrecnwith black square crosscs on his\,,'ings and a swastika on his rucl

Ire dropped olrr br)mbs on apowcr plxnt. A few rninutes lxteranother ME 109 xppexrs ffombelou,. FIe makcs a pass...pccls ofT

we finnlly got rwxy from thecoast when some ships in the h:rr-bor starccl firing et us trut mlssecl.Our pilot put us in a clive to getclown to the water at l,0r:)0 teet t()keep the fillhtcr ebovc us.

Ve ltLnd :r1 oLrr bxse iL 11 A.M...just in time for lLrnch. tle hrd x

lrole in the left wiist gun posilbnxr'rci x deep crexse on ttre boltunof d1e ship tlnder dle txil. supposed to fly knn(nr)w in oLrr owncfaltc,

Jnfle lO, 7944Thcy got us up rtt .i A.M

Bficlircl it 5 xncl rook oll rt {j A.M.Vc Lrre going !o boDll) aln iid)lrscirl n(nlhefn llily nedl lJoLoglld.Checked my gLrns ()ver tlleser. .pe !c( l Cot t() Lhe (argeL i ! 10A.N4. l l lere was moderare f l :L l i ancl\\'rs wey otf. \Vc did n()t see xnyIl!{htcN. Evcrythinli wcnl snloolhlyon oul w'.ty brck to lhc bxsc untilwc ltot ov.,f thc Lclristic Sci.

\Vt wcfc flying irlong nicc |rndpciccfirl s'hen lll of i sucldcn wcpcel oft from thc fbllrmrion h drcnriclclle of l rurn lrncL clicl x 90degfcc bxnk.. xnd \r'enr str'iightdown. Dicln t know $'hlt wlls heppcningi I sxw rhe tbrmition go upebovc us. .thc horizon dld ;l flipflop ind s,is l'crticall

I lnd to push nysell out o1 ficlurret \,"ith rlly feer ..l slill ha.l rlyf la l t suiL on.. .hacl to pul l i t of f ancldren crawlecl to my churc bcould not lifi it...bcnt clowll to thcchulc lo snap it loElether bur had ahakl tirnc snxpping the chute torrt_v harness clue to the g-forces. Ic wled to Lhe halch and wxite.lf(n n sigr:rl t() bnil our. Then telt astrong tbrcc pushinEl mc to thclloor ancl kne\\, \\'e were pulling

out of the 7,000 foot dive. \Yr'hcnwe leveled out I took the chute offand liot back in the turret.

wc did a 180 dcllrec tum. butwcrc Eioing the way \&'e carne tiomancl clid anothcr 180 to head fbrho e. A group of P 51s appearcdand esco ecl us prrt of the wayhome. Fiftt time I evel sav\' llutdone ancl was glacl to see them.\I/e go! bxck to our base befcreour Elloup dicl. whcn $c EIottogelher crn lhe grolrnd, theColonel saicl to olrr pl l ( ) t . . . "Heyhoss, we sal\ ihe botKnn ot yourplane up there today.'-

The pilot had ve(igo an.l kePtbxnkinla thc ship r.ntil wc s-ere 90degr--es...and rollecl over into e.live lhe stress wxs so greet, onthe ship, thrt it twjsted the rudderseveral clegtees frorr the *ings.Every pilot v!fio tlew dre ship xfterthn! snid they hAd t) fly it ifltr) theIllound k) lnnd it. My ears fxng tin'clays. Flighl Slrryeon grolrnded lnefor a week. flncl hearing probleoNfi()lD then on,

June 11, 1944'l:hey got Lrs Lrp Nt 3 A.M.

B.iefecl LLt 4 xnci t(x)li ()fT at 6 A.M.'we afe g()ing ft) bonrb a target wirhl6 guns nexr f lLrchxrest, l l ( rr in ix.\ fe gol 1() lhe 14rgef l r lx)Lr! 9 A.N' l .Fhk wds rrodemte but rccLrfrte.-l!$t es wc got over d1e targctj rnyoxygen lnlrsli lell oII lny hce rs rhestl-ips on 1e dglrt sicle cene loose.I \\,rs rrving to iuggle holding rnynl1tsK ol1, tr|lll swltclres onj opennry oxygen vilve an.l txlk xt the

All of x srldcLcn an ME109 ca cout IrcJm undef the ship. Didn t]rear an),one call on lhe intercolnlhere were [i!]lrtel'.s arolrncl. Withone llen.l I anr trying L() opemtethe tulfet, take alm on the fighter',ralk on the phone and pul l the tr i { t -gcr By thc timc I coulcl firc hc \e'as600 yerds awry I !!ave hi a burstrncl herrcl the wxist anli ball tlr|Ielgunners fi rg.

I then smellecl smokel I calleclon the phone about the oclor andno one secnrecl to l(nos- wherc thcsmokc \\''as conin[l liom. Thcn Jocsrid ir wrs the life left burninglThey tolcl Caplc to pull the release

cable. I then saw it go flyinfi pastme overhcad. I saw thc rcd flaresburning ln the raft which wasburnecl in half and the other r:rftwas tul1v inflated ancl glicling down

Eveqthing quieted down fcrr as-hilc. Over Yugoslavia, about halfway ro our base a B 24 rvas byitself at 5 o'clock high. As I \\'aslq)kiflg al the ship, I sx\\' enME109 diving ;rt him from the learI call€d out thc fightcf ind I firedseveral bursts al him.. .he disappearecl from sigllt. we landecl

No. I engine s electrical systemw:rs shot olr t by f lxk. Flnk xlso hi tonc of thc flarcs in thc lifc raiiwhich destroyed it. The sh4) is

Ju''re 76, 7944Thcy got r.ls r.rp at 3130 A.M.

Bricfccl rt .|30 ancl rvc tooh oll at7 A.M. wc arc going to boml) inoi l ref inery nerf Vienna, Aosl a'Wc

nfe tlying in ()ui own cr:llctodiry.. A[ icarst T havc x goo(1 !ur-rc! xnd g!ln$. I lud to rdirnc thcsoicnoicl ilicr I tcst lilc'cl lhc gu1ls.' l l le in lerc() l is scrcwcd Lrp., ,canlurdl) , understxncl : rnything.

Whe1l we goL over Yug()slavixNr).4 engir le st l rr lecl t l r r(^ving oi l .\Ve drop ()ut of tbrfrrtion ..ch(L l1U0 [1rn and hcadccl fbr our basc.Arn r littlc rclievccL rs 1 dicL noL likeEloin!{ drough a mission wirholrL enintL.rcom...but $'c lmvc bombs \\'r.havc' to lacr ricL ol. Thc pilot rndl)onbrr.lier ere looking I()r a target.

I felt safe enough to tal<e ot}my llal< jickct. .liid it on the 11oorbehind ll]c ..I tLrrn rround lo nlyguns and look erouncL tosL'e . . |LA.K.. . I grab rny f laksuit . . .wrxp i t xround nre the best Icxn.. . then heard a r ipping :rndteering sorrncl of tlai< going duoughrhc firsclalic.

wc drop our bonrbs es the fhkexplocles very ckrse under the ship.In :L few minutes all ]s (lrlet as v"'eJlet tarther euay fi-onr dre targcler.cept fi)r ihe drone of rhe cngiDcsthxt is irlnrost cho$.ned out by thcrushing, ficczing llir whistlinglhr()Lrgh tlre ship. I agxin reluctantlytxke off m)' flxk suit. Lookcd at oru

contnued on Pas€ r3 17

target and saw smoke rising upfiom a warehouse,

All was quiet for a few minu!es...then more flak explodes nearus again. I put my flak suit onagain...as il burst aroLrnd us with afiery red glow turning into a brightyellow flash...then I see the flakbursting in black puffs of srnokebehind us in the distance as we getfanher fiom the tarplet. Again all isquiet as we lose sight of the lancLan.t leave enemy territory.

We got back !o our base aboutnoon. we looked at the damageand saw where a piece of flakwen! through the fuselage and intothc clcvator, , , anothcr one cameinlo the w:rist gunner's area ancllinded next 1() Rey rnd int() lDyammo cans behincl the lltil turret. Itscxred lhe hell olrt ()f Ray. An{)therpiece of flak went through the lefl

O!r bombiLrdier clropped lhebmbs without a boml) sightl IIeusecl his foot to gau€ie where tosteer the ship ancl when 1() clrop1he b(nnbs. Our shlp is now in tllegfaveynrd having the enginechxngccl. Thc fcst of drc squxdfoncemc brck xt 1l A.M, Thcy wcrcsllot up quite x bh niso.

Jwne 22, 1941Thcy liot ns up xt 3 A.M.

tsriclccl rI 4 and took oll at 7 A.M.'$lc arc goin[i to bomb e rlotorpool jn Chivasso. Italy, !,,hich isirlmost to Turin. Tcst flrccl nly glrnse[cl thc ]dt solcnoicl wes out endc()Lrlcl not rcLjust il. Ve had a fervputLs of flal< coming up ncar therxrgcr. No flak or tlghrcrs 3t rhc rargct, On our way bxcl< to oul bascwc flew ovel rome, Ii3ly. Linclcd xt1:30 P.M.

Jlune 23, L944They Eior us up at 3 A.M.

Briefed at 4 end took oII at 7 A.M.\Xie are g()ing t() bomb s()me rail-road yards near Blrdapest, Hun-gary. \Irhen we got to the coast ofYulioslxvia we ran into some badLeather and \\'ere cxllcd bxck tothc bisc. Wc circlcd around se\rcrdIimes before we hercLed home.L(x)klng for xnother target.

1 8

Jn'Ie 24, 1944They got us up at 3 A.M.

Briefed at ,1 and took off ar 6 A.M.'we are going bomb some warehouses in Budapest. lbst my gunsover the sea and they are OK. Ranink) some flak at the coast ofYugoslavia. Came to our targetabout 9;30 A.M. Seemed to coverthe target fairly well. No flak orfighters today...milk run. cot backto our base at 1 P.M. Cleaned mySuns in the aflernoon Ray cameout to see us. He is still in the hos-piral with his eyc problcm.

lrt're 25, 1944They woke Lrs up et 2 A.M....x

hell of a t]fie to liet upl Biefed xt3 A.M. didn't bother to go insidcthe brieflng room...just lookedthrou€ih the door opening. Couldsee the course lr]ap to lrrance. Wexre to bomb a bridge above Mar-seilles, France. ve t(x)k off at 5A.M. Dverylhing wert sn1(x)thly onthe way up.''Jfhen we cd[re to the coas! ofFrance I never saw so rnany escortP-17s, P-51s ancl P-38s. They kep!weaving b:rck rrnd f()rth...but I st i l lkept a wntch fof enerny fighte$.'ve clicl 4 few turns npproachingd1e trrget,

The cfirziest dring I brve eversccn wcrc Nvo B-17s llyin€i xrounclby theo$elves...in n() fortllltioniGrouncl flak guns were trackingthern. lt l(x)ke.l rs if the xnli aiFcreft guns could i()1 keep up wilhdreml

'[his scene lookecl funny xshell. Here we are a large fornra-tion...encl they are llrillg on rwo litde B 17s ell by thelnselveslSew scetterecl bu$t of black slnokefro1ll re fl:rk.'lte grolrncl guinersseetrecl confused as whal t() shootat. OLrr planes were lloing every-where...in diff-efent directionsl TheB l7s wcfc making single runs ontheir la+Jers. Lucky we ha.l plentyof esco l

Just before the LP. the waistgunner cxlli out "a tighter ar 3o'clock.. .conring inl" The waistfiJ ed a few brlrsts . . . then Charlieyclls oul... "rhey are OLIR escortll"The waist stoppeLl sh(x)t ing...thefighter peels ar.ay enyhow. The

fighter tumed out Io be a FW 2101I saw four fighters at 7 o'ck)ck

low...looked to be ME 109s. Icalled John and he said they are P38s. Intercom is all scrcwedup...could hardly hear. The fightersturned out to be ME 109s. They hitsomebody else.

!/e dropped our bombs and ahell of a lot of smoke came up.\ e11...we didn'! get any l1ak on thebomb nrn but when we made aturn a\\,ay from the larget...they letus have it, .and it was accuratell\I/c did evasive lactics...and itworked,.,we could see wherc wcwere xnd the tlak burst there...lyr'edid elmost 90 dcgree turns, banking to the left anci then to theright. . . xvoi.linla the flxk. lx'e mxcletight turns nnd the tlak still fbl-lowecl us arouncl...then thedamned formatkrn split up. .andspread al l over the place...wbat a

First tinc I cvcr saw thal hap-pen, Bet the GenrAns were laugh-inti dr€ir heacls oftl \X/e finnlly gorout of d1e fhk nfier blnking to drcright. The fbrmntion flnally camcbdck logcthcr again. Saw lheescofi. wcrving bick dnd forlh

f- imlly got ovcr thc co^s!...andfc-Lx\.'.| r litdc. Thc fes! of lhe tripwenr snl(x)lhly encl we lancled:rt| .i0 P.Nl. Lookecl |Lt thc ship ,rncl$'e clidn t even get r flak holc.

Jrulle 26,1944Gor us up rt 2 A M. Briefecl rt

3115. Going to bornl): in ol l ref ineryat \'loosbierbxum, Austrja. SLrpposccl to tly in our ship but it l cl11 ln3lincto cil-op, so chirnlled overr o 1 6 l .

lbok off .rt 6 A.\'1. EYerydringrvent rvell until n e approachecl theLP. of the targer. . .sa\\ ' xbout (20)P-3Bs.. .sh()u1.1 hxve been twice thir tmeny. At the I.P. I lookcd out andcouldn' t bel ieve r l r ' eyes.. . Iherervere enenrv iiglrte$ EVER\'-\X/HEREI 210s. 110, NIE 109s, ' rndjUBBs. It l(x)ks llke x set-upll Thet'knes' we were comingl They s'erehitting the seconcl section behin(ius. Thcy clidn\ comc too closc tous bul I shot at \\,lnt I could that\!_as in ranlle. Then sa$. P 38s

I

come in and take after the Germanfighrers.

I couldn't fire too much as Iwas afraid I would hit our escon.The flak started to c()me up. TheGerman fightcrs still continuecl toattack. I dicLn'l put my helnet onuntil the fiijhte$ disappearecl. Putthe hclmet back on fbr aninutc.. . then the I lak stoppecl. . .but the fighters were back agxin.

U-2'1s startcd tioinlt down riElhtancl lcft behind us. Germxn tiillrte$all ovcr us ..but no escon in sightanywherel Ttre fighters still dicln'tseem to be too close,.,thcn sawrwo conre over my hced lrr.rt cor.rldnot get e shol xt lllem 3s they wentto the f()rfletioo behind us. Thcyhacl nlxcle a iiontal pxss xt us. ThistiNe they camc in at 6 o'ckrckhigh. Joe, thc top nrnet tires alhilrl.. he breaks xway at 5 (tcbckancl the \lxisl lircs a! hirr xs llepasscs by. He wis smoking hexvily1rs he dis,lppcrred.

I sllw a fightcr k)w 11 6 o'ck)cl(,c(nlring Lrp to iLncl behind Lrs irl ouflcvcl at bout 400 ylrcls oLll andsLrrtccl (onl ing in i t r rc. . .$tn{edi l r ing with x long bursl . . .hcsccr lc( l f t ) s l()p, . . lhcn qtr ivcr ' , , , lhenrollccl o\.ef irn() a divc ind x spin.Siw I sln,rll anr()unl ol slnokc c('rl-ing out oi hi . Firecl xl LL couplcnrnr flglrters whcn I nolicecl thcship or1 1rlv Lclt put out ,r bigflxDre.. xncl go into LL clive. I s.wonly 1wo chulcs come out ()f that

I srw len B 24s go down. Ninebehincl us xncl ()ne next to oul'ship. lt scclns the Gernxns kncwwe werc conling ancl were reedyti)| us. fhe flghts lxsted about lulfan hour. Duing the xl txck, whi lcbusy shool inf t . . .mv clechicnL jackbo{ cune apart . . .end my gun siglr t

Iinally we were x\\,ev iiom thetxrget ffca and on ()Ln- wxy back tothe l)rse. h wlrs a long haul fr-orn

\{re fle\\, o\,er Yulioslavia withit s jxggect sno\\' cappcd mountxinpcaks rhat l(x)ked like sherpchurch stccples. A plxce wherc I$ould not want to bail o!u. we

landed at 1:30 P.M.Jufrc 24, 1944

They got us up at 3 4.M.. . .again.. .br iefed at 4. . .are to bomban aifield near Karlove. Br garia.

Took oif at 6 A.M. when weg()t over thc Adriatic, I test firedmy glrns.. .worked great. . . . . . foroncel Crple didn't fly with ustoday...on1y the leed ship hxcl anavigxtor. when we got to the talget, we circlecl the talget enoughtimes to ellow every enemy lilihterto get off the ground.

There waso'l any flak on ourbomb nrn and dropped our bombsOK.

Wwe made a tuIn.. . then l ight

Ilak came up. Somebody sxicl thelewere enemy fighters erouncl.,,lowxt 3 o'clock. Thcy must hxve hid inthe cl()r . rds.. . I c l idn' ! cven seethem...the P-38s must have chaseclthern awny. Saw quilc a bit ofsmoke c<:r'ning up fiorn the xir-fleld. .,luess that pccvcd die Ger-rnan pi lots. . .w(nlclel i f they werenlte to land. Got bnck 1() lhc basext l :30 1).M.

I fl very hlrngry. .we missc(llunch :tnd wen! to lhc mess htrllimd got s()nlething lo c,r t . . . (k)n' tdrink thc nress Sg1. liked i! to()wcl l . Slcpt unt i l sLrppcf. Thcy haclclicLcn for sLrpper rnd wrs look-ing lbrwi(l to liettirrg sonlc. Billancl lhy rtc ar 5 P.lvl. xnd I lucl lowait trlrtiL they canlc brck. 'lhey

didn' t c()ne back so I bokJoe'smess kil dnal wcnt to the mess hallxt 7. Whell I !!ot thcre, lhey weleout ()f chicken. .\\'ss nraLcl rs helllThcy hxcl COLD hash out ot xcrnl . . .didn\ ext i t bul dic l l inclsome che[y pic tncl ice creaot.

June 30, 1944Thcy got lrs Lrp xl 1 A.M.

Bricli-d ir 5. For (mce I itc brc?11(-fxsl. \Vc look off at 7 A.!1. Wc efeg()ing ft) bomb xn oil reflneryxbort 100 rniles soudr ot Ilerlin,Gcrmany.. .a l ()ng haul and cxpectplenty of tighters. 'lhis tarElct l snever bccn bombed yet. we lrl1dbeen l>riclccl on this targel twotlmes before, but ii $'as called o11.llay .li.l nor sho\\' up thir m()rning,so s.e to()k ofl without him. J()erook thc right waist posilion end Lt.Freiheit rook over dre top turret. Ll.

Caple will toggle the bombs off atthe bomb run.

We hit some rough weathernear Vienna, Austria, which isebout an hour ftom our tarlaet. \Yecircled around three tlmes...waitingfor insffuctions t() relum to otub:$e...and Siive the Gertrans timeenough tom corne afler us...well,ficy dici. lhe clouds broke Lrp drefbrmati()n and r Ccrman fiShtershol down tw() B-24s with onepnss. Dnemy flghters were allarouncl but they didn't bother oursquedron. ve goI bxck to the baseat 12r3U PM.

I tried t{) sleep sonle but it washot as hell and the Ilics were or.ltin forcc.,.so T llot Lrp ancl wcnt todre slip and clcaned my glrns.Cxrne brck to thc tent xnd drankforlr cxns of becr birtbredinner...taste good. $re nre tlyingNo 2 position tomorrow.

Ju.ly 2, L944They got us up at 1r A,lVl.

Briclcd it 5. V/e |ook ofT at 7 A.N'l.wc flnitlly luve xll ol ouf crcwt()gcthcf lof ()nce. wc Luc going to,u,u1, 16 oil fefinery in Bud:lpcst,lJun!i:Lfy.

(jLrns Nre in goocl shxpe. Hxdsonre good nlu$jc on the raclio. lhc$hips irr b.rck ()1 I1s seenr t(x) cl()se.If lhcy stay thdl $,ay ovcf the t,rHetam concernecL ry spent shcllswoul(l hit thc.rn dudng x b.ttlc wilhtiglrlers.

As we c:Lme t() the tffgct,enerly flghters appeared. "Rcd

Iti.lin Ilood" Fexthefs N(). 1 cn!{lneancl was cLrc-rpping back...buL xs wewer'c coming 1() the LP. shc gotbrck inro fbnnali(n with us Rrnrcywas l ly ing i t . . .he . l id r .hmn goodjot) kccping up. On the LP ruo,the flek stdrted ro c(me Lrp...it washelvy ancl vcry accuate. Juslbelbre we clroppcd our bombs allthc shlps seern to !!o in differentalirecdonsl 16l xlmost lurnecl ovcrl)Lrl strelllhtcncd or-rt xn.l cl()ppeclhis ln) bs. \\rc iinxlly cl(rpped oLrrbombs encl |ook cvxsive :Lcti()ntiom the fl:rk.

As s()on as \\,c llot or-rt of thellak cnemy fighre$ juorpcd lhegr()up bchind us. Sxw some P 51srake off aiter thc ccnnen fighters. I

iconlinu€d on Paqe 20 19

watched severai dog fights behindus.

The Geman fighters gave theB 24s behind us hell...coulcl seelhe 2oirxn shells from the ME109bursting all through the fomation.I saw a ME 109 explocle when thetail gunner fired at hnn es the fight-er attackecl them. Saw 5 ts 24s godown.,,but only two chutes openup.

Then t*o ME 109s jumped ol'rfomution. One was at 7 o'clockwhile another was at 7 o'clockhigh I watched both...thcn ticone a! 5 o'clock high startcd tocolne m.,,everyone oPcnccl up onhim at the serne time...tlaceri wereflying at;uncl rll over the pl:rce.llxcers seerlls tr) go riilht into hlsnose. He cxme strxight in to xbout400 yxds xncl pulled up rc go overus . .exposing his bel ly. . .we pourecli t into d1e bot(om of his plane.. .hedisappealccl out of sight. drcenemy fighle$ were xll g()ne. M),gLrns never l'aile(l lhis tjnre. ]'herest of the nrission went snr(x)thlyand we lnnded n[ l:30 P.M. \flclcarncd "Rcd Ridin' Iloocl" crashccLon an islancl near lhe coas! o1'Yu€Joslnvia

July 6, 1944Thcy 8ot us up nt 5 A.M.

Bieled xr 6. $(/hen I checkecl theguns they rvere clirty as helll I l<xrkthem apar-t encl h)LrncL they are clryas r bonel I detaile.l stdppecl rndcleanecl drem. ve k)ok ()ff at IA.M. Our lerget is an oil refinery innorlhern ]taly nexr Yulloslxvix Nofightcrs arc cxpectecl. we are llyingil] ship 330.

'lhis is it's first misskn.\ve xre flying No. 2 Deputy leaclposition, leacling the whole wingand the 15th Air !(nce. Anothernavigat()r ll.ls the nose turret. Gul-ley stayed in the vxist position rotllrow out chaff. Whco Ne EIot ncerthe rarllet we saw plenty of ouresc()f. P 38s and lr-51s. The newtail tlrret end glrns wo* well.

Jlrst before the bonrb nrn thebonlberdier opens thc bomb ba)'doors e little bit and thc bonlbs fcllout (hc must hlrve relessecl drem)and b()ke dre cloors. The bombsfell into the ocean beforc we got to

20

the ta4Fl we used a new anti radarsystem. therc was lillht and inaccumte f lak.. .so the new system muslheve worked. No fighters wereseen. 'lhe target got good bombcove1age...even without our k)stbombs...qulle a bit of smoke cxmeup fiom the targct. Two scaplaneswcre scen in the harbor The riclewas a l i t t le rough today.. .webolmced around quite a bit. welancled at 12 P.M. Capt. Bellemercflew with us as co pilot.

'we have to go to a fcJrmation at

6 P.NI. as e crew is being decoratedD.l:.Cs. because they crxcked up"S\\,ealing 11 OLrt" and survived Inow luve 29 nissi()ns encl 36 sor

Ilcard wc are to go back to theStatcs ncxt wcek. I a1rl flyingtonrorrow with 11 new guys ancl encw co-pilot. nlde, John anclCaple are not llying.

ltly 7, 1944They got us Lrp 11 4 A.M.

Briefecl x1 5. 'lilrget is an oil refin-

ery aln)Lrt 80 nrile,s $ooth ()l flres-lxLr, Gennnny. lie go! to (hc shipand to|nd it had no rudio conlactor intcrphone syslerD.

\flc dilched rh4r ship for anolh-cr onc...bu!...ALL dle guns wcfcdifty, l1o flAk suits or chafll So rvecouldn t take off. OLrr pll(x t-t.Redltold was pisscd ofT rnd sowefc we. No 0lission tocilry

I s'e t back to thc tcnt arc:1and slept until noon ,\ftcr lunch.RaLy ancl T went to Foggix to sccthc livc st,lgc plocluction of IlvinliBerlin's "This Is The Afmy tlr.Jones". I would not have had tbeoppo(unity to scc this show in rhcStates, but we did ..hcrc in Iraly.The show wes CRIE.\TI \Vc gotback to dlc basc aa 5:30 PM. .. justin tlne fbr boiled beef foI dinner

Ju'ly a,1944They llot us up at I A.M.

Briefed x1 5 end t(x)k off at 7 A.M.' lhe t:r1get is an airt ield l2 milessouth of Vienna we had bombedtrvice bclbre with fialas. Everl'thin!{goes smoothly up to thc LP. Wckccp wcaving back and forth. \fefinally drop our bombs just beforethe flak stars to come up. The tlak

was off and a little low...lrut washittinli the €iroup below us. . -whogot the wolst of it. Then rheyhonecl in on us. They hacl usbrackeled...it was very cbsel Ouranti radar system must not beI\.orklngl

Some one callcd out fi€ihters...sa\! some milling around but werenot coming in aL us. Our P 51escori took carc of them. 'lhe flakkept on us for quite e while. I sa$'a ts 24 blow up in a large pufi o1'black smoke aftef we left the tar-gel. freiheir saicl he saw it nlso.

While over the krget I wasbusy and was opening ancl cbsnlgmy lurret cl(x)rs. I)uring the cxcitc-nlent I mr.rst havc disconnccted myoxygcn hoses.

I st.rtcd leeling stmnge. I couldnot ligure what I was. N4y visionwas oLrt oI focLrs and lu,:l :r grid ofblack lines an.l (k)ts m()ving rcrossthe field o[ visi(nr xnd I wxs hear-ing l l r is buzzi l { sound in my head.I hrcl i hard time concentrating onwh:r! I should be doing. Solllethinglold me to look at my ()xygenhoses. I kx)l(ecl at the box thehoses connectecl to ancl slrw thchoses wefe Lnying disconncctcd atnry sicle.

I rcxlizc(l I hrd vcry litrlc timcbefbre I bllckcd oLrt. I hircL echoicc ol cxlling on llre intefc()m 1r)get the $,rist gunners to cortre helplne ()r try trJ pLug tlre hose back in

I knew it would rxke n fewninutes for one of them to cliscon-nect lheir hose, put x bortle tothcrD rncL try to gct to rrle. If sanne-thlng h.tppenecl Lo tlrem, it \\uilclbe tw() ()f Lrs gone. I .leci.te.l T hacttretter try to reconnect my hosexnd then cxl l f i ) r help. I \ \as gettin,t grny .rrs$ ol vision. I got ahold on the hose dnd \\.ith grcatcflbrt, I rcmcmbcr eirning fbr theconnector et lhe box rnd pressingthe hose to the box. I'he ner:t thingT remernbef wxs u'xking with myhead layiDg on the gun slgllt crecllc. I hy tllcre a fcw minutcs. collccting my thoughts. I clo nor knowhow long I was out.

I coulcl feel the orl'gen rushinginto my !'eins...a ftelinEl I have

never experienced before. I stayedon pure orygen for quite a while.

I did not call the crew to letthem koow what happened asrhere was nothinEl thcy could donow. I was tileci and weak for tberest of the day.

we were still ()ver enemy territory. A B 24 fiom another groupwas near us and sent up recl flaresbut seelnecL lo bc OK. I lost trackof 1im as we came to thc coast,'we

landed at 1:30 P.M. Cleaned mygLms in thc aflernoon and macleanother fbrmation at 6 PM. forsofrc Eluys getting rneclxls.

J]uly 9, 1944Stand down loday. Ifs rlrlnored

we ere to go home...not c let ini te,but woulcl lihc to finish rny 50 mis-si()ns so I woulcl not havc to c(nneback. About 3130 PM. they tel l Lrswe arrc lexving tolllorrow morn-lnl i . . . r lwdys wai! lmt i l l l ,e lnstr inl l te . . .so I st :r{ packing.. .cvcly-lhing is in x mers. l urn in n bt ol'equiprncn!. I t 's now 'Ll P.M. MosIof rhe guys ere clown at the Enlist-ecl Mens club !ry ing to gei drunk.. .irnr in n() flood fbr i! myself.

I hnve fl()wn 30 missions andh^cl 2l) nr()le rc go. Our pilo! tdclu$ the Hea(klLrlutcrs said we wcrcncx! in linc in rot:rti()n to go homc,l)ut we lud to xllree to return t()Il:rly t() finish .ny mission we haclnot flowi LLp to rhe 50 requifecl. Iobjected ancL sxrd I wxnled () fin-ish rny 20 nission the THEN g()home lbr good. The pilotsaid.. ."y()u know dre Army.. thcywill not lctun lrs once we xre inthc Stdtcs" I wrs nol convinceLl,blrt dloughr there may be that pos-sibility incl llave in to go home xndlropL' for fic best.

Jnly 10, 1944we arc all getting packed ancl

loxclillg. John ran down to the shjpr() txke pictures oI our ship thc' 'Piecemaker and her ' len Aicles".

I was bLrsv getting signalurcson a dollar bill before we left...anclduring ouf ride half way to heacl-quarters, I ooticed I did not havenly begs {)n Ihe truck. I rvas ablc toget a ride bxck t(i the tent rrea. Igor a sLLrpdsc...Emie ir;rd left his

bags there also. I was able to getanother ride back to the tnrck withour bags. Wc are now on a longricie to Naples, Italy to boarcl a shipfdr the States.

Inslead of boardlog a boat, weare brought 1c) another camp.,,eninfinrry c:rmp. we spent lwo daysin this cemp and folrn.l oLrt wewere not srrpposecl to be he.el Weput our bags on :r truck xnd dreytake us to an Ail Colp Base. Vr'efinally board the troop ship for theUSA.

W€ rcturned to the States andweni on lcave fbr 30 days thenreported to Atlantic City, NJ forreassignment, whilc wc were there,a he:r\.y hurricane hit New Jcrsey.Thc hotel we were in was on thebcach anci the basement xfld bot-tom floors were floocied.

Evcryone was tdd tlrey couldstay in thc States . .except. . . I layChlan and Ill

'Wlren we liot lxck to

Italy At our l)asc, i,c wercinfornlecl the maximunr nunlbcL ofrnission requited n()w was 3i.So.. .Ray hecl l0 mi i i$ ions to go AnclI had 5 mis6ion$ to f in ish.

'I'here are only tluec of u$ leftfronr <:ur crew ?rs ()1 March, 2001.I lay Cl 4n, b. March 31, 1924,I toge. Caple, b. Aug. 10, 1922 inclHenry B. Evedur! b. fel). 25, 1924.

The Social Securily Dcadr Indexon dre Intenet iisL lhe rest ()1 thccrew are cleceasecl xs below: Pilot,Marth Maurer b. Olrio, 1920, cl.1991; Co-pil(n, H.rlolcL TiEIert, b.Tcxas, 1920, cl. 1994i Biloxi, MS.Wilton Frcihcir, b. Jnly 25, 1917, ci.Sept. 1981, Minnerpolis, MN; Enij.T()p 'lLrret.

Jr)e l,erbxnis, b. NY,1911, cl . 1990; Nose' l iLrret, Chir lcy(nr l ley, b. KY 1922, cl . 1991; \0r ist ,lohn vojtko b. 14, 1921,.1. 1989iBall Turret. Ernest ()sl()wsky, b.NY, 1920, d. r 990.

GI]N POSITIONS:NOSE: Of xll thc positions on

dre ship...this is thc hst place Iw()Lrl.l waflt to be. It s likc sittingon a cloud wiLh no visible slrppor1.. . i t s scary.. . rhen when f ightcrscome at you head ()n.. .1 ' .1 . l ive forcoverl No R'ondcr Chelley s'oulclYELL ()Lrr in a ligh pitchccl

scream. ..IIGIITERS AT l2 o'clockHIGHI

TOP TURRIT: This is the kingof the hil1. You can see evcrything...except the botbm of lheairplaoe. That's wtry tlley put theFlitiht Engineer up here...lo keepan eye on evcq{hing. Rut he alsocan see all lhose fifihters on thelevel. . .coming in at him.. . t iom al ldirecti()nsl

BALL TIIRRET: This is worsethan the nose.,.yolr cnn't see enythinEi cxccpt the grouncl through alittl€ windol!_.. and you are hanll-ing in space.. .snap dr:r t thin screw

lat coonccts you to theship.. ancl . . .you'reg o n e . . . w : r y . . . w a y . . . d o w n l

'1HE \flAlST: Tlink :rbout stand-inia up for a thousancl nilc rjclct l lat txkes six or morc hours,. , in aminlrs 60 clegree I Iieezing wincl inyour flce al 300 M.P.IL \ghcrc cloyou go to ge! (onlfoflrble?

TAIL Tllltl{E f: Now tLris is theplacc.. .you lLre nt the very HNDI

oBSERVATIONS: 1944Thc l t r l inns re a glegari()Lrs

pcoplc who sccnred n()1 kx) con-ccLncd altout "tonr(r'row", Music isvery rmrch ll pltr't of theif lives. IlelDenrbcr scvcfll of us werc waiting to crltch a ride to dre ncxt vil-lage on any truck LluL might conlcalong. when chilch-en see any sol-diers close by they will llockaround them rnd beg for candy orwhat cvel they m:ly have, As wewere gcting on thc nuclr T hcarcithis bexutiful operxlic voice singinE!i familixr ltalixrl xdx as he wesdancing around fie rlrck wifi Lhehelp of a crutch as he hacL just onelcg. I rculd not believe such amlrtulc voicc s'as c(rnnrg ()ut ofthis young bov ol xbout 12 yearsof age. As Ihe lruck |ook off h aclouci of dust. his voice coulcl stillbc hcerd lLcting esay in the dis-tancc. I lll1Ye oflen thought of himand wondcrcd if someone wouldtake an interesl in him ancl clcvclophls txlenrs for the worlcl to hceranci sensed he rvas h()ping for ressmc thiDli.

'l'he mode of living I ime€linc is

conlmu€d on Paqe22 21

7

not loo different than it has beenfbr cenftries. The main highwaysare pa\.ed between the nnjor citiesbrit the roads betwecn the smallvillxges are unplved dirt roads thatha\.c hi[ih binks on both aod etleast one side because thev hevebeen \\,orn clown f(r]l centLrries o[

Now nodeln mocles of trans-po(ation. such xs busscs. tnlcksancl xutomobilcs. arc ustcl q,idclyby drose who celr afford thern.Horse .lmwn calts l()acled eifig(x)cis are .r c(nnm()n sillht rn lheroacis. 'llre l:Lrge cities xre nore Lrpto dxte bul compxred to the llnrteclStatcs, Italy is fitt-v ycars bt-hind inindustriii pro[Jrcss.

Mosr oi thc buildings xfe builtl io ln lhc nlxrcl i i l locul lv rvuihblesoch :1s locks. lxicks xnd m.rrtall i ) l ln)Lrscs rs 1hr)/ l r . rve l )ecn l in 'cenrLrr ics. ' lhr l . r i . ]e ci t ics IrxvL-n)xny nx). lcfn steel l \ r i lc l in i ts.

I)r.Lfing or.rf scccrll(L $ur" inllaly, .rlier l)eing lot.rte(l to theShtcs li)r 6(l ciLrys, l{dv nnd I wefcassigne(i 1{) : r f l ig lr t ()n onc () l ' ( )Lrrl ,21is t() pial( up sor)rc (Jcw enll )cfs wh() wef( ' in l lonrc l i r ' festrLn(l rc l lxat i ()n ( l ic\ l { ) .

l l l ry wlrs thc | i r ( l io opcl l tor l ln( lI w;rs rhc llilahl cnginccr li)r lh-,rtflighl. wc hndc'd ]n tt(nre xlxJLrL 9A.M. rnd wxs k) lc l l )y Lhe pi lot t (JreLurn Lo dre xirbrse :rr ,i P.M. liJrlhe fliglrt bxck tl) Cerign()lx. velook rcl\enrige of thls opportunityt{) sec x l i t t le of lknne

Thc ccntcr of Rollrc lms scvclilcirculxr intersertit-rrrs rvhlch rnrkesiL h.tzarclous l-or perlest xns...siInilxr to Vrshingkn. D C. One vefyLrniqlre perl ()f R(nre wxs that theplrl)l]c resL r(xnrs lhxt were onihe siLlewxlks rn.l qrere rot t(Dprjl-xtc. I do nor koo$' il this \\'isrypicrl or dlis was d1e ()1 y one.,\,len and \\'olnen went in the sxme"dooi' \\4rirh \\,'xs just an openingto dre slde$allr. There n'ere dlvicl-ing partilio.s rhat \.enl rlmost tothe sidcs.alk.

Aftcr lookinli aroun.l e whilc, itwas about 2 P.Il., we declded toget back t() the njriase. We got tothe base er j:30 PM. \X,e checkecl22

in al ()pentions xnd were lold ourship had lefi earlier because aColonel. $.ho was one of the ser-vicc mcn wc came for, did notwint ro wail until .i o clock to gohorne...so they rook off without us.They rolcl us to come back each.lay to see if thefe $as nnother ideback to the Lrnse. We checked ineach ciey tbr three days before n'egot a rkle. Each day we took insornc siglrt sceing ancl visitecl rhcfxnrolrs t()Lrrisl xttr:rctions. we wentfirr :r llonan holiday

\ts_e visitcd onc pxlxcc in R.rmcI was inrprcsscd s.ith thc txpcsiryhung on thc wa1ls instcad of bcjngpaintcd. Tt was .r silky multj colored librir o1 green and g()ld $,ithsilver filarrents woven through it.' lhe cei l ings were :Lbout two sknieshigh. The trui lc l ing l .s sever.Llhundrecl yeam olcl : rs ere most ofthe lxr l te nrxnsbns rod publ icbuiki i r lgs

A1]othcr l)uilcling that inlplcssc(lnle w: ls n() l in l {(nnL- l \ r t ($lrere Iwrs l )ei l ' i l { rexted 1(r ' ln)th plr l le({sxcr()ilirc lowcf bndi nrusclts \\'her'rg() i r lJ. j up the sic lc ol thc l (x)p shipwith toc, n)rlny <lullc1 l>:rgs anclilllos( lcll in dlc lvLrtcf 100 l(cll)cio\," ir Nc$,l)nfr N_cws, V ) \\'rsthc ilcld hospirrl li)r our blrsc d lw3s locxtecl in ( lef ign(t : I . l l : r lsowxs x lxrye bui lcLing thr i . I th ir l i ,N:Ls .L nr irnsion Tt Nlso hlLd highcci l ings rLncl f inc t l1pcstr l on rhe

when $e got bick to rhc bascq'c $'efe Listccl i]s ,{WOL.

wc \-clc lbrtlrnxtc \vc h1rcl efelkxv clerv mlre, An(Ly Oven. \,_h()wxs also x lx$.vcr in civilien litir inTirllirhassee, Floich He intercededfbr us lr he:Ldquxrrc$ rn.l got thc,^WC)L chargcs clismisscd.

Southern CharmsIal SattlJcrn. Cbarns is dn excellcnt baok afpoetry uiue b.t) Rq)ceHilliLlrd, S/Set. /-l3rd SL/l1adnI'erlnission hds been lltdnted t()repritlt selectians 4 tbese lx)erns

.liom time to time in the aerignal.l

Air Force PrayerO, Lord we thank you forthe men who fly,For fighting soldiers aren'tafraid to die,For men whose heart is tough assteel,Whose courage makes the enemyreel.

For pilots, brave and true,For wil ls their task to do,Fof men who guide the planes,Through the fog, mist, and rains.

For men who work upon theground,Their skil l is good and sound.For Air Force men everywhere;For them, we ask this prayer.

And, last of all to thee we praiseFor guiding hands along airwaves,For Presence with us every day,O, Lord, this prayer we ever pray.

The days are now numberedBut sti l l i t is clearIt 's only a short whileThat I can remain here.

But I shall ever love youTho l'll be iar awayl' l l be fighting, ever i lghtingFor you and the good ole U.S.A.

Flying Cadet"Contact" the starter cries,The blade begins to whine,He revs i l up unti l you hearA deep full-throated chime.

The wheels begin to move,It inches forward on the run,And as the power is applied,It heads faster into the sun.

Its wheels bounce on the sod,The body clears the groundThe whirring blade shakes the rodAs both hit on the rebound.

Faster, faster runs the cadetAs he seeks to keep the pace,For the bouncing ole lawnmowerls really running a race.

TonightTonight, between the milesThat lie between us two,I catch mysell again in flight,to heaven, home and you.

Look up again, my love,Look up to sing and shout,l\.4y hope is built above,l\.4y dreams scattered about.

lvly heart takes wing,l\,4y soul is all ablaze,My song forever shall ringAcross the ocean waves.

Tonight, these words I sayTo you, my dear, apart.l'll forever keep your faceDeep within my aching heart.

Wake Up AmericaWith eyes heavy wilh sleepand minds that do not care,With an easy-going pace we keepUpon our ever downward stair.

Drift ing...as in a stream of l i feThat must always downhil l go,Forgetting thal shoals l ie aheadFor those who fail to row.

And sti l l , we pursue our courseWith l istless minds and heartsForgetting important laws andsource,God's message sti l l imparts

A way of life to live.rules for playing the game.fules that seem almost forgottenin this day of gain.

Wake up, America. God callst u u d y d 5 , , r u , c P d J LShall si lence greet him as of oldAnd men, their hearts turn cold.

Shall our course be sti l l plattedBy the hand of Fate?Shallthis nation sti l l be spottedWith the winds of hate?

Shall sin sti l l rampant beOvercoming all along the way?Will darkness cover earth and seaInstead of iight for which we pray.

God give us courageIn this day ol strife,Strength to lift our siandardAbove this lowly ebb of Jife.

Lift i t higher, Christians, higherUntil at last the world may see,That Christ's great will and powerReigns again in the land of thefree.

fl:::.J::JJff VTomorrow's life is far

A soldier's work is here,His lhoughts with those dear.

Across the miles so farThere ever beams our guiding star.Our work here is better doneBecause ai home, the race is run.

The army we may nol like,But sti l l we work for sttipes,Things in normal l i fe we shirkedBut in everything we worked.

Here today, gone tomorrow,Why work now or botherAbout the things we doall that matters is we're true.

True to those who trust us,True to those who careTrue in every act and deedTrue to buddies over there.

We shall l ight the i ightWe shall win the race,Because we have within a lightThat l ight shines upon our face.

Yf5"l'rh"Wm,,,J*""J"*"",- .:#est todayPlucked a flower by the way,The warring world was forgottenAs I knelt on the trail to pray.The birds in the trees weresrngrng,The sheep on lhe hil ls were feed-ingAnd across lhe pathway a bunnyOn his way, was stealing.Then, I remembered... l i fted myheartTo ihe Lord in heaven and said:"Dear God, please forgive a worldot menand grant that peace shall reignagain."May lhis coming day mean moreTo us than it has in years gone by;lvlay this mad world at war stopJust this once and listen to ourcriesFor help and succor in this day,God be merciful to our hardenedhearts...And, help us just once to pauseand pray,That the peoples of the world mayiind their way.

Group HistorvBook-Available in

Someday?Someday when noise of strife isoverAnd the shouts of war are done,Then will come the day of peace,Thal day, O God, must surelycome.

Someday the winds of hateWill close their tempestuous roar,then wil l our nation ffee itseliOf greed from shore to shore.

Time is waiting on our aclOf love and brotherhood to man...Come, men of God, our colorsMust be flown atop the mast of sin.

Strike now-'Tis time we marchedAgainst the evil of our foe....Rise up, l\,4en of God, sons of men,Let us forward to victory go.

New FormatNot a hard bound book as

pfevious, these are no longeravailable. Aiier two printingruns it was decided not to rerunthe book again. StiU m:rny .)fyou are a-sklng where they canfind a book. To solve thls dilem-ma, a copy shop copy of theoriginal htstory, in a spiralbindings is belng made avail-able. Same tert. same Dhotos. Ifwe can gct enough coinrnlt-ments together for a "copyshop" run, we'll make theseavaitable. $27 in the mail. I,etyour editor or Gus Wendt Knosr(cus Wendt, 455th Bomb GroupAssociation, 5100 Johr D. RyanBlvd., Apt. 542, San Antonio,Texas 78245). You wtll be biledbefore shiDment.

23

Austrian CousinMy mother, Kate Bauer (Stracka), came to the Unit

ed Statcs in 1906 lronl craz, Austria at the age oftwelve. She always t(tci mc about the c()usins back inAustria afld wrote xnd read letters dudng World \Mar Iand Worlcl War Il from a fil'st cousin, Ernst Vauch.cifts were also sent. I also spoke cerman ,,Mutter-sprache" until kinderEiarten and still can speak it like afive-year old.

A 1st Lieutenenr pilor, age 20, I llew a Il 24 Ljbcr^_br out of Ceri€il1ol:r, Iraly in 19,14 and 1945 wirh drel5th Air Force 455 Bomb (lroup, 743 Squadron xndalways had tsrnst \Vauch's edchess, a rnep, and phonenurnber in nv walking troots in casc we wcre shotdown over Graz. \ve were hit many tilnes, ancl in thew()rst case k)st an engine, but rlways g(x back ro base,l was gomg to try t() meet Efnsr belorc dtey put me ina prison camp. 11 nevcr h.lppened.

\X/e now go to 1977 in.l my moficr is 82 yenrs olcl,ancl my wile xncl I took her on I rrip to Graz. Au$lriato rneet Ernsr lf4ruch ancl visit with !hc, rclatives. Shc€loI to $cc the church slte w;rs confirmed in, and thcscho(t she dtrenalecl, 4ncl hcr gir.lfricnd Mittsy'sG{sthelrs, Dmst was now rctired as a (lLtalily c()ntrol" lngcnielf in a ball bcaring srccl rDil l ind l ivecl aboutfivc bkxl<s lronr thc mili. \tre wcre havinli wioe iD hisl i !rn8 roonr nl len hL'r(tLl rs rh., l rn 5fr:rF. wlrEn hc{.r. worl{ ins rn his C.,r. lrn, hc irrr I r,rk. } l( , l l .rdtlx)ught he l)nd Nll tlte rocks out ol his gnrden. As hedug clown to rclllovc dtc rocl<, Itc found the txjl Iins of:t 500 l 'r vrrrr lr. LiE ,: l l l ( ' i rhe hornlr "qrr.ro. rnd ,hyyevl iu . r lqJ r l tc . . r ( . r rnd f ( I , )ved lh< Lrncrp l ( ,L lcdbomb. Ernsr lillccl nry "rvcin" glass and his, and rhenpoioted xncl s ir(x)k his I inger at me, and said,. \ ar dasdLr, Kad?" (w:L thar v()Lr, Cnd?) \(re laLrghed ancl fln-ished dlc 'wein"

\M 'r . ,u g., o \ . r i . ts ot 2 ,U. 1 , ] . , . , o l1(.acr l I le. t(-l f l n ' l C L ( l - c r l l n l , r r r r - . J l r l u . l . t . r j { r 1 5 . r l r ( l t f J n ( l( [ r J j ' l l , r c r , , 1 f r n . r V r . l l . . r n , l . r . r ( r l i , . r l r h o i g r . , r , l . r _ate frolD craz. SIle is coning !() ihe USA fbf i visit anclwill be staying wilh my fimily.

Carl Stfacka

4551h Bomb Group A!soc.' Incp.O. BoX 149 ', Inc.cashoville, Tx. 78009

ADDRESS SERVICE FEQUESTED

PAIDCASTROVILLE, TX

PEBI\,I]T NO.66

ALLEN C, JOIINSON27 BR@K LANEBERLT\ MA.01503-

Got a minutel Let me tell you about the big war!