United States Air Force Memorial the Washington area ... · shows. The November 2006 Air Force...

Volume 46 Number 1 Winter 2006

Official Publication of the:United States

Ambassador Visits2nd Air Division

Memorial Library

SEE BACK PAGE

United StatesAir Force Memorial

Dedication Ceremony,October 14, 2006

BY ALFRED ASCH (93rd BG)

I t was a clear, crisp day without a cloud in the sky onOctober 14, 2006 when our USAF Memorial, located

in Arlington, Virginia, was dedicated. The three stainlesssteel spires located on a hill next to Arlington NationalCemetery and across the road from the Pentagon canbe seen from as far away as the Kennedy Center. Con-versely, one can view Washington from the hilltop andsee such notable landmarks as the nation’s Capitol, theLincoln and Jefferson Memorials, and the WashingtonMonument. The three spires, the tallest at 270 feet, de -signed by the late James Ingo Freed, architect, representa precision flying maneuver known as the “bomb burst”frequently flown by our F-16 Thunderbird team at airshows. The November 2006 Air Force Magazine referredto the monument as “The Magnificent Memorial,” andWashington Post staff writer Philip Kennescott in theOctober 12, 2006 issue wrote: “With one bold leap theAir Force jumps into first place for having the most dis-tinguished service memorial in the Washington area.”

Neal Sorensen (489th BG), F.C. “Hap” Chand ler (491st),Al Asch (93rd), and Al’s son, David Asch, attended a break-fast brunch in the morning. It looked like “old homeweek” for Air Force Generals and Chief Master Sergeants.It was impossible to meet them all but we enjoyed a shorttalk by the Chairman of the Air Force Memorial Foun-dation, Mr. Ross Perot, Jr. He gave us a brief history ofthe Foundation and the problems of securing a site forthe Memorial. The initial plans, started in the early 1990s,envisioned a star-shaped memorial on Arlington Ridge,near the Marine Corps’ fa mous Iwo Jima Memorial. Thiscaused considerable opposition from the Marine Corps,and after litigation, Congress authorized construction onthe present site where there is more space and the view-ing is more dynamic. Construction began in February2006 and was completed this September. Mr. Perot gavehigh praises for the Air Force Memorial staff and MajorGeneral Edward F. Grillo, Jr., USAF, Ret., its president, fortheir outstanding work in managing all aspects of the proj-ect, including the collection of the $30,000,000 required.

From the hotel, we boarded a shuttle bus and wentto the memorial site. By chance, we were met at the gateby Colonel Peter W. Lindquist, USAF, Ret., Vice President

(continued on page 8)

“With one bold leap, the Air Forcejumps into first place for having themost distinctive service memorial inthe Washington area.”

— THE WASHINGTON POST

DIRECTORYHonorary President..................................... JORDAN R. UTTALTown Village North • 12271 Coit Road #3201 • Dallas, TX 75251

Telephone: 972-788-9041

OFFICERSPresident ............................................................ OAK MACKEY

6406 East Presidio, Mesa, AZ 85215-0972Telephone: 480-641-3033 • Fax: 480-641-0506

E-mail: [email protected]

Executive Vice President........................... EARL ZIMMERMANP.O. Box 40897, Indianapolis, IN 46240

Telephone: 317-846-1462

Vice President Membership ........................... EVELYN COHEN06-410 Delaire Landing Road, Philadelphia, PA 19114- 4157

Telephone: 215-632-3992 • Fax: 215-632-8319

Treasurer ............................................ E.W. (BILL) NOTHSTEIN1359 Harwood Lane, Macedon, NY 14502

Telephone: 315-986-7374

Secretary and Director ofAdministrative Services ....................... RAYMOND E. STRONG

642 Cedar Club Circle, Chapel Hill, NC 27517-7215Telephone: 919-967-2301 • E-mail: [email protected]

2ADA RepresentativeBoard of Governors................................... CHARLES WALKER

9824 Crest Meadow, Dallas, TX 75230-5331Telephone: 214-987-0467 • E-mail: [email protected]

GROUP VICE PRESIDENTS

Headquarters....................................... RAYMOND E. STRONG642 Cedar Club Circle, Chapel Hill, NC 27517-7215

Telephone: 919-967-2301 • E-mail: [email protected]

44th Bomb Group................................... RICHARD D. BUTLER16828 Mitchell Circle, Riverside, CA 92518

Telephone: 951-697-2908 • Fax: 951-697-5875E-mail: [email protected]

93rd Bomb Group................................................. JOHN L. LEE930 Preston Trail, Melbourne, FL 32940-7822


389th Bomb Group ..................................... JOHN M. RHOADS13 Whalen Place, Sherwood, AR 72120-3616


392nd Bomb Group............................................ OAK MACKEY6406 East Presidio, Mesa, AZ 85215-0972


445th Bomb Group...........................CLARENCE A. LUHMANN673 290th Avenue, Blue Earth, MN 56003-9710

Telephone: 507-773-4431

446th Bomb Group ........................................ CARL ALBRIGHT3300 Utah NE, Albuquerque, NM 87110


448th Bomb Group .......................................... KING SCHULTZ1089 Rancho Santa Fe Road, Encinitas, CA 92024-6834

Telephone: 760-943-1641 • Fax: 760-943-0771

453rd Bomb Group........................................... LLOYD PRANG2451 Willow St., Greenwood, IN 46142 • Tel. 317-885-0224

458th Bomb Group ....................................... RICHARD PULSE11 South Lakeway, Reisterstown, MD 21136-5923


466th Bomb Group..................................... JAMES H. LORENZ5331 East Poinsettia Drive, Scottsdale, AZ 85254-4716


467th Bomb Group..................................... WALTER J. MUNDY15533 Swallowtail Road, Edmond, OK 73013


489th Bomb Group .......................................... MEL PONTILLO837 Childs Avenue, Monaca, PA 15061-1318


491st Bomb Group ........................................ JOHN A. PALLER 2 Walnut Drive, Flemington, NJ 08822

Tel: 908-782-3791 • E-mail: [email protected]

492nd Bomb Group................................. W.H. “BILL” BEASLEY1525 South Garfield Street, Denver, CO 80210-3022

Telephone: 303-756- 4766 • Fax: 303-759-3684E-mail: [email protected]

JOURNALEditor.................................................................. RAY R. PYTEL

P.O. Box 484, Elkhorn, WI 53121-0484Telephone: 262-723-6381 • Fax: 262-723-7981

HERITAGE LEAGUEPresident...................................................... BRIAN MAHONEY

6410 Windham Avenue, Alexandria, VA 22315Tel: 202-232-1423 • E-mail: [email protected]

2ND AIR DIVISION MEMORIAL LIBRARYTrust Librarian .................................................DEREK S. HILLS2ADA / Fulbright Librarian ................................... GLENN GRAY

SECOND AIR DIVISION MEMORIAL LIBRARYThe Forum, Millennium Plain, Norwich, Norfolk NR2 1AW U.K.

2

MATTHEW MARTINChairman

Dairy Farmhouse, Low Common, Swardeston,Norwich NR14 8LG, Norfolk, England

RICHARD J. ASHTONDirector, American Air Museum,

Duxford Airfield, Cambridge, CB2 4OR, England

PROFESSOR CHRISTOPHER BIGSBYSchool of English and American Studies

University of East AngliaNorwich, Norfolk, NR4 7TJ, England

MRS. FRANCES DAVIES57 Church Lane, Eaton, Norwich, Norfolk, NR4 6NY, England

DAVID DOUGLASWilkes Barn, Elmdon, Saffron Walden, Essex, CB11 4NL, England

BEN DU BROWFramingham Cottage, FRAMINGHAM PIGOT,

Norwich, Norfolk, NR14 7PZ, England

JOSEPH M. DZENOWAGIS, JR.23890 Middlebelt Road, Farmington Hills, MI 48336 USA

PETER FOSTER8 Albermarle Road, Norwich, Norfolk, NR2 2DF, England

MEMORIAL TRUST BOARD OF GOVERNORS

TABLE OF CONTENTSPresident’s Message

OAK MACKEY ................................................ 3Executive Vice President’s Message

EARL ZIMMERMAN ......................................... 4The Editor’s Contribution

RAY PYTEL ................................................... 5Attendees at 59th Annual 2ADA Convention

EVELYN COHEN ............................................. 659th Annual 2ADA Business Meeting

RAY STRONG ................................................. 7Report of the 2ADA Treasurer

BILL NOTHSTEIN ............................................ 9Report of the 2ADA Representative on theBoard of Governors of the Memorial Trust

CHUCK WALKER .......................................... 10News from Across the Pond

MATTHEW MARTIN........................................ 11New Members of the 2ADA ...................... 15Folded Wings .............................................. 35Letters to the Editor .............................. 33-35

GROUP REPORTSDivision Headquarters

RAY STRONG ............................................... 1944th News

DICK BUTLER ................................................ 9Open Letter to the 93rd

JOHN LEE ................................................... 20389th Hethel Highlights

JOHN RHOADS ............................................. 25392nd Bomb Group

OAK MACKEY ............................................. 15445th Bomb Group

CLARENCE LUHMANN .................................. 22446th Flixton-Bungay Update

CARL ALBRIGHT .......................................... 27The 448th Speaks

KING SCHULTZ ............................................. 25News of the 453rd from Flame Leap

LLOYD PRANG ............................................. 13458th Bomb Group

RICHARD PULSE ........................................... 30466th Attlebridge Tales

JIM LORENZ ................................................ 19467th Poop from Group

WALTER MUNDY .......................................... 21489th Notes

MEL PONTILLO............................................. 16

491st Ringmaster ReportsJOHN PALLER ............................................... 13

492nd Happy Warrior HappeningsBILL BEASLEY.............................................. 10

FEATURESUnited States Air Force Memorial Dedication

ALFRED ASCH .............................. FRONT COVER

Fightin’ Sam Needs You!NEAL SORENSEN ............................................ 4

The Songs That Fought the War .................. 5A Governor Speaks

DAVID Q. GURNEY ........................................ 12From the Honorary President

JORDAN R. UTTAL ........................................ 14A Man Just Does Not Have That Much Luck

ROGER FREEMAN ......................................... 14Bomber Pilot Now in Paperback................. 15The Old Iron Corset and Her Crew Chief

C.W. “WILL” LUNDY ...................................... 17A Nasty Ride Home

JAMES O. AUMAN ......................................... 19The Miracle

CLIFF COLLINS ............................................ 20Just Lucky, I Guess – Or Was SomeoneLooking After Me?

ARNOLD J. NASS .......................................... 22RAF B-24s Closed the “Atlantic Gap”

JOHN THRELFALL ......................................... 23Where Are Our Fighters?

361ST FIGHTER GROUP NEWSLETTER .............. 24What If?

SEYMOUR GLASS .......................................... 26“Do You Yanks Always Fly inThis Condition?”

GERRY HOLMES............................................ 27“Agent Double O 24” – Snooping Throughthe Dossier of Earl Zimmerman

KELSEY McMILLAN ...................................... 28When David Met the Goliaths

JOHN THRELFALL ......................................... 30Netherlands B-24 Liberator Memorial

BILL DAVENPORT ......................................... 31Worcestershire Sauce: England’sSupreme Export .......................................... 32U.S. Ambassador Visits 2AD Memorial Library

MATTHEW MARTIN ........................ BACK COVER

SECOND AIR DIVISION ASSOCIATION

DAVID Q. GURNEYBawdeswell Hall, East Dereham, Norfolk, NR20 4SA, England

DAVID J. HASTINGS“Westering,” Salhouse, Norwich, Norfolk,

NR13 6RQ, England

ANDREW HAWKER10 Rectory Lane, Mulbarton,

Norwich, NR14 8AG, Norfolk, England

DAVID HILLShotesham Lodge, Shotesham All Saints,

Norfolk, NR15 1YL, England

MICHAEL LONGEThe Willows, Woodrising Road,

Hingham, Norwich, NR9 4PN, England

MICHAEL MACYCultural Attaché, U.S. Embassy,

24 Grosvenor Square, London, W1A 1AE, England

JEAN STEWARD14 Claremont Road, Norwich, NR4 68H, England

CHARLES WALKER9824 Crest Meadow, Dallas, TX 75230-5331 USA2ADA Representative on the Board of Governors

34

Note from the Editor:Jim Withey, the original navigator on

our 445th BG crew (Pelton, pilot) stoppedin Wisconsin for a visit on his way to hisoriginal home in New Hampshire. He wouldlike to know any information on the B-24he is shown with in the picture below. Doesanyone in the 445th recall this plane? Ifso, please contact:

Jim Withey4555 S. Mission Rd. #540Tucson, AZ 85746Tel. (520) 889-2553

✈ ✈ ✈ ✈

Jim Withey (445th) and the Maria-Lupine

To the Editor:Can Jean and I express our sincere

thanks to the 2nd Air Division Associa-tion for yet another really superb conven-tion — our twenty-sixth — and as alwaysEvelyn’s organisation was superb. To beback with that great 2nd Air Division fam-ily for one more time was wonderful, andespecially to be with you all at the open-ing of your magnificent new United StatesAir Force Memorial was the experienceof a lifetime. To also enjoy the Dzenowagisfilm We’ll Meet Again brought back sovividly that memorable evening at ourTheatre Royal in 2001 — what a weekthat was.

As always you have left us with so manyhappy memories that will stay with usforever. We will never forget you or yourbeautiful Memorial Library. God Bless.

David HastingsTrust Governor andPast Chairman of the MemorialTrust of the 2nd Air DivisionUSAAF

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To the Editor:We missed you at the 2ADA conven-

tion and were sad to hear that you wereunder the weather.

Imagine our surprise when we ran intoKilroy who was there (see photo). This isat the WWII museum . . . maybe you haveseen it. Our tour guide took us to it or wewould have missed it. What fun.

Hope you are up and at ’em soon. Youwere missed by all.

Fern and Aud Risley (446th)682 Slade AvenueElgin, IL 60120-3066

✈ ✈ ✈ ✈

To the Editor:I received this nose art picture (below)

from a widow of one of our lads in the2AD who wishes to remain anonymous. Ichecked the crew which her late husbandflew with but am unable to identify theplane. With all of our historians out there,can anyone identify the plane or pilot?

Earl Zimmerman (389th)8922 Haverstick RoadIndianapolis, IN 46240-2039

✈ ✈ ✈ ✈

To the Editor:The decision of Norma (Mrs. Willis H.)

Beasley to resign as Director of Corres -pondence will be keenly felt by everymember of the Executive Committee. Newgroup vice presidents were furnished sup-plies for their office and found Norma tobe a source of answers to the organiza-tional questions they would have beenembarrassed to ask of other members.

Norma expanded the scope of her of -fice to include doing much of Dave Pat-terson’s work during his years of ill health.The organization of the Executive Pack-ets mailed from her office saved countlesshours at Executive Committee meetings.Her keen memory, aided by a personalre cording machine, filled in the vital in -formation missed by others whose record-ing duties were faulty due to impairedhearing.

With unfailing good humor Norma pro-vided Parliamentary information to guidethe Association meetings through the deepwaters of procedure. (With a National Cer-tificate as a Parliamentarian she stoodher ground against the stubbornly misin-formed.)

During my year as Association Presi-dent, and subsequently in B-24 Groups,Inc. of the USAAF’s drive to donate abronze sculpture of our beloved aircraftto the Air Force Academy, Norma andBill made numerous trips from Denver toColorado Springs to organize the recep-tions, hotel rooms and transportation.

Our friendship with Norma and Bill isa continuing blessing to my wife Pat andmyself. We extend our love and admira-tion to a wonderful lady and her husband,Bill, at this her time of retirement as Direc-tor of Correspondence of the Association.

Neal E. Sorensen (489th)132 Peninsula RoadMinneapolis, MN 55441-4112

✈ ✈ ✈ ✈

To the Editor:Last evening I received an e-mail from

Mrs. Bjoerg Holm Jensen in which shereported that her husband, Ejvind FriisJensen, died on Thursday, 30 November2006, at 11:30 (Danish/Greenwich Time).

During World War II, Mr. Jensen was amember of the Danish Underground. Hehelped rescue and save from capture byGerman soldiers, several Allied airmen,in cluding a 458th Bomb Group pilot andradio operator who bailed out of their dam -aged B-24 (42-52432) on 9 April ’44. Mr.Jensen and his wife farmed their land onan island in southwestern Denmark.

E-mail communications may be sent toMrs. Jensen at: [email protected]. Her pos -tal address is: Mrs. Bjoerg Holm Jensen,Agervej 2, DK 4262 Sandved, Denmark.

I’m involved in this because my wife’s

What Is This Thing CalledThe Motley Fool?

Remember Shakespeare?Remember “As You Like It”?

In Elizabethan days, Fools were the onlypeople who could get away with telling

the truth to the King or Queen.The Motley Fool tells the truth about every-

thing and laughs all the way to the bank.

3

The fastest journey to the Second Air Division Memorial Library is by satellite. Goto the Internet and punch in www.2ndair.org.uk and you shall travel there at the

speed of light. Upon arrival you will be looking at the entrance of the Forum, on Mil-lennium Plain, in Norwich, U.K. Go inside and the Library is located in a prominentlocation to your left. In the center of the room you will see the service desk where thestaff librarians ply their trade. Click a link for the “virtual tour” which takes you aroundthe library room. There is a large mural on the north wall; as the tour turns you cancontrol the speed or stop completely if something of particular interest catches youreye. After passing the door to the little meeting room you come to a niche where theRoll of Honor is displayed in a glass case, and above is a large picture of the Ameri-can Cemetery near Cambridge. Each of the fourteen bomb groups of the Second AirDivision has a glass display case with group artifacts therein, including a model B-24painted in the gaudy formation colors of that group. High on the walls are the tail finsof each group with the group identification colors and design of that group. The book-shelves containing over 4,000 books about America are placed at strategic locationsfor ease of book selection and there is a lounge area for reading. Anyone with a Nor-folk County library card may check out books from the Memorial Library. Click a linkto the 1945 Memorial Library Appeal and you will see a picture of the brochure whichwas distributed to the troops of the Second Air Division in the spring of 1945 appeal-ing for money to finance a Memorial Room in the soon-to-be-built Norfolk CountyLibrary in Norwich. The text of the brochure follows on the next page, and on the thirdpage there is a letter of appeal addressed to “The Men of the 2nd Air Division” and signedby Major General W. E. Kepner, Commanding General, 2nd Air Division. You will findthis letter very interesting, and also the text in the brochure, for this was the genesis ofour Second Air Division Memorial Library.

The original collection in 1945 was $80,000 (20,000 British pounds), and this moneywas placed in a Memorial Trust administered by a Board of Governors who were promi-nent British leaders in Norfolk County. It would be eighteen years before the new Nor-folk County Library was completed and the Second Air Division Memorial Library wasdedicated in 1963. Matthew Martin, the current Chairman of the Memorial Trust Boardof Governors, revealed in his speech at the 2ADA general membership meeting last Oc -tober 2006 in Washington, D.C. that the corpus of the Memorial Trust is now $3,262,756.This is due to donations, large and small, and astute money management over the years.Will the present corpus of the Trust be sufficient to finance the Memorial Library intoperpetuity? We cannot even predict tomorrow’s events with certainty, so how can wepredict the needs of the Memorial Library 100 years, or more, from now? Therefore,donations to the Trust are welcome now and in the future.

The Mighty Eighth Air Force Heritage Museum in Savannah, GA opened its doors to8th Air Force veterans and their families on May 13, 1996. Museum officials expectedmore than 3,000 to attend this stellar event, which had been so long in the making. Thismuseum building exceeds 90,000 square feet and cost over $12,000,000. The exhibits,displays and artifacts are in place for all to see. Were you there on opening day? Whata day it was; years of planning, building and fundraising came into focus on a perfectMay day in Savannah where the 8th Air Force originated in 1942. There was an ad dressby General E.G. “Buck” Shuler to welcome the 8th Air Force veterans; there was GlennMiller music presented by the University of Colorado’s Alan Cass, curator of the Millercollection; and other festivities. The most prominent feature of the day was simply time;time to view the exhibits, to talk with friends of your 8th Air Force experiences, etc. Nowover ten years has passed, and the museum is an outstanding success; items and pro-grams are in place now that weren’t there in 1996. The Memorial Gardens are full of memo-rials now, placed there by the various bomb groups. For instance, the 392nd BG has placedthere a three-quarter size replica of the memorial at the 392nd BG air base in Wend ling,England. A large chapel has been built in the fashion of a typical English country church.Airplanes on display are a Boeing B-47, McDonnell F-4, Boeing-Stearman PT-13, a MIG-17, and a rocket-powered Messerschmidt 163. Space and time do not permit a list of allthe exhibits — a better way is to go by satellite, punch in www.mightyeighth.org and theentire museum is there for you to see. Plan on spending hours if you want to see it all.However, the best way to see the museum is to go there and spend a day, or two. Many

The President’s MessageBY OAK MACKEY (392ND BG)

THE SECOND AIR DIVISION ASSOCIATIONtraces its initial meeting to 1948 in Chicago, Illi -nois. It was organized as a nonprofit corporationin the State of Illinois on January 10, 1950. Mem -bers of the original Board of Directors were 2ndAir Division veterans Marilyn Fritz, Howard W.Moore, Jordan R. Uttal, and Percy C. Young. Theassociation’s purpose is to advocate and sup portan adequate, effective and efficient Army, Navyand Air Force at all times; to perpetuate the friend -ships and memories of service to ge ther in the2nd Air Division, 8th Air Force in England duringWorld War II; to support financially, and in anyother way, the Memorial Trust of the 2nd AirDivision as represented by the 2nd Air Div i sionMemorial Library of the Norwich Millennium Li -brary; and to under take such other activities asmay from time to time be deemed appropriateby the membership.

REGULAR (VOTING) MEMBERSHIP in theasso ciation is limited to those personnel, mili-tary and civilian, American or British, who at anytime served with the Headquar ters organizationof the 2nd Bomb Wing, 2nd Bomb Division or 2ndAir Division dur ing World War II and any personwho served with any bomb group or fighter groupor any other unit of the 2nd Air Division assignedor attached. Provisions are made for Associate(Non-Voting) memberships and also for subscrib-ing memberships (Non-Voting).

We make every effort to mail your Journal with -in 90 days of the article submission deadlines ofFebruary 15, June 15, and November 15. Your re -ceipt of the Journal will be any where from oneto four weeks later, de pend ing on the U.S. PostalService — es pecially your own post office. If youdon’t get your Journal by the next deadline, con-tact Evelyn Cohen immediately.

(continued on next page)

2ADASouthwest Regional

Reunion Dinner

To be heldSATURDAY, MARCH 24, 2007at the Sheraton Grand Hotel

near DFW Airport.

For more information, contact:Charles Walker

9824 Crest MeadowDallas, Texas 75230-5331

Phone (214) 987-0467

pp 34 & 3:Winter 2007 1/16/07 1:21 PM Page 1

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE (continued from page 3)bomb groups have held their reunions in Savannah; many people have gone thereindividually. Any way you go, you won’t be disappointed.

At the 2ADA convention in San Antonio in 2005 the Executive Committee cre-ated a collection campaign called “Second to None: The Legendary Liberator Cam-paign.” Walter J. Mundy was appointed chairman of the campaign committee. Thefunction of the committee was to collect money to pay for the proposed exhibit ofthe nose section of a B-24D named Fightin’ Sam at the Mighty Eighth Air ForceMuseum in Savannah, GA. A total of $125,000 was needed before work could beginon this elaborate exhibit. Fightin’ Sam would appear to be sitting just inside thedoorway of a WWII type T2 hanger. There will be a bombardier manikin hunkereddown over the Norden bomb site; there will be audio/visual touch screen monitorsand a large rear projection screen above. The “Fightin’ Sam” exhibit will show B-24sin action on combat missions. There will be a B-24 flight simulator; display cases willshow WWII A-2 jackets, B-15 jackets and other flying equipment used by B-24 crews.This really is going to be an exhibit “Second to None.” At the 2ADA Executive Com-mittee meeting in Washington, D.C. on October 12, 2006, Walt Mundy proudly an -nounced a total of $125,571 had been raised, and work on the exhibit has alreadystarted. Some Second Air Division Association bomb groups have made sizable dona-tions, but most donations were from members in $5.00, $10.00, or $20.00 amounts. Toeach of you who made a donation, large or small — Thank you, thank you, thank you.

The 2ADA convention was in Washington, D.C. in October 2006 mainly to attendthe dedication ceremonies of the new U.S. Air Force Memorial. A crowd of 200,000was expected; there were speeches by President George Bush, Secretary of DefenseRumsfeld, and others. The Air Force Thunderbirds performed as only they can per-form, but the event that I enjoyed the most was the Parade of Airplanes. The firstwas a primary training airplane, the PT-13 Stearman bi-plane flying along all alone;then came a venerable old Douglas DC-3 (the Army Air Forces called it a C-47, theBrits named it Dakota); next was the Collings Foundation B-24 with their B-17 fly-ing off the right wing; then a Lockheed C-5 which is larger than a Boeing 747. Therewas a formation of four fighters led by a North American F-86 of Korean War fame,and the last was the B-2 flying-wing bomber — there is no fuselage, no tail section,just a big wing flying through the sky. This bomber on a combat mission can go tomultiple targets, drop precision-guided bombs, and do the work of the entire Sec-ond Air Division of B-24s. Where is all this technology taking us? Just since WWIIwe have TV, computers in every home, men have visited the moon in rocket ships,there is a space station, man-made machines are crawling on the surface of Mars,and the Hubble telescope is finding things beyond our imagination. There really isno end to it all! But this is the end of my report for the Journal, which you will re -ceive in February 2007. Therefore, all the best to you throughout the New Year! ■

I am honored, again . . . The delegates at the 2ADAconvention in Washington, D.C. have chosen me

to serve as Executive Vice President for the SecondAir Division Association for the coming year.

As VP, I am committed to helping our new Presi-dent, Oak Mackey, and each of you, in furthering theaims of the Association; in particular, to support fi -nancially and in any other way, the Memorial Trustof the Second Air Division.

I invite each of you to contact me concerning anymatter in which you feel I can be of help.

A wonderful time was had by all at the convention.We dedicated the Air Force Memorial, and Georgewalked over from the White House to join our crowd.

Hang in and take your pills. I hope to see a largecrowd at our next convention. ■

Executive Vice President’s MessageBY EARL L. ZIMMERMAN (389TH)

4

Fightin’ SamNeeds You!

BY NEAL SORENSEN (489TH)

No, not your money — your war -time experiences!!!

I was honored to be asked byPresident Oak Mackey to continuemy service as Liaison to the Mighty8th Air Force Museum for his termas president of the 2nd Air DivisionAssociation.

Prior to his acceptance of a sec-ond term as president of the Asso-ciation, Oak was Group Vice Presi-dent of the 392nd Bomb Group. WhenWalter Mundy challenged the indi-vidual Groups to donate $3,000 to getthe Fightin’ Sam project a jump start,Oak wrote a letter to members of hisGroup which resulted in over $5,400being contributed.

In a discussion with Craig Harris,Craig assured me that the Fightin’Sam exhibit will be the lynch pin ex -hibit in the redesigned Rotunda area.He feels that the exhibit will haveeven more impact with a library ofvideos or audiotapes of individualwar time stories. The bone-chillingtemperatures at 23,000 feet … theboard-like feel of the old sheepskinflying suits … the acrid smell of ashorted-out electric flying suit…

Your story will fire the imagina-tions of our great grandchildren, butonly if you tell them.

Need help? The museum has ac -quired $38,000 worth of high-techvideo and audio recording equip-ment. Call Dr. Vivian Price, Directorof Oral History at the museum. Shewill guide you though the steps of aprofessional interview. Better yet,if you visit the museum, Vivian willconduct the interview with you.

Please don’t let your stories diewith you! ■

33

To the Editor:A chance meeting with one of your vet-

erans in a Norwich pub (I think he wasbuying some warm English beer) led me,my wife Yvonne, and our good friends andneighbours Michael and Joyce Lambert toTibenham airfield on 29 July 2006.

As we were all wartime kids, we wouldhave had some contact with the airmenby way of a school concert or a visit to abase at Christmas time. For myself it was“Have you any gum, chum” plus a schoolconcert in 1944.

I took my British-built 1936 Ford car(see photo below) to add to the day’s fes-tivities with the idea of giving them a ridearound the area, which I did.

I am writing to you to ask if you wouldbe kind enough to say a big thank you inthe Journal to the veterans and familiesfor letting us be a part of that day.

It was a wonderful day with wonder-ful people, and to add to that, I am stillgetting gum sixty-two years later fromMr. Billy Stephan Jr. and his lovely sister.

Brian Mace5, Glenburn AvenueSprowston, Norwich NR7 8DUENGLAND

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To the Editor:We were in contact last year concern-

ing a research project I am pursuing on a700th Bombardment Squadron Liberatorwhich went down at Espierres, Belgium,on April 22, 1944. You were good enoughto send me some of the back issues ofThe Journal, which I still have and willget to the Lackland AFB Museum when Iam finished.

We have had a couple of delays due tohealth and other issues, but I am stillslowly cranking along on the research. Itis going very well, and I am having somesuccess with the story of what happenedon the ground after the crash.

I am putting together what I hope willbe a comprehensive account of it all, whichwill include a lot of social issues in Bel-gium, for example, which would not beof much interest to the membership. Idon’t know when that will be all done,but not very soon. To try to make an hon-est man out of myself, though, I am writ-ing a shorter account of what happenedin the air and on the ground which Ithink will be in line with other articles inThe Journal. I hope to have that for youin the next couple of weeks.

In a further attempt to become anhon est man, I today mailed my applica-tion for associate membership to EvelynCohen, so I hope to be receiving TheJournal and to use it for further requestsfor information.

As a matter of interest, my wife and Idropped by the San Antonio conventionin hopes of meeting you and some of theothers. You were not around, but we didsee some veterans of the 700th Squadron.

George H. Kelling4223 Dauphine DriveSan Antonio, TX 78218E-mail: [email protected]

✈ ✈ ✈ ✈

To the Editor:My name is Philipp Schrage. I am cur-

rently working for the German War GravesCommission at the youth meeting centreGolm on the island of Usedom. The cen-tre was built for international exchange,work for peace and reconciliation uponthe graves of victims of World War Two.

Our main issue is to show the sufferingcreated by war including the example ofthe bombing raid on Swinemünde (todayŚwinoujście) which took place on the 12thof March 1945, and we use our proximi-ty to the border for healing and reconcil-iation between Germans and the Poles.

There is a big war cemetery here thatcontains several hundred soldiers’ graves,about 400 identified civilians, and a massgrave with an unknown number of uniden-tified victims. We approach our visitorswith reports from survivors and try togive them an understanding of how andwhy this all happened.

But as we try to portray all the differ-ent views on that terrible event and findout how it influenced the thoughts andfeelings of the people who witnessed it, wenoticed that we could not offer anythingabout the pilots who undertook the raid.

In the official language of the ThirdReich they were “terrorists” and “air gang -sters.” The Germans who suffered fromair attacks every day, probably thoughtmore about their survival than about whowas dropping bombs on them, and todaywe know that most of those pilots werejust young men who hoped to come backalive.

But I want to learn more about thosemen, especially those of the 8th AF crewsthat flew the bomb raid on Swinemünde,in order to understand and let our visitorsunderstand who they were.

What did the pilots know about thecountry and the targets they attacked?How did they feel about the lives they in -evitably took? What were the hardshipsof their job and what was their drive, whatkept them going on? Did they participatein the discussion about the sense of theaerial bombardment undertaken by theUSAAF and RAF?

I, and the whole team here, would real-ly like to receive letters or e-mails answer-ing this appeal and helping us to improveour work for peace! We would most warm-ly welcome very personal stories that por-tray individual feelings.

Philipp SchrageDr. Nils KöhlerJBS GolmDorfstraβe 3317419 KamminkeTel.: 038376-290-0Fax: 038376-290-68www.jbs-golm.de

✈ ✈ ✈ ✈

pp 4 & 33:Winter 2007 1/17/07 1:57 PM Page 1

32

Worcestershire Sauce: England’s Supreme ExportThe tale of Wor -

c e s t e r s h i r esauce be gins in1835. Marcus, LordSandys, returnedfrom In dia, wherehe held many offi -ces, armed with therecipe for a pi quantsauce which had be -come a favorite ofhis as it was in clud-ed in many local In -dian dishes. On his

return he asked two chemists from hislocal seat in Worcestershire to make upthe sauce. They duly produced a batchand before delivering, decided to sampleit. The sauce was totally unpalatable andwas quickly consigned to the cellar stillin its stone jars!

Some years later these jars were re -discovered by the chemists while clear-ing out the cellar. Luckily they opted totaste the contents a second time, insteadof just throwing the whole lot away. Wor -cestershire Sauce, as it came to be known,tasted superb now that it had fully ma -tured. Thus the two chemists — John Leaand William Perrins – started with just afew casks and began selling it commer-cially in 1837. Demand was instantaneousand within six years they were selling over135,000 bottles annually!

The recipe has always been a closelyguarded secret, although we do know itcontains anchovies, garlic and spices, andeach batch is three years in the making. Fit-tingly for the Victorian era, many exagger-ated claims were made for the product,including it being portrayed as a “tonicto make your hair grow beautifully” and“a vital restorative and pick-me-up.”

It is no surprise that Lea & Perrins werebought out by their rival ‘HP’ in 1930. Des -pite HP Sauce being the leading brand inBritain, Worcestershire Sauce outsold itabroad. Thus it was a valuable export mar-ket. Today HP Sauce is sold in over 100countries, yet at the end of the 19th cen-tury transporting the precious bottles wasa much slower business and Worcester-shire Sauce had the edge because it couldbe stored indefinitely and did not deteri-orate in warmer climates.

There are several seemingly “tall” sto-ries told regarding Worcestershire Sauce,which is still sold in the original bottle andstill bearing the name Lea & Perrins, yetall these stories are apparently true. Dur-ing the historic meeting between NevilleChamberlain, Hitler, Mussolini and Dala -

dier in Munich a year before the outbreakof World War II, there is reportedly pho-tographic evidence of a bottle of Lea &Perrins sauce on the conference table!

Several bottles traveled west aboardthe settlers’ wagon trains in 19th centuryAmerica. Native American Indians, pre sum-ably those of a more welcoming na ture,acquired some bottles of the brown liquid,which they used as a face paint! Te Wairoa,a small town in New Zealand, was total-ly bur ied un der volcan ic ash and lava fol-lowing a particularly violent eruption in1886. A hundred years later, excavationwor k ers found an in tact bottle of Lea &Perrins em bed ded in the volca nic rock!

Historically, HP and Worcestershire

WARTIME ADVERTISING

sauces are among the most endearing ofBritish household brand names in theworld, hav ing graced dinner plates witha reminder of their English homelandacross foreign shores. As people becomemore adventurous in their eating habits,the need for alternative sauces becomeseven greater.

From those first few bottles the markethas grown to reach the staggering total of136 million pounds in sales a year in theUnited Kingdom alone. This represents anestimated 90,000 tonnes of the two saucesdeposited on table servings in Britain everyyear, and even greater volumes in exports.A veritable downpour of sauce — long mayit continue! ■

5

Thank you for all the “get well” cards!For those of you who haven’t heard,

I had to miss the 2ADA Washington con-vention due to some severe back painswhich for the first time in 86 years keptme out of airports upon doctor’s orders.After numerous tests he concluded it was“arthritis” (maybe!) Well, I’m coming alongnicely and hope to make the next bash,wherever it may be.

ANSWERS TO THEFALL QUIZ

Alex Birnie (AM) of Irmo, SC was the onlycorrect respondent. Seems you are not in -terested in this game anymore!

Items #1 and #2: M/Sgt. Hewitt Dunn, ofthe 390th BG, a B-17 outfit, flew 104 com-bat missions. See his story on page 14 ofthis Journal.

Items #3 and #4: 12 O’Clock High — Thisstory was based in part on the early 8thAF efforts of Col. Frank Armstrong of the306th BG, and was filmed at Eglin AFB inFlorida and at the abandoned Ozark AFBnear Dothan, Alabama. We will have the“lowdown on 12 O’Clock High” in a fu tureissue of the Journal.

The Editor’sContribution

BY RAY PYTEL (445TH)

WINTER QUIZPicture #1: The building in this pictureshould be familiar to all Second Air Divi-sion personnel who went to London. Namethe place and its significance.

Picture #2: These two well-known individ-uals lounge in the summer sun, presumablyafter the war. Name the two “loungers” andthe location of the “park bench.”

NEW BOOKS

The Songs ThatFought the War:

Popular Music and theHome Front, 1939-1945

by John Bush Jones

World War II was one of the mostfertile periods of American popularsongwriting; it was also the heydayof the “big bands” and of well-knownvocalists. Professionals wrote vir-tually all of the wartime songs westill sing today, but thousands ofother numbers were written by ama -teurs: men, women and even chil-dren eager to express their patriot-ism through lyric and melody. JohnBush Jones examines hundreds ofthese tunes in the context of thetimes, delivering a lively social his-tory of popular wartime songs andshowing how they helped Ameri-ca’s home front morale. Jones wasProfessor of Theater Arts at Bran-deis University and author of OurMusicals, Ourselves: A Social His-tory of the American Musical The-atre (Brandeis, 2003).

Pub. 09/06. LC20006016247, 6 x 9 in.,344 pp. index.

Brandeis/UPNE ISBN 1-58465-443-0 C/$29.95

Check with your local bookstore oron e-Bay. ■

IN THE “LION OF DOODY”

“First it was Afghanistan, then Iraq, and now the President needs me todefend the nation from cheap produce and affordable landscaping.”

pp 32 & 5:WInter 2007 1/17/07 2:31 PM Page 1

6

44th Bomb GroupAckerman, Portia & DonaldApgar, BerylAronoff, Arthur & EleanoreAston, Lee & Mary EllenButler, Dick & Ardith & Emily DeShazo,

Kay Drake, Kayla Butler, Steve &Rachel Hale & Dan Butler

Cianci, Anthony & LoisDobbs, SterlingDubowsky, Robert & IrmaFolsom, Gerald & BevGately, John & BernadetteHolliday, Richard & Hillori SchenkerHamlyn, RayHughes, Charley & MaryJohnson, Robert & RobertaKay, RobertKiefer, NormanLavitt, Edwin & SandraLee, DaleLundquist, William & Patricia &

Nancy Thiebes & Pamela BurkeLundy, Will & KevinLynch, Richard & BettyLowenthal, Leon & DoloresMcKee, Ira & Ruth & Phyllis O’ConnorMastradone, Tony & Catherine & Ann

Marie & PaulMorse, Perry & Ruth & Nancy Schmehl,

& Ken & Ellen KellyMurrack, Marilyn & Melanie Savasta &

Marlene BeckerOverhultz, Bill, Bob & WillPaul, Sidney & ElizabethPedersen, Martha & John &

Jim SnyderRabesa, Louis & RobertRoberts, Jackie & LowellRosenblatt, Milton, Leila, Michael &

DonnaRoberts, Clayton & Susan HagenbachSayler, David, Fred, Jane & BradSchaeffer, FrankSchiffer, Jack & Dolores ShipleySelasky, FritzieSpagnola, Christophe & Dutch &

Joseph LoPiccolo & Anthony MartinoStovroff, IrwinSwegel, Robert & NoreenThompson, Wayne & Gerry & Russell,

Sheryl, Chris & Mark Erikson &Maureen Wilson

Tilton, CharlesTkacik, Edward & Ruth Anna DorstlerToth, Alex & Darlene Vrotsos &

Shirley HowellVoelker, Estelle & Thomas &

Vicki SpencerWashburn, George &

Cynthia HarmonowskiWhite, GeorgeWilliams, Donald & Sharyn SandersonWright, Jim & Marion

93rd Bomb GroupAsch, Al, Naomi & DavidBerry, William & BettyBrown, Lew & Becky Estes

Johnson, George & Desilets Family –Joshua, Wendy, Rebecca, Jonathan,Joseph, Mary & Deborah

Lee, John & BettyMcKeever, Robert & BruceRoure, Dan & Eileen Hunt & Bill &

Diane PleasantSchwarzgruber, JosephSill, CharlesSmith, Fernley & Garrett SmithSparrevohn, Fred, Dorothy, Fred &

Janice & Jim & Michelle DaySwaim, Vernon

389th Bomb GroupBorland, DavidDenton, HeleneDriscoll, Barney & EmmeHallett, Allan & JeanHowell, Leonard & Myrtis & Edwin &

Nancy AveraHowlett, AnneJohnmeyer, Hilliard & Heath &

Mercedes ElliottKatz, Stan & SylviaKoorndyk, Bud & RobertLozowicki, Vincent & CarrollMcClain, JamesMorgan, John & Mary DetweilerNewton, Fielder & MarjorieO’Connor, Walter & Marie FrenardPalmer, Albert & SuePetrocelli, John & Richard &

Phyllis VollmerhausenSquires, FredTriantafellu, Rockly & Ruth Ann &

Merritt & Shirley OlsonWatson, Bob & JoyceWaterfield, KevinWeyant, Robert & MaryZimmerman, Earl & Christina Hemp

392nd Bomb GroupBedus, Loretta & Robert HuntleyBlackburn, Wally, Mike & MichaelBooks, Robert & CarolCheek, Carroll & MabelConrad, JohnGiesing, Richard & RitaGilbert, JohnGilbert, Lawrence & Marjorie, &

Larry Gilbert & David & Anne BrooksGoar, Jim & Annabelle & Eric &

Linda ChristenssonHansen, William & LindaHatton, GregoryJahnke, Thomas & MeganJones, BenJurczyn, Bill & RenellaMcCutcheon, BillMcNiel, Joseph & Ruth NewlandsMackey, Oak & MaxineMarsteller, JimPerry, TomRogers, Dennis & JoanneRothrock, MarySabourin, Roland & RonaldTison, AnnetteTyler, Bob & Alice

445th Bomb GroupBowen, DocLemons, Ray & JeanLuhmann, Clarence & WinnefredMastrogiacomo, Sam & JoanPatterson, Joan, Pia & Lynn Holliday, &

Carole HollidayQuerbach, Al & Dorothy & John EckertReus, Joe & ShirleyRiotto, RandyRoloff, Ed, Sue & RandySuckow, Bob & ShirleyThevaos, Ted, John & AdeleWalker, Chuck & Andrew Horlock

446th Bomb GroupRisley, Aud & FernSenior, Alan & Joyce & Michael Anthony,

Helen Farrington & Steve Garman

448th Bomb GroupJordon, Gary & ChristineKennedy, Dick & BobbieLadas, Lou & Elizabeth & Edward

& Elizabeth Harrington &Mary Harrington

Schultz, King & Paula & Gayle &B.J. Fleury

453rd Bomb GroupBiel, Albert & Claire & Irene Hurner,

Rose Lightly, Tom & Barbara MelloDyke, Jim & ThelmaFord, Gervais & Bonnie & Paul &

Jean ComponationJones, Jack & BetteLinke, WilliamMorris, WaltNeatrour, Russell & Nona AllenOliva, OdoParcells, Don & MargaretPrang, Lloyd & IreneRamm, Pat & AgnesRicci, Aldo & Mary AnnRobert, DickSchwartz, Morris & ShirleyThompson, John & EdnaWilen, Abe, Barry & DianeWilliamson, Allen & Dorothy

458th Bomb GroupButler, Richard & EdithBrumby, Birto & AnnCraft, Harry & MargaretGeppelt, Elmo & JoannaHartzell, Bud & JaneJones, Robert & JanetPiskin, Arnold & HannahPulse, Dick & BettyRokicki, Rick & CeilShaffer, Delbert & SaraSharp, Dick & MildredScheiber, Walt & Barbara

466th Bomb GroupChapdelaine, Richard & TheresaLorenz, JimMohr, Stan, JoAnn & PaulNothstein, Bill & Lue

Russell, Jim & ElinorSantorelli Family – Joe, Jean, Mary,

Tom & SarahWarning, Kurt & VickiWestbrook, Mel

467th Bomb GroupBickel, Ray & JonathanBrinson, John, Joyce, John, Margaret,

Jack & Curry & Joe MullenDzenowagis, Joe & Helen, Joe, Jr.,

Anastasia, & Ed & Joan PepkeGourd, PaulGregory, Geoff & TerryHampp, CharlesKenney, Edward & Betty & Len &

Kay RaleyMahoney, BrianMundy, Walt & RuthNoden, Will & CecilyPippenger, James & MarciaRentz, Fred & Barbara & Charles &

Nancy & Caroline Blakely, Bruce &Matthew Rentz

Shower, CharlotteTanzer, Harry

489th Bomb GroupAudet, Mary & HobieBerkeley, OteyChamberlain, Bud, Dana, Karen,

Laird & Rosalie, & Sara ClaassenCox, Paddy & JanDietrick, Richard & JosieEngler, Donald & ShirleyFreudenthal, Charlie, Helen & DonGoeltenbodt, Carl & Robert &

Lynette McMorlandHoffman, FrancisHoman, John & IreneLamar, John & PatPontillo, MelRosendahl, Carl & HelenSmith, William & ConnieSorensen, NealThomas, Miriam & Robert

491st Bomb GroupBennett, Hugh & BeaChandler, HapEisenstat, Seymour & Hazel

HeadquartersCohen, Evelyn & Lillian, Irving & Eunice

Bloom, Karen, Lindsay & Jessica Toub,Neil, Donna, Taylor, Shane & Justin Wolf

Krogmann, DottieStorms, EleanorStrong, Ray & Ruth & Judith Honey &

Laura Lane, & Eddie, Annabelle &Oliver Gooch

Veynar, Milt & Caron

2nd Air Division Memorial TrustDuBrow, BenGurney, David & JacquieHastings, Jean & DavidHawker, Andrew & AndreaMartin, Matthew & Hannah Cohen

Attendees at the 59th Annual Convention of the 2nd Air Division AssociationOctober 13-16, 2006 • Washington, D.C. and Falls Church, Virginia

31

The Netherlands and the United StatesFriendship Association dedicated this

beautiful, impressive monument April 16,2004 to all the Allied airmen who died inthe liberation of the Netherlands. The mon-ument, designed by Leendert Verboom,depicts the “Missing Man Formation” inshaped three quarter inch thick aluminum,with cutouts in the shape of the B-24 Lib-erator aircraft representing the aircraftformation, as well as the mission aircraftConnie. The monument is precisely alignedto permit the sun to shine through themissing Liberator at 1 p.m. on June 21stto a specific spot on its base where theConnie is placed during memorial serv-ices. The eight-foot tall aluminum struc-ture on the two-foot tiled base has anetched photo of the Connie crew whichcrashed at 12:58 p.m. on June 21, 1944.

The monument is located adjacent tothe Royal Dutch Aviation Museum acrossfrom the tree and monument to the be -ginning of the reign of Queen Wilhelminain 1928. The Soesterberg Museum is oper-ated by the Royal Dutch Air Force at thefirst airfield in the Netherlands.

The Connie crew of the 446th Bom-bardment Group (H), 20th Combat Wing,2nd Air Division, Eighth Army Air Forcewas stationed at Bungay, England. Theaircraft crashed near Haarlemmermeer,The Netherlands after dropping its bombson a target near Berlin. On leaving the tar-get area, Connie pilot Nicholson radioedthat he was low on fuel, eventually drop-ping out of the formation. A flak batteryin the crash area brought it down, killingnine of the ten crew members aboard.

NETHERLANDS B-24 LIBERATOR MEMORIALBY BILL DAVENPORT (446TH)

B-24 Liberator monument dedicated toall Allied airmen who died in the libera-tion of the Netherlands.

Bill Davenport with the 446th BG wreathand one of the seven Liberator cutoutsfrom the monument.

One was blown out of the waist sufferingflash burns and became a POW after hiscapture.

The 446th Bomb Group Associationauthorized a plaque expressing its thanksand appreciation for this memorial andrecognition of one of its crews to TheNetherlands United States FriendshipAssociation, the memorial’s sponsor.

Bill Davenport, a founder of the 446thBGA and currently its historian, togetherwith wife Jean were guests at the annualwreath-laying ceremony on June 21, 2006.Bill gave a talk about the 446th BG andits association, and his experiences in fly-

ing 35 combat missions as a navigator,July to October 1944. During this fourmonth period, one-half of his fellow bar-racks mates did not return from mis-sions. He is a statistical survivor both incombat and at the age of 84.

Bill presented the “Dankuwel,” thanksin Dutch, to Sti Nederland Verenigde Stat-en dhr H. J. Hergarden, Chairman of theFriendship Association. It will be displayedin the Royal Dutch Aviation Museum.

At the wreath-laying ceremony, wreathswere laid by: United States Ambassador,Air Attaché Col. Miller, Koninklijke Lucht -macht Cdre drs G. M. Bergsma, U.S. 446thBomb Group, Bill Davenport, Sti Samen-werkend Verzet 40-45 dhr R. W. Hemmes,Sti Nederland Verenigde Staten dhr H. J.Hergarden.

In conclusion of the wreath-laying, RobPeters, Chairman, presented Bill Daven-port with one of the seven Liberator cut -outs from the monument. This had rep-resented Connie during the ceremony hav-ing been placed on the monument’s basewhere the sun shone through the missingplane, Connie. Wreaths were brought tothe participants by children from theSoesterberg school that keeps the monu-ment area clean during the year.

The memorial is one of eight recogniz-ing 446th Bomb Group crews that crashednearby. Four are in France, three in theNetherlands and one in England. Plaqueshave been presented to all by Bill and hiswife Jean on behalf of the 446th BombGroup Association. The purpose of theassociation is to perpetuate the memoryof the 446th Bombardment Group (H). ■

Bill Davenport (left) and Hans Smuller (“Connie” author) laying the446th Bomb Group wreath at the Netherlands monument.

pp 6 & 31:Winter 2007 1/16/07 1:28 PM Page 1

30

As Sophia from the “Golden Girls” might have said, “picturethis.” Somewhere over East Anglia early July 1944. RAF Ser -

geant Ken Ellwood was en route to the 22nd Elementary FlyingTraining School in Cambridgeshire. He had recently completedhis course of initial training at the 3rd British Flying TrainingSchool at Miami AFB in Oklahoma and was now a qualified pilot.

His main task at the 22nd EFTS was to familiarize himself withthe difference in the flying conditions, especially regarding theweather in Europe to what he had become used to in the USA.

The aircraft Ken was flying was a DeHavilland Tiger Moth. Itwas a bright and sunny morning and Ken was enjoying an un -eventful flight. All this was to change dramatically.

Suddenly there appeared directly ahead of him a very largeforce of four-engine bombers. They seemed to be closing in onhim at an alarming rate. Ken pushed the nose of the Tiger Mothdown and “headed for the deck.” He leveled off just a few hun-dred feet from the ground and looked up.

About two thousand feet above him the sky was filled by anindeterminate number of aircraft. He was now able to recognizethem as Liberators — he said that the roar from their Pratt &Whitney engines as they thundered passed him was absolutelydeafening. It had been a terrifying experience. Ken said he real-ized later that the B-24s were formatting onto their assemblyship. To fully understand this incident from Ken’s point of view,compare the size of a B-24 to that of a Tiger Moth.

Ken went on detachment to a glider unit where he flew Hot-spurs, Horsas and Hamilcars, but he never forgot his first en -counter with the Liberator. ■

When David Met the GoliathsBY JOHN THRELFALL, AN RAF FRIEND

Ken also flew the HADRIAN

HORSA

HOTSPUR

HAMILCAR

BY RICHARD PULSE

I f you were not with us for the 2ADA convention in October,you missed an outstanding event. Evelyn Cohen outdid her-

self, if that is possible. The hotel was across the Potomac Riverfrom Washington and had excellent accommodations and meals.Betty and I, however, had the misfortune of being unable to getinto our room when we returned after breakfast one morning,because of a broken lock. We had to move into another room andmissed the buses for the visit to the Smithsonian Air & SpaceMuseum in nearby Chantilly. There are 200 aircraft and 135 space -craft on display. All who visited it (a very large portion of those

HORSHAM ST. FAITH

present) gave it very high marks. The Smithsonian also has a finecollection of aircraft in its building in downtown Washington.When ever you visit Washington, make sure to set aside plenty oftime for both locations. We also visited the White House, whichis impressive, but we did not get a glimpse of the President.

On Saturday we had the opportunity to attend the dedicationof the new Air Force Memorial, which was outstanding. We hadgood seats and the many aircraft displayed flew right over us. Themost impressive plane was the B-24. By the way, that is the onlyB-24 still flying in the United States. It travels the whole coun-try every year and rides are available at the frequent stops. Bettyand I, one of my daughters, and a grandson took rides and I amstill trying to get the rest of the family to find out what a realaircraft is like. They were suitably impressed with our top-of-the-line aircraft.

The date and site for next year’s convention had not been de -termined when we left Washington. As soon as the date and placeis announced, be sure to mark your calendar. We have found theconventions to be interesting and fun. We always meet new peo-ple who are interesting and fun and who are soon good friends.The stories get better every year. This reminds me that I’m stillwaiting for your stories for this spot in the Journal. I know theywill be interesting and will remind the rest of us of more of ourown stories.

Have a great spring and summer! ■

7

59th Annual Business Meeting of theSecond Air Division Association, 8th USAAFOctober 14, 2006 • Falls Church, Virginia

A. Call to Order:1. The 59th Annual Business Meeting of the Second Air Division Associ-

ation, 8th USAAF was called to order by President Alan Senior at 9:00 a.m.2. President Senior gave the invocation, and Executive Vice President

Earl Zimmerman led the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag of the United Statesof America.

3. Secretary Raymond Strong verified that a quorum was present.4. No guests were introduced.

B. Report of the Delegate Committee (Barney Driscoll, Chairman):Chairman Driscoll stated that the 2ADA is a non-profit, non-political

organization composed of U.S. veterans and registered with the InternalRevenue Service under Tax Code Section 501 (c) (19). Its TIN (Tax Identifica-tion Number) is 25-1327743. As such, all voting members present are offi-cial delegates. The reasonable cost to such attendees is construed to be acharitable contribution and may be deductible by those who itemize deduc-tions on their annual income tax returns. The 2ADA cannot provide adviceon these matters. Members are advised to seek their own professional ad -vice as may be needed. Driscoll moved that attending members of recordbe declared official delegates with a list to be published in the 2ADA Journal.Motion carried unanimously.

C. Report of the Nominating Committee (John Lee, Chairman):Chairman Lee presented the following slate of officers for the 2006-

2007 year:1. President: Alan Senior2. Executive Vice President: Earl Zimmerman & Fernley Smith3. Vice President Membership: Evelyn Cohen4. Treasurer: E.W. (Bill) Nothstein5. Secretary: Raymond Strong6. Journal Editor: Ray PytelChairman Lee stated that a ballot would be distributed as there were two

candidates for the position of Executive Vice President. President Seniorthen asked for nominations from the floor for each of the officer positions.Dick Butler nominated Oak Mackey for the position of 2ADA President, andCharles Walker seconded the nomination. There being no further nomina-tions from the floor, the president declared the nominations closed.

D. Election (Alan Senior):Paper ballots were distributed, collected and counted by tellers from the

Heritage League. Oak Mackey (392nd) was elected President and Earl Zim-merman (389th) was elected Executive Vice President. All other officers werereelected to their respective positions.

E. Report of the Vice President Membership (Evelyn Cohen):No report given.

F1. Report of the Treasurer (E.W. “Bill” Nothstein):Treasurer Nothstein summarized the financial status of the 2ADA as of

June 30, 2006:Beginning Balance, July 1, 2005: $86,867.59Receipts: $67,722.09Disbursements: $61,783.99General Fund Balance, June 30, 2006: $92,805.69Nothstein stated he was still waiting for a copy of the Audit Report.

F2. Report of the Audit Committee (Alan Senior):President Senior reported that an outside audit was made on the Trea-

surer’s books that wasn’t as complete as it should be due to the nature ofour association, but would soon be available.

G. Report of the Memorial Trust Board of Governors(Matthew Martin, Chairman):1. Trust funds as of September 18, 2006 totaled $3,262,756 that includ-

ed gifts for which they are profoundly grateful.2. The American Ambassador to the U.K., Robert Tuttle, paid two visits

to the Second Air Division Memorial Library in 2006. He made a short visit inFebruary, and a much longer one in July, and was very impressed with whathe saw in the Library.

H. Report of the Legendary Liberator Campaign Committee(Walter Mundy, Chairman):Chairman Mundy reported on the status of the Fightin’ Sam B-24 Liber-

ator Campaign goal of $125,000 which was to do two things: (1) Restore theFightin’ Sam cockpit. (2) Upgrade the 2nd Air Division exhibit at the MightyEighth Air Force Museum in Savannah, GA, to make Fightin’ Sam one of thefocal points there. Mundy announced that the original campaign goal wasexceeded slightly, as a total of $125,591 has been received. Chairman Mundythanked the Group Vice Presidents and their memberships for supportingthe Fightin’ Sam Campaign. Walter Mundy made a motion that the Fightin’Sam Campaign be extended, so that the committee may continue to provideoversight and finish the job. John Lee seconded. Motion carried.

I. Report of the President (Alan Senior):President Senior announced that the 2ADA Executive Committee had

agreed that Life Members would again be paying regular membership dues.And that the Journal would again return to four issues per year although somedetails need to be worked out.

J. Other Business:1. Executive Vice President Earl Zimmerman reported on problems with

the 2ADA Roll of Honor in the Memorial Library at Norwich. He stated thereare misspelled names, names that don’t belong, and omission of manynames that should be on the Roll of Honor. He suggested forming a com-mittee to address these problems. Chuck Walker offered to take on the jobof correcting the Roll of Honor on his visits to England from time to time.

2. Abe Wilen (453rd) reported that Irwin Stovroff (44th) with the VeteransAdministration was at the convention, and ready to help any ex-POW whoneeds help with any claim with the VA. Irwin Stovroff’s address is 7374Woodmont Court, Boca Raton, FL 33434. His phone number is 561-488-6155 (H) or 561-422-7475 at the VA, and his e-mail is [email protected].

3. E. Bud Koorndyk spoke on the tenure of President Alan Senior. Pres-ident Senior was then given a standing ovation by the membership.

4. Incoming President Mackey thanked the membership for their support.

K. Adjournment:President Senior declared the meeting adjourned at 10:00 a.m.

RAYMOND E. STRONGSecretary, Second Air Division Association, 8th USAAF

pp 30 & 7:Winter 2007 1/16/07 1:48 PM Page 1

for Operations. We had pictures takenwith the Colonel and he arranged foran escort to show us our seats, whichwere in the third row in the front ofthe speaker’s stage. While waiting forthe program to start, we were enter-tained by the Air Force Band, the AirForce Singing Sergeants and an AirForce Precision Drill Team. Therewere some 30,000 people in attend -ance. Those who could not be accom-

modated at the site were given seats in the Pentagon south park-ing lot with large viewing TV screens, food vendors and Air Forcedisplays. I was impressed with how efficiently the crowd was han-dled. Attendees came from all parts of our country and many mil-itary from overseas, especially the general officers and Chief MasterSergeant of the Air Force.

The official party arrived with the music of the Air Force Band.The party was a most distinguished group headed by Mr. RossPerot, Jr., Chairman, Air Force Memorial Foundation; The Hon-orable Donald H. Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense; The Honor-able Michael W. Wynne, Secretary of the Air Force; General T.Michael Moseley, Chief of Staff of the Air Force; and Rodney J.McKinley, Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force. Most imagi-native was the employment of R. Bob Schieffer, an outstandingTV news analyst, as master of ceremonies. He did a great job withthe introduction of each speaker.

As things were happening at the memorial, the fly-over of vin-tage aircraft started with a yellow Spearman PT-12 biplane lead-

AIR FORCE MEMORIAL (continued from front cover)

Col. Alfred Asch, USAF Ret. andCol. Peter Lindquist, USAF Ret.,Vice President for Operations

L-R: Lt. Col. F.C. “Hap” Chandler, USAF Ret.; Michael W. Wynne, Secretary of theAir Force; Col. Alfred Asch, USAF Ret.; and Lt. Col. Neal Sorensen, USAF Ret.

ing the way followed by other vintage aircraft, including our be -loved B-24. The B-2 stealth bomber with its distinctive geomet-ric shape was the last to fly over and was a crowd pleaser.

Mr. Perot, Jr. opened the ceremonies with a welcome to thesome 30,000 guests and dignitaries, including special guests suchas the Medal of Honor holders. He commented that with the fol-lowing speakers we honor the millions of Americans who haveworn the uniform of the United States Air Force and we remem-ber the 54,000 airmen who gave their lives in the service of theircountry. Today’s ceremony is the culmination of more than adecade and a half of hard work involving many Americans. Morethan 140,000 Air Force veterans, active duty personnel and pri-vate citizens helped support the effort to build this memorial.

Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force, Rodney J. McKinley,gave a brief history of the Air Force, starting in 1907 when we pur-chased our first airplane and became part of the Army Signal Corpsuntil we became autonomous in 1947 and thence the United StatesAir Force.

The Secretary of the Air Force, Richard W. Wynne, and the Chiefof Staff, General T. Michael Moseley, made a joint statement inthe program: “From this day forward, the Air Force Memorial

will serve as a shrine to all who have served in our Air Force andits predecessors, as a proud symbol for those who serve today,and as a beacon to those who will serve in the future.”

The Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, said: “This memo-rial will stand as a symbol of those freedoms, and remind us ofthe sacrifices made by airmen around the world. You have myheartfelt congratulations on this historic day.”

President George W. Bush then entered the speaker’s platformto a standing ovation and was introduced by Secretary of Defense,Donald H. Rumsfeld. It can best be quoted by some of the thingsthe President said, he himself a former F-102 pilot in the Air Na -

L-R: Lt. Col. F.C. “Hap” Chandler, USAF Ret.; Lt. Col. Neal Sorensen, USAF Ret.;Mr. Ross Perot, Jr., Chairman of the Air Force Memorial Foundation; and Col.Alfred Asch, USAF Ret.

tional Guard: “Every man and woman who has worn the Air Forceuniform is a part of a great history. From the Berlin Airlift to theKorean War, to Vietnam, to the Gulf War, to Kosovo and today’sWar on Terror, a long blue line of heroes has defended freedomin the skies above. To all who have climbed sunward and chasedthe shouting wind, America stops to say: Your service and sacri-fice will be remembered forever, and honored in this place bythe citizens of a free and grateful nation.” He commented on thetechnical progress made flying at 1500 mph: “We thought that theWWII Spitfires, Hurricanes, P-38s and P-51s at 400 mph were fast,then along came the 500 mph ME-262’s which were ‘wow’.” ThePresident, the Commander in Chief, then accepted what he called“this magnificent monument for the American people.”

Then came the flyover of our Thunderbird team in four F-16sin a “missing man” formation, traditionally flown to honor pilotsand airmen lost in the line of duty. They performed the “star burst”maneuver above the memorial and released smoke to make theimage of the three spires. This ended the dedication service.

Two weeks later, we (my wife Naomi and son David and I) vis-ited the memorial. We found a lot of work exceptionally well donein a short period of time. There were polished black granite wallson both sides of the site and four cast metal sentries in the center.On one end engraved in the granite wall is the history of the AirForce. Following around to the right are the names of major con-tributors and under the heading of “Veterans Organizations” ap -pear: “B-24 Groups Memorial of the Army Air Forces” and the “Sec -ond Air Division Association.” Then one comes to the wall at theother side where the names of the Medal of Honor recipients ap -pear and then moving on to the right is the Wall of Valor and Cour -age where statements made in the past by such notables as Gen-erals Jimmy Doolittle, Curtis LeMay and “Hap” Arnold are listed.

It was a pleasure to be at the memorial site. There are no food/refreshment or trinket stands and no vintage aircraft to detract.One surprise was the computer retrieval display encased in thegranite wall and glass. One can retrieve his name if he donated inthe earlier stages of the memorial’s development and construc-tion. For example, it was easy to find my name, Colonel AlfredAsch, USAF, Ret. There is still time to donate and have your namein the database by contributing to: Air Force Memorial Founda-tion, 1501 Lee Highway, Arlington, VA 22209-1109. ■

8 29

WARTIME ADVERTISING

Ros well, New Mexico where he was incharge of ground station radio operations.The Zimmermans arrived just in time forthe media frenzy over “The Roswell Inci-dent.” UFO sightings were in the newselsewhere in the country, and a Roswellrancher’s discovery of a crashed weatherballoon brought unwanted attention to atop secret Air Force project. In nearbyAlamogordo, Project “Mogul” researcherswere experimenting with high-altitudeballoons to detect expected Soviet atom-bomb tests. Periodically they wouldlaunch a string of balloons carrying elec-tronics and a radar reflector constructedfrom sticks and tinfoil. You know the rest— the ill-conceived cover story that analien space ship had been captured. Earlrefers to this period in his career as “whenthe little green men were landing,” andhe laughs at the conspiracy theorists whostill believe the government is hiding alienbodies and a flying saucer.

As the Cold War intensified, the armedforces urgently needed men with distinc-tive talents and character, men who weresuited for the kind of jobs you would neverfind in a manual of occupation special-ties. The mission of the Office of SpecialInvestigations was, and continues to be,the detection of worldwide threats to theAir Force, and the identification and res-olution of crimes impacting Air Forcereadiness or good order and discipline.It’s clear the OSI knew what they wereabout when they began recruiting Zim-merman in 1948; they finally got theirman in 1949.

The next fifteen years as an OSI agentconsisted of intelligence and counter-intel-ligence work, surveillance, investigationsof embezzlement, treason, and counter-feiting, and even hunts for rumored cachesof Nazi gold. Between 1951 and 1955 theZimmermans lived in Norwich, with Earlgiving every appearance of a normalfamily man, while zipping over to theContinent or points east from time totime for a bit of spying. Earl’s wartimelessons in the Turkish language came inhandy on several occasions too.

Zimmerman’s forte was safe crackingand lock picking, having learned the funda-mentals in OSI training. In 1955 his skillswere elevated to elite status at the Uni-versity of Vienna Institute of Criminologyunder the tutelage of Professor RolandGrassberger, Ph.D., world-renowned crim-inologist and master locksmith. Dr. Grass -berger’s course, “Psychology of CriminalInterrogation and Scientific Criminal In -vestigation,” was a requisite for crack lawenforcement and espionage agencies allover the world.

The OSI put Zimmerman’s breaking andentering skills to good use at home in theU.S. too. In one case he made a late nightbreak-in at the Pentagon office of a sus-pected spy. Agents needed a duplicate key

so they could enter the man’s office at will.Zimmerman narrowly escaped detectionwhen a patrolling guard failed to noticethe hole where the doorknob had been.Zimmerman was on the other side hold-ing his breath and his hand over the hole.

After retiring as M/Sgt from the AirForce in August 1964, Zimmerman workedas an independent security consultant. Hewas in great demand by prosecutors andinsurance investigators as an expert wit-ness in locks, safes, and breaking andentering.

Earl has a daughter, Roberta (who ar -rived at Roswell about two months afterthe little green men); a son, Myles, whowas born in Norwich in 1954; and fourgrandchildren. His family and friends ad -mire him as a hero, a leader, and a rolemodel, and cherish him for his big heart,fun-loving spirit and gentle good humor. ■

Body CountU.S. Secretary of Defense DonaldRums feld briefed President Bush,telling him that two Braziliansoldiers had been killed in Iraq.To everyone’s amazement, all thecolor drained from the Presi-dent’s face and he collapsed onhis desk, head in hands, sobbingand whimpering.After a time, he composed him-self and asked, “Just exactly howmany is a brazillion?”

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28

A military career defined by devotionto duty, dangerous jobs, cloak-and-

dagger intrigue, exotic locales, a bit of ro -mance, and uncanny luck . . . No, it isn’tJames Bond. It’s intrepid USAF veteranEarl Zimmerman. As a boy in Chicago,Earl’s wildest imaginings never came closeto his true-life adventures in the Air Force.In fulfillment of Uncle Sam’s proverbialpromise, he saw the world! From hum-ble beginnings as an enlisted private toheavy bomber radio operator /gunner, frominternational spy and special investiga-tor to security consultant and forensic ex -pert, Zimmerman’s professional life soundslike a 007 movie without the harem andperfect martinis. His civilian career afterthe Air Force was no less fascinating.With a loving family, hundreds of friends,craftsman hobbies and decades of serv-ice to veterans organizations, his person-al life has been equally fulfilling.

Earl Zimmerman joined the 2nd AirDivision Association and attended the firstNorwich convention in 1963 when the li -brary room was dedicated, and went onto become president of the Associationfrom 1976-77. He also served as vice pres-ident of the 389th BG Association fromJune 1975 to September 1981, and waselected to a second term in May 2005.

Zimmerman began his military careerin June 1942 with basic training at Jeffer-son Barracks, Missouri, and then headedwest for gunnery training at the Las VegasAerial Gunnery School. Five weeks of in -tensive training left little time for fun in“Sin City.” Then it was off to radio schoolat State College of Washington in Pullman.Lots of pretty girls there too, but again itwas work, work, work for three months.Zimmerman next reported to Davis-Mont -han at Tucson, Arizona where the newlyformed 389th Bomb Group was assem-bling personnel. Operational training fol-lowed at Biggs Field in El Paso, Texas,and Lowry Field, Denver, Colorado. Afinal outfitting for combat gear at Lin-coln and they were on their way to Eng-land in June 1943.

The combat crews had barely un packedtheir Class A’s in Blighty when Wing HQbegan preparing a special order for the389th; not a mission field order but yetmore movement orders. There were bigplans in store for the untested warriors.They would be farmed out to the NinthAir Force to support the invasion of Sici-ly, and to participate in a legendary raid.But first, the combat crews practicedspecial formations and extremely low al -titude buzzing in England for two weeks

without yet knowing the purpose. Duringa formation practice on June 24, 1943, theship on which Zimmerman was flyingclipped wings with another ship, forcingboth into emergency crash landings. Earlwas pinned in the wreckage by the col-lapsed upper turret, and had to be choppedfree with an ax. He suffered no serious

“Agent Double O 24”Snooping Through the Dossier of Earl Zimmerman

BY KELSEY McMILLAN, 389th BG HISTORIAN

A military career defined by devotion to duty, dangerous jobs, cloak-and-dagger intrigue, exotic locales, a bit of romance, and uncanny luck …No, it isn’t James Bond. It’s intrepid USAF veteran Earl Zimmerman.

injury, but his navigator was killed, andhis bombardier’s injuries were so severehe was sent home. There was little timefor grieving and adjustment, however, asthe combat crews departed England fortheir temporary home in the Libyan desertsix days later.

Zimmerman’s third mission from theNorth African base was Operation TIDALWAVE, the audacious and hellaciouslow-level attack on Hitler’s oil refineriesaround Ploesti, Rumania. Zimmerman’screw was fated for trouble at the outsetand they knew it — they had drawn theworst gas-guzzler in the 389th’s fleet. Longbefore they reached the target, the ship hadconsumed fuel they would need to getback to Benghazi. So it was no surprisewhen they were forced to land in neutralTurkey on the route home. Zimmerman’screw and several others were interned inAnkara at an infamous Turkish prisoncamp; better known as the four-star YeniOtel. Earl passed the time learning Turk-ish, playing softball with foreign corre-spondents and embassy personnel, andwatching spies trade secrets during seven-course meals at the sumptuous Gar restau-rant. But it wasn’t all easy time. It washere that Earl suffered his most traumaticexperience — being forced to dance withthe unattractive daughter of the ambas-sador at an embassy party.

The internees were allowed hobbies tooccupy their time and Zimmerman boughta short-wave radio. He listened to codedBBC broadcasts from London, and thenpenned a poop sheet with the latest newsfor the boys. The U.S. military attachéhappened to visit once and got excitedwhen he saw Zimmerman taking downcode from his radio. He asked, “Couldyou set up a radio station at the embassy?”T/Sgt Zimmerman said he could and ad -vised that the ambassador might get allthe equipment he needed from a signal

battalion in Cairo. Soon after, Earl and anassistant set up a clandestine radio sta-tion at the embassy. The signal reachedall the way to Cairo and Earl was regular-ly assigned duty in the code room.

Zimmerman languished six months inTurkey until it was his turn to escape toCairo. He was flown back to England as

the guest of Field Marshall Montgomeryaboard his personal C-54. Earl rejoinedthe 389th Bomb Group at Hethel and re -sumed flying missions. Additionally he wasresponsible for the orientation and shep-herding of replacement crews, and occa-sionally pulled station defense duty inthe AAA pits. In July 1944 he left Hethelfor temporary duty with the Carpetbag-gers in Leuchars, Scotland, flying mis-sions to drop supplies and agents overNorway, and returning in October 1944.

Shortly after he returned to England inJanuary ’44, he bumped into a lovely younggirl he had met at a Red Cross dance inNorwich back in June ’43. She blushedwith embarrassment when she recognizedhim as the Yank who had asked her outand she had stood him up. All was sort-ed out and they enjoyed many dates there -after. Earl and June Courteney were mar-ried in the Norwich Cathedral on March24, 1945. The bridegroom nearly stood upthe bride, however. The day before hiswedding, all passes were unexpectedlyrevoked and personnel restricted to base.The 8th Air Force had just launched Oper-ation VARSITY, a massive supply dropmission delivering canisters to the Alliedground forces crossing the Rhine River.Thanks to Earl’s good reputation and asofthearted first sergeant, he managed tosneak off the base and keep his most im -portant date with June. They’ve now cel-ebrated their 61st wedding anniversary!

Zimmerman was among the last groupof personnel to leave the 389th airbase inJune 1945, or as he puts it “I turned outthe lights at Hethel.” He was dischargedin August and returned to Chicago wherehe got a job with the Western District ofthe Pennsylvania Railroad. The life of arailroad man was too sedate and unchal-lenging for Zimmerman so he rejoined theAir Force in March 1947. He was assignedto Headquarters, 509th Bomb Group at

9

SHIPDHAM

44thNEWS

Perry Morse has done an excellent jobas 44th BG Second Air Division Asso-

ciation group vice president, both as ourrepresentative on the 2ADA ExecutiveCommittee and in reporting 44th BombGroup Veterans Association activities herein the Journal. We thank Perry for his ded-ication and all he has done for our organ-ization. I have been chosen to succeedPerry as 2ADA group vice president forthe 44th and hope that I will do as well asPerry has done for the past several years.

We had an excellent turnout by 44thBGVA members and many of their familymembers at our October reunion in Wash-ington, D.C. This reunion was held in con-junction with the Second Air Division Asso-ciation’s 59th Annual Convention. Therewere 440 2ADA members and guests inattendance. Of these, 147 were 44th BombGroup veterans and family members. Thisoutstanding representation by 44thers waslargely due to the effort our 44th BGVApresident, Paul Kay, and 8 Ball Tails editor,Ruth Davis-Morse, put into encouragingour members to attend. No other 2ADAbomb group had even half as many mem-bers in attendance as we did.

Such noteworthy attendance by our44th veterans hearkens back to the 1970sera when 44th Bomb Group veterans werethe first to attend a 2ADA convention asa group contingent. This sparked so muchcamaraderie at the conventions that otherbomb groups commenced coming as agroup rather than as individuals. For manyyears, under long-time 44th 2ADA groupVP Pete Henry’s leadership, 44th attendeescomprised the largest representation atthe 2ADA conventions.

This combined reunion and conven-tion in Washington, D.C. was scheduled soas to coincide with the dedication of theAir Force Memorial on 14 October. Thatdedication ceremony was most impres-sive, and the memorial commemorating60 years of air and space power is awe-somely beautiful, soaring high over thePentagon and a large portion of Washing-ton, D.C. Knowing that we, as membersof the 44th Bomb Group during World WarII, were a vital part of those 60 years ofhistory couldn’t help but bring lumps toour throats as we witnessed the proceed-ings. Speeches by President Bush and Sec-retary of Defense Rumsfeld were excellentand most appropriate for the occasion.

BY DICK BUTLER

The ceremony took place on a beautiful,clear afternoon and we were most pleasedto see a B-24 fly by as part of the event.It was a day we will always remember.

Approximately 100 convention/reunionattendees had the privilege of making atour of the White House. Our own PerryMorse supervised the visitors getting toand from the White House. He did a super -lative job. The tour was well organized;thanks to Perry’s vigilance, not a single44ther stumbled into the Oval Office orgot lost.

At 2ADA conventions there is alwaysa bomb group dinner evening. Becausewe had such a large number of membersand guests, we dined in a separate 44throom whereas most of the other groupshad to share a room. We had a most en -joyable evening with our president, PaulKay, presiding and doing a most outstand-

ing performance as master of ceremonies.His witticisms kept our attention and madefor a most enjoyable event. Lee Aston hadagain done considerable research into thepreviously unrecognized combat heroicsof some of our 44th airmen that entitledthem to awards they had not ever re ceived.Lee’s research found that awards were ac -tually deserved by those individuals, someof whom were in attendance. Some fam-ily members of deceased award ees werealso in attendance. Lee Aston read the ci ta -tions and the awards were presented tothe recipients by our own, Colonel CharlesE. Hughes, USAF, Retired.

Our next 44th BGVA reunion is sched-uled tentatively for Labor Day weekendin Carlisle, Pennsylvania. If the new mu -seum facility at Carlisle Barracks is notcompleted by then, the reunion will be heldin Branson, Missouri. ■

Report of the 2ADA Treasurer

pp 28 & 9:WInter 2007 1/18/07 11:03 AM Page 1

10

Report of the 2ADA Representative onthe Board of Governors of the Memorial Trust

BY CHUCK WALKER (445TH)

I am certain others will be reporting onour fine convention in Washington, D.C.,

the White House visit and the very impres-sive dedication of the magnificent AirForce Memorial. These were events noneof us who attended will ever forget. All ofus who served our country during WorldWar II and subsequent years have a memo-rial that is uniquely Air Force which issituated in a most desirable location.

I had the privilege of attending the No -vember 12, 2006 Remembrance Day cere-monies in Norwich. It all began with teaand coffee in the Lord Mayor’s parlor fol-lowed by laying of the wreaths at the WarMemorial in the Garden of Remembrance.It was my honor to lay the 2ADA wreathwith David Hastings’ help. I missed thecathedral service, which is another story.I was accompanied on this trip by IreneHurner, Joan Patterson and daughter Carol,Joe Dzenowagis, Jr. and my grandson An -drew Horlock. Next came the meeting ofthe Memorial Trust Governors. MatthewMartin continues to do a masterful job asChairman of the Trust. All committees pre-

sented their report, which were acceptedby the Governors. Trust Librarian DerekHills gave a very interesting report on ac -tivities at our Memorial Library. Visitornum bers are up, with some 4,939 in Sep-tember. The Library participated in“Banned Books Week.” It’s a programsponsored in the U.S. by, among others,the American Library Association and theAmerican Booksellers Association. On 27September the staff provided material forRadio Norfolk to do a short feature cele-brating the anniversary of the Kassel raid,this most costly of missions. With the en -couragement of former Chairman TomEaton, and with the help and assistanceof David Hastings, a framed copy of thelate Roger Freeman’s poem “The Sky WasNever Still” together with a photo of aB-24 in flight is to be hung in the Li brary.Generous donations towards the cost havebeen received from former Governors whoworked with Roger. The Governors ap -proved the expenditure of just over £2,000for the purchase of a new plasma screenfor the showing of DVDs.

Derek has undertaken a valuation withthe help of Keys of Ayisham of all Memo-rial Library holdings. This will enable usto have a realistic and up-to-date valua-tion for insurance purposes.

Glenn Gray, our 2ADA/Fulbright schol-ar, gave a report of his many activities.He has spoken at Norfolk City College. Hewill be speaking at several schools andcivic groups. It is reported Glenn is prov-ing to be one of our best 2ADA/Fulbrightscholars and he is eagerly looking forwardto his second year at the Memorial.

The financial committee’s year-endreport dated 5 April 2006 shows the fol-lowing assets in pounds sterling:

Capital Funds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,711,320Income Funds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Restricted . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,826Unrestricted . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58,946

1,774,092

This is a healthy amount, and the Fi nanceCommittee is to be commended for their

NORTH PICKENHAM BY WILLIS H. “BILL” BEASLEY

Awesome! is the only way to describethe new Air Force Memorial dedicat-

ed October 14, 2006 in Washington, D.C.Col. Al Asch, 93rd BG and President ofthe B-24 Groups Memorial, Inc., is to becommended for his efforts in support ofthis memorial both on a personal level aswell as for the B-24 Groups Memorial, Inc.Inscribed on the base of the memorial is“B-24 Groups Memorial, Inc.” because oftheir contribution of $25,000. I feel privi-leged to have served as the Vice Presidentof the B-24 Groups Memorial, Inc. with AlAsch as President; Neal Sorensen, Treas-urer; and Ray Pytel, Secretary.

The 492nd BG has lost several membersduring the past year, which saddens us all.To name a few, Harry Rawls, WilliamMitchell, Bill Strehorn, Joseph Domino,Abe Thompson, Joe Caposella, BillyGene Biggs, and Don Fraser. In addition,

because of their specific contributions:Elvern Seitzinger died July 24, 2006.

Elvern commissioned the aviation artistRandy Green to paint “Into the Hornet’sNest.” The painting depicts the missionto Politz on June 20, 1944. That day the492nd BG lost 14 aircraft, one of whichwas the plane Elvern was piloting. The492nd BG raised the money to purchasethe original copy of this picture that nowhangs in the Eighth Air Force Museum inSavannah as part of the Second Air Divi-sion display. Elvern and Hazel came toDenver almost every year around Thanks -giving time to be with their daughter Mari -lyn and would give us a call to meet forbreakfast. We missed that call this year.

Sam Miceli died August 29, 2006. Samserved as the Chaplain for the 492nd BGfor many years and did an excellent jobof keeping track of the members who

were sick. He was an integral part of thereunion activities of the 492nd. As onemember said, “The Chaplain isn’t sup-posed to get sick.” Sam was a very dedi-cated member. He was also the PX man-ager for the 44th BG and a hard workerin “Teen Challenge,” a youth rehabilitationgroup in Cleveland, OH. He will be great-ly missed by everyone.

Harry Orthman died September 23,2006. Harry was a one-of-a-kind person.He retired from the Air Force with therank of Colonel. He flew on Air Force Onewith John F. Kennedy and Dwight Eisen-hower. He was in on the ground floor ofthe design and production of the F-15.Harry was a long-time member of the Sec-ond Air Division Association and a strongsupporter of the 492nd Bomb Group aswere all of the above-mentioned members.

While we were in Washington, we at -tend ed the Executive Committee meet-ing and the business meeting of the Sec-ond Air Division Association. There wasa free day in between the meetings thatallowed us to spend the day sightseeingwith friends.

The 492nd Bomb Group will hold itsgroup re union in Colorado Springs inJuly 2007. ■


27

446TH BOMB GROUP

FLIXTON-BUNGAYUPDATE

BY CARL H. ALBRIGHT

The 446th Bomb Group will hold its annual reunion in Savan-nah, Georgia from April 25th to April 29th, 2007. A visit to

the 8th AF Museum will have a prominent place on the agenda.A new and very interesting agenda item will be a Symposium/Oral History panel discussion on 446th war stories moderatedby Jim Vann. After the formal session there will be an opportu-nity for other members to volunteer their stories or ask ques-tions. So, all of you 446ers, come prepared to participate.

RED CROSS AND OTHER LADIESThe Red Cross ladies of the 446th in the spring of 1944 were

Dorothy Minnick and Erna Sittler. We owe these ladies a worldof gratitude for the wonderful spread of sandwiches, donuts and“welcome home” smile with which they faithfully greeted eachreturning mission.

Erna Sittler and Edward Torney (a 704th pilot) were marriedFebruary 14, 1944 at St. Mary’s Church by Chaplain Gannon. ErnaSittler Torney and her son, Edward, are the newest members ofour 446th Bomb Group Association.

Alexis Ciurczak, one of ourmembers, served a tenure asAmerican 2ADA/Fulbright Li -brarian at the 2nd Air DivisionMemorial Library during 2004and 2005. On May 8, 2005, theLibrary hosted an “Open Sunday”in conjunction with the Imperi-al War Museum WWII travelingexhibition, “Their Past, Your Fu -ture.” The BBC People’s War Pro -ject also ran concurrent events

St. Mary’s Church provided the backdrop for the wedding partypicture of Erna Sittler and Edward “Jack” Torney on 14 February1944 (Valentine’s Day). Standing (L-R): Chaplain John Gannon,Protestant Chaplain; Dorothy Minnick, Red Cross and Maid ofHonor; Dr. Gordon Congdon, 704th Flight Surgeon; Erna Sittler,the Bride; Jack Torney, the Groom; and Roman King, Best Man.

FOLDED WINGS OF THE 446th:“GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN”

Robert E. Howard (Feb. ’06), Robert Hickman (Mar. ’06), ThomasMason (Mar. ’06), Alfred A. Cestani (April ’06), Joseph Hoey (April’06), William Baggett (May ’06), Hugh Dabling (May ’06), Hal Ham-mons (May ’06), Joseph Mentecki (May ’06), Fred Riedel (May’06), Herrald Bietz (July ’06), John Farrington (Aug. ’06), CarrollLong (Aug. ’06), Norman J. Temple (Oct. ’06). ■

Pilot Gerry Holmes never forgot that remark. He recallsa mission when the 34th Bomb Group bombed a Germanradar factory in Brussels:

“The bomb run was exceptionally long. Flak was light to mod-erate. A four-gun battery was firing at our altitude, directly inour path. A few seconds before bomb re lease, we took a hit inthe rear part of the fuselage and the rudder pedals went slack.After bomb release, the group made a diving turn to the rightand I couldn’t follow without rudder controls.

“Continuing straight ahead, we drew all the flak and LeeWeaver, our left waist gunner, was hit and was down. I sent theflight engineer, Kivett Ivey, aft to check on Weaver and to see ifwe could regain rudder control. He reported that Weaver had ahole in his leg the size of a golf ball. He put a tourniquet on theleg and gave him a shot of morphine. This was ironic, becauseWeaver always said that all he wanted was just a scratch so hecould get a Purple Heart. Well, he got it!

“In trying to steer the ship with the en gines, I noticed therewas no throttle control on number four and it was leaking oil. Ialso had limited elevator control, but it was possible to get downto get the crew off oxygen. As luck would have it, England wassocked in, so an instrument landing was not possible. The nav-

igator and I de cided it was best to bail out.“Once we were over land, I pointed the ship south so it would

crash into the sea. On signal, the waist crew pushed Weaverthrough the camera hatch with a static line and followed himout. Then the forward crew jumped through the open bomb bayand the navigator and I followed.

“I delayed opening my chute until just before I got to the cloudcover. That was a stupid mistake since the clouds were right onthe ground. I hit hard on my first swing and suffered internal in -juries, plus a broken ankle. The navigator hit a tree and broke hisback. We were in the hospital for six weeks. The engineer had ascalp cut, but, sadly, Weaver bled to death before he could get help.

“I landed in a farmer’s chicken yard and I was frozen stiff. Thefarmer took me in, sat me in front of the fireplace and gave mea whole bottle of rum. Before I knew it, the bottle was empty. Hecalled the local police and told them to pick up my crew.

“By the time the ambulance arrived, I was as drunk as a skunk.A doctor at Turnbridge Wells hospital took one look at me andasked, ‘Do you Yanks always fly in this condition?’ ”

Happily, Gerry recovered from his hang over and his injuriesand was glad to learn that his B-24H, 42-94930, caused no injurieswhen it crashed on the outskirts of Hadlow, in Kent. ■

“Do you Yanks always fly in this condition?”

that weekend. Alexis and her colleague Lesley Fleet wood, dressedas WWII Red Cross nurses (see photo), handed out 450 donuts,150 cookies, and bottomless cups of tea and coffee. The Libraryhad over 1,000 visitors that Sunday.

pp 10 & 27:Winter 2007 1/16/07 1:57 PM Page 1

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I t was December of 1944 and there was a genuine feeling ofop timism amongst the Allied forces fighting in Europe. Nazi

Germany was in full retreat with Soviet forces attacking fromthe east and American and British forces closing in from thewest. It seemed that the New Year would certainly bring with ita swift and easy victory.

We were wrong.On December 18, 1944, I, along with the other American air-

men, was urgently summoned to our headquarters. We werestationed north of London at Tibenham Air Base in Norfolk Coun-

WHAT IF?BY SEYMOUR GLASS (445TH)

HETHEL HIGHLIGHTS (continued from page 25)I completed my tour with Hq 5th AF in December 1952,

and was assigned to a fighter wing in Louisiana. There I at -tended the Squadron Officers Course at Maxwell AFB. In Jan-uary 1954 I was assigned to a bombardment wing at Hill AFB,Utah, which was moved to Blytheville AFB, Arkansas in 1956.

In 1957 I was accepted into the Industrial Managementcourse at the AF Institute of Technology, and completed thiscourse in 1958, earning my MBA degree.

My next assignment was with Hq SAC at Offutt AFB, Ne -bras ka as a data processing specialist. It was there I met andmarried Mildred Kistner Oliver.

My next assignment was to High Wycombe AB in Englandin June 1963 as the Data Processing Officer with the FieldRepresentative Europe. In June 1966 I returned to Hq SAC.My final assignment was Hq 8AF, Westover AFB, Massachu-setts, in 1967 as Director of Data Automation. I retired at West -over on January 1, 1969 as a Major with 22½ years of service,including my World War II service time.

After retirement from active duty I was employed for twoyears with a computer software company in Omaha, and for13 years in Federal Civil Service with Hq SAC. I retired fromFederal Civil Service in November 1984 and my wife and Imoved to my native Arkansas to be near our daughter, son-in-law and grandchildren. On November 21, 2006 Millie andI celebrated our 47th anniversary.

I am a life member of the 2ADA. I look forward to serv-ing the Association as the 389th vice president. I wish to hearfrom members, to get to know more of you, and listen to sug-gestions, complaints, requests, etc. I may be reached by e-mailat: [email protected]. My telephone is 501-834-6392 andmy address is 13 Whalen Place, Sherwood, AR 72120-3616. ■

Checking with all the gunners as we flew up anddown the runway, our biggest fear was being mis-taken for the enemy.

ty, England. Tib enham was one of many American air bases scat-tered throughout Great Britain, home to thousands of B-17 andB-24 bomb ers and their crews.

At the briefing they told us that the Germans had brokenthrough our lines on the Continent. On direct orders from Hitler,Field Marshal Von Rundstedt had scraped together 24 infantrydivisions along with masses of armor and punched through theArdennes forest plateau. These were troops and tanks that theAllies neither thought the Germans had nor did they think theycould operate in such heavily wooded forests.

On the morning of December 16, eight Panzer divisions brokethrough a weak point along the Allied lines and drove deep intothe American sector along a 70-mile front. This lightning thrustthat penetrated so deep into the Allied lines would forever beknown as the Battle of the Bulge.

Hitler’s gamble was as desperate as it was simple. The ideawas to use the last of his tanks to spearhead a surprise attackwestward to the Atlantic Coast. Using gasoline they hoped tocapture from the Allies, their plan was to quickly drive to andseize the Dutch port city of Antwerp before the Allies wouldgrasp what was happening and counter-attack.

Antwerp was the main conduit for Allied men and suppliespouring into the Continent. Once this was accomplished theAllied armies would be cut off from one another and be strand-ed on the Continent without immediate re-supply. At this pointthe Germans hoped to be able to still win the war or at the veryleast negotiate an armistice on their terms.

In their haste to drive westward, the Germans were not tak-ing any prisoners. After a group of GIs surrendered their arms,they were shot down in cold blood. This would be forever knownas the Mal medy Massacre in which 86 American in fantrymenwere executed.

Our intelligence department had gotten word that the Ger-mans might make an attempt with their paratroopers to takeover some of our air bases. This would deprive us of our mainasset in any counter-attack — air superiority.

That is where we came in. Our job was to protect the basethat night.

We placed a gunner in each top turret of all the B-24s along theperimeter of the base. The auxiliary engines would run all nightlong, supplying the power for the turrets enabling the gunnersto turn and shoot their twin 50-caliber M2 Browning machineguns affectionately known as the Ma Deuce.

My assignment was to ride in a Jeep with another combatvet and check in on all the planes and gunners. We were to goon patrol around the perimeter of the base and up and downthe runway. My weapon was my trusted sidearm, the venerableColt .45 pistol.

That night we met at the club to calm our jitters and discusshow we would handle the enemy. After a few beers and perhapsa few more beers, we were ready for action! The night was bit-ter cold. The fog had set in and visibility was very poor, be tween20-30 yards.

We started our patrol about 11 p.m. Checking with all the gun-ners as we flew up and down the runway, our biggest fear wasbeing mistaken for the enemy. I am happy to report that after along, nerve-wracking night, the patrol ended without incident.

The Germans never attempted the capture of any Allied airbases in England. After weeks of bitter fighting climaxed by aheroic stand by the 101st Airborne Division which from that pointon would be known as the “Battling Bastards of Bastogne,” theGermans were stopped cold. General Patton’s Third Army cameto their rescue and the rest, as they say, is history.

During the past 62 years there has been many a time when Ithought, what if one of the gunners mistook us for the enemyand started firing his twin 50 calibers? Then another thirty ma -chine guns would join in on the fun and I would have been inthe middle of it all. Wow! What If? ■

The Memorial Trust ofthe 2nd Air Division USAAF

BY MATTHEW MARTIN,CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF GOVERNORS

GREETINGS FROM NORWICH! It is several months sinceI last wrote an article for the Journal, and much has hap-

pened in the meanwhile. Most notably there has been the won-derful convention in Washington, D.C. There was a significantcontingent from the U.K. and we all had a magnificent time. Therewas the dedication of the USAF Memorial next to the Pentagon.What a marvellous memorial it is, visible in the skyline from manyplaces in Washington. And what a memorable ceremony withflypasts of aircraft both ancient and modern, including a B-24.A speech by the President of the USA was the highlight.

At the concluding banquet I was handed a letter from yourTreasurer advising me of a magnificent gift of $50,000 from Mr.and Mrs. Bernard J. Newmark (458th) and Mrs. Sheri Herendeen.This gift is in memory of Mrs. Herendeen’s father, Lt. EugeneHoward, who was piloting an aircraft to supply combat forceswhen he crashed in southern England. Lt. Howard was servingin Air Transport Command. As I told those present at the ban-quet, your Memorial Library is not yet financially secure for alltime, and so this gift and any others which the Governors of yourLibrary are fortunate enough to receive are immensely welcome.I would like to express our profound gratitude.

The convention in Washington was a time to meet old friendsand make some new ones. I never cease to be amazed at howwelcome we British are made to feel when we are with you. Youare a wonderful bunch of people, and we in the U.K. are fortu-nate to be counted as your friends.

Whilst I was able to give my annual report to the ExecutiveCommittee, time did not permit this at the general membershipbusiness meeting on Saturday. Much of what I reported has ap -peared in the Journal, so I will not repeat it all here.

However, there are just a few things I would like to mention.Firstly, in July we received a second and much longer visit fromthe American Ambassador in London, Mr. Robert H. Tuttle (seephotos). The Am bassador showed a great interest in all he saw.His visit re ceived a lot of interest in the local media, all of whichwas positive. (Ed. Note: For more pictures, see the back page.)

Secondly, we are delighted that our 2ADA/Fulbright Librarian,Glenn Gray, has chosen to stay for a second year. He is a quietbut most effective librarian. The outreach work which he under -takes in schools and elsewhere is of immense importance at timeslike these when people so often misunderstand your country.

11

Finally, I reported that your Library continues to enjoy verysignificant use by the local community. We have nearly 50,000 vis-itors each year. The Library is in the heart of the Forum, whichis a wonderfully successful addition to the cultural and sociallife of Norwich. The Library team led by Derek Hills assisted byLesley Fleetwood, Jenny Christian and others give unstintinglyof themselves and are worthy custodians of your heritage.

We continue to receive a significant number of veterans, theirfamilies, and also other Americans who have no particular con-nection with the Library. They comeeither singly, or in small groups or inlarger formations! For example, wehad visits from members of the 389thBG in March, the 445th/Kassel Mis-sion Historical Society in July, andanother group who came to the Trust’sAnnual General Meeting in November.These visits provide us with an oppor-tunity to reciprocate the kindness youshow us when we visit your country.

I wonder whether I can persuadeany of you to consider one furthervisit to Norwich? If you think you can,

U.S. Ambassador Tuttle (left) and Trust Librarian Derek Hills

then I would like to suggest you schedule it for the week com-mencing 11 November 2007. The reason for this is that we willthen be arranging a programme of events which I am sure youwill appreciate, in cluding Remembrance Sunday, the Trust’s Annu-al General Meeting, and a lecture by Lord Hurd. Douglas Hurdwas British Foreign Secretary when Margaret Thatcher wasPrime Minister. He has led a most interesting life and is highlyintelligent. This lecture will take place on 14 November. On thefollowing day we may well have a service in the American Chapelat St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. DO COME! If you think youmight, and want more information, do get in touch with me. Mymailing address can be found at the bottom of page 2 of this Jour -nal, or you can e-mail me at [email protected].

To conclude, your Memorial Library, which is a living and vi -brant thing, is a fitting tribute to the nearly 7,000 members of the2nd Air Division who lost their lives, and is also a wonderful trib-ute to you all for all the support and encouragement you havegiven it for over sixty years. Thank you most sincerely for this,and most particularly thank you for your continuing friendship,which we profoundly appreciate. ■

U.S. Ambassador Tuttle(left) and Trust GovernorDavid Hastings

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12

A GOVERNORSPEAKS

Speech by DAVID Q. GURNEY,Memorial Trust Governor,

15 October 2006 atthe 2ADA Annual Convention

MR. PRESIDENT, DISTINGUISHED VETERANS,LADIES, GENTLEMEN AND FRIENDS:

You asked me to say a few words aboutthe involvement of my family with yourlibrary in Norwich, England and I havebeen thinking about this question: Justhow did we become involved?

First, I would like to take you back over170 years to Richmond, Indiana, where mygreat, great, great grandfather, a wealthyEnglish banker and a Quaker by faithwhose second wife had recently died,addressed 5,000 people taking part in theGreat Trek across North America. How,I often wonder, was he heard by 5,000 peo-ple; men, women and children with horsesand buggies, in a big circle around him?Can you, 400 of you, all hear me? And, Ihave a microphone. That puts it in per-spective. What a powerful voice he musthave had! He persuaded many of them tostop where they were. He gave them $50in 1837 (that’s about $991 today) to founda school for the children. It took ten yearsto get it started, but in 1847, Earlham Col-lege in Richmond, Indiana was founded.It was named after Joseph John Gurney’sown home at Earlham, Norwich, England.Incidentally, my fellow Governor, AndrewHawker, was born there. Today, it is aQuaker-based college for students fromall over the world and recently was placedvery highly in the USA academia behindHarvard and Yale. At least one of yourmembers from the 2ADA studied there.

Joseph John had a sister, Elizabeth Gur-ney Fry, who was instrumental in allevi-ating the harsh life of women in prisonsacross the U.K. and Europe. Those of youwho have seen a British five pound noterecently will have seen, on the back of it,the picture of Elizabeth Gurney Fry, speak-ing to the women in Newgate prison. Theoriginal picture hangs on my staircase athome. Also in the picture are Joseph JohnGurney and his first cousin Sir ThomasFowell Buxton, who with William Wil ber -force brought about the end of slavery inthe British empire. Joseph John himselfwent to see your president, Martin VanBuren, at the White House to try to per-suade him to stop slavery in the UnitedStates. And, one more link, Joseph Johnthen married his third wife, Eliza Kirk-bride, from Philadelphia.

Second, in our history lesson, let usmove on about fifty years. My grandfather,Quinton, was born. He served in WorldWar I and was one of the very few sur-vivors of the Gallipoli landings. Many ofhis Norfolk friends perished, together withhundreds of Australians and New Zeal -anders, the ANZAC regiment. Third, moveon another twenty or so years, to World

War II. By this time, my grandfather wasa senior Norfolk banker with BarclaysBank. He saw the terrible sacrifice theyoung men of America — your comrades— were making, flying out of Norfolk,defending him and his family, and by thattime me! He was reminded of Gallipoli.When he was asked if he could help withthe foundation of your library, with a his-tory of philanthropy of Joseph John Gur-ney, Elizabeth Gurney Fry and ThomasFowell Buxton behind him, he didn’t hes-itate and thus he became a founder Gov-ernor of the Memorial Library.

Fourth, Quintin died in 1968. My father,Richard Quintin, who had been fightingas a soldier in World War II in France andNorth Africa, who had been taken a pris-oner of war and escaped from Italy toSwitzerland and so back to the U.K., andwho had just come to Norwich BarclaysBank in 1947, knew all about your library.He was appointed a Governor on grand-father’s death — not just keeping up thefamily tradition but following on the ethosof helping others as his ancestors had done130 years before. As many of you will know,he died falling off his horse in 1980.

Fifth, at that time, I was working in thenorth of England in what had traditional-ly been a Quaker family bank, now Bar-clays, in Darlington. And in 1987 I movedback to Bawdeswell and Barclays Bankin Norwich. I knew a little of your library,but not much and in 1992 Tom Eaton ap -proached me one lunch time at the Nor-folk Club — dear Tom — if he wantedanything done in Norwich, it would beover lunch at the club! Would I be inter-ested in becoming a Governor of the Sec-ond Air Division Memorial Library? PaulKing, with whom I had been at schoolfrom aged seven or so, was also at thatlunch! “Of course,” I said. That’s how myinvolvement in the family tradition of help-ing others, particularly Americans, began.

Jackie and I have just come from Earl -ham College and now we are here ad -dressing you this evening. It is an honourand a privilege. And I would like to addmy thanks to Evelyn Cohen who made iteasy for us to get here.

Lastly, Mr. President, going back in his-tory one more time, a little over fifty yearsago I started at Harrow School. I was luckyenough to be selected to sing the newboy’s song at Sir Winston Churchill’s 80thbirthday. He was present, with cigar inhand. A special verse of the school songwas written for that occasion.

In conclusion, may I be unorthodox andask you, Mr. President, to request all thoseof you who served in World War II in theU.K. to stand — if you cannot stand, raiseyour right hand. I am going to quote thatverse of the song, slightly amended, be -cause it applies so well to you:

“60 years on, growing older and older,Shorter in wind, though in memory

long,Feebler of foot and rheumatic of

shoulder,How will it help you that once you

were strong?Still there are bases to guard or

beleaguer,Still must the battle for freedom be won.Long may you fight, Sirs, who fearless

and eagerLed us to victory — now 60 years on.”We who are sitting salute you all.Thank you. ■

REPORT OF THE 2ADA REPRE-SENTATIVE (cont. from page 10)excellent work.

The Fulbright Fund is in somewhatof confusion at the moment as thereare changes being made in the Londonof fice. The last announced value of thefund was $960,660.

I enjoyed an hour’s visit with TomEaton and can report he is in goodspirits and very sharp mentally but heis having difficulty with mobility. Heand Robin send their best regards toall of the 2nd Air Division Association.

On 16 November I attended a veryspecial service at St. Paul’s Cathedralin London honoring American partici-pation in WWII. There was a short serv-ice in the American Chapel followed byevensong in the Cathedral. Afterward,Lay Canon Peter Chapman FCA treat edus to drinks and biscuits in the Chap-ter House.

All in all this was one of the mostproductive and enjoyable trips I havemade back to England. In closing, Iwish to thank the Governors for thefine dinners we en joyed in their homesand the excellent transport service theyprovided. We must stop and thankthem for all they do for our MemorialLibrary. ■

25

SEETHING

The 448thSpeaksBY KING SCHULTZ

FOLDED WINGS OF THE 448THAlonzo A. Bacon – copilot, 714th SquadronJohn Edwin Dearden Grunow (October 2006) – pilot, shot

down over Berlin in March 1944. POW in Poland to war end.Chester Hackett – 715th Squadron C.O. until shot down.

2AD MEMORIAL LIBRARY, NORWICHDerek Hills, Trust Librarian, reports that the following books

were presented to the library in memory of all members of the448th Bomb Group who gave their lives in WWII:

Translation Nations: Defining a New American Identityin the Spanish Speaking United States, by Hector Tobbar

Douglass A-4 Skyhawk (an attack and close support fighterbomber), by Jim Winchester.

448TH TV DOCUMENTARY FILMThis was partly filmed in Washington, D.C. during the 448th’s

annual meeting last spring. This past October the film crew wasin Seething to film the relationship between the wonderful localpeople and the 448th types, as well as to film the base and par-ticularly the Seething museum. We will try and find a way toinform all of you when this will be shown on your TV.

WORLD WAR II . . . MEMORIESLeonard Zerlin reports that several years ago his grand-

daughter asked him some questions about WWII. He soon dis-covered she did not have the foggiest idea about it. So, he satdown and wrote a book entitled World War II . . . Memories,dedicated to bringing back long-forgotten memories depictingthe world in which we lived. It includes hundreds of songs,

Open House at Seething

bands and vocalists; slang from ack-ack to zippo; photos; Willieand Joe and Bill Mauldin cartoons; Yank articles from 1943-45;all the service songs, with all the four-letter words; Sad Sack;barracks humor; statistics of the war; and much more.

World War II . . . Memories is 8.5" x 11" in size, 150 pages.To order, send check or money order for $21.95 plus $3.00 ship-ping and handling for each book ordered. California residentsadd 7.25% sales tax. Mail to: Leonard Zerlin, 3232 Lanier Place,Thousand Oaks, CA 91360-4618. Please allow three weeks fordelivery. Veterans’ organizations inquire for discount. Phone orFax (805) 492-2272, E-mail: [email protected].

2ND LT. ROBERT C. AYRESTIn December 1943, a 712th Squadron B-24 named “LAK-

NUKI” crash-landed on a flight from Marrakech, Africa to Eng-land, after being shot up by the Nazis. In the airplane was crewNo. 5, piloted by 2nd Lt. Robert C. Ayrest. Several weeks later,while flying “BOOMERANG,” they crashed after coming apartin mid-air. This was on a mission when the weather was atro-cious. Lt. Ayrest was among those killed in the crash. Hisnephew, Ronald P. Ayrest, is asking for anyone who knows any-thing about the above to please contact him: Ronald P. Ayrest,2485 Meadowoak Lane, Las Vegas, NV 89147-4329, phone (702)283-3741. ■

Cheers to all out there in Second Air Division Association land.This is my introduction as the new 389th Bomb Group Vice

President. I was elected to this position at the 389th Bomb Groupmeeting held during the Second Air Division Association conven-tion in Washington, D.C. in October 2006.

I was born on March 6, 1922 at Malvern, Arkansas. After grad-uating from high school in 1940, I served as a clerk with the Civil-ian Conservation Corps for 14 months. Most of you older mem-bers may recall that the Army had responsibility to administer toCCC, so we enrollees were subjected to a bit of military discipline.This and my clerical experience prepared me for military life. Iwas drafted into the Army on October 29, 1942 and sent to KeeslerArmy Air Field for an abbreviated basic training. After just tendays at Keesler I was sent to the City of Fort Collins, Colorado,

to attend the Engineering and Operations Clerical Course.Following the two months training at Fort Collins and a few

days at the Salt Lake Replacement Center, I was assigned on Jan-uary 16, 1943 to the Operations Section of the 566th Bomb Squa -dron, 389th Bomb Group, at Biggs AAF, El Paso, Texas. I contin-ued to serve as an Operations clerk for the 389th until its deac-tivation at Charleston AAF in 1945. I was discharged as a sergeantfrom the USAAF at Camp Chaffee, Arkansas on September 23, 1945.

I was fortunate to have had such duties in the CCC and theAAF, for they brought out my natural abilities and showed methat I was well suited for a career in business. So I attended theUniversity of Arkansas, graduating in June 1950 with a BBA. Whileat the university I received a commission as a 2nd Lieutenant inthe USAF Reserves through Air Force ROTC. I was recalled toactive duty in August 1950 and was assigned to the Statistical Con-trol Officer course at Lowry AAF. Upon completion of the courseI was assigned to Tinker AFB as a Statistical Control Officer.

In May 1951 I was assigned as the Wing Statistical ControlOfficer to a fighter wing in Japan, which was moved to SouthKorea in August 1951. Upon completion of my 12 months duty,I requested an extension of my tour in South Korea, and wasassigned to Hq 5th AF as the Statistical Processing Officer.

BY JOHN M. RHOADS


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24

This is a perspective from both sides ofthe battle over Kassel on the ill-fated

mission of September 27, 1944. Quotingparticipants Ernst Schroder of II./JG 300and F/O Robert Timms of the 445th BombGroup, these excerpts appeared in an on-line account of that epic battle in the skies.Those of the 376th Squadron, 361st Groupwho were there could no doubt add muchto this narrative.

“I saw Pearson’s ship to our left blos-som with sudden bright flame, then kickover and down, Carlow’s ship behind himhurt and distressed, trying to fight off theangry bees. Then it fell like a broken toy.I felt the thud of our own ship being hithard. Where are our fighters!? Where areour fighters!? Oh, God!!…”

From the nose of his B-24 Liberatorcommanded by Lt. John French, camethose words from F/O Robert Timms ofthe 700th Bomb Squadron who was watch-ing his entire 445th Bomb Group disinte-grate. Wave after wave of FW-190 fight-ers from the three Sturmgruppen had ap -proached the 445th unmolested and werenow driving through the formation, all can-nons blazing. In just a few short minutesthe Kassel mission was escalating into afull-scale disaster for the 445th. In theopening moments of the battle, franticradio calls for help went out on the fight-er channel.

Even as the bombers were falling, P-51Mustangs of the 361st Fighter Group werenot far away and were heading at full speedfor the fearful scenes of destruction overEisenach. While that day was undoubted-ly a black day for the 445th from Tiben-ham, Norfolk, the same mission ironicallywas uniquely successful for a single squa -dron of P-51 Mustang escorts who onlythe previous day had arrived at their newbase in Little Walden, Essex. Ernest Schro -der of II./JG 300 had just passed throughthe bomber formation and registered twokills. Now he was circling in large down-ward spirals the two B-24s in their deaththroes.

He could see some ten to fifteen largecolumns of smoke rising through the cloudlayer where crashing aircraft had ex ploded. . . “Everywhere was burning wreckage.The fields were covered with many whiteparachutes where American and almostcertainly German fliers had come down.I arrived at 100 meters above groundand could clearly see the crewmen whohad bailed out running through the fields.Suddenly, diagonally from the front, ayellow-nosed airplane shot towards me,an American fighter unmistakably.”

The fighters Robert Timms so desper-

ately wanted to see must have arrived veryshortly on the scene after the third waveof FW-190s had gone through the bomberformation. They would soon have a verydramatic effect on the 27 September 1944air battle even if they could not save theAmerican bombers. In the lead bomberTimms heard his nose turret gunner ex -claim, “Oh, you sonovabitchin’ lovelyangels, you…”

The 361st Fighter Group had beenassigned as one of five fighter groups ac -companying the Kassel force on that day.Its component 376th Squadron, knownas the ‘“Yellowjackets” for the bright yel-low noses on their P-51s, was destined tomake its mark on that day.

Forty-five of the group’s Mustangs hadmade their scheduled rendezvous with thebombers of the 14th Combat Wing overHolland before penetrating German airspace that day . . . but as the Focke WulfSturmjager hit the B-24s, the radio head-sets came alive with the cries of pilots call-ing out enemy aircraft. Now Ernst Schroderwas immediately in trouble.

“Both of us opened fire simultaneous-ly with our big caliber weapons. TheAmerican immediately scored a hit onmy tail. My weapons, on the other hand,failed after a few shots. I began to fly withevasive movements.”

Schroder believes he escaped with hislife because he had come down to 100meters altitude. The P-51 quickly lost thecamouflaged FW-190 against the trees ofthe forest-covered valley sides over whichthey were flying. “I landed after minutesof fearful seating at Langensala after atotal of ninety minutes flying time. Partof my rudder had been torn away.”

Meanwhile, Lt. Victor Bocquin leadingthe 376th FS was able to bring his gunsto bear on the first of three Focke Wulfsthat he would personally destroy that day.“I caught an FW-190 just before we hitthe clouds and began shooting at 300yards, getting good hits. I followed himinto the overcast and lost him, but thensaw a chute when I came out and hisplane spinning down.”

Elsewhere in the action, other 376thpilots, no strangers to aerial combat, oper-ating in groups of two or three, were infrenzied pursuit of the FW-190 Sturm-bocke. 1st Lt. William Beyer, Red Flightleader and Robert R. Volkman, flying hiswing, pressed home their attacks.

“I got on the 190’s tail and he did hisbest to lose me, doing split S’s and tightturns. I followed through his maneuversuntil he started to climb. I opened fire atabout 100 yards getting hits. He popped

his canopy and bailed out…”With its extra armor and guns, the A-

8/R2 Sturmbbock was a very un-maneu-verable heavyweight and was totally un -suited for low altitude turning dogfights.Verner Vorberg of II.JG4 was in the fightbut made it back to Welzow, south ofBer lin. “Individual pilots were being wipedout by the escort fighters. Seven Satffelceased to exit. Five Staffel came awaymuch better off and must have brokenoff before the Mustangs arrived. On myreturn to Welzow, a wheel along with itsshot up support fell off when I let downmy landing gear. I had to land on mybelly…”

Othmar Zehart, one of the most expe-rienced pilots of II.JG4 and Staffelkapi-tan of 7.JG4 was lost and is still listed miss-ing today. He was one of the few survivorsat that stage from Sturmstassel, and in nineSturm missions had shot down sevenAmerican bombers. Amongst the rela-tively more experienced aces of IV./JG3the carnage was not so severe. One notablevictim was Verner Garth Staffelkapitan 14./JG3 who bailed out of his burning FW-190and landed uninjured. Karl Dieter Heck-er of 15./JG3, who had just registered hisfifth Viermont victory, was another whobailed out although badly wounded. Asimilar fate befell Lt. Ernst Rex who hadjust shot down his first B-24.

In total, some 25 Focke Wulf 190 Sturm -bockes were shot down along with fourof the bf 109 escorts. Only one P-51 Mus-tang was lost, a member of Blue Flight; 1stLt. Leo Lamb would not return to England.Gerhard Vivroux would claim him as his11th victory. On landing, the victorious pi -lots of the 376th discovered they had des -troyed eighteen FW-190s in the air andthree on the ground — a 376th record,with Victor Bocquin claiming three andWilliam Beyer five. (During September,Beyer had downed 72-victory German aceMajor Klaus Mietusch after a protracteddogfight.)

The events of September 27, 1944 marka watershed in the fortunes of the Jagd -waffe’s Sturmgruppen. Clearly capable ofpulverizing an unescorted bomber, theaverage Sturmgruppen pilot was at a ter-rible disadvantage when faced with aerialcombat with the U.S. escort fighters. Well-equipped eager P-51 pilots had a distinctedge. Tactically the Sturmgruppen forma-tion, while providing firepower in massagainst the bombers, would become in -creasingly more difficult to be effectiveas more U.S. fighter escorts ranged overcentral Germany. The writing was on thewall after the Kassel mission. ■

Where Are Our Fighters?REPRINTED FROM THE 361ST FIGHTER GROUP NEWSLETTER

13

BY LLOYD W. PRANG

OLD BUCKENHAM

Ever wonder what happened to all thesteel from the World Trade Center?

Twenty-four tons of scrap steel was usedto build the USS New York. The 684-footvessel is about 45 percent complete andshould be ready to launch in mid-2007. Itis the fifth in a new class of warship whichis designed for missions that include spe-cial operations against terrorists. It willcarry a crew of 360 sailors and 600 com-bat-ready Marines to be delivered ashoreby helicopters and assault craft. The ship’smotto? “Never Forget!”

Bob Wickham sent the following in -

formation about the Air Force Memorialfrom an article in the Washington Post.The article, which has been greatly short-ened, stated that the memorial consistsof three towering tendrils — the tallestreaching almost 300 feet in the air, andthe shortest spire is almost 201 feet abovethe ground. These 17,000-ton fingers seemto overcome gravity and the forces ofwind and vibration. Early in the designprocess, wind-tunnel tests revealed thatthree forces could send the silver spiresinto a series of oscillations that couldlead to catastrophic failure. The solution

involved a stack of 13 steel boxes, 6 inthe tallest spire, 4 in the next and 3 in thelast. The boxes are 2-1/2 feet on each side,and each contains a single, free-rolling,metal ball that is 20 inches in diameter andweighs nearly a ton. These balls in boxesprovide a unique energy-damping systemthat promises to keep the monuments sway -ing within tolerable limits well into the22nd century. Even seasoned constructionworkers say they are in awe of the noveldesign. “Ain’t nobody ever worked on any -thing like this before,” one worker said toa visitor in an expression of pride at the site.

The memorial honors those who servedin the Air Force and its predecessor serv-ices dating back to the old U.S. Army AirCorps of the early 1900s. Its aim is toinspire visitors by creating the illusion ofescape from Earth’s bonds.

Jim Dyke managed to get his fifteen

METFIELD / NORTH PICKENHAM

BY JOHN A. PALLER

In early October I received a phone callfrom Harry Dean of the 2ADA Nominat-

ing Committee, asking if I would be will-ing to serve as VP representing the 491stBomb Group in the Second Air DivisionAssociation.

At the annual convention in mid-Oc -tober, the board members elected me tofill the position replacing Hugh Bennett,who admirably served in that capacitysince the summer of 2003.

Unfortunately my wife and I were un -able to attend the Group’s 2006 reunionin Denver, but I am pleased to report thatJerry Ivice was elected as president forthe coming term, and also that our 2007reunion will be held in Dayton, Ohio fromOctober 10 through October 14, 2007.

I am honored that the 491st has en -trusted me to write this column. By wayof introduction to readers of the Journal:

Going back to 1944 — our crew joinedthe group at Metfield in late July 1944. Myposition was copilot on Don Root’s crew.We flew ten missions from Metfield, thenmoved to North Pickenham for the re -mainder of our tour. Returning stateside,good assignments were forthcoming, soI continued to serve, spending 13 monthsin 1947-48 assigned to Chaute AFB and

A B-24 bomber which crashed in flames near Hellimer after its crew parachuted tosafety. Engine trouble caused the crash. The crew was brought to the 2d BattalionCP. One member of the crew had to be lifted out of a tree.

attending Aircraft Maintenance OfficersSchool. After that I held jobs in FieldMaintenance Squadrons and Sub-Depotsand in the aircraft accident investigationfield, working with state-of-the-art equip-ment and flying a good variety of airplanes.I served in Air Defense Command, 13thAir Force in the Philippines (twice) andalso Military Airlift Command, retiring atMcGuire AFB in early 1965.

To close, I would like to add this bit ofincidental information — going back to1944-45 again. While I was browsingthrough a couple of books at home, oneentitled The Story of the 103rd InfantryDivision and a companion book entitledThe 409th Infantry in WWII (the 409thwas a regiment under the 103rd Division),what a surprise when I stumbled acrossthe enclosed photo! Researching my copy

of Roger Freeman’s Mighty Eighth WarDiary (what would we have done with-out Roger’s books), under “Remarks,” page415, it states that the 453rd BG had a crewbail out near Saarbrucken on January 3,1945. It would appear the airplane crashednear Hellimer, France and that five of thecrew landed near Merlebach, France. TheWar Diary states “near Saarbrucken.” BothHellimer and Merlebach are small townsin Lorraine near the German border, justsouth of the city of Saarbrucken.

Since only one other B-24 went downthat day “in central France,” according toRoger Freeman’s book, it would be verylikely that this burning wreckage is allthat remains of a 453rd BG B-24. I wouldlike some comments from the 453rd, suchas what happened to the other five crewmembers? ■


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14

“A Man Just Does Not HaveThat Much Luck”

THE 104 MISSION MAN:An Excerpt from Roger Freeman’s “The Mighty Eighth”

Whereas a hundred mission bomberwas no longer a rarity, there was

still one century milestone that had notbeen attained — until April 1945. That daythe 390th Group was part of a 450-strongforce dispatched to targets in the Leipzigarea. It was an uneventful mission for thegroup and all aircraft returned to Fram-lingham with out loss or damage. Therewas a reception party at the hardstand ofThe Great McGinty as the 569th BombSquadron’s Fortress came taxiing to astandstill. They were there to greet 24-year-old M/Sgt Hew itt T. Dunn, the togglerwho had just completed his hundredthmission with the Eighth Air Force. Therewere a few men who had flown manymissions in other theatres and madetheir hundredth sortie in a later tourwith the Eighth, but no other Americanreached this figure through the operationssolely in Europe. For most men one tourwas more than enough! Some had flowntwo tours and reached the 50 or 60 mis-sion mark. Hewitt “Buck” Dunn had cometo the 390th Group in De cember 1943 andcommenced combat flying in Januarywhen the chances of survival were lessthan half what they had become by Aprilthe following year. By April 1944 he hadcompleted his first tour of 30 and appliedfor another, which lasted into the latesummer of 1944. When he asked to fly athird tour, rather than re turn to the U.S.,fellow airmen questioned his sanity: “Aman just doesn’t have that much luck.”

Framlingham, 5 April 1945: Back from his100th mission with the 8th, M/Sgt. HewittDunn is carried in triumph by his friends.

Dunn had flown missions to almostevery danger spot on the Eighth’s targetlist, with nine visits to Berlin (in clud ing thefirst successful one). His early missionswere all as tail gunner (26 times) and topturret gunner (twice) and the balance asbombardier/nose gunner. Of his hundredthsortie Dunn said: “I was a little nervousat briefing when I learned Leipzig was thetarget, but it turned out to be just anothermission — a milk run.” He was creditedwith the destruction of an FW190 over Leip-zig eleven months before. Hewitt Dunnwent on to fly four more missions withthe 390th. His record of 104 combat sor-ties is unique in the annals of personnelof the Eighth Air Force. ■

minutes of fame when he was seated inthe very, very VIP area of the dedicationof the Air Force Memorial. Jim was seat-ed about ten feet from one of the spires.The rest of us were seated in the VIP areaof the south lot of the Pentagon. Wewatched the proceedings, and Jim, ongiant TV screens. We were also treated toa fly-over by a B-24 and a B-17, whichbrought tears to many eyes.

Little did I know when I placed theparagraph titled “Coping with IdentityTheft” in the Fall issue of the 2ADAJournal that Irene would have her walletstolen on the first day we attended theconvention in Washington, D.C. We calledhotel security and magically about an hour

NEWS OF THE 453RD (continuedfrom page 13)

later the wallet was returned — minus thefew dollars in the wallet but with all cred-it cards and other stuff intact. Naturallywe didn’t have a copy of the Journal withus, so if you are planning a trip maybe itwould be a good idea to take a copy ofthe information with you. Nuff said!

Derek Hills, Trust Librarian at the 2ndAir Division Memorial Library in Norwich,sent a report of the books purchased inthe name of the 453rd BG for the period2005/06. He mentioned there are 70 groupsof individuals participating in the programand that three endowments have beentaken out in 2006. Books purchased in thename of the 453rd BG included StreetStories: The World of Police Detectivesby Robert Jackall, and Jimmy Stewart:Bomber Pilot by our own Starr Smith.

A few months ago Starr wrote that thebook had recently become available in apaperback version. In addition, three bookswere purchased in the name of Staff Sgt.Jay Jeffries Jr. They were: The Death andResurrection of Jefferson Davis, by Don aldE. Collins; The Flying Circus: The Pacif-ic War 1943 As Seen Through a Bomb -sight, by Jim Wright; and Attack from theSea: A History of the U.S. Navy’s Sea-plane Striking Force, by Trimble.

Finally, a couple of “smilers” from theInternet:

The irony of life is that, by the timeyou’re old enough to know your wayaround, you’re not going anywhere!And: Frustration is trying to find yourglasses without your glasses!

It’s cold outside. Stay warm! ■

From the HonoraryPresident with Warmest

Good Wishes!BY JORDAN R. UTTAL (HQ)

Howdy from Texas to all of my fel -low 2ADA members. It was in -

deed a blow to have word from mydoctor last fall that he did not wantme to travel to our 59th Annual 2ADAConvention in Washington, D.C.

As an original member of the 2ADAback in 1948, I have attended 55 con-ventions up to this time and I havethoroughly enjoyed the years offriendship and cooperation of all buta very few 2ADA members. I havebeen pleased with my years of serv-ice to the Association, to the Boardof Governors, and most of all to ourbeloved and unique Memorial in Nor -wich, our salute to the 6,881 youngAmericans who gave their lives whileserving with the 2nd Air Division.

I do regret most that my recent ab -sences have put me in a position ofnot knowing some of our group vicepresidents, voting members of theExecutive Committee, but at the sametime I was pleased with the results ofour October 2006 convention. It doesseem to me that you were indeed keep-ing your eyes on the ball and carry-ing out our mission which has beenclearly stated over many years onpage 3 of each issue of the Journal.

We can indeed be proud of the re -sults we have accomplished together,and I extend my warm thanks to all ofyou who have cooperated over theyears. Again, dear friends, I extendsincerest good wishes for 2007. I hopeto see you at our next convention! ■

23

Although I have heard the B-24 des -cribed on quite a number of occasions

in such none-too-flattering terms as “adraughty beast,” “a bloody cold, noisy metalbox,” “when fully loaded, an awkward beastto handle that for the first few hours of anoperation seemed to be kept unwillinglyaloft by engine horse power and pilot willpower,” and “an aircraft which called forabove-average stamina to fly” — there isno doubt that to a vast ma jority of theCoastal Command crews who flew it, itwas an answer to their prayers.

Here at last they had a long-range air-craft that allowed them to close the “At -lantic Gap,” thus giving them the oppor-tunity to provide complete cover to themerchant convoys. Not only this, it alsoimproved their potential for hunting anddestroying U-boats.

An innovation, which to a USAAF crewwould have seemed a sheer luxury, wasthe Elsan toilet. The Elsan was fitted to allCoast Command B-24s by Scottish Avia-tion Limited. It was said to resemble anAustralian country “Dunny.”

One person who owed his life to thispiece of equipment was Flying Officer JackKelly of the 53rd Squadron. He was usingthe “Dunny” when it was struck by a 20mmcannon shell. The Elsan deflected the shellaway from him. Flying Officer Kelly re -ported the incident to the rest of the crewand told them he appeared to be coveredin blood. The crew wrapped him in IrvinJackets and kept a close watch on him un -til they landed back at the base. An am -bulance was waiting to take him to thebase hospital. After carefully checking himout, the medic said, “forget it.” What Fly-ing Officer Kelly and the rest of the crewhad taken to be blood was in fact the con-tents of the Elsan. There was no way themedic was going to allow his ambulanceto be contaminated with that.

When it came to flying rations, the Lib-erator crews were hardly over-indulged.Sandwiches were of white bread spreadwith margarine and filled with tongue.When available, an apple or orange or acan of orange juice, dried fruit such asraisins or sultanas or dates and a bar ofchocolate. Thermoses of tea or coffee werethe only hot item provided and theseonly remained hot for about four hoursduring winter patrols in the North At lan -tic. Tony Spooner, DSO, DFC, summed itup perfectly in a poem he wrote: “Fifteenlong hours o’er a cold hostile sea with apacket of Spam and some tired, tepid tea.”

The first RAF squadron to be equipped

with the B-24 Liberator was number 120of Coastal Command. They re-formed atNutts Corner in County Antrim on 2 June1941. After conversion training was com-pleted, they started operational patrols onSeptember 20th of the same year. Fromtheir first few attacks of U-boats they couldonly claim slightly damaging one. They alsoclaimed damaging a Condor and, duringan anti-shipping patrol, attacking and set-ting fire to two HE 115 float planes.

In July 1942, 120 Squadron was relo-cated from Nutts Corner to Ballykelly. OnAugust 3rd they took delivery of what wasto become their most successful U-boat“killer” — Liberator 929. Shortly after-ward, 120 Squadron began a series of de -tachments to Reykjavik in Iceland. It wasduring one of these that 929 made herfirst “kill.”

It was on 12 October while being flownby squadron leader Terry Bullock and hiscrew that a U-boat was spotted on the sur-face. They dropped down and attackedfrom astern of it. A stick of Torpex depthcharge was used with devastating effect.One of them exploded against the hull. Therear gunner was poised with his cameraready to record the attack. Suddenly ahuge piece of metal whizzed past his tur-ret and, as he looked down, the entire U-boat seemed to surge up out of the waterbefore sinking back into the depths. U597 was 929’s and 120 Squadron’s first kill.

929 was to have four more “kills” toher credit before she left 120 Squadronin December 1943. After being convertedto transport, her career ended in April1945 when she crashed.

As you will appreciate, all you readersof The Journal know far more about theB-24 Liberator than I do. I can only giveyou a few examples of the RAF’s experi-ences with her and even these have been

passed on to me by other people. One per-son in particular whom I would like to sin-gle out is John Quinn. John is the authorof several books dealing with aircraft thatoperated out of Northern Ireland duringWWII. It was from one of them coveringthe approaches that I was able to tracesome of the history of 120 Squadron.

120 Squadron is still operational today,although Coastal Command has been re -placed by Maritime Patrol and the B-24sby Nimrods. They are based on RAF Kin-loss in Morayshire, Scotland.

FLT. LT. THOMASGEOFFREY DIXON

Flying Officer ThomasGeoffrey Dixon was bornin Malham in North York -shire in 1917. He wasedu cated at Ermysted’sGram mar School in Skip -

ton. Af ter leaving school he trained as anIndustrial Chemist and worked in theDye ing De partment of Dewhurst’s Tex-tiles Mills in Skipton.

When war was declared he enlisted inthe army. He joined the 2nd 6th Duke ofWellington’s Regiment where he attainedthe rank of Second Lieutenant. In 1940 hewas a member of the “Vic” Force. Thisforce had been rapidly formed to helpcover the evacuation of the troops fromthe beaches around Dunkirk.

In June 1942 Lieutenant Dixon resignedhis army commission in order to accepta post in the RAF. He was posted to RAFCranwell where he trained to become apilot. After receiving his “wings,” FlyingOfficer Dixon was then transferred to 547Squadron at RAF Saint Eval in Cornwall.From here he flew anti-submarine andshipping strikes in the Bay of Biscay usingthe Wellington Bomber. In the autumn of1943 he left 547 Squadron to do a “BlindApproach” course. He rejoined 547 Squa -dron as a Flight Lieutenant and convert-ed to Liberators.

On February 23, 1944 Flight LieutenantDixon and his crew of nine were return-ing from an anti-submarine patrol in thevicinity of the Scilly Isles when their fuelreserves became critically low. They de -cided to land on St. Mary’s. Unfortunate-ly the runway was too short and the B-24overshot and crashed. The propeller of theport inner engine sheared off and, enteringthe fuselage of the aircraft, severed FlightLieutenant Dixon’s leg. He was rushed tothe hospital where a short time later hedied. He was the only casualty. ■

RAF B-24s closed the “Atlantic gap”BY JOHN THRELFALL, YOUR RAF VETERAN CORRESPONDENT

Liberator MK.1 AM929/H, 120 Squadronflying low in 1943. This aircraft servedwith 120 Squadron between 3 August1942 and 17 October 1943, during whichtime its crew sank five U-boats.

✈ ✈ ✈ ✈

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22

FOLDED WINGSLeroy Elfstrom passed away in July

2006 in Rockford, Illinois. He leaves hiswife, June. William Powell, tail and waistgunner, passed away in 2006 in Chickasaw,Alabama. He leaves his wife, Lutaine. Ver-non Goedeke, waist gunner, passed awayOctober 2, 2006 in Pontoon Beach, Illinois.Both Powell and Goedeke were on “BTO”(Chuck Rowland, pilot).

2ADA CONVENTIONThe 2ADA convention in Washington,

D.C. is over and maybe I’m one of thosewho didn’t like the way it was run by onegroup of veterans. It caused our Parlia-mentarian to resign. There were somewho would not listen to her because theythought they knew better.

Our motel was very good but too faraway from everything.

The Air Force Memorial was a beauti-ful sight, but we were a distance from it.

The location for next year’s conven-tion has not yet been chosen. Hope it iscloser to the center of the United States.

We went to Savannah, Georgia to theMighty 8th Museum for the dedication ofthe bench for the Kassel Mission. Therewere about 25 of us there. We had a serv-ice at the chapel followed by a tour of themuseum and a luncheon after the tour.The Best Western Motel is next door andvery reasonable in price.

Here is a good 445th BG narrative, writ -ten by Arnold Nass:

“Just Lucky, I Guess –Or Was Someone

Looking After Me?”BY ARNOLD J. NASS

I might have washed out of pilot train-ing if Buster Parish had not been my

primary instructor at Ballinger, Texas.On three different attempts while prac-

ticing landing the Fairchild PT-19 aircraft,

BY CLARENCE LUHMANN

I would have crashed without my in struc-tor. On each attempt, just as I crossed theend of the runway and should have round-ed out for the landing, I let go of the con-trols and the instructor had to take overto complete the landing. This I think wouldhave been enough for some instructorsto have washed me out.

I might not have been so lucky if I hadnot been assigned to Carlton Kleeman’screw as copilot immediately after gettingmy wings on October 1, 1943.

Depending upon what the Air Forceneed ed at the time, some new pilots, likeme, were given a crew and trained as B-24pilots for three months before being sentoverseas. Kleeman was not a new pilot.He had flown C-54s in the air transportcommand and he had checked out in theB-17 before transferring to the B-24. There -fore, I received a lot more training in theB-24, from an experienced pilot, before Ihad to take over as pilot while in combat.

I might not have been so lucky if wehad not been assigned the altitude we werefor crossing the North Atlantic from GooseBay, Labrador to Reykjavik, Iceland.

We were having trouble with our air-plane before landing at Goose Bay, butthey could not find the problem there sowe had to go on without knowing whatthe problem was because nothing unusu-al showed up on our instruments. We wereassigned an altitude that was betweentwo cloud banks; and, if it had not beenthere we would not have made it to Ice-land because we could not keep our car-buretors warm enough to keep from freez-ing up if we encountered any moisture inthe air.

I might not have been so lucky if wehad arrived at the 445th Bomb Group be -fore February 24, 1944. On that date the445th lost 13 (52%) of its 25 airplanes thatmade it to the target at Gotha, Germany.We arrived in England March 27, 1944 andflew our first combat mission with the445th on May 4, 1944.

I might not have been so lucky if oursquadron had been assigned positionsother than the ones we flew in each com-bat mission.

The Eighth Air Force was made up ofthree divisions. The First and Third Divi-sions flew B-17s. The Second Division flewB-24s and was made up of fourteen bombgroups in several wings with two, three,or four bomb groups in each wing. The445th was in the Second Wing with twoother bomb groups. Each bomb grouphad four squadrons and each squadronhad between twelve and sixteen B-24s.

On most days each division of the 8thAir Force went to a separate target with ap -proximately 500 heavy bomb ers and sup-

porting fighters. Each bomb group attempt-ed to send three of its four squadrons for atotal of 36 heavy bombers. The wings alter-nated leading the division column. Thegroups alternated leading their wing and thesquadrons alternated leading their group.

No one knew which position in the col -umn was the most or least vulnerable be -fore the mission began. The German fight -ers could not hit every squadron in the col -umn and no one knew which ones theywould hit. And, their anti-aircraft gun nerscould not target every airplane on the fifty-mile bomb run. No one knew which onesthey would target. Therefore, position inthe column was the difference be tweenmaking it to the target or not. After that,everyone still flying had to fly throughthe heavy flak over the target, like a hail-storm, and hope or pray they made itthrough in one piece.

On one mission, early in our tour, deepinto northern Germany, Kleeman and Iwere caught in the next to the worst posi-tion in the column, and a swarm of Ger-man ME-109 fighters destroyed the squa -dron in front of us. Then we had to flythrough the debris and my first thoughtwas “here we go to Sweden for the restof the war.”

On another mission, while returningfrom southern Germany, Kleeman and Iwere caught in a bad position over a Ger-man gunnery school at Abbeville, France,and one of those students put an 88mmor 105mm through the plastic shell of ournose turret.

On another mission over Berlin some-body put a burst of flak under my rightwing, flipped me over and knocked meout of our formation. I was lucky to getback to my position in the formation be -fore any fighters spotted me.

I might not have been so lucky if Ihad not been assigned S/N 105-O, “TheSweetest Rose of Texas” (better known as“The Rose”), on 13 of my last 18 missions.That airplane was the best airplane in the445th Bomb Group and maybe the sec-ond best airplane in the Second Divisionof the Eighth Air Force. It flew over 109combat missions that I know of, withoutan abort and the “Witchcraft” in the 467thBomb Group claimed 130 combat missionswithout an abort.

I might not have been so lucky if Ihad not finished my tour of 35 combatmissions before the 445th Bomb Groupgot out of the division column and lost 29(83%) of its 35 airplanes that made it to thewrong target near Kassel, Germany on Sep-tember 27, 1944. Only four, including “TheRose,” returned to our base and two land -ed at Manston. I flew my 35th and last com-bat mission on August 9, 1944. ■

15

And so it came to pass that the 392ndBG Memorial Association met on Oc -

tober 13, 2006 in Salon VIII at the Fair -view Marriott Hotel for their annual meet-ing in conjunction with the 2ADA con-vention in Falls Church, VA. This was aspecial occasion, for the commanding offi-cer of the 392nd Bomb Group, ColonelLawrence G. Gilbert (Ret.) was conduct-ing the meeting. During the previous yearColonel Gilbert was not able to attendthe 2ADA convention in San Antonio be -cause of poor health. With excellent med-ical care, his own determination, and en -couragement from his good wife, Marje,he has had a remarkable recovery. Hewalks with some help from a cane albeitslowly, his enthusiasm for life has notdiminished, and his voice is strong, as itwas sixty some years ago when he con-ducted the briefings prior to a combatmission. Others who were there includ-ed Jim Goar, editor of the 392nd BGMANews; Annette Tison, Secretary; WallyBlackburn; Bob and Carol Books; JohnConrad; Carroll Cheek; Dick Giesing; LarryGilbert; Greg Hatton; Ben Jones; Bill Jur-czyn; Bill McCutcheon; Joe McNiel; JimMarsteller; Tom Perry; Dennis Rogers;Mary Rothrock; Bob Tyler; and myself.Roland Sabourin and his son Roland ar -rived too late for the meeting but came inlater in the day for festivities in the 392ndBG hospitality room. Though I am writ-ing this report in early November, thisJournal will not be in your hands untilFebruary, 2007. By then Jim Goar willhave provided you with a full report ofthe meeting in the 392nd BG News, includ-ing the minutes by Secretary Tison.

You know the Second Air Division ofthe Eighth Air Force flew the Consolidat-ed B-24 four-engine bombers, and youhave heard of the Boeing B-17 flown bythe First and Third Air Divisions, but howmuch do you know about the three bigfour-engine bombers flown by the RoyalAir Force? The earliest was the big ShortStirling; its first flight was in 1939. It waspowered by four radial engines of 1500HP each, but it was lacking in bomb loadcapacity and had poor high altitude per-formance. 12,000 feet was the limit witha load of bombs, and its use became lim-

BY OAK MACKEY

WENDLING

392nd

ited to towing targets, pulling gliders andgeneral transportation. In 1940, the Hand -ley-Page Halifax became the RAF’s prin-cipal bomber. It was powered by fourRolls-Royce Merlin engines of 1280 HPeach and could carry up to 13,000 lbs. ofbombs, speed 265 mph at 22,000 feet, butrange was only 1800 miles, perhaps theHalifax’s greatest shortcoming. Even so,squadrons of Halifaxs flew bombing mis-sions until the end of WWII.

The Avro Lancaster first flew in Janu-ary 19, 1941 and went into service the fol-lowing year. Powered by four Rolls-RoyceMerlin engines of 1460 HP each, it couldreach speeds of up to 287 mph, the serv-ice ceiling was 24,500 feet, range 2500miles. It had a gross weight of 70,000 lbs.,which meant it could carry a tremendousload of bombs. It could carry the 22,000lb. “Grand Slam” bomb used to penetratethe concrete roofs of the German subma-rine pens with good effect. It was a gen-tle airplane to fly; there was only one pilotassisted by a flight engineer, the bombar -dier also manned the front gun turret, therewas an upper fuselage gun turret and atail turret, both manned by gunners. Allguns were .303 caliber machine guns. Awireless operator and navigator com plet -ed the crew of seven. Here are some otherspecifications of note: Wingspan was 102feet, length 69 feet, height 20 feet, emptyweight was 36,500 lbs., gross weight loadwith fuel and bombs was 70,000 lbs.

Now let’s check some specificationsof the B-24. Wingspan 110 feet, length 67feet, height 18 feet, empty weight 38,000lbs, gross weight 65,000 lbs. Engines radi-al Pratt-Whitneys, 1200 HP each. Top speed250 mph at 25,000 feet. The crew consist-ed of a pilot, copilot, navigator, bombar -dier, nose gunner, radio operator, top tur-ret gunner/flight engineer, belly gun tur-ret gunner, two waist gunners, and a tailgunner for a crew of eleven. Guns were all.50 caliber machine guns. Maximum bombload was 8000 lbs. Maximum range was2800 miles.

If we make a fair comparison we mightconclude the Lancaster and the Halifaxwere superior bombers compared to ourbeloved B-24. You be the judge.

At the dedication ceremonies at thenew Air Force Memorial last October therewas a parade of famous airplanes. The finalairplane in the parade was the B-2, thebig flying wing, no tail at all. It can fly tomultiple targets on one mission; it candispense guided bombs with great accu-racy; it can do the work of a whole Wingof 90 B-24s and more. Technology, wherewill it end? ■

Bomber Pilotnow in paperback

REPRINTED FROM THEMONTGOMERY ADVERTISER,

MONTGOMERY, ALMontgomery author Starr Smith’s

book Jimmy Stewart: Bomber Pilothas been issued in paperback in theUnited States and England.

The book, which tells of the Holly-wood star’s World War II service asan operations officer and pilot withthe Eighth Air Force 445th and 453rdBomb Groups and Second CombatBomb Wing in England, has soldmore than 40,000 copies, Smith said.The first paperback printing will be25,000 copies.

The book has some impressiverecommendations. Walter Cronkitewrote the foreword. The book alsofeatures a tribute by Stewart’s daugh-ter, Kelly, and blurbs by Gen. JimmyDoolittle, author Gay Talese, formerchief of staff of the Air Force Gen.Michael Ryan, Auburn historianWayne Flynt, and British historianand author Roger Freeman. ■

New Membersof the 2ADA

389th BGFrank Karas

Hugh C. Martin

448th BGParmely T. Ferrie

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16

HALESWORTH

BYMEL PONTILLO

“Hope to see you at the next reunion.”Often I use this phrase as an ending tomy Journal articles. It is not just a sign-off, but also a sincere desire on my partto actually have members participate inreunion activities. I have attended manyactivities of this nature over the years.The year 2006 proved to be another stellaryear for 8th Air Force reunions. Fortunate-ly I practice what I preach and attend edfour reunions during the calendar year2006. Had I not listened to my own ad -vice I would have missed some great times.From my perspective, reunions are morethan just nice vacations; they educate andsolidify the different group organizations.

Why should members attend thesereunions? Most members of all the bombgroups have probably asked themselvesthis question. The reason or reasons forattending may vary among members ormay change depending on the physicaland mental status changes of each indi-vidual member. My priority is to meet oldfriends and make new friends, all in thecourse of having an enjoyable time. I likeWill Rodgers’ quote, “I never met astranger.” This quote seems to apply toall our reunions. The camaraderie andsociability of our members speaks high-ly of them as individuals.

Please consider another aspect thatjustifies the existence and importance ofreunions. The reunions help keep thegroups from fading. Mindful, our 489thBomb Group Newsletter is probably theprimary factor in providing the glue to keepour group together, and the reunions aclose second. It is noteworthy that if itwere not for the Newsletter we could notkeep current of reunion activities. Nodoubt the Journal is a huge factor inkeeping the Second Air Division together.Our members welcome the Newsletterand the Journal with open arms.

The 489th Bomb Group is fortunate tohave Charles Freudenthal as the editorof our Newsletter since its inception in1976. Amazingly, he is the only editor wehave ever had in our Bomb Group. He is

also our Assistant Vice President. Charleshas done a remarkable job as a one-manteam in producing our 489th Newsletterevery two months. We commend him forhis hard work and dedication, and ap pre -ciate his efforts. We should all be gratefulfor the continuation of the Newsletter.Many thanks to you, Charles, and belatedbest wishes on your ninetieth birthdaycelebrated in June 2006.

As stated previously, 2006 was a verygood year for reunions. In terms of loca-tion and content, several of these reunionsstand out for their uniqueness. A briefrecap of each illustrates what I am refer-ring to. The first one was the Pennsylva-nia Chapter of the Eighth Air Force His-torical Society at State College, PA. Thisthree-day, fifteenth annual reunion washeld in July with a turnout of 75, includ-ing friends and family members. Twonotable highlights were the visit to theEighth Air Force Archives at Penn StatePattee Library and the banquet on the lastnight of the reunion. It should also benoted that Charles H. Freudenthal’s book,A History of the 489th Bomb Group, isrightfully included in the Eighth Air Forcearchives section of the library. This con-ventional style reunion was well done andenjoyed by all who attended.

In sequential order, the next reunionin September was rather unique in termsof location. It was held aboard the cruiseship Monarch of the Sea, belonging tothe Royal Caribbean Cruise Line. It wasreported that it has a capacity of about3,000 passengers and the cabins were allsold out. We departed from Los Angeles,CA with day stops in San Diego, CatalinaIsland, and Ensenada, Mexico. I took allthree daily stop tours. They were all en -lightening and interesting. The Mexicanouting certainly revealed the divergenceeconomically between the two countries.

Twenty-eight people attending the cruisewere affiliated with the 489th. As is typi-cal with cruises, the accommodationswere outstanding. We had tables reservedin the main dining room to seat our grouptogether for the evening dinners. The489th had a private social evening for thepurpose of the candle-lighting ceremonyon the second evening. Because openflames are not permitted on the cruiseship for safety reasons, the candle-light-ing ceremony was worked out with theuse of electric candles. We also had achampagne party and some group singing.The third night after dinner, we had yetanother evening spent together on theplush top deck of the ship that was re -

served by our host. There was a very nice-ly decorated big cake and all the refresh-ments desired, courtesy of the cruiseline. Both evenings were very delightfuland enjoyable. Elly Isaacsen and her hus-band, Bruce, hosted this reunion. On be -half of the 489th Bomb Group, thanks amillion for putting this cruise together.Congratulations on a job well done. Ellyis the daughter of members Will and HelenPlate. Will Plate was a pilot in the 489th BG.Unfortunately, neither could attend thecruise because of Helen’s illness.

The third reunion, the Second Air Divi-sion Association’s 59th Annual Convention,was held in the Washington, D.C. area, tocoincide with the Air Force Memorial Ded-ication on October 14. We lodged at theMarriott Hotel in Falls Church, Virginia.The 489th Bomb Group did not have agroup meeting. However, we had our groupdinner in the Center Ballroom along withnine other groups. We did manage to takea personal poll of our members and thecurrent officers were retained. The 489thBG had 37 people including friends andfamily members. The total attendance atthe convention was over 400. The AirForce Memorial Dedication and the bustours were very interesting, and broughtback many memories. The last and onlytime I visited the White House, F.D.R. wasPresident. For some reason the WhiteHouse appeared smaller to me now thanit did 70 years ago, but nevertheless stillvery prestigious.

The focal point of this particular re -union was the dedication of the Air ForceMemorial. This event was an all-day affairand the highlight of the 2ADA convention.The memorial itself is composed of threejutting spires pointed skyward and canbe seen at quite a distance. The dedicationprovided an abundance of pomp and cer-emony. Likewise, there was an abundanceof live music performed by various groupsincluding the United States Air Force Band.The Aerial Review was a tribute to the air-men of yesterday and today. The ceremo-ny also included a flyover by the always-spectacular U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds.Interestingly, the keynote speaker at thisevent was a surprise. The agenda simplystated that the keynote speaker was tobe announced later. When President Busharrived to the surprise of the audience,the keynote speaker was then revealed.The veterans were delighted to see andhear the President speak. Other speak-ers included Donald Rumsfeld, DefenseSecretary; H. Ross Perot, Jr., Chairman


21

The highlight of the 2ADA convention was the dedication ofthe Air Force Memorial. The Air Force turned out in force

to make the dedication a huge success. It was a thrill for me tosee the Collings Foundation B-24 painted in the 467th groupcolors and the Witchcraft markings fly over the monumentalong with the much slower B-17 and other WWII aircraft.

It was a privilege to announce that the goal for the Fightin’Sam and improvement to the Second Air Division exhibit at theMighty Eighth Air Force Museum has been reached and exceed-ed. I am proud to report that the 467th was the leader in the groupdonations due to the generous donation of Mr. Stephen Brownin honor to his father. The 2ADA voted unanimously to contin-ue the Legendary Liberator “Fightin’ Sam” Campaign Commit-tee to provide oversight to the exhibit and to continue the col-lection of funds that are still coming in.

Another highlight of the convention was the motion that yourgroup VP made to review and update the 2ADA bylaws. Althoughthe proposed revisions to the seriously flawed Legacy Plan was“suspended indefinitely” in the Executive Committee, it will berequired to be revised as a major element of the Bylaws and Poli-cies and Procedures. The financial records and procedures arenot in compliance with the Bylaws, and the Secretary’s recordsof the minutes of several past Executive Committee and Busi-ness Meetings are either incomplete or missing.

The selection of a time and venue for the next conventionwas left undecided. Action to complete the outside audit of themembership and convention financial records was also left tobe determined.

It will be interesting to observe how these issues that weremandated by vote at previous Executive Committee and gener-al membership meetings are resolved by our new leaders. Thenew officers will need a lot of help. I wish them well.

The group dinner was held in a room with three other groupsand it was difficult to address the 467th attendees due to com-peting background noise. That was somewhat overcome by DavidHastings and I going around to each table and giving them aheads up on the status of the markers and events at Rackheathand the Fightin’ Sam Campaign. Thanks to Terry Gregory the tabledecorations were outstanding and I know that all appreciatedthe patches and lapel pins that Ralph Davis sent. Thanks, Terry,for your beautiful work!

The attendees at the 467th BG dinner were: David and JeanHastings; Walter and Ruth Mundy; Geoff and Terry Gregory; Joeand Helen Dzenowagis, Anastasia and Joe Jr.; Ed and JoanPepke; Ray and Jonathan Bickel; John and Joyce Brinson; Johnand Margaret, Jack, Curry and Joe Mullen; Charles Hampp; Ed -ward and Betty Kenny; Len and Kay Raley; Brian Mahoney; Willand Cecily Noden; James and Marcia Pippenger; Charlotte Show-er; Harry Tanzer; Fred and Barbara Rentz; Charles, Nancy, Car-oline Blakely; and Bruce and Matthew Rentz.

As a reminder, the 467th reunion next year will be in Dayton,Ohio at the Crown Plaza Hotel, November 3-7. Stay tuned here inthe 2ADA Journal and in your group newsletter Poop From Group.

A new, revised edition of the 467th Bomb Group History willbe coming out soon. The new book will be available in hardback

BY WALTER MUNDY

RACKHEATH and soft cover and I understand that it has a number of new andclearer pictures and a much more complete listing of all thosewho served.

David Hastings reported that the new owner of the RackheathControl Tower is making major repairs and is progressing withthe renovations. We have been assured that space will be madeavailable for operation memorabilia. The gold lettering on themarker plaque has worn and will be replaced with silver per therecommendation from the monument maker. Many thanks toDavid and Friends for their efforts to preserve the legacy of the467th at Rackheath.

The 93rd BG, the 492nd BG, the 467th BG and other groupshave initiated and continue to support the Second Air DivisionHeritage League and have encouraged the second and third gen-eration relatives of veterans to join and work to preserve the leg -a cy of the Second Air Division. The Heritage League’s dedicationto the 2AD Memorial Library, the overseas cemeteries, and theSecond Air Division Legacy Exhibit at the Mighty Eighth HeritageMuseum will be continued after the “Last Man” is gone. We shouldencourage and support these fledglings as long as we can. ■

467th’s WITCHCRAFT getsa unique “escort”

REPRINTED FROM BRITAIN’S “FLYPAST”

Fly the “Stormbird”

A leading warbird operator in the U.S., the Collings Foun-dation, is offering private individuals the chance to fly

in the legendary Messerschmitt Me 262 “Stormbird,” for thefirst time in history. The Messerschmitt Flight Program willinclude academic sessions on the dual-control aircraft, incor-porating safety training and cockpit orientation, before par-ticipants take to the air in the jet reproduction.

Each flight will be tailored to the student’s interest andcapabilities. In addition to the thrill of flying the Messerschmitt,there is a possibility customers could make “fighter runs” onthe Collings Foundation’s Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress andConsolidated B-24 Liberator.

The “Stormbird” has been recreated to exacting standardsfrom an original Me 262 trainer. This continuation aircraft offersall of the originality of the wartime fighter, but with updatedengines and safety equipment. The project to make five air-worthy copies was carried out in conjunction with MBB andthe Messerschmitt Foundation in Germany. ■

Messerschmitt Me 262 reproduction N262AZ in formationwith the Collings Foundation’s Consolidated B-24J WITCH-CRAFT “252534” (NX224J).

pp 16 & 21:Winter 2007 1/18/07 11:24 AM Page 1

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HARDWICK

Open Letter to the 93rdBY JOHN LEE

A nother year has passed and some ofus are still hanging in there. My wife

and I attended the 2ADA convention inOc tober. The future of the organizationis of concern to us and many others. Theaverage age is around eighty-five withthe youngest being eighty. We in the 93rdhave taken positive action to turn overresponsibility to carry on the memory ofthose who made the sacrifice to defeat anenemy that would have changed our wayof life to suit their twisted ambition of thefuture for mankind. Our country is nowfacing an enemy with similar objectives.This time, however, the will to defeat thisphilosophy does not seem as strong as itwas during WWII. The attack on Ameri-ca didn’t start on 9/11/01; it goes backmuch longer than that. The enemy is alsocompletely different. They are not aboutto give up, whereas it ended WWII whenthe enemy was defeated. This new threatis global in its coverage with some of themin the USA waiting for the right time tostrike. They are willing to wait any amountof time. If they manage to obtain an A-bomb, they will use it if they can deliverit to a target. This may sound like an oldman talking who doesn’t have all thatmuch time remaining, but I am sincerelyconcerned for the future of my children,grandchildren and great grandchildren.

As you know, I am always seeking in -teresting experiences from fellow veter-ans. Cliff Collins, a member of the 93rd,

submitted the following, which might helpsome of you remember such times:

“THE MIRACLE”BY CLIFF COLLINS

You all have read or heard about mir-acles. Some of you may not have be -

lieved. I was a witness to this one. I was the tail gunner on a bombing mis-

sion to Ecshweiler, Germany on December30, 1944. Our pilot was Thomas H. String -er, from Claremore, Oklahoma. Our Groupwas the 93rd BG, 329th Squadron. We wereflying lead position for our group andother groups in the area. The plane’s seri-al number ended with 468. Remember thisnumber. Captain Andreis of the 446th BGwas flying with us as command pilot.

On the way to the target we had trou-ble with No. 3 engine. After we droppedour bombs, No. 1 engine lost its oil and hadto be feathered. We were losing our air-speed. I figured this would make us lategetting back to the base and if we kept los-ing engines we would be up there all day.

We had pulled away from the Groupand headed back alone. We were flyingover solid clouds — like a bed of cotton.With no fighter escort we were like a loneflying duck. The enemy loves this becausethey can hide in the clouds, come out,shoot and go back into the clouds. Thepilot told us our chances of making it backover the Channel were very slim. At that

time, our navigator, Jack Wright, said wewere still over enemy territory, so bailingout did not seem to be the thing to do —yet. What would save us now would bean airfield — friendly or not.

Very shortly after we had decided tostay on board a little longer, a big holeappeared in the clouds — PART OF THEMIRACLE. It was not formed by the wind.It looked like someone had taken theirhands and made a round hole in the clouds.Naturally we went down into the holeuntil we could start seeing objects on theground. THERE IT WAS — the secondpart of THE MIRACLE — an airfield.

As we got lower we could recognizeAllied aircraft in various places. The fieldhad been bombed by the Germans re cent -ly and the craters made for a rough land-ing — but we got down in good shape.The field had been set up to receive crip-pled aircraft, repair them and send themhome. After spending a few days — in clud -ing New Year’s Eve — in a town calledCam brai, France, we flew back to our baseat Hardwick near Norwich, England.

John Farrington, also of the 93rd — W.F.Griffin crew — contacted me after the 93rdreunion held in Dayton, Ohio a few yearsago and sent me his list of missions andthe planes they flew. Previous to the mir-acle mission they flew the plane #468 —see above reference in second paragraph.A plane had blown up in front of them andspread parts all through the aircraft. Thedamage from the explosion caused ourprob lem. Apparently the ground crewmissed seeing all the damage.

We know how most miracles were per-formed, and I have HIM to thank for help-ing us survive that mission.

— Cliff Collins (Stringer’s Stinger)[email protected]

✈ ✈ ✈ ✈

A little more on the 2ADA reunion inD.C. in October. As stated, we in the 93rdbelieve that it is important to give moreresponsibility to the younger generation.In order to do this, it will require greaterparticipation by the veterans who are theonly individuals who have a vote in mak-ing some changes. Every responsible po -sition in the 2ADA should have a backupfrom the younger group to ensure the car-rying on of the memory of those who madethe sacrifice. It is important to have thoseof you who can make it to be there when avote is taken. The next convention will bein Grand Rapids, Michigan in 2007. Hopeto see you there. ■

Ploesti planner diesRETIRED AIR FORCE GEN. JACOB SMART, 97, credited with planning theWorld War II raid over German-held oil refineries, died of congestive heart fail-ure November 12, 2006 at his home in Ridgeland, S.C.

It was Gen. Smart’s idea to strike the refineries in Ploesti, Romania, at low lev-els with heavy bombers — a strategy some military planners thought suicidal. Theplan in Aug ust 1943 was to send nearly 180 B-24 Liberator bombers, some of whichflew at 200 feet, to hit the refineries that produced much of Germany’s oil at the time.

Gen. Smart was shot down later by anti-aircraft fire over Austria and was a pris-oner of war in Germany for nearly one year. In captivity, he was pressed for infor-mation on the coming D-Day invasion but revealed nothing.

Gen. Smart was born in Ridgeland. He graduated from the U.S. Military Acad-emy in 1931 and en tered active duty as a second lieutenant. He briefly workedfor NASA after he retired from the military. ■

17

OLD IRON CORSET established the 44thBG’s records for the most combat mis-

sions flown by any aircraft in the 44th BGduring WWII — an almost unbelievable130 — as well as no early returns (aborts).“Curly” Nelson (as he was affectionatelycalled) supervised every one of them withhis tender, loving care. As both Curly andhis famous airplane have provided a con-siderable amount of background data, thisstory will cover the man and his crew.

Odis E. Nelson listed his hometown asColbert, Oklahoma, and often mentionedthat he was 1/16th Indian. He said that heliked his liquor and drank his share of it,but he always kept it under control. He hadworked in the oil fields prior to enlisting.

“Curly” began his career with the 44thBG, 67th Bomb Squadron, and quicklybecame an Aerial Engineer at BarksdaleField, Louisiana. Although the early rec -ords are rather incomplete, it was not longbefore he was promoted to No. 1 AerialEngineer and assigned to Capt. Howard W.Moore’s crew, the number one pilot in the67th Squadron, and later 67th SquadronCommanding Officer.

When the 44th BG was ordered over-seas in late August, 1942, new B-24s werereceived, with Capt. Moore naming his newaircraft Suzy Q in honor of his youngdaughter. Later, this same aircraft ledone section of the 44th BG’s formationsover the vast oil fields of Ploesti at mini-mum altitude. Col. Leon W. Johnson wasflying as the Command Pilot, and laterwas awarded the Congressional Medalof Honor for this mission.

Curly flew all of his combat missionsin Suzy Q, and always with Capt. HowardW. Moore’s crew. Capt. Moore would firstrub Curly’s partially balding head for luckbefore they took off on every mission.Good luck would always prevail. Howev-er, Curly’s mission assignment was cutshort when the severe cold and high alti-tude affected his ears, making it exceed-ingly painful. There was no other alter-native; he was removed from combat sta-tus and was “grounded,” although muchagainst his will.

GROUNDEDThis mandated action completely crushedCurly. For several weeks he seldom strayedfrom his barracks, and appeared lost andprobably quite ashamed. Most likely withCapt. Moore’s personal recommendations,Curly retained his rank, and was assigned

to ground crew duties. He quickly recov-ered. Throughout this period and untilOctober 1943, he made both trips to NorthAfrica on Detached Service, working nightand day as there were less than three groundpersonnel available per aircraft. Condi-tions there were very primitive; they livedin tents, very hot during daylight hours,then cooling rapidly at night. Food was notgreat, and many suffered from the G.I.s.

After the devastating mission of 1 Oc -tober 1943 to Weiner-Neustadt, Austria, thesecond Detached Services assignment wascompleted, and men and remaining air-craft returned to Shipdham. ReplacementB-24s and combat crews had recentlyarrived in large numbers, so Curly wasassigned a ground crew and his own air-craft. From that time on his heart and hissoul were in his airplane and his crew.

Curly’s first aircraft as a crew chief wasB-24D-165 CO 42-72873 Raggedy Ann II,which had flown a few missions prior toassignment to him late in October 1943.It was credited with 21 combat missionswhen it was forced to make an emergencylanding on 3 May 1944, and then trans-ferred to the 801st BG. It was shortly afterthat event that Old Iron Corset arrived atShipdham and was assigned to Curly Nel-son and his crew.

As of 10 January 1944, records listed thefollowing crew for T/Sgt. O.E. Nelson:

T/Sgt. Nelson, Odis E. (Crew Chief)

S/Sgt. Chowanski, Frank J. (AssistantCrew Chief)

Sgt. Rinn, Lewis D.Sgt. Hall, Carl C.Sgt. Evans, Donald A.Cpl. McCarthy, Alfred H.However, by the time that Old Iron

Corset arrived at Shipdham, both FrankChowanski and Sgt. Rinn had been pro-moted, and Carl C. Hall promoted to Cur -ly’s assistant. Curly did a great job of teach-ing, as Frank Chowanski went on to estab-lish records of his own; never had a combatcrewman injured on any aircraft on whichhe worked. He never “lost” an airplane, andhad over 35 missions on his first airplane,which was transferred out. Then his rec -ord on the next one, B24H-25 FO 42-95087K-Bar, unnamed, was 102 missions flownwhen the war ended.

Also, as time passed, the number of air-craft assigned to each squadron increasedfrom nine to eighteen, but very few addi-tional ground crewmen were available, somost existing crews gave up some per-sonnel. In April 1945 Curly’s crew had de -creased to: Sgt. Carl Hall, Pfc Frank Sheets,Pfc J.J. Wright, and Private D.W. Carver.Obviously, Curly definitely had to be a“working” crew chief.

The job of crew chief means what thetitle infers — he is in charge of the main-tenance crew that must keep “his” aircraft

The Old Iron Corset and Her Crew ChiefPART 2 OF 2 • BY C.W. “WILL” LUNDY (44th)

M/Sgt. O.E. “Curly” Nelson, crew chief of The Old Iron Corset. This photo was taken on23 February 1945, the date of the 44th BG’s 300th mission.


pp 20 & 17:Winter 2007 1/18/07 11:32 AM Page 1

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in combat-flying condition at all times.The job is more or less the same fromone bomber group to another, as well aswithin the same Group. However, it seemsappropriate to briefly outline how it wasdone in the 67th Squadron. This might notnecessarily have been followed in the otherthree squadrons at Shipdham or in otherbomb groups.

Crew chiefs were assigned an aircraftfor 24 hours a day, seven days a week aslong as it was on the ground, not flying.At least one man must be at the dispersalarea where it was assigned at all times,including guard duty. The crew membersalso were subject to temporary workassign ments other than the airplane, jobssuch as KP (kitchen police) and the “HoneyWagon” which involved servicing the manytoilet facilities on base. So, it would be avery rare day when a “Line Crew,” as itwas generally called, would have all menat their dispersal at one time.

Normally, when a crew member wasassigned to guard duty that night, he wouldbe allowed to “sleep-in” that morning andonly report for guard duty after dinner.However, for most of the time during ourstay there (nearly three years), this “guard”was expected to stay awake and outsidein the elements, rifle and all, for the en -tire period of darkness. Even the assistantcrew chief was required to pull this guardduty, for there simply were not sufficientmen available. The average crew contin-ued to decrease in numbers as more air-craft were assigned to each squadron dur -ing the course of the war, with very fewreplacements.

There was no electricity, heat or othermeans of comfort available at each andall dispersals. Most dispersals were locat-ed at least one mile away from any sourceof shelter, so nearly all crews managed toscrounge enough material to build somesort of shelter close to their aircraft. Thecrews also managed to develop some sortof means to heat their “shack.” All workwas done at the dispersal area withoutpower tools or electric lights. Flashlightswere an absolute necessity; normally theyworked without gloves, especially whenworking on the engines themselves. Onlymajor repairs or replacement work wasconducted in a hangar, with that work beingaccomplished by the 464th Sub Depot spe-cialists after the first winter of 1942-43.

Records also show that in September1944, the 67th Squadron honored three ofits men for their outstanding performanceby awarding them Bronze Stars. They

were: T/Sgt. Worley, Ordnance Chief;M/Sgt. James Eatmon, Crew Chief; andM/Sgt. Odis E. Nelson!! In August 1944Curly Nelson was promoted to M/Sgt. andFrank Chowanski became a T/Sgt.

One night near the end of the war,Curly and his crew were at work on OldIron Corset when a German aircraft madea strafing attack on the airfield, machineguns blazing. As luck would have it, theenemy aircraft was lined up directly inline with their dispersal. Again, the luckof Old Iron Corset held up, as one pro-jectile hit on the cement dispersal direct-ly under the aircraft, and missed all ofthe crew. The other bullets passed overthem, missing everything.

Through it all Curly maintained hissense of humor, and loved to play jokes oneveryone. One pilot after completing histour of duty, had returned to the U.S. andposted a “care package” back to Curly.As he knew that Curly liked his liquor, heemptied several bottles of hair lotion andafter-shave lotion, and refilled them withgood Scotch whisky. Curly was sure ofthe contents, but went into the act of need-ing some liquor, any liquor, so badly thathe would drink anything. So he openedthe oil bottle and insisted on drinking it!Crew chief George Baccash tried hard, butin vain, to keep Curly from “poisoning”himself.

ABORTSThe generally accepted definition of the

word as used here is: Any aircraft that wasassigned to a mission, took off, joined theformation, but returned early before bomb-ing or completing its assignment.

Obviously, the reasons for aborts werequite various due to many circumstancesinvolved with combat. However, an abortwas not charged against the crew chief orhis aircraft if the early return was causedby incidents beyond his control, i.e. piloterror, crew illness, etc. Also, when a crewchief determined his aircraft was unfit forflying, he reported it was “Redlined.” Thatassignment meant that the crew chiefwould not permit any pilot to “sign off”with it. If his objection or position wasover ruled, neither he nor the airplanewould be considered at fault.

This incident did happen one day, withthe 67th Squadron Engineering Officerbeing forced to overrule Curly’s Redlineposition. A preflight check clearly indi-cated that Old Iron Corset had one enginethat failed to perform to minimum stan-dards, a definite hazard, and the planewas Redlined. Apparently, there were noother replacement aircraft available, sothe Redline was “overruled.” This aircraft

departed with the others, but returned withthe engine “feathered.” It had failed just asCurly had predicted. No abort was chargedto the crew chief or the airplane. ■

THE OLD IRON CORSET (continuedfrom page 17)

489TH NOTES (continued frompage 16)of the Air Force Memorial Foundation;and General T. Michael Moseley, Chiefof Staff of the Air Force.

The following day, Sunday, the citybus tour of Washington, D.C. was sche-duled. The first stop was at ArlingtonNational Cemetery, which included avisit to the burial site of President JohnKennedy and brother Robert Kennedy.The only other president buried at Ar -lington is President William Taft, the27th President of the United States. Ouritinerary also in cluded the World War IIMemorial, which was my first visit tothat site. Other notable landmarks onour tour included the Vietnam WarMemorial, the Lincoln Memorial, andthe Korean War Memorial. The conven-tion concluded with an elegant banquetattended by over 450 people.

The fourth and final reunion, alunch eon, was sponsored by the West-ern Wing of the Pennsylvania Chapterof the Eighth Air Force Historical So -ciety. After crisscrossing the country toattend reunions during the year it wasnice to have one very close to my home.This event was held in the Pitts burgharea on October 18th. About 75 peo-ple attended this delightful gathering.

I have spent time sharing with youthe highlights and delights of my re -union so journs. While I have empha-sized the social aspects of the reunioncircuit, the reader should realize thedeeper and more profound meaningsinvolved. Reunions enable aging air-men to gather and remember theirpast; like-minded men molded by theevents they shared in air combat. Theyhave an opportunity to reflect, individ-ually and collectively, on the distanttime in their life’s journey, which in -cluded the harrowing, the dangerous,and the deadly. Each mission was eitherlife or death. Since then in our liveswe have experienced as a person fewother human events of this magni-tude. It seems only natural we reunitewith fellow airmen who were thereand shared the same experience.

By now you have likely sensed theend ing of this article. But I will say itanyway. Hope to see you at the nextreunion! ■

19

BY JIM LORENZ

ATTLEBRIDGE TALES

We had a very light attendance of 466thBG members at the October 14-16,

2006 2ADA convention — nine attendeeswith four voting members. It was agreedto keep the same officers for the 2006/2007 year: Jim Lorenz, 2ADA VP; JohnHoran, Assistant VP; and Stanley Mohr,Treasurer. Treasurer Stanley noted wehave our money in a soon-to-expire CD— for some $145. We will continue to pro-vide the 40 pounds for the 466th 2006 Vet-eran’s Day flowers for our Frans GreenMemorial. (£40 now equals $75). TheAmerican Superintendent of CambridgeAmerican Cemetery assured me that hewould be pleased to see that MemorialDay flowers are placed each year for the$100 per year fee. We can decide on thislater. We have no other ongoing expenses.

STORMBIRD (Me 262)The November 2006 issue of the Smith-sonian Air & Space magazine had a neatarticle on the rebuilding of four Me 262sin Everett, Washington. A local friend ofmine, Louis Werner, paid for the rebuild-ing of one of these. After some three years,the first two (with U.S. engines) are nowcompleted and flying. Some of us 8th AirForce crews will remember these twin en -gine jets in 1944-45 — very fast — and ourintelligence denied they were operational.German records indicate the 262s shotdown some 445 Allied planes. They alsohad a problem with the nose wheel onlanding — sound familiar? Some 1,430were produced, but only 300 reachedactive duty — thank goodness!!

A NASTY RIDE HOMEHere is a 466th mission story written

by James O. Auman:Active airmen of the 96th Combat Wing,

8th Air Force in World War II were mostconcerned about their comrades whodid not return from current missionsover continental Nazi-held Europe. It is a

requirement of all countries who complywith the Geneva Convention Accord, toreport the names, ranks and serial num-bers of any prisoners of war in their cus-tody. We learned early on that it took twoweeks or more to find this information.It was the groups’ headquarters policy toimmediately post those POW names onthe bulletin board of each station. If aname did not appear after three weeks,we assumed that the combatant was killedor possibly at large escaping.

On August 8th, Sgt. Albert Rapuanoand I checked the 466th bulletin boardand noticed a request for two volunteersto fly a mission the next day. I told Rap -uano that I was going to submit my namein order to complete my twenty-five mis-sion tour sooner. He had the same thought,so we both reported to Operations.

As always, our August 9th efforts start-ed at 5 a.m. After breakfast and briefing,we gathered our heated flying suits andboarded a truck to the hardstand wherewe found pilot Lt. Godbout and his crewat the ready. I was to fly as assistant en gi -neer and Rapuano was to fly as armorergunner. The aircraft was balanced andthe bomb load and fueling were checkedwith the crew chief. The Auxiliary PowerUnit and all other flight check sheets werein order and okayed and ready for themission. We got the flare signal from thetower and taxied to the main runway ina position for first takeoff.

This was a Pathfinder Flight, deep pen-etration target, a ball bearing facility in theSaarbrucken area. After taking some veryaccurate anti-aircraft fire, we approachedour primary objective only to find it wasovercast. It was decided to hit the equal-ly important secondary target, a supplydump. Our pattern on the supply dumpwas fine; however, we were pepperedagain very heavily by flak. No one wasinjured in our crew.

On our way home, we were avoidingAachen and Liegh and flew where wecould expect less ground fire. However,the Germans, who no doubt knew ourcautious ways, placed 88mm anti-aircraftartillery in our path and we came underan intense accurate barrage. I heard fourblasts very close. One made a direct hiton our right wing Liberator. The pilot, Lt.Harry McGregor, whose aircraft wingbroke off, turned into a flaming infernoand streaked to the earth. The crew hadno chance of bailing out. Our left wingbomber was hit and lost power. The pilotfell back, then left the formation. We laterlearned that they went to Sweden withfive crew members killed. The tail gun-ner on our crew, Staff Sergeant EdwardLucanic, was hit very badly in his left leg.

He went into shock immediately and hadto be unfastened and dragged from histurret, losing a large amount of bloodthat froze as soon as it hit the skin of theairplane. It was apparent that he wasgoing to bleed to death, but because ofthe 30 below zero temperature and tour -niquet applied, he was stabilized. I hadmy right ankle shattered and my electri-cally heated suit wire severed. My oxy-gen mask was on the floor. I was frozenstiff until we lowered our altitude overHolland and the North Sea. Major Thomp -son, our command pilot on this mission,placed a tourniquet on my leg and ad -ministered the last tube of morphine intomy upper leg.

Approaching our Attlebridge Airdromeour copilot shot a pistol flare from thecockpit area to alert people on the groundwe had an emergency condition. Welanded straight on in without taking thedownwind leg. At the end of our roll, wewere met by an ambulance and a team ofdoctors and medics who took us to thestation hospital. After examination andx-rays, we were driven to the 231 area hos-pital. About six teams of surgeons workeduntil 2:30 a.m. the next morning remov-ing shrapnel from dozens of flyers. Ser-geant Edward Lucanic was taken back tothe zone of interior a few days later. Ittook me over a year to find him in a hos-pital in Ohio. He eventually died of hisinjuries. ■

KETTERINGHAM HALL

I don’t have anything to submit for theJournal. We are in the process of get-

ting organized since I have been electedto the position of 2ADA Secretary. Ifany Headquarters member is interest-ing in be coming the Group Vice Presi-dent, please let me know. In the mean-time I am acting as Assistant Group VicePresident. My duties as 2ADA Secretaryare keeping me busy.

I hope to publish another Headquar-ters Newsletter soon. I have a few thingsto put in the newsletter. If any of youhave anything you would like to haveincluded, send me a message and a copy,and I will do my best. ■

BY RAY STRONG

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