Volume 40 Number 2 Summer 2001

THE 16 ARMYAIR FORCES

DURING WWII

Can you name the areaof the world each

one served?

✾ ✾ ✾

THE ARMY AIR FORCESCOMMANDER: HENRY H. ARNOLD

GENERAL OF THE ARMY AIR FORCES

FIFTH AIR FORCE SIXTH AIR FORCE SEVENTH AIR FORCE EIGHTH AIR FORCE

THIRTEENTH AIR FORCE FOURTEENTH AIR FORCE FIFTEENTH AIR FORCE TWENTIETH AIR FORCE

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DIRECTORYHonorary President .................................... JORDAN R. UTTAL

7824 Meadow Park Drive, Apt. 101, Dallas, TX 75230-4939Telephone: 214-369-5043 • Fax: 214-369-0758

OFFICERSPresident........................................................... FELIX LEETON

7325 Bonanza Place, Greenwell Springs, LA 70739Telephone: 504-261-5300 • Fax: 504-261-7197

Executive Vice President............................WALTER J. MUNDY23020 Basin Harbor Court, Tehachapi, CA 93561-9638

Telephone: 805-821-5101

Vice President Membership ........................... EVELYN COHEN6410 Delaire Landing Road, Philadelphia, PA 19114- 4157

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

Treasurer ........................................... E.W. (BILL) NOTHSTEIN40 Meadow Drive, Spencerport, NY 14559-1142Telephone: 716-352-3350 • Fax: 716-352-4201

Secretary and Director ofAdministrative Services ....................... DAVID G. PATTERSON

28 Squire Court, Alamo, CA 94507-2230Telephone: 510-837-1667 • Fax: 510-743-9940

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

9824 Crest Meadow, Dallas, TX 75230-5331Telephone: 214-987-0467 • E-Mail: b24man@aol.com

GROUP VICE PRESIDENTSHeadquarters ................................................. RAY E. STRONG

320 Burlage Circle, Chapel Hill, NC 27514-2701Telephone: 919-967-2301

44th Bomb Group .................................. RICHARD D. BUTLER16828 Mitchell Circle, Riverside, CA 92518 • Tel. 909-697-2908

Fax: 909-697-5875 • E-mail: red24@earthlink.net

93rd Bomb Group ............................................. ALFRED ASCH6205 Meadow Court, Rockville, MD 20852-3637

Telephone: 301-881-1376

389th Bomb Group ............................ BERNARD F. DRISCOLL431 Pool Road, Richards, TX 77873-9507

Telephone: 409-291-6253

392nd Bomb Group...................................... CHARLES E. DYE4949 San Pedro Dr. NE Apt. 87, Albuquerque, NM 87109-2583

Telephone: 505-883-3107

445th Bomb Group .............................................FRED A. DALEBox 352, Mahomet, IL 61853-0352

Telephone: 217-586-3136

446th Bomb Group ............................................... AUD RISLEY682 Slade Avenue, Elgin, IL 60120-3066

Telephone: 847-741-7757 • E-mail: Risley446@aol.com

448th Bomb Group......................................... ROBERT ANGLE1445 Forelle Lane, Tom’s River, NJ 08755

Telephone: 732-286-0948

453rd Bomb Group........................................... LLOYD PRANG4251 Willow Street, Greenwood, IN 46142

Telephone: 317-885-0224

458th Bomb Group.................................. E.A. (RICK) ROKICKI365 Mae Road, Glen Burnie, MD 21061-4694

Telephone: 410-766-1034 • Fax: 410-969-1452

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

Telephone: 602-951-0343

467th Bomb Group......................................GEOFF GREGORY3110 Sheridan, Garland, TX 75041- 4400

Telephone: 972-278-8537 • E-mail: ggregmt@aol.com

489th Bomb Group ...................................... NEAL SORENSEN132 Peninsula Road, Minneapolis, MN 55441- 4112

Phone & Fax: 612-545-2698

491st Bomb Group ......................................JOHN D. LEPPERT4383 Live Oak Blvd., Palm Harbor, FL 34685-4024

Telephone: 813-784-1984

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

Telephone: 303-756- 4766 • Fax: 303-759-3684

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

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

HERITAGE LEAGUEPresident......................................................... IRENE HURNER

7893 HWY #5, Hartville, MO 65667Telephone: 417-462-9109 • E-mail: irene@windo.missouri.org

2ND AIR DIVISION MEMORIAL ROOMTrust Librarian ................................................ DEREK S. HILLS2ADA / Fulbright Librarian ...................... CARSON HOLLOWAY

SECOND AIR DIVISION MEMORIAL ROOM71 Ber Street, Norwich, Norfolk NR1 3AD, England

PAUL R. KING, Chairman1 Limetree Road, Norwich NR2 2NF, England

DAVID J. HASTINGS, Vice Chairman“Westering,” Salhouse, Norwich, Norfolk NR13 6RQ, England

NICHOLAS P. COOPERWychwood, Colney Lane, Cringleford, Norwich, Norfolk, NR4 7RE

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR RICHARD CROCKATTSchool of Political History

University of East Anglia, Norwich, NR4 7TJ, EnglandMRS. FRANCES DAVIES

57 Church Lane, Eaton, Norwich, NR4 6NY, EnglandROGER A. FREEMAN

May’s Barn, Dedham, Nr. Colchester, Essex, EnglandCO7 6EW

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

HILARY HAMMOND1 Beach Dr, Strumpshaw, Norwich NR13 4AS, England

EDWARD O. INMANDirector of the Duxford Imperial War Museum

Duxford Airfield, Cambridge CB2 4QR, England

MS. CAROL LYNN MacCURDYCultural Attaché, U.S. Embassy,

24 Grosvenor Square, London, W1A 1AE, England

KEITH R. THOMASCannell Farm, Bow St GT Ellingham

Attleborough, Norfolk NR17 15A, England

CHARLES WALKER9824 Crest Meadow, Dallas, TX 75230-5331 USA

LT. COL. W.D. WUEST14 St. Andrews Close, Hingham, Norfolk NR9 4JT, England

MEMORIAL TRUST BOARD OF GOVERNORS

TABLE OF CONTENTSPresident’s Message

FELIX LEETON ............................................. 3Executive Vice President’s Message

WALTER MUNDY........................................... 4The Editor’s Comments

RAY PYTEL................................................... 5Report from the 2ADA Representativeto the Board of Governors

CHUCK WALKER........................................... 6Notes & News from the Honorary President

JORDAN R. UTTAL......................................... 7Bequest

GEOFF GREGORY........................................ 17Your Heritage League

IRENE HURNER........................................... 34Folded Wings................................................. 7New Members of the 2ADA....................... 17The PX Page................................................ 36Letters to the Editor ............................... 37-39

GROUP REPORTSDivision Headquarters

RAY STRONG .............................................. 1844th News

R.D. “DICK” BUTLER ................................... 12Open Letter to the 93rd

ALFRED ASCH ............................................ 14389th Green Dragon Flares

BARNEY DRISCOLL .................................... 24392nd Bomb Group

CHARLES E. DYE ........................................ 19445th Bomb Group

FRED A. DALE ............................................ 23446th Bungay Bull

AUD RISLEY .............................................. 11News of the 453rd from Flame Leap

LLOYD W. PRANG ...................................... 20458th Bomb Group

RICK ROKICKI ............................................ 22466th Bomb Group

JIM LORENZ ............................................... 27467th Poop from Group

GEOFF GREGORY........................................ 10489th Notes

NEAL SORENSEN ........................................ 25491st Ringmaster Reports

NOW VACANT............................................... 8492nd Happy Warrior Happenings

W.H. “BILL” BEASLEY.................................... 9

STORIES & ARTICLESA $24,000 History Lesson

NEA TODAY ................................................ 10First Plane in 458BG to Fly 50 Missions

STARS & STRIPES ....................................... 11We Knew It All Along

8AFHS-NEWSLETTER ................................... 13The “Other Side of the Coin”

J. FRED THOMAS......................................... 16Contribution Reminder

ALFRED ASCH ............................................ 17Looking Good in Norwich

LATEST VIEWS OF “THE LIBRARY” .............. 18Burning Hitler’s Black Gold

STERNFELS & WAY ..................................... 19Americans Are Not The Big Boozers

DENNIS WEST, GOOD HUMOR ...................... 21The Great Melon Raid ................................ 228th AF Museum That Also Teaches Character

HAP CHANDLER ......................................... 23Brit’s View of American “Football”

CIRCA 1944 ................................................ 25Petals of Fire

HERB ALF .................................................. 26Long Forgotten 445BG Hometown HeroFinally Got His Due

CHRIS DYER .............................................. 28So How Did You Get Your Purple Heart?

WILLIAM C. “ANDY” ANDERSON ................. 2920th Annual Southern California RegionalReunion Dinner Bash!

DICK BAYNES ............................................ 29The Golden Girl

ROBERT CRAIG, JR. ..................................... 30Germany’s Aircraft Carriers!

JACK B. STANKRAUFF ................................ 31Once Called the “Meanest SOB” in the8AF... This C.O. is Now Called a Savior

ROBERT F. DORR......................................... 33Final “Article” for Summer

RAY PYTEL ................................................ 35Stars & Stripes Goes to Press Again inFrance After 25 Yrs.

STARS & STRIPES ....................................... 35

SECOND AIR DIVISION ASSOCIATION

Unfortunately, this is written theweek before we gather in Col-orado Springs for the Executive Com-mittee meeting! Hang on until Sep-tember for news from next week!!

We plan to drive to ColoradoSprings and do a short visit toRoswell, NM, on the way back. Itwill be my first visit, but Marge wasthere in 1943. I am interested inseeing if the Office of Saline Water’sdemonstration desalination plantinstalled there in the 60’s is still oper-ating. It was a surprise to read thatRoswell’s start and early developmentwas based on their water supply.

At this time, the major concern Ihave is the hue and cry over the foot-and-mouth outbreak currently caus-ing such a stir in Europe. Closer tohome, Evelyn Cohen reports that shehas received cancellations for ourConvention in November citing this

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THE 2ND AIR DIVISION ASSOCIATIONtraces its initial meeting to 1948 in Chicago,Illinois. It was organized as a nonprofit cor-poration in the State of Illinois on January10, 1950. Members of the original Board ofDirectors were 2nd Air Division veteransMarilyn Fritz, Howard W. Moore, Jordan R.Uttal, and Percy C. Young. The association’spurpose is to advocate and support an ade-quate, effective and efficient Army, Navy andAir Force at all times; to perpetuate the friend-ships and memories of service together inthe 2nd Air Division, 8th Air Force in Eng-land during World War II; to support finan-cially, and in any other way, the MemorialTrust of the 2nd Air Division as representedby the 2nd Air Division Memorial Room of theNorwich Central Library; and to undertakesuch other activities as may from time to timebe deemed appropriate by the membership.

REGULAR (Voting) MEMBERSHIP inthe association is limited to those personnel,military and civilian, American or British,who at any time served with the Headquar -ters organization of the 2nd Bomb Wing,2nd Bomb Division or 2nd Air Division dur -ing World War II and any person who servedwith any bomb group or fighter group or anyother unit of the 2nd Air Division assignedor attached. Provisions are made for Asso-ciate (Non-Voting) memberships and alsofor subscribing memberships (Non-Voting).

Please submit all material forpublication to the editor by the 15th ofJanuary, April, July, or October.We make every effort to mail your Journalwithin 45 days of the deadline listed above,with the exception of the Winter issue (Oc -tober deadline) which is mailed early in Jan -uary. Your receipt of the Journal will be any -where from one to four weeks later, de pend -ing on the U.S. Postal Service — especiallyyour own post office. If you don’t get yourJournal by the next deadline, contact EvelynCohen immediately. ■

Latest 2ADARoster Available$5.00 POSTPAID

RESTRICTED USE, PLEASE!Send $5.00 check to:

C.N. ‘BUD’ CHAMBERLAIN21055 George Brown Avenue

Riverside, CA 92518-2815Tel. (909) 697-2644Fax (909) 697-2232

E-Mail: onbud22@aol.com

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGEBY FELIX LEETON (389TH)

Late Major Leslie M. Thompson (446BG & member of 2ADA), and 1st Lt. Felix B.Leeton (389th BG), go hunting near Chanute Field in Illinois—1946.

as a reason. The info I have receivedis that there will be plenty of foodavailable; the Food Standards Agencyhas advised that cases of the hoof-and-mouth disease have no implica-tions for the human food chain. Thereason why temporary controls onthe export of live animals, meat, anddairy products have been imposed bythe Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheriesand Food is on the grounds of animalhealth, not food safety.

I plan to proceed as planned;besides, as the song almost says, “it’sa long, long way from April ‘tilNovember!” Editor’s Note: And Tip-perary!

For more on the convention see:http://www.2ndair.org.uk/history.htmand click on ‘Calendar.’

NOTE: If you don’t get throughmake sure that the www was printedin the address). ■

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Executive Vice President’s MessageBY WALTER MUNDY (467TH)

Iwas asked by Al Asch, Group VicePresident of the 93rd Bomb Group, toattend their reunion as the representa-tive of the Second Air Division. FelixLeeton was also invited and we agreedthat I would attend. There were about135 93rd B.G. Veterans and guests atSavannah. The reunion was extremelywell organized and the 93rd dedicatedtheir Group Memorial Plaque in theMighty Eighth Air Force HeritageMuseum Honor Garden. They also ded-icated the bronze bust of General TedTimberlake. My wife Ruth and I weretreated to a very warm welcome andeveryone was most gracious. Weenjoyed the Reunion activities at theMEAFHM and a river boat cruise upthe Savannah River. My congratulationsand thanks to Al Asch and the entireGroup for an outstanding event.

The timing is unfortunate that thisand the other reports cannot include theeffort of the EXCOM in the summerJournal, and they will have to wait untilthe fall edition sometime in September.The good news is that the Groupreports will not be affected.

In my message in the last Journal, Iincluded a copy of my letter to GeneralWoerner in which I made some com-ments concerning the WWII Memorial.I am enclosing a copy of the reply that Ireceived. My feelings after reading thereply, are that we must find a way toinsure that the 2ADA and the 8th A.F.are prominently and correctly repre-sented as a major element in the memo-rial. I hope that the Groups will comeforward with any and all suggestionsconcerning the material that we wouldlike future generations to see and appre-ciate, about the contribution and sacri-fice that the Second Air Division madeto achieve victory and freedom for theworld.

We cannot say often enough that themembership needs to bite the bullet andmake their Bequest Pledge and executetheir Will to provide for the perpetua-tion of the operation of our MemorialLibrary. I urge each of you that have notmade your pledge to “just do it.” What-ever amount you pledge, I can assureyou that you will rest in peace now andforever after having done so. Let’s showour British friends at the Norwich Con-vention that, “we will never forget”either.

I extend my congratulations toNorma Beasley for obtaining her mem-bership in The National Association of

Parliamentarians. Her knowledge ofparliamentary procedures has alwaysbeen outstanding.

January 19, 2001

Mr. Walter J. Mundy24030 Basin Harbor CourtTehachapi, CA 93561-9638

Dear Mr. Mundy:Thank you for your recent letter to

General Woerner regarding theNational World War II Memorialdesign. I will forward your comments tothe members of our design committeefor their consideration as they developthe important content for the memorial.

The design shown at the ground-breaking ceremony reflected the finalarchitectural design that was approvedby the Commission of Fine Arts and theNational Capital Planning Commission.Those approvals will allow constructionto begin, but the content of the memor-ial—the inscriptions and the stone andbronze sculptures—that will tell thestory of the war effort must still bedefined. Now that the architecture hasbeen approved, our committee willdevote full attention to these importantcontent issues, so your comments arevery timely. I assure you that the com-mittee shares your desire that the total-ity of the war effort be conveyed withinthe memorial.

I trust that when the memorial iscompleted, you will find that it does, infact, “memorialize the sacrifices of themen who gave their lives that we mayenjoy freedom.” Thanks again for yourrecommendations.

Sincerely,

Michael G. ConleyAssociate Executive Director ■

2ADA Memorial Librarywww.ecn.co.uk /memorial /

B-24 Veterans Sitewww.mach3ww.com /b24 /html

B-24 Netwww.b24.net /b24main.htm

Heavy Bombers of USAAF Groupswww.heavybombers.com /index.html

445th Web Sitewww.445th-bomb-group.com

801/492 BG Carpetbaggers Sitewww.fortunecity.com /meltingpot/roberts/38

Official 467th BG Sitewww.siscom.net /~467bg

Andy Wilkinson’s Web Sitewww.usaaf467th.org.uk

Fred Holdrege’s Web Sitewww.hometown.aol.com /f2holdrege/flightplan.html

PEP Sitewww.it-as-usual.co.uk

44TH BOMBGROUP VETERANS

ASSOCIATIONMichel “Mike Yuspeh

506 SQ 44th Bomb Group7214 Sardonyx Street,

New Orleans, LA 70124(504) 283-3424 “E” Mail -

Mikeyuspeh@worldnet.att.netFax: (504) 283-3425

6Rings — Reunion Chairman 44thMember Mayor’s Group of 41-

PrePlanning Committee

44th Bomb Group, B. Wing, Str.Msl.Wing. Annual reunion Oct. 15-18,2001 Isle of Capri Casino & Hotel,Bossier City, LA & Barksdale Fieldwith restored B-24J “LouisianaBelle.” Contact: Mike Yuspeh, 7214Sardonyx Street, New Orleans, LA70124-3509. Phone: (504) 283-3424. Fax: (504) 283-3425 (Pick upon 6 rings). E Mail: Mikeyuspeh@worldnet.att.net. ■

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THEEDITOR’S

COMMENTSBY RAY R. PYTEL (445th)

Some of you are flak happy... a disease similar to the Air Corps hap-piness and other cliches.Flak is a derogatory term for press agent... Flak is what the Germans

were shooting at you. There is a difference.The Air Corps were taken over by the 16 Army Air Forces after June

20, 1941, and if you were in the ‘service’ you were at least in one of them.Enough said.

SUMMER QUIZ:Can you tell us where each one of the 16 Army Air Forces served? You

must have served in at least two, unless you transferred directly from theArmy Ground Forces into the 8th AF — Answers in the Fall.

SPRING ANSWERS:

WHAT DO IT MEAN BOSS?8th Air Force Second Air Division Group Markings

The group markings introduced for Bomb units in June, 1943, werefirst seen on Liberators of the 392nd BG, equipped with the newnose turret B-24H models, which took up station in England inAugust, 1943. The 44th, 93rd, and 389th groups of the 2nd Divisiondid not receive these markings until their return from North Africa. Allaircraft had a 72 inch diameter white disc painted on the upper halvesof the vertical tails and on the top of the right wing. In the latter case,the diameter was sometimes 78 inches. Each group in the division wasidentified by an Insignia Blue letter superimposed on the disc, the letterbeing in order of group numerical designation. Thus, the four groupsin the division, the 44th, 93rd, 389th, and 392nd, became A, B, C, andD. Some letters were not used because of the likelihood that they mightbe confused with others. G was one, because of its similarity to C, andO was another because it could be confused with D. Generally, a dis-temper white wash type paint was used for the white discs.

While this group marking was easily placed on the wing, on the fin andrudder it posed a problem as it would cover the existing markings. Thesolution was to place the disc high on the tail and to repaint the radio-callnumber and call letter below it. The call number came directly under thedisc and this left sufficient room below for an 18 to 24 inch letter. Subse-quently, the painting of the white disc and repositioning of the call numberwas carried out at UK depots prior to delivery on new B-24s. ■

2AD CIRCLE B-24s BASED AT:A — 44 BG SHIPDHAMB — 93 BG HARDWICKC — 389 BG HETHELD — 392 BG WENDLINGF — 445 BG TIBENHAMH — 446 BG BUNGAYI — 448 BG SEETHINGJ — 453 BG OLD BUCKENHAMK — 458 BG HORSHAM ST. FAITHL — 466 BG ATTLEBRIDGEP — 467 BG RACKHEATHU — 492 BG NORTH PICKENHAMW — 489 BG HALESWORTHZ — 491 BG METFIELD / N. PICKENHAM

AG 330 BS 93 BGCI 576 BS 392 BGCT 712 BS 448 BGDC 577 BS 392 BGEC 578 BS 392 BGEE 565 BS 389 BGEI 714 BS 448 BGFL 704 BS 446 BGGC 579 BS 392 BGGJ 68 BS 44 BGGO 328 BS 93 BGHN 705 BS 446 BGHP 567 BS 389 BGIG 713 BS 448 BGIO 715 BS 448 BGIS 703 BS 445 BGJU 707 BS 446 BGMK 701 BS 445 BGNB 67 BS 44 BG

QK 506 BS 44 BGRE 329 BS 93 BGRN 700 BS 445 BGRR 566 BS 389 BGRT 706 BS 446 BGWQ 66 BS 44 BGWV 702 BS 445 BGYM 409 BS 93 BGYO 564 BS 389 BGE3 732 BS 453 BGE8 734 BS 453 BGF8 733 BS 453 BGH6 735 BS 453 BGJ3 755 BS 458 BGJ4 753 BS 458 BGQ2 790 BS 467 BGS4 845 BS 489 BGT4 847 BS 489 BGT8 853 BS 491 BG

T9 784 BS 466 BGU8 786 BS 466 BGV2 855 BS 491 BGX4 859 BS 492 BGX7 788 BS 467 BGZ5 754 BS 458 BG2U 785 BS 466 BG3Q 852 BS 491 BG4R 844 BS 489 BG4Z 792 BS 467 BG5Z 856 BS 492 BG6A 789 BS 467 BG6L 787 BS 466 BG6X 854 BS 491 BG7V 752 BS 458 BG8R 846 BS 489 BG9A 858 BS 492 BG9H 857 BS 492 BG

2AD SQUADRON MARKINGS

Squadron markings were usually painted on the fuselagebetween the star and the tail / rudder.

LATEINTRODUCED APRIL 1944. COLOUR MARKING PATTERNS.

EARLYSECOND AIR DIVISION MARKINGS FROM JULY1943: GROUP IDENTIFICATION LETTER IN INSIGNIABLUE OR BLACK ON 6’0” DIAMETER WHITE DISC.

ON UPPER SURFACE STARBOARD WING ANDOUTER SIDES OF EACH FIN / RUDDER.

DISTANCE OF DISC CENTRE FROM WINGTIP VARIED. EXTREMES OF ABOUT 9’0” AND 18’6” NOTED.

CALL NUMBER REMARKED BELOW DISC. A/C CALL LETTER AT BOTTOM OF FIN.

44 BG 458 BG93 BG 489 BG389 BG

27” 30”} {

NOTE A/C CALL LETTER IN CENTER OF STRIPE - ALL GPS.

36” WIDE AT45º TO RUDDER

POST.

448 BG, 453 BG,467 BG, 492 BG, (491) BG.

392 BG, 445 BG, 446 BG, 466 BG, 491 BG

ALL YELLOW OUTERSURFACES FIN/RUDDER.

489 BG AUGUSTTO NOVEMBER 1944.

VARIABLE - 36” USUAL

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Report from the 2ADA Representative to the Board of Governors

BY CHUCK WALKER (445TH)

Work on the new MillenniumLibrary is progressing at a fever-ish pace. The roof is on, the windowsare in place and the scaffolding has beenremoved. Remaining work is mainlybeing done on the interior of the build-ing and of course, the landscaping is yetto be done. The 250 car, undergroundcar park is to open in June. Late Augustis still being touted as the opening datefor the new Millennium Library. Would-n’t it be nice if it opened by the time youreceived this Journal.

Our Memorial Trust Planning Com-mittee has done an excellent job and iswell ahead of the power curve in prepar-ing for the opening of our Second AirDivision Memorial Library. In the wordsof Paul King, “It is going to be a mostamazing building and nobody in 1945,in starting the fund drive for a memor-ial, could have imagined what would bethe outcome some 56 years later.”

Our Trust Treasurer, Chris Williams,is confident our year ending (the end ofMarch), will be satisfactory and that asurplus of a few thousand pounds willbe generated. Not as much, however, asthe £10,000 plus of last year. In all like-lihood, next year the Trust will moveinto the red because of the additionalstaffing costs of the new library. TheFinance committee is forecasting the2001/2002 short fall to be £5,500. It isexpected the Governors will spend £5-6,000 on opening expenses connectedwith the official opening. Commercialsponsorship is being sought as charityfunds (our capital funds), cannot bespent in this way. There is now£731,340 in the corpus. The Book Pur-chasing Endowment stands at £150,000

and the County Council continues itsgenerous support of our Memorial.

The Finance Committee reports theneed for an additional £500,000 toendow the Capital Fund (corpus) neededto support the enlarged library and toassure against inflation. What the com-mittee is saying, there is a need for anincrease of £17,000 per year in interestgenerated by the corpus. Why? OurMemorial Library is now operated by aTrust Librarian and 2 aides who are parttime employees and clearly the newenlarged library will require additionalman hours. It’s Paul’s opinion the Gov-ernors will be unable to raise more than£100,000 of that amount and the restwill have to come from the 2ADA mem-bership and its friends and supporters inthe United States.

Carol Lynn MacCurdy is the NewCultural Attache and attended the lastGovernor’s meeting. Paul King reportsshe is a charming person but has not asyet been designated as a potential Gov-ernor by the Ambassador.

President Bush has nominatedWilliam Farrish to be the next Ambas-sador to Britain. He is a Texas oil mil-lionaire and a successful horse breeder.Queen Elizabeth has been a guest at hisKentucky farm. Their mutual interest inhorses bodes well for Mr. Farrish’s con-firmation. (Mr. Farrish’s confirmationshould have occurred by the time youread this.)

Paul King says, “The Trust, in myopinion, has never been in better shape,thanks to support and encouragementwe receive from the 2ADA, for whichwe are extremely grateful and also dueto the dedication of my fellow Gover-

nors. We are attracting younger Gover-nors and shall elect Victoria Musgraveto the Board and possibly a dedicatedhistory teacher in his thirties from myold preparatory school.”

It has been announced that JohnCreber will retire in August. The SecondAir Division Association expresses itssincere thanks to John for his valuablecontributions and for all his supportover the years. Ms. Jennifer Holland willbe his successor.

Derek Hills, Trust Librarian, wouldespecially like to mention the invaluablecontribution of Lesley Fleetwood andJenny Christian over the past 12months. Their hard work, flexibility andsupport have been instrumental in main-taining opening hours and meetings.

Andrea Hough has accepted the postof 2ADA/Fulbright Librarian as CarsonHolloway’s successor. She is scheduledto attend our April ExCom meeting.

It has been your Representative’sforemost effort to emphasize the factthat this is a Memorial to those whogave their lives and those who servedduring World War II. The purpose of theMemorial is to remember the sacrificesmade by our servicemen and to portraya history of the 2nd Air Division duringthe war and the American people andthe American culture.

Nothing should detract from the ded-icated purpose of this endeavor.

CHECK OUT THE NEWIMPROVED WEB SITE:

www.ecn.co.uk/memorial/index.htmI WILL LOOK FOR YOU IN NOR-

WICH IN NOVEMBER. ■

The German air controllers at Frankfurt Air-port are a short-tempered lot. They expectevery incoming crew to know its gate locationand how to get there without any assistancefrom them. Witness the following exchangebetween Frankfurt ground control and a BritishAirways 747 (call sign “Speedbird 206”) afterlanding.Speedbird 206: “Top of the morning. Speed-

bird 206 is clear of the active runway.”Ground: (in heavily accented English): “GutenMorgan! You vill taxi to your gate!”The big British Airways 747 pulled onto themain taxi way and slowed to a stop.Ground: “Speedbird! Do you not know vareyou are going?”Speedbird 206: “Stand by a moment, Ground,I’m looking up our gate location now.”Ground (with some arrogant impatience):“Speedbird, haff you never flown to Frankfurtbefore?”

Speedbird 206 (cooly): “Yes, I have, severaltimes in 1944, but I didn’t stop.”

And in Munich, it went like this:Lufthansa (in German): “Ground, what is ourstart clearance time?”Ground (in English): “If you want an answeryou must speak English.”Lufthansa (in English this time): “I am aGerman, flying a German airplane in Germany.Why must I speak English?”Beautiful English Accent (before Ground couldanswer): “Because you lost the bloody war!” ■

ON THE GERMAN SIDE361ST FTR GROUP NEWSLETTER

7

Notes & News From the Honorary PresidentBY JORDAN R. UTTAL (HQ)

Well, hello again. Here we are onSaturday, the 14th of April, 2001.I have just re-read the very personalthoughts I expressed in the spring 2001Journal and the good fortune I havebeen blessed with so far seems to havegotten me through Friday the 13th,2001.

By the way, someone told me recentlyhow to live to be 100. He said you haveto give up all the pleasurable pastimesthat have made you want to get to be100 in the first place. You can take yourchoice. I know what mine will be!

But, getting down to business, I ampleased to report that without any armtwisting from me, those SPECIALCONTRIBUTIONS FOR BOOKS keepcoming in. Many of them have includedinteresting personal histories which Ifeel are worthy of comment. As youknow, I have shared some of them withyou. This time there was one withamusing coincidences.

One of our members, a former navi-gator with the 448th sent in a donationto provide books for seven individuals.The first two were for crewmates KIA.The third was for another 448th navi-gator who after finishing his tourreturned to the U.S. to become a FighterPilot. While serving in Korea, CaptainJoseph McConnell became a triple aceand ultimately met his death as a testpilot. A film, starring Alan Ladd, wasproduced in Hollywood called, “TheMcConnell Story” describing his adven-tures.

The fourth was for a friend of his,Jack Regan, of the 466th who was KIAon April 21, 1945, in the last 2nd AirDivision bomber shot down over Ger-many. Coincidence — Jack Regan wentto my University some years after I did,and was a member of the same LetterClub as I was. Just three or four yearsago, I met his brother, Jim, at a VarsityClub dinner in New York. In conversa-tion, I learned about his brother andwas able to investigate and report to Jimthat Jack was on the 2AD Roll ofHonor.

The fifth and sixth books were inmemory of two B-17 crewmen KIA inApril, 1944. One of them was a class-mate of the donor at navigation school.The other was a waist gunner engineer.At any rate, their outstanding courage

was wonderfully described in a book,“Valor at Polebrook” by Rick Schooland Jeff Rogers. Both individuals wereawarded the Medal of Honor.

Now, about the seventh whom thedonor describes as one of his greatestheroes...WINSTON CHURCHILL! Inthe almost 25 years that this “SpecialContributions for Books” program hasbeen in operation, this is the first timethat an outstanding world figure has beenso honored by one of us. It was good tobe reminded by the donor that after theWar, Mr. Churchill was made an Hon-orary Citizen of the United States.

I bow to another donor, this time toa lovely lady whose husband recentlyfolded his wings. She asked her friendsand family to omit flowers, and sug-gested contributions for books in hismemory. This resulted in enough booksfor a contribution to the 2AD MemorialTrust now, and for an Endowment, theinterest from which will provide booksevery year in her husband’s name intothe future. As I have noted many timesbefore, this program provides many ofus the opportunity to honor thememory of anyone near and dear whohas gone on.

Actually, it doesn’t have to be a caseof Folded Wings. This time I can reportthat one of our members of very longstanding chose to honor two of themembers of the current Executive Com-mittee. What a great example of friend-ship... of the ties that bind. Both thehonorees were profoundly grateful.

FRIENDS OF THE 2ND DIVISIONMEMORIAL

This is another story — one whichperhaps involved a slight bit of armtwisting. BUT, I am happy to be able toreport that 100% of the Excom votingmembers have participated, which I willbe proud to report overseas. There havebeen many more from the membership,and all are welcome. Any questions...write, phone or shout!! Thanks for thesupport, guys and gals.

IT’S A SMALL WORLD (AGAIN)And here’s where the second coinci-

dence comes in... On April 3, at a lun-cheon meeting of the English SpeakingUnion to which I belong, the guestspeaker was a distinguished history pro-fessor and Dean of the Division of Con-

Folded Wings44th

Patrick L. ColucciGoodman G. GriffinBernard J. SchaeferHerbert M. Light Jr.

389thMathias A. Gilles

Albert J. PumputisJohn H. Wilson Jr.

448thLloyd A. Drury

453rdRoger R. Hahn

Harry F. Godges

458thBernard J. HinzJohn P. Roberts

Leslie Stuckey, Jr.William P. Booth

tinuing Education at the University ofTexas in Austin. What was his subject?“The Early Struggles of WINSTONCHURCHILL.” It was a great presenta-tion, and involved World War II history,but no mention of air power. When itcame time for questions and com-ments... GUESS WHAT? When I wasrecognized, in the first sentence I spoke,I tried to tell him about the uniquememorial my outfit left in England; andhe interrupted with this... “Well, sir, ithad better be good to equal the 2nd AirDivision Memorial Library in Nor-wich.” Even with my weakened legs, Imanaged to keep my feet — utterlythrilled to see that he knew about “thegreatest love story that has never beentold!” We went on for about ten min-utes to our mutual delight and that ofthe audience. Yes, he knew about2ADA, had visited the library with agroup in 1990, and was most compli-mentary about all those things aboutwhich I expressed PRIDE in the lastissue. He was delighted to learn aboutour forthcoming trip to Norwich inNovember, as did the audience... to thepoint where I have been asked to makea presentation at the October meeting.Dr. Thomas Hatfield left no doubt thatwe would be in further touch. How’sthat for a coincidence?

Warmest greetings to you all. Bewell.... Have fun! ■

8

BY JOHN D. LEPPERT

METFIELD / NORTH PICKENHAM

LONG DISTANCE COURTING

Ray Litton, 853rd Bomb Squadron’s Operation Officer met a Red Crossgirl who ended up in Paris in the fall of 1944. MARJORIE, a beautifulredhead, became Ray’s target for a lifetime. Every time he got a chance, Rayflew to Paris to court Marjorie.

In the early part of 1945, Ray and Marjorie were married at North Pick-enham chapel. We started them off in style with a parade and everyone’sbest wishes.

They joined us on the QUEEN MARY for the trip home. Marjorie con-tacted the ship’s Captain and requested a honeymoon cabin. They got itand had a first class trip home along with the over 15,000 other Americansand Canadians on the ship.

They rejoined the 491st Bomb Group in Tacoma and many of us had agreat time exploring the area in the fall of 1945. Ray went with PAN AMand was the Captain on the first commercial flight into Russia.

REMEMBER GOING HOME?In July 1945, most of the 8th Air Force

was headed home. The QUEEN MARY car-rying over 15,000 American and Canadiantroops sailed from Scotland to New York.

The passengers included most of the staffof the Groups plus a great many of the sup-port people. It was a t-day crossing and atremendous welcome as we came into NewYork harbor. Not too many dry eyes as wepassed the Statue of Liberty followed by thesalutes from fireboats, Coast Guard, andmany other vessels.

We were almost home again. ■U.S. NAVY BLIMP ESCORTS

BRITISH LINER, QUEEN MARY

“QUEEN MARY” LEAVING SCOTLAND, JULY 1945THE 8TH AIR FORCE GOING HOME

9

NORTH PICKENHAM

DOUBLE HEADER -FEBRUARY 24, 25, 2001

ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA - 2ADASOUTHERN CALIFORNIA DINNER AND

492ND BG BRUNCH AND MINI-REUNION

2ADA SOUTHERN CALIFORNIADINNER

• Carl Taylor and Sam Miceli representedthe 492nd Bomb Group in the candlelighting ceremony.

• There were 32 members of the 492ndat the dinner. Frank Bales, Jr. was pre-sent but could not attend the brunch.

• The Double Header mini-reunion was awinner. There were 31 members repre-senting the 492nd attending thebrunch—they were:Andy and Eileen Anderson; J. Frank;

Pauline Bales, Bill, Norma and CraigBeasley; Patrick Byrne and CaroleThompson; William and Kathy Jensen,Carl and Verla Johnson; Patricia and AlMattson; Sam and Edith Miceli; M. ScottMoorhead; Bessie Brindle; William andSydney Moorhead; Thomas and MaryAnne Nelson; Harry and Sally Orthman;Richard Rosenberry; Willie Sparks; Carland Shirley Taylor; Walter and JoyceWhite.

In addition, 20 invited guests fromother groups attended. They wereRichard and Margaret Baynes 466th BG;President of the 8th AFHS, Dick and ValBoucher 445th BG; Dick and ArdithButler, VP 44th BG; Bud and Mike Cham-berlain 489th BG; Mark, Monica andChristopher Hoage 8th AFHS (Mark hasa great collection of WWII material);Charles and Agnes McBride 448th BG; E.King and Paula Schultz, Jr. 448th BG;Jack and Lucille Stevens 467th BG; J.Fred and Elva Thomas 392nd BG; HenryWedaa 487th BG.

• Team Coach and Master of CeremoniesHarry Orthman did an excellent job ofarranging for the Ramada Hotel andthe brunch at the Phoenix Club.

• First up to bat before brunch, TeamManager Group V.P. Bill Beasley wel-comed everyone and shared back-ground stories about some of theguests.

• Second up to bat was Bill Moorhead,who gave a moving invocation that he

said was in collaboration with his sisterBessie and brother Scott.

• Third up to bat was Craig Beasley, wholed the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.

• The Second Inning Stretch—Afterbrunch there were several memberswho were brave enough to tell theirWWII stories which everyone couldrelate to and enjoyed. Harry Orthman,Jack Stevens, Dick Rosenberry, and BillMoorhead participated in sharing theirstories.

• Winners, Norma and I, were presentedwith a plaque of appreciation for ourefforts on behalf of the 492nd. We wereoverwhelmed and greatly appreciative.Our efforts on behalf of the 492ndBomb Group are a labor of love.

• Home Run—Following a group photoshoot, everyone braved the rain forhome. The only downer for the week-end was that it poured rain for twodays. No matter, everyone had a goodtime.

SOUTHWEST REGIONAL DINNERDALLAS, TEXAS

We could not make this dinner, but areport from Bob and Dorothy Cash saidthat those who did had a very good time.The following 492nd BG attendees were:Billy Gene Biggs and his wife; Bob andDorothy Cash; Milton and BettyGoodrich; Jim James; and Joe McCrory.Billy Biggs represented the 492nd BombGroup in the candle lighting ceremony.

PURPLE HEART RECIPIENTSVeterans awarded the Purple Heart for

combat wounds will find it easier to getmedical care from the Department of Vet-erans Affairs. Under new VA rules, PurpleHeart veterans now have a higher priorityfor healthcare services than before. Also,they don’t have to make out-of-pocketpayments, technically known as “co-pay-ments” for either inpatient or outpatientVA medical services.

Congress, in the Veterans MillenniumHealth Care and Benefits Act, approvedthe VA’s new eligibility rules for PurpleHeart recipients last year. The changeaffects the seven-step priority system thatCongress set up for VA health care.

It moves Purple Heart recipients whowere in VA priority groups 4 through 7into priority group 3. Purple Heart recip-ients who qualify for priority groups 1 or

2 by virtue of service-connected disabili-ties will stay in those groups.

If you are claiming benefits as a PurpleHeart recipient you must prove that youhave been awarded the decoration. TheVA will accept the following as proof:Defense Department Form 214, dischargepapers, military personnel records, ordersor award certificates.

FYI KOREAN WAR VETERANSThe Air Force Personnel center’s Spe-

cial War medal Action Team has mailed25,000 Korean War Service Medals torecipients from all services. Some 5,000more approved requests are waiting to befilled. The center expects to ship 150,000medals a year for the next three years,said a spokesman. Korean War Veteranscan get information on the KWSM bycalling the Center at (800) 558-1404, orvisiting the AFPC Web site:http://www.afpc.randolph.af. mil/awards

NORWICH - NOVEMBER 2001At this writing, 24 people from the

492nd have registered to go to the 2ADAreunion in Norwich. On Thursday,November 8, there will be a visit to theold base at North Pickenham. We willstop at the Blue Lion Pub for refresh-ments and a tour around the base. Plansare being made for the Group Dinner. Ifyou feel you can make it, be sure to con-tact Evelyn Cohen as to the availability ofrooms. The 492nd is scheduled to stay inthe Maid’s Head Hotel across from theNorwich Cathedral.

MEMORIAL DAY• Again this year, as in years past, a

wreath to remember the War Dead andMissing of the 492nd Bomb Group willbe laid in Cambridge Cemetery by Rus-sell Ives; Netherlands Cemetery byHenney and Tiny Kwik; and theArdennes Cemetery by FerdinandDessante.

• The Second Air Division Associationwill have a wreath laid in each of the 13Battle Monument Cemeteries again thisyear. There are nine cemeteries inEurope and four in the Mediterraneanarea.

• I am proud of Norma Beasley for pass-ing the National Association of Parlia-mentarians exam. She is now a regis-tered Parliamentarian. There are only160 registered Parliamentarians in theState of Colorado.

• Ever notice the older we get, the morewe’re like computers? We start out withlots of memory and drive, then weeventually become outdated, crash atodd moments, acquire errors in our sys-tems, and have to have our partsreplaced. (A Carlton Card). ■

Howdy from Texas!“FLUMMOXED!” Now that is a word to contemplate! I

had not heard that word for over 60 years, till I heard RushLimbough use it the other day on his radio show. (Yes, I listento Rush.) The dictionary defines the word as meaning “per-plexed.”

Well, I certainly was “flummoxed” to hear from EvelynCohen that our great, beloved leader, Colonel Shower, was stillplanning to attend the festivities in Norwich, come thisNovember. This, in spite of being in his 90’s, still recoveringfrom that broken leg, and still in therapy. His age alone wouldstop most of us in our tracks. Wouldn’t it be nice if all of ushad the same dedication and loyalty to our groups, and to the2nd ADA. God Bless You, Sir! There will certainly be a placeat our table waiting for you!

All arrangements for the entire program are now firmly inplace—particularly our 467th Base Day. However, please notethat the LOCATION for DINNER has been changed since the

10

BY GEOFF GREGORYRACKHEATH

last info you received. Dinner will be held at “The Lodge” inorder to afford us more room and complete privacy. Thosewho attended in ‘95 will have fond memories of this location,I’m sure. The meat situation is beginning to abate already,and will probably be of no problem at all by November. Atpresent THERE HAVE BEEN NO CASES REPORTED INTHE NORWICH AREA ANYWAY! “Fish ‘N Chips” are stilla good staple and readily available. One of the best fish ‘nchip places is actually in Rackheath. All varieties of fish arean excellent choice and easily found all over England.

If you plan pre-or-post-convention traveling on your own,may I make a few suggestions. PUBS that offer home cookingare the best bet at reasonable prices. Also, if you order a“ham & cheese” sandwich, you will probably get one hamsandwich and one cheese sandwich! For ice tea, try this pro-cedure—Order 2 large glasses of ice! Order 1 pot of hot tea!Pour the hot tea over one glass of ice and proceed from there.They will bring you cream regardless! Watch out for the“clotted cream”—that is fatal! In some areas of NORFOLK,the accent may be a bit difficult to your ears at first, but don’thesitate to ask them to repeat. These are wonderful, warmand gracious people, who still vividly remember our help.Enjoy them and the countryside—this will probably be thelast visit for many of us.

The Executive Committee met at the end of April; too latefor any information from the meeting to be included in thisPOOP. Till next time....

Cheers, Geoff. ■

A $24,000 HISTORY LESSONFEBRUARY 2001

NEA TODAY

Idaho high school his-tory teacher, GailChumbley, doesn’t giveherself over to manycauses, but when sheheard about the WorldWar II monument beingplanned in the nation’sCapitol, she threw her-self into the cause—andher students went withher.

Over a year’s time,Chumbley and herjunior history studentsat Eagle High School inBoise, raised over$20,000 to help buildthe monument. InNovember, on Veteran’s Day, Chumbley was in Washingtonto turn over part of the funds to former U.S. Senator, BobDole.

“In the history books, it seems like World War II hap-pened so long ago,” says Chumbley, “Many people who

were there don’t really talk about it. But over the year, thewar became extremely real to all of us. Veterans opened upabout their experiences, and we were changed in ways Ican’t even express. It was far better than any civics lesson Icould have taught.” ■

11

It was a sure sign of spring when I got up this morning. Thereare hundreds of daffodils in bloom in the back yard, eventhough the news talked about blizzards in Denver, Colorado,and that the airport was closed until the snow could be clearedaway.

Speaking of snow, we recently received the newspaper fromour friend, Jean, in Norwich, showing the snowfalls in March;telling about criticism of City Hall’s response over why “pave-ments were not gritted.” Sound familiar?

Marv Speidel sent an e-mail telling about the bishop, whosaid 125 years ago, that everything had been invented. Some-one challenged him, suggesting that someday an inventionwould make it possible for man to fly. The bishop said thatflying was for birds and angels. The story goes on to say thatthe bishop’s two sons, Orville and Wilbur, proved him wrongand changed human history. And that’s why we gathertogether with our fellow flyers to celebrate our history andlook forward to what is ahead.

Wonder what the bishop would have thought about men onthe moon and the other amazing things that have come aboutbecause of his two sons’ invention.

We will fly away to New Orleans May 10-13, to celebrateanother reunion of the 446ers who flew together more than 50years ago. I hope you will all be there. The group will gatherat the Hampton Inn and talk about old times and tour this fas-cinating city. We can always find new people and places eachyear that we meet. Because of publishing deadlines, the photosand news from this gathering will appear in the next issue ofthe 2ADA Journal. See you in New Orleans.

Time is approaching when 14 of us 446ers will fly over thebig pond to Norwich to celebrate the wonderful new Millen-nium Library’s completion. Those with us the first week inNovember will be Max and Shirley Minear, Alan and JoyceSenior, Marvin and Marge Speidel, Sidney Dailey and wife,

Charles “Andy” Hay and Shirley Wagner, Sue Risley andDavid Hart, and Fern and Aud Risley.

Construction of the WWII Memorial planned andapproved for the Mall in Washington, DC, has been delayedby a law suit. Full details may be found by going towww.militaryusa.com and clicking on World War II Memor-ial. You may send letters of support asking the National Capi-tol Planning Commission to ratify its previous approvals tothis e-mail: info.@ncpc.gov

Recent news from Alan Hague, curator of the Norfolk Suf-folk Aviation Museum in Flixton, is that the Suffolk CountyCouncil’s project called Friars to Flyers has taken off withcoach tours to the airfields in North Suffolk (which of courseincludes Flixton) starting in July. He said that, “by that timewe will have laid turf, erected the Information Board, and seat,on the site given by Mark Haddingham, local farmer, oppositethe old Headquarters Building next to the road on the Techni-cal site which he prepared for us. There is room there for astone memorial if the Group or members decide they wouldlike one.”

Alan also said, “The Garden of Peace is taking shape out-side the Churchyard gates at Flixton, being prepared byChurch members with a rustic arch and pathway windingthrough shrubs and trees to a seat.”

He concluded with a note about a musical play called,“Beautiful the Sky” on July 13 and 15 at St. Mary’s Church,being performed to raise money for the church. It is a story ofan American airman’s arrival in Suffolk in 1944. Too bad wewill miss it.

OUR NUMBERS DWINDLE...as we receive news of thedeaths of some of our friends and fellow 446ers. Chester A.Boshinski, Paxinos, PA, November 2000; Samuel Presas, Jan-uary 2001, San Antonio, TX; and former crew mate DonaldR. Skeffington, Ipswich, MA, February 2001. Don was a nav-igator on John Barry’s Lead Crew.

Finally, this bit of important information I learned thismorning...there are 336 dimples on a golf ball. Something todo while waiting to tee off this spring. I hope yours is a goodyear, that you keep the news coming, and that we’ll see you inNew Orleans. ■

A N EIGHTH AIR FORCE LIBERATORSTATION, ENGLAND—This quartet ofairplane mechanics stand proudly by their air-plane, this B-24 Liberator heavy bomberwhich they have serviced for fifty combat mis-sions over Germany and enemy-occupiedEurope. Left to right in the photo: Sgt.Warren E. Courtney, Arlington, Va.; Sgt.Arnold W. Holcomb, Asheville, N.C.; Sgt.Donald E. Seyler, Troutdale, Ore.; and T/Sgt.F.C. “Jack” Kingsbery, the crew chief, Bryan,Tex.

The plane has escaped major flak damage,despite two missions to Berlin. No one hasbeen killed or injured on this plane, but oncea crewman received some flak holes in theseat of his pants.

Sergeant Kingsbery is the son of Mr. andMrs. Howard T. Kingsbery. He was a studentat Texas A & M before he entered the ArmyAir Forces on September 26, 1942.

All four airmen are members of the 458thBombardment Group of the 2nd Bombard-ment Division, commanded by Maj. Gen.William E. Kepner. They have been overseassince January 18, 1944.

Sgt. Kingsbery’s brother, 1st Lt. Henry W.Kingsbery, is now in Florida but was a pilot inEngland before being injured while on his26th mission. He was here two months agoand told his parents that his brother’s planehad fifty missions. Another brother, Sgt. TomKingsbery, is with the remount troops at ElReno, Oklahoma. ■

First Plane in 458 BG to Fly 50 MissionsREPRINTED FROM STARS & STRIPES, FALL-1944

446th BOMB GROUP

BY AUD RISLEY

12

On this past March 22, “Mr. 44th,”Colonel Goodman G. Griffin,passed away. He was an originalmember of the 44th Bomb Group andserved as Group Executive Officerthroughout the group’s days atShipdham. He was the right hand manfor all five of the men who served asgroup commanders at Shipdham. Griffremained in the Air Force after WorldWar II and served with distinction innumerous important assignments, retir-ing with the grade of colonel. Heattended virtually all of our 44threunions and most 2nd Air DivisionAssociation conventions. He onceserved as President of the Association.We always looked forward to beingwith Griff and his lovely wife, Bobbie,who passed away several years ago, asthey contributed so much to any gather-ing. We shall never forget how heregaled us at our group dinners withstories about the devious actions takento get jobs done by the “ShipdhamMafia,” comprised of him, HymanSchactman, and Bob Lawson; and, also,how he became known as the “GroupAtrocities Officer.” All we 44th veteranslost a great friend. He will be sorelymissed but lovingly remembered.

We had a fine contingent of 44thpeople at the 2nd Air Division AnnualSouthern California Regional Reunionon February 24, in Anaheim. In atten-dance were Julian Ertz, together withhis son, Scott, and daughter, Beth, hisother daughter, Bera, and her husband,Ron, and also guest, Keith Lawrence.Beth and Bera entertained with an orig-inal parody composed especially for thisaudience to the tune of the song “WindBeneath My Wings.” Others enjoyingthe get-together were John andBernadette Gately; Roy and LollyOwen, who came all the way fromSanta Rosa in Northern California;Walter and Lottie Reichert, with guests,Jayson and Rose Rome; Robert andShirley Schaper, with guests, Ernie andHovey Wade; Estelle Voelker andThomas Spencer; Morton and Ida Wein-

stein; and Ardith and me. It was obvi-ous that everyone was enjoying eachother’s company, a fine meal, and agood program.

The names of the five men, four ofwhom were 2nd Air Division men, whoreceived the Medal of Honor for thePloesti mission of August 1, 1943, are

engraved in agold and blackgranite in the

Medal of HonorMemorial in theR i v e r s i d eNational Ceme-

SHIPDHAM

tery. These names are: Leon Johnson,44th Bomb Group; Addison Baker andJohn Jerstad, 93rd Bomb Group; LloydHughes, 389th Bomb Group; and JohnKane, 98th Bomb Group. The name ofrecipient Leon Vance, 489th BombGroup also appears. The names of the3,409 men and one woman who havereceived the medal since it was firstawarded during the Civil War, areincluded in this most remarkable memo-rial. Twenty-two more names of men

who recently were awarded the Medalof Honor will be entered at a forthcom-ing ceremony. This is truly an extraordi-nary memorial. It is the only publicallyaccessible place in the nation whichenshrines every one of the nation’srecipients of the Medal of Honor, byname, on land owned by people of theUnited States, within a national ceme-tery. One would have to look far andwide to find any of our national ceme-teries created after the turn of the twen-tieth century which have any memorialor monument which is not a final marker.

The site of the memorial is unique asit is the only place in the cemetery whereall four of the defense department ser-vices symbolically come together. Thememorial sits within Nimitz Circle,named for Fleet Admiral ChesterNimitz, one of the giants of UnitedStates naval History, and is therefore theNavy’s contribution to the site. It is fit-ting, since the first Medal of Honorauthorized was to enlisted personnel ofthe Navy and Marine Corps. The maindrive leading to the memorial is LeMayBoulevard, named for General CurtisLeMay, who is often referred to as theFather of the Strategic Air Command.This is the Air Force’s contribution tothe site. The cross street is BelleauwoodDrive, named for one of the legendarybattles in Marine Corps History, andtherefore, the Marine Corps’ contribu-tion to the site. The cemetery is locatedon land, which during World War II,was Camp Haan. This is, therefore, theArmy’s contribution to the site. It is alsofitting that the largest single contribu-tion to the site should come from theArmy since there have been more mem-

APPROACHING THE MEDAL OF HONOR MEMORIAL FROM LEMAY BLVD.THE FIRST SEAL IS THAT OF THE AIR FORCE.

BY R.D. “DICK” BUTLER

44th

13

bers of the United States Army deco-rated with the Medal of Honor than allthe other services combined.

The Riverside National Cemetery isone of the busiest in the national ceme-tery system, averaging thirty-five inter-ments a day. It is expected to triple insize. When it is fully developed andoccupied, sometime around 2060, therewill be more than 1.4 million peopleinterred in it. It will be the largest in thesystem. This means that those enshrinedin this memorial will be surrounded bymore of their service colleagues lying inhonored rest than would likely be possi-ble at any other place on this earth.

The memorial is composed of twoparts, the living and the non-living. Ulti-mately, there will be an Italian Cypresstree planted for each of the nation’srecipients of the Medal of Honor. Theonly Italian Cypress trees to be plantedin the cemetery will be for Medal ofHonor recipients. The first 400 areplanted in squads of nine within NimitzCircle. As one approaches the memorialproper from LeMay Boulevard, it willbe seen that there are five large sealsinlaid in the pavement. The seals are

arranged in a specific order, the orderrunning from the memorial to NimitzCircle commemorates the order of ser-vices by which one of their memberswas first decorated with the Medal ofHonor. The opening to the memorial isbetween tall walls of red granite. Justinside is a water sculpture. Water wasused because it is one of the most peace-ful and powerful forces of nature. Thesculpture is made possible by a series of150 jets, one for each living recipient ofthe Medal of Honor at the time of ded-ication of the memorial, November 5,1999.

To the left, begins the appearance ofnames on the black granite walls. To thedegree that it is possible to evaluate, thenames appear in decoration date order.There is no indication of rank or ser-vice. The Civil War recipients appear onthe first panel with each subsequent waror campaign recipients on succeedingpanels around the rectangle, until thelast panel which contains the name of aman who received the award for actionin Somalia. On the east side of thememorial, there is a computer kiosk in

which one can pull up the name of everyrecipient of the medal of Honor. Ulti-mately, it will be a resource of the his-tory of the Medal of Honor, the legisla-tive tracking on the decoration, the cita-tion of every recipient, the photographsof upwards of 2,000 recipients and anacknowledgements section for everyperson who made this memorial possi-ble.

I can assure you, that a visit to thismemorial is truly an emotional andinspiring experience. We can all beproud that it was seen necessary tohonor our heroes in this beautifulmemorial.

For those of you who haven’t foundit already, we have a very fine website at44thbombgroup.com. This website hasbeen developed by Guy Adams, at thesuggestion and with the help of our44th BGVA Treasurer, Jerry Folsom.Guy is the Assistant Director of Systemsfor High Performance Computing at theUniversity of Utah. Thanks, Guy. We allappreciate what you are doing to pre-serve the history of the 44th BombGroup.

Our next 44thBomb Group Veter-ans Associationreunion will be nextOctober 15 to 18, inS h r e v e p o r t ,Louisiana. It is hopedthat the B-24, whichis located at themuseum at BarksdaleAir Force Base, andwhose restoration wehave been support-ing, will be ready tobe re-christened as“Louisiana Belle.”See you there. ■

THE MEDALS OF HONOR FOR THENAVY, ARMY, AND AIR FORCE

THE CIVIL WAR PANEL, JUST INSIDE, TO THE LEFT.NOTE THERE WERE 3,409 NAMES ON THE PANEL

AFIFTH GRADER’S PERSPEC-TIVE: I want to be an Air ForcePilot when I grow up because it’s funand easy to do. Pilots don’t needmuch schools they just have to learnnumbers so they can read maps, sothey can find their way if lost. Pilotsshould be brave so they won’t bescared if it’s foggy and they can’t see

a wing or motor fall off. They shouldstay calm so they will know what todo. Pilots have to have good eyes sothey can see through clouds and theycan’t be afraid of lightning or thunderbecause they are closer to them thanwe are. The salary pilots make is onething I like. They make more moneythan they can spend. This is becausemost people think airplane flying is

dangerous except pilots don’t becausethey know how easy it is. There isn’tmuch I don’t like except that girls likepilots and all the stewardesses wantto marry them, so they always haveto chase them away, so they won’tbother them. I hope I don’t get airsickbecause if I do, I couldn’t be a pilotand would have to go to work. ■

WE KNEW IT ALL ALONGFROM 8AFHS - GROUP NEWSLETTER

14

HARDWICK

Open Letter to the 93rdBY ALFRED ASCH

This was followed by a very goodpaper presented by Colonel Kenneth“KO” Dessert about squadron lifeduring WWII. KO was the commandingofficer of the 409th and a West Pointgraduate. The paper is presented here:

HOME WAS WITH THESQUADRONS

By Kenneth O. DessertLadies and Gentlemen:

The squadrons of the 93rd BombGroup became close-knit organizations,especially when we started flyingcombat. There were many close friend-ships made by both officers and enlistedmen. The supply personnel of thesquadrons accomplished the work tohouse and feed the people who flew andmaintained our airplanes. We were self-sufficient and likened to small villages.

The character of the squadronsstarted developing at Fort Meyers,Florida, during the summer of 1942. Byand large, all personnel were inductedinto the Army Air Force a few monthsprior to arriving at Fort Meyers and ourstaging at Manchester, New Hampshire.Those who had some training and expe-rience were placed in charge of similaractivities and had the responsibility totrain others. Many of our fine officers

and enlisted men had civilian experi-ence which became useful in theadministration, supply, mainte-nance and other logistical sup-port of the combat flying. Ourflight surgeons had experiencefrom civilian medical practice,and were sorely needed totake care of the woundedfrom combat, as were ourchaplains.

It was in our squa -drons where the lostairmen were missedthe most. Their mem-ories lingered longafter they weregone. Everyonewas saddened intaking care oftheir personaleffects, notify-ing the nextof kin, andgetting as

much informationas possible associated with

the loss to notify their loved ones.Because of our early entry into the air

war, we did not have replacements ofaircraft and crews until the squadronswere getting depleted, but our airmennever quit. New crews started to comein as replacements and we grumbledthey would never be like the old boys,our squadrons are shot (changed). Thenwe discovered they were the sameAmerican boys wanting to be accepted,willing to share, eager to do their part,and we soon were “sweating” out thereturn of our new friends from combatmissions in just the same manner thatwe did the guys who had left.

It is to all those who served in the airwar over Europe during World War II,especially those who made the supremesacrifice with their lives, that we dedicatethis living memorial. Let it remain herefor generations to come in their memory.Thank you ladies and gentlemen!

The plaque shown here was designedfrom the 93rd monument which standsat our WWII airbase at Hardwick.

The museum provided for a Color

I am delight

ed to send m

y warmest g

reet-

ings to every

one gathered

at the Migh

ty Eighth A

ir Force

Heritage Mu

seum.

The 93rd B

ombardmen

t Group (H

) served Am

erica

with honor a

nd distinctio

n. Your unit

established

a repu-

tation for c

ourage and

for vital co

ntributions

to signifi-

cant victorie

s in Europe

and Norther

n Africa. Th

e plaque

you are de

dicating is

a fitting sy

mbol of yo

ur heroic

efforts to p

rotect the c

ause of freed

om.

Americans

must alway

s remember

that our a

chieve-

ments in pe

ace and war

alike have

been built on

the ser-

vice and sa

crifice of ou

r men and

women in u

niform. I

salute you,

and all our

Nation’s ve

terans, for r

esponding

to the call

of patriotic

duty with

strength, r

esolve, and

courage.

Laura joins

me in sendi

ng best wish

es for a suc

cessful

event. May

God bless yo

u, and may

God bless A

merica.

Guard and Bugler, and they had theplaque draped for the unveiling. Theyalso provided a wreath which was laidas a part of the ceremony. Wordsspoken by Al Asch for the safe keepingof the plaque by the museum were asfollows:

“On behalf of the members of the93rd Bomb Group, this memorialplaque is presented to The MightyEighth Air Force Heritage Museum forsafe keeping and care. It is a memorialto those we lost in combat and to allwho served as a constant reminder tofuture generations that through the livesof our airmen and dedicated service byothers, we have a life of freedom anddemocracy. Ms. Judy Walker, it is ourprivilege to present this memorial to theHeritage Museum. We know you willtake good care of it.” (Ms. Walker is theMuseum Director of Development.)

WE HAD AREUNION!

We had a reunion at The MightyEighth Air Force HeritageMuseum at the end of March, and startof April. There were two main events:the dedication of our memorial plaqueon display in the Memorial Gardens ofthe museum, and on Sunday night atour main banquet, the unveiling of thebronze bust of Lieutenant GeneralEdward J. “Ted” Timberlake, the firstcommanding officer of the 93rd BombGroup, a wing commander of theSecond Air Division and one of theplanners for the epic low altitude raidagainst the Ploesti oil refineries onAugust 1, 1943. The Heritage Museumprovided outstanding support for allour reunion activities.

DEDICATION OF THE PLAQUEThe White House had called me at

my hotel the day before dedication withinformation that a message of greetingsto the 93rd, from President Bush, wasbeing faxed to me through the museum.The message from the President arrivedand was well accepted by the attendees(over 150) to start the ceremonies on avery pleasant note:

15

General Jacob Smart’s visit for theceremony followed by lunch was a high-light. General Smart was an advisor toGeneral “Hap” Arnold for strategicbombing over Europe and he was one ofthe principal planners of the low alti-tude Ploesti raid. He is a West Pointgraduate and had a distinguished careerin the Air Force. He is approaching 92years of age and very much alert. Wewere indeed honored by his presence.

EDWARD JULIUS “TED” TIMBERLAKELIEUTENANT GENERAL USAF

10 Nov 1909 - 3 Sep 1990Edward Julius “Ted” Timberlake was

born on November 10, 1909. Heattended St. Luke Academy in Wayne,Pennsylvania before entering the U.S.Military Academy in 1927. He was com-missioned as an infantry Second Lieu-tenant in 1931, and transferred to thethen Army Air Corps three months later.

The newly-minted officer served invarious aviation assignments during theten years following commissioning. In1941, he was a major commanding asquadron. In March 1942, he took com-mand of the newly formed 93rd Bom-bardment Group (Heavy), consisting offour squadrons—328th, 329th, 330th,and 409th—and immediately began arigorous program of training andcoastal patrols. The 93rd’s four-engineB-24 Liberators made the first forma-tion crossing of the North Atlantic inearly September 1942, the first raid byLiberators, as part of the “shoe-string”Eighth Air Force, against Hitler’sFortress Europa.

Under Colonel Ted, the 93rd bombedtargets in Occupied Europe. In Decem-ber 1942, three squadrons of the Group

went to North Africa for two monthstemporary duty. In May, 1943, he tookcommand of the 201st Combat Wing(Provisional). The 93rd made its secondtrip to North Africa, as part of the201st, and began preparations in Libyafor the epic low-level assault against theoil refineries at Ploesti, Rumania.Colonel Ted was one of the primaryplanners of the historic mission, butintensely disappointed that he was for-bidden to fly that daring strike againstthe Nazis’ most heavily defended target.The Wing returned to England after thePloesti mission. By October 1943, Tim-berlake was a brigadier, the youngestgeneral officer in the U.S. military sincethe Civil War.

General Timberlake’s 201st Wingwas ordered back to North Africa (thethird Africa expedition for the 93rd), toattack the huge Wiener-NeustadtMesserschmitt spawning nest outsideVienna. By this time, the 93rd had tra-versed so many lands and seas the outfitwas widely known as Ted’s TravelingCircus.

General Ted commanded the SecondCombat Wing until September 1944,when he took command of the Twenti-eth Combat Wing, based with the 93rdat Hardwick Aerodrome.

It was during late 1943 and early1944, the Eighth gained fighter escortsand began dealing large-scale and dev-astating blows against the enemy’s fuelsources, Luftwaffe factories and aero-dromes, transport infrastructure, V-1“buzz bomb” and V-2 rocket facilities,ammunition works, shipping, and awide range of strategic targets.

After World War II, General Tedcommanded the 315th Air Division inJapan before assignment to the Fifth AirForce staff. He took the Fifth to Koreain July, 1950, at the outbreak of theKorean War, and became its comman-der in May, 1951, and a major general.In September, 1951, he returned to theU.S. and assumed command of theNinth Air Force. In 1957, General Tedcommanded NATO’s Fourth TacticalAir Force and a year later became ViceCommander of the U.S. Air Forces,Europe. In July, 1961, he gained histhird star as he assumed the post ofDeputy Chief of the Air Force for Per-sonnel. In July, 1962, General Timber-lake commanded the Continental AirCommand and held this post until hisretirement in June, 1965.

His many decorations included twoDistinguished Service Medals, SilverStar, two Legions of Merit, three Distin-guished Flying Crosses, Bronze Star, fiveAir Medals, plus numerous foreign

awards.Ted married the former Marjorie

Campbell, in November 1932, andtogether they had one son. She had twodaughters by a previous marriage.

The Timberlakes were an illustriousmilitary family. The father and foursons were West Pointers, all athletic.Three sons became generals: Patrickand Ted, Air Force lieutenant generals;Wrenne, an anti-aircraft artillery officer,one of the first American generalsashore at Omaha Beach on June 6,1944. Ted lettered in five sports at theMilitary Academy.

He spent his twilight years at HiltonHead Island, South Carolina, serving asa planner and an elected official. He suf-fered a lingering illness and passed awaySeptember 3, 1990, preceded in deathby his wife Marge. He had caused themarker to read: “She Was the ValiantOne.” They are buried at Hilton Head.

A bronze bust was unveiled April 1,2001, during a ceremony arranged bymembers of the 93rd Bomb Group, andfriends and family of General Ted at theMighty Eighth Air Force HeritageMuseum in Savannah, Georgia. It willremain there in memory of an outstand-ing commander and leader of combatoperations, always leading his men intoair combat to defeat the enemy. Heserved his nation well during the greatWWII, and the ensuing Korean War andCold War, until his retirement.

Following the reading of General’sbiographical sketch, Major GeneralRamsay D. Potts, Colonels John R.Roche and KO Dessert, Carroll “Cal”Steward and the grandson, EdwardJulius “Ted” Timberlake IV, presentedtheir memories of General Ted andemphasized significant occurrences thatdemonstrated why he was a great aircombat leader and so well liked andadmired by his men, family and friends.

OUR TRIP TO NORWICH2 ADA dates: November 1 -

November 9, 2001November 7, Wednesday Evening:

English guests of 93rd at the 2ADAmain banquet. The reunion attendeesapproved payment for the meals fromtreasury funds. Guests were: David andJean Woodrow; David and Pearl Neale;and Morris and Dianna Hammond.

November 8, Thursday. Visit ourWartime Base, Hardwick:1. Service at Topcroft, the 16th or 17th

Century Church,2. Memorial Service at 93rd Monument

at Hardwick Airfield,3. Snack Luncheon at Hardwick,

(continued on page 17)

16

While some of this may be a repeat, wethink there might have been someblank spaces in our article as written by ourGerman friend in the last issue of the Jour-nal. While he told you how things werefrom where he was located, we will giveyou the scene from our position.

Back in 1999, I wrote that I had a phonecall from a German, Mr. Enrico Schwartz,who is a member of a volunteer organiza-tion that searches for WWII plane crashsites. He was seeking the names of any ofthe Lt. Raymond L. Pound’s crew. Ichecked Bob Vickers’ books and Jim Goar’sroster and found one man, Norman D.DeWitt, who lived in Sarasota, FL. Thenext day, Mr. Schwartz called back to saythat he had talked with the DeWitt family.I’m not sure that Norman DeWitt wasliving, but Mr. Schwartz was pleased to talkwith his mother who was ninety-five yearsof age, and sharp as a tack. Several othercalls, and help from Bill and NormaBeasley, 492nd BG, led to a five page reportthat I attempt to present here.

On this particular occasion, Mr.Schwartz was searching for the crash site ofLt. Pound’s plane. He said the fate of thecrew was unknown until he visited West-eregeln, Germany. There, he found severalsenior citizens who helped reconstruct thescene that existed on July 7, 1944. Theyreferred Mr. Schwartz to Mr. WalterKoertge, a local farmer who was fifteenyears of age in July of 1944.

We believe a portion of this was in theGerman’s article in the last issue of theJournal, but the Germans reported 28 B24sshot down that day. Fifteen B24s crashedwithin a 5 to 10 mile area. Five of thoseplanes were from the 579th Squadron ofthe 392nd BG, and 12 were from the492nd BG. Mr. Koertge reported seeinghundreds of bombers passing overhead,and then “all hell breaking loose.” Planeswere crashing, parachutes filled the air, andcrewmen were falling and landing all overthe place. Some were landing safely, but anumber had their chutes burn and they fellto their death. Many who did land safelywere promptly killed by the Gestapo andirate citizens. In the case of a badlywounded Norman DeWitt, he landed nearwhere Mr. Koertge was trying to escape the

falling debris. Although just fifteen yearsold, but large for his age, Mr. Koertge tookDeWitt’s gun and had him in custody whenan irate citizen came up and was going toshoot DeWitt. Koertge stood between theirate citizen and DeWitt and told thewould-be murderer to “back off” and goget himself some other landing crewman.Seeing that DeWitt was badly wounded,Mr. Koertge managed to get him to a RedCross station where he was treated andbandaged by a nurse, Anni Schwedhelm.That being done, Mr. Koertge led DeWittby back roads to a military post where hewas made a POW. Sadly, it was laterlearned that the nurse, Anni Schwedhelm,had been ostracized by the local citizenryfor treating the enemy. She was deniedattending her church which was an impor-tant part of her life. In fact, her daughterwas brought forward before her wholeschool and “read out” for the actions ofher mother.

As for our personal part of this saga,our 392nd BG crews were briefed in thedark hours of early morning of July 7,1944, with the details concerning the Bern-berg mission. The 576th, 577th and 578thSquadrons would fly as a Group, and the579th Squadron would fly with twosquadrons of the 492nd BG. Oh, happyday! The mission was routine until justafter “bombs away.” Then, as the Germansaid, “all hell broke loose.” The Luftwaffeswarmed through our 392nd BG andsought and found the 492nd BG, alongwith their cousins, the 579th Squadron ofthe 392nd BG. When it was over, onesquadron (12) of the 492nd BG, and fiveplanes of the 579th squadron, were shotdown. It was reported in the papers that the8th AF lost 44 planes that day; one of thebiggest “turkey shoots” of the war.

Ironically, the day before, Lt. Pound hadasked me what were the odds of completinga tour of missions. I told him that I hadbeen told the odds were about 50/50. Itwasn’t so in Lt. Pound’s case. He and hiscrew went down the next day on their firstmission. In the fall of 1945, after I hadbecome a new DC3 co-pilot in the“Friendly Skies,” Lt. Pound and I happenedto meet at Midway Airport at Chicago,where he related his story of what hap-pened to him on July 7, 1944. That was ourlast meeting.

To conclude, when we got the reportand learned of the DeWitt story, we felt itimportant and long overdue that Mr.Koertge and Mrs. Anni Schwedhelm bemade aware of our Group’s appreciationfor their treating and getting NormanDeWitt in the hands of the German mili-tary; thereby, saving his life. So, with the

good offices of Enrico Schwartz and 492ndBG members, Norma and Bill Beasley, anicely worded certificate was produced andmailed to Mr. Schwartz. Probably previ-ously published, but the certificate read:

CERTIFICATE OF APPRECIATIONAWARDED TO

WALTER KOERTGE

The members of the 392nd BombGroup, US Eighth Air Force, and

the family of Staff Sergeant NormanD. DeWitt express their deepest andmost sincere appreciation to WalterKoertge for his actions on July 7,1944. His actions resulted in the

safe transfer of Staff SergeantNorman D. DeWitt to Red Cross

nurse, Anni Schwedhelm, for propermedical treatment and subsequent

transfer to the German military. Theactions of Walter Koertge and AnniSchwedhelm reflected great honor

upon themselves and their families,proving that human decency exists,

regardless of the circumstances.

SIGNED AND SEALED THISDAY, MAY 25, 2000

James F. ThomasVice President, 392nd Bomb Group

A like certificate was prepared for Mrs.Anni Schwedhelm.

Coincidentally, James L. Kissling, 389thBG had been contacted by a German His-torian, who invited Jim and his family tovisit the area where his plane had crashedthe day of the Bernberg mission. Jim andfamily made the trip to Westeregeln, Ger-many where they met Enrico Schwartz.While there, a ceremony was held byMayor Egon Schmidtke, and our certificatewas presented to Walter Koertge. SinceNurse Anni Schwedhelm was deceased, hercertificate was accepted by her daughter,Mrs. Waltraud Theile. Included in the cere-mony, was the reading of the names of sev-eral of the Kissling crew. Those airmen whodid land safely were promptly murdered bythe Gestapo and irate civilians.

THE OTHER SIDE OF THE COIN:There was another scene of chaos and death,as well as many degrees of emotions, goingon far below the planes of we who survived.Further, even in a period of all our panic,there were instances of human kindness.Sometimes, in a moment, one person, canmean the difference between life and death.And, sometimes, that person can be a youthof fifteen years. ■

The“OTHER Sideof the Coin”

BY J. FRED THOMAS, 392ND BG

17

Contribution ReminderBY ALFRED ASCH (93RD)

This is a reminder that we have notreplaced the money to our 2ADAgeneral funds for the $25,000 gift givento the Air Force memorial Foundationto help build the Air Force memorial atArlington National Cemetery. This wasa most worthy donation, even though atthe expense of money our 2ADA couldgive to the Trust Fund for our Memor-ial Library at Norwich, England. On mylast progress update, the Air Forcememorial project is moving forward as

planned and ground breaking shouldoccur early next year. We, the ExecutiveCommittee of the 2ADA, have askedboth the Bomber and Fighter groups ofthe 2ADA to contribute, as well as indi-vidual members of our association.Make your checks payable to 2ADA,and indicate on the memo line that it isfor the AF Memorial. If you use the IRSlong form 1040 and itemize, your giftmay be tax-deductible. The followingform is included for your convenience. ■

Donation to Air Force Memorial(to help replace the $25,000

from the 2ADA treasury)Name ______________________________

Group ______________________________

Address_____________________________

___________________________________

City ________________________________

State ________ Zip___________________Amount $__________________________

Make check payable to: 2ADAIndicate on lower left memo line:

“For AF Memorial”Mail to:

E.W. Nothstein, 2ADA Treasurer40 Meadow DriveSpencerport, NY 14559-1142

New Membersof the

2nd Air DivisionAssociation

445thTheodore P. Thevaos

448thH.S. Sale

458thRalph G. McGuire

OPEN LETTER TO THE 93RD(continued from page 15)4. Visit Museum and Airfield at

Hardwick (Bring items that can beleft at the museum for permanentdisplay),

5. Airplane rides at Hardwick,weather permitting,

6. Evening banquet at Hardwick.

We are expecting over 100 of the93rd for this trip. I understand thecitizens of Norwich are planning agreat welcome for us. Certainly, avisit to our completed MemorialLibrary will be a highlight. Naomiand I look forward to seeing everyoneat Norwich. ■

SUBMITTED BY GEOFF GREGORYCHAIRMAN BEQUEST COMMITTEE

To those who are thinking aboutmaking a bequest, and to those who havenot decided, please read the following:

FOREWORDBY LIEUTENANT-GENERAL W.E.

KEPNER, D.S.C., C.B.COMMANDER SECOND AIR DIVI-

SION, 1944-1945

Here is a Memorial which reminds allof us that greater love hath no man thanthese 6,032 who gave their lives so thatwe might live in freedom. They are trulyamong the greatest Americans of all,because they paid the supreme price inorder that we might live in freedom’shappy future.

Let us not forget we have now inher-ited the right and duty to carry on, so thatmany precious lives will not have beensacrificed in vain. Our contributions tothis Memorial are very small in deed, butit may at least be testified of us that we didnot forget the comrades of our youth.They too, like us, were in love with lifeand enamored of this world. Most werebarely out of their teens, not yet possess-ing their fair share of this world; whencalled upon to forgo a pleasant future theypassed from vibrant life to the darkunknown.

Those of us remaining and participat-ing in honors accruing to our commandbecause of the victories in which the deadas well as the living shared, shouldremember that humility must ever be apart of him to whom reputation comesthrough the death of comrades in battle.Forever engraved upon his memory, mustbe the images of the white crosses mark-

ing their resting places. Let us reflect that, but for the grace of

God, we too might have passed on, at thesame time, and been numbered in theBook of Remembrance. While we cannotclearly account for past events, we canresolve to keep the names of our comradesin that Book in perpetual memory, inorder that they will not be forgotten, andthat the principles and benefits for whichthis great payment was made, will not belost to future generations.

Let us review these heroic deeds and bethankful we were privileged to be num-bered among them. These men acceptedfully, without reservation, the great respon-sibilities and objectives assigned us by ournation, in order that all men might remainfree, to search for life, liberty and happi-ness. Only thus do we justify our claim thatwe exist to preserve what we love.

W. E. KEPNERIt serves as a reminder, doesn’t it?? ■

BEQUEST

FLASHCONGRESS VOTES TO

PROCEED ON WWIISHRINE ~ PRESIDENT

TO SIGN MEASUREThe Memorial will be built as

planned on National Mall. In Washing-ton, declaring that enough is enough,congress voted to end six years of debateover aesthetics and build a World War IIMemorial on the National Mall.

By unanimous consent, the Senateapproved an amendment that will allowconstruction to begin on a memorialbetween the Washington Monument andLincoln Memorial. The House followedthe Senate and the measure is being sentto President Bush for signature. ■

18

Looking Good in

ENTRANCEHEADING TO THE

2ADA LIBRARY

Latest Views of “The Library”

KETTERINGHAM HALL

It is April, and I have just received areminder from our Editor, Ray Pytel,that I must get in my material for thesummer issue of the Journal before heleaves for the mid-year meeting of theExecutive Committee. Since I am goingto the same meeting, I have even morereason to get mine in on time. The onlyproblem is that I have not received any-thing from you who served at Head-quarters that I could use.

Most of the efforts of your ExecutiveCommittee at this time is towardmaking certain that the dedication ofthe Memorial Library in November issuccessful. With Evelyn in charge, I amcertain that it will be. And, she has thehelp of David Hastings over in Nor-wich. You cannot imagine how mucheffort by these two goes into planningan occasion of this magnitude. We willowe them a big “Thank you!” I wishthat all of you could be present.

One of the major concerns of theEXCOM is that, now that we will have

this wonderful library in memory ofthose 6,700 from the 2nd Air Division(over 26,000 from the entire 8th AirForce) who died flying missions overEurope, we make certain that it is ade-quately endowed in order that it maycontinue operating in perpetuity. Mostof the people who arrived on this earthafter WWII, have no idea how impor-tant it was for the U.S. to create the 8thAir Force in January of 1942, and tosend it to England to assist the Englishpeople and their allies in defeatingHitler. The 2nd Air Division was amajor force in this effort. Our Memor-ial Library contains much archivalmaterial and books, magazines, etc.,that is used by individuals, school chil-dren, researchers, etc. It is vital that wemake certain that it is not allowed todecline in importance for lack of fundsto keep its materials, computers, etc., upto date. I urge you to support the effortsto raise the additional funds needed forcovering the inflation that is certain tocome with time. Add a codicil to yourwill and leave a little to the MemorialLibrary. Make a contribution each timeyou pay your annual dues. It all helpsand time is running out!

Most of you are aware, I am sure, ofthe watercolor paintings by T/SgtLudwig Lund that were presented toGeneral Hodges at Christmas time in1943. These are now in the archives ofour Memorial Library. Digital pho-tographs have been made of them and

they will be displayed in the conferenceroom of the Memorial Library. I have,from time to time, included some ofthem on the Headquarters page. Forseveral years, I have been trying to findMr. Lund, but without success.Recently, I even got the Records Man-agement Center of the Department ofVeterans Affairs in St. Louis to forwarda letter from me to Mr. Lund at his lastknown address. I have not received ananswer. One of the paintings is of Gen-eral Hodges pinning a medal on a T/Sgt.I wondered if the face of the soldierreceiving the medal was his own. I amincluding a copy of the painting below.Unfortunately, it is black and white. Ifany of you who knew Ludwig Lundthink that it might be his own face, Iwill loan you my copy that is in color.One thing that makes me think that itmight not be Mr. Lund is that “wings”show and I have no informationwhether or not he had “wings.”

“Happy Warrior.” ■

GENERAL HODGES PINNING MEDALON ENLISTED MAN

19

BY CHARLES E. DYE

Again, greetings go out to ALL Cru-saders!There are occasions when time just

creeps up on a person. Also, there areoccasions when time comes roaring uplike a runaway B-24. The latter, is mostlikely to occur when one is wearingthree hats, and is struck with avengeance for this issue of THE JOUR-NAL. So much so, that there is insuffi-cient time to include a note from Col.Larry Gilbert, 392nd Chairman.

Upon returning from a most produc-tive Mid-year Board of Directors Meet-ing of the 8th Air Force MemorialMuseum Foundation, the mail wasoverflowing and filled with 392nd dues,PX orde