98thBombWingReunionand99thBGHSHonorPloestiVeterans,ShreveportLouisiana,October2011

ByLorraineHenningKiewiet*

Overafour-dayperiodinOctober2011,inaHolidayInnonthe“OtherSideofLouisiana,”Icontinuedmyjourneytohearthestoriesthatmyfather(JamesHenning99BG416BS,with4232074OH!JOSIEphotobelow)didn’ttellmeaboutbeingamemberofaWorldWarIIArmy-AirForceB-17bombercrew.ThemoreIhear,themoreIunderstandwhyhedidnotwanttotalkaboutit!AndthemoreIwanttoconnectwiththesewonderfulveteransandkeepersofAmerica’scaptivatingWWIIhistory.It’samiraclethatI’mheretodaybasedonresearchIhavedone.Mydadhaspassedon,buttheaffinitiesIsharewiththeseotherssomehowbringmeclosertothesideofmydadIneverknew.

ThecombinedreunionhighlightsweremeetingwiththeVeterans,theexhibitsprovidedbytheAirForceHistoricalSociety,andthetriptoBarksdaleAirForceBase.

TheexhibitinthehotelballroomwasorganizedbyRobertCoalter,adirectoroftheArmyAirCorpsLibraryandMuseum.YoucancontactRobertat(214)957-1393,orrc@armyaircorpsmuseum.org.Visittheirwebsiteatwww.ArmyAirCorpsMuseum.org.Themuseumacceptsdonationsofuniforms,medals,equipment,personalitems,paperwork,books,photos,etc.fromtheeraoftheArmyAirCorps.

Theballroomexhibitincludeddifferentuniformswornbythemen,aswellasenlargedphotographsofthedifferentPloestiraidergroups.Therewereseveralscrapbooksofmemorabilia—photosanddiarypages.

Thepurposeofthe99thBombGroupHistoricalSociety(BGHS)istopreserveandspreadthehistoryofthe99thBGandthecriticalroletheyplayedinhelpingtopreserveourfreedomduringWWII.

Undertheumbrellaofthe99thBGHS(atax-exemptnot-for-profit501(c)(3)organization),thereistheFriendsofthe99thtoenablemembersandotherpartiestomoreeasilymakefinancialandmaterialdonationstothe99thBGHS.TheFriendsofthe99thwillprovideanacknowledgmentofyourdonation,fortaxpurposesandasapermanentrecordofyourcontribution.

Contactthe99thBGHSforanopportunitytodiscussallyouroptions(e.g.passontofamily;donatetoalocalmuseum;donatetotheFriendsofthe99th;etc.andtheywillworkwithyoutopreserveyourmaterialsandyourhistoryforposterity,andforthe99thBGHS.Thewebsiteforthe99thBombGroupHistoricalSociety(BGHS)iswww.99BombGroup.org

AsouvenirpinIreceivedatthereunionshowstheB-17saboveandtheB-24sflyinglow.Thereweremanysouvenirteeshirts,jackets,caps,etc.availableforB-24group.ThewebsitefortheB-24Ploestiraidergroupishttp://www.459bg.org/.

The 99th BGHS also sponsors mini-reunions, and subsidized member prices for various 99th BG memorabilia such as hats, squadron patches, bumper stickers, and the 99th BGHS Historical Calendar. They also are selling for $50.00, to members only, the last copies available of "The Diamondbacks - The History of the 99th Bomb Group (H)".

Thenwegatheredintheballroomforpresentationsandimpromptusharingofstoriesfromtheveterans.Afterthat,agroupphotoaspartiallyshownabove.Onlytwo99thBGHSveteranswereabletobethere,CharlesSteffens(348BS)andHalGrant(346BS).Inthephotoabove,Charlesisinthetoprow,thirdfromtheleft.Charlesattendedwithhisdaughter.Heispicturedinthe99thBGHSbook“TheDiamondbacks”onpage53.

TheBarksdaleAirForceBasetourwasawindyone!Theweatherwassunnyandbright,butfewofuscouldwithstandthehighwindsforverylongtoenjoytheup-closelookattheB-52thatwasavailabletous.Wewereofferedtheopportunitytoclimbintoit,butfrankly,mostofusjustwantedtogetinoutofthewindyweather.Therewere57B-52’slineduporinhangarsatBarksdaleAFB.Theycanflyaroundtheglobewithoutrefueling,andtheiryoungcrewisfullytrainedtocarrynuclearweapons.Buttheyalsoenjoydoing“fly-overs”(unarmed)forsportsevents.AftertheB-52tour,wehadlunchintheenlistedmen’sbanquethall.Ateachtable,youngAirForcemenandwomenwerewelcomingandsohappytomeetthevets.Forourdepartingnight,BarksdaleAFBinvitedusbackforaBBQattheOfficers’hall.AirForceservicemengrilledbeautifulsteakstoorder!Inside,therewasthesaladbar,adultbeveragebar,andsuchgreatcompanionship.

Historicalnote:Ploesti,Romaniawaswherethecommercialrefinementofoilbeganin1857.Ploestiwasthefirstcityintheworldtotapintotheearth’soilriches.AfterthefirstyearofWWII,Ploestirefinerieswereproducingnearlyamilliontonsofoilamonth—40%ofRomania’sexportsandthehighestoctane(90)aviationfuelinEurope.ThisrefinerysuppliedHitlerwithanywherefromonethirdtotwo-thirdsofwhatwasneededto

fueltheNaziwarmachine.Hitlerhadahugeoilrefineryandoilreserves.ThisoilwasbroughtupfromLibyaandstoredheretohelpHitler’stroopsinsouthernEurope.

AsidetripforourgroupincludedvisitingthemusichallwhereElvisPresleymadehisdebut,andallofthecountrywesternstarsoftheradioeracouldbeseenlive,on-stage,for25cents.Afterthat,wehadanauthenticCajunlunch.

HalGrant(99BG346BS)andhiswifeBertgiecanbeseenseatedontherightendofthefirsttableattheleftofthephotoabove.

ThePloestiraiderswerechargedwithdepartingfromtheirbaseinBenghazi(thehometownofformerLibyandictatorMoamarKhadfi)andflyingmorethan2,100milestotakeoutthePloestitargets.TheobjectivewastoeliminateHitler’senergysupplyandstalltheNaziwarmachine.WhentheAllieshadbasesinItaly,the15thAirForcewasbasedinFoggia,Italy.The99thBGflew13missionsfromTortorellaFieldtoPloestistartingonApril5,1944andthefinalmissionwasonAugust18,1944.Duringthisperiodareviewofour99thBGHSdatabaselistssevenaircraftlost(4238207,42107000,4232035,42106991,42106995,4232028,4232068)onthesemissionsoverPloesti.

ThecombinedPloestiraidswerefirstconductedwiththe98thBombWingofearlyB-24lowlevelflightsclosetothegroundin1943,andlaterin1944withtheB-17sflyingataltitudehighabove.Thus,theearlylowlevelflightshopedtheNazigrounddefensecouldbeconfusedastohowtodefendthesite.

Whenwewatchthemovie“TheLongestDay”andwewatchtheNazihighbrassscramblingtofindoutwhythetanksarenotbeingmovedaroundtogettoNormandy,theansweris,“theywereoutofgas!”becauseofthePloestiRaiders,becauseofourB-17sfromthe99thBombGroup.

*99thBGHSEditor’sNote:Thisarticlehasbeeneditedtoprovideadditionalinformationonthe99thBGHS.