Volume 49 Number 2 Summer 2010 VIEW OF THE NORMANDY D … · Volume 49 Number 2 Summer 2010...

Volume 49 Number 2 Summer 2010

Official Publication of the:

63rd Annual2ADA Convention

September 10-13in New Orleans

SEE PAGES 17-20& REGISTER NOW!

VIEW OF THE NORMANDY D-DAY INVASIONFROM 14,000 FEET

By RICHARD C. ROBERT, B-24 Liberator Bomber Tail Turret Gunner734th Bomb Squadron, 453rd Bomb Group, 2nd Air Division, 8th Air Force, USAAF

Station 144, Old Buckenham, England

T he historic D-Day Invasion of Normandy, France by Allied Forcesin World War Two, took place 66 years ago on June 6, 1944. Butin my mind, it seems as if it happened yesterday. I can never

forget my bird’s eye view of the tremendous Allied invasion from a B-24Liberator bomber, some 14,000 feet above the English Channel betweenEngland and Normandy, France. This D-Day invasion was my sixthmission over enemy-occupied Europe as a 23-year-old B-24 tail turretgunner with the 453rd Bomb Group, 2nd Air Division, 8th Air Forceat Old Buckenham Airbase in East Anglia, England. Our airbase waslocated near the Town of Attleborough, some 20 miles south of theCity of Norwich, and about 100 miles north of the City of London.

Early on the morning of June 6, 1944, our crew was awakened bythe squadron orderly and told to get ready for a 4:00 a.m. bombingmission briefing (we were not yet aware that the long awaited Alliedinvasion of France was underway). We hurriedly shaved, dressed androde our bikes to the combat crew mess hall for a typical bombingmission breakfast of fried eggs, bacon and other greasy food. Imme-diately after breakfast we reported to the combat crew briefing room,along with the other flight crews who were going on the mission, for a detailed briefing on our “target for today.”

As soon as everyone was inside the briefing room, roll was taken, doors locked and the secret briefing began. The briefing officerwas none other than our Group Operations Officer, Lieutenant Colonel James M. Stewart, the Hollywood movie star, who was nowa highly respected B-24 Liberator Bomber Command Pilot. The large mission map was uncovered, and Colonel Stewart gave a verydramatic briefing on the Normandy D-Day invasion mission we were to fly later that morning. Everyone on the base had been anx-iously awaiting the Allied invasion of France, but did not know when it would occur. We NOW knew, and it was TODAY, and WE wouldbe participating in a “history making invasion” of enemy-occupied France. This was cause for considerable excitement among thecombat flight crews in the briefing room.

For D-Day, there was a change in 8th Air Force bombing mission operations. Normally, all planes from a bomb group would takeoff one behind the other, assemble as a group and bomb the same target. Not so today. Our 453rd BG was divided into four Flights,with each Flight having a different target and takeoff time. Our crew was assigned to “C” Flight, which would fly the third missionfrom Old Buckenham that day and bomb enemy communications at Caen, France. The 453rd BG put up a total of seventy B-24heavy bombers, each with a crew of ten men, and flew four complete missions on D-Day: St. Laurent, St. Lo, Caen and Coutances,France. The Eighth Air Force, in a maximum effort to support the invasion, put up a grand total of 2,587 heavy bombers, of which1,212 were B-24 Liberator bombers. On the morning of D-Day, there were 11,000 aircraft in the air over southern England.

From our B-24 formation altitude of approximately 14,000 feet en route to our target at Caen, it appeared that the entire EnglishChannel between southern England and Normandy, France was completely full of ships and boats, all headed for the D-Day inva-sion area. It was truly an amazing sight, and one that I will never forget. As our bomber approached landfall over the invasion beaches,we were very apprehensive as to how much enemy opposition awaited us. Fortunately, we encountered no flak (anti- aircraft ar -tillery) and no German fighter planes on our six-hour long, extremely exciting bombing mission in support of the Allied invasion ofNormandy, France on D-Day, June 6, 1944.

I am proud to have been a part of that momentous historical event of World War Two. ■

DIRECTORYHonorary President ...................... THIS POSITION IS VACANT

OFFICERSPresident ............................................... RICHARD C. ROBERT

333 Lee Drive #206, Baton Rouge, LA 70808Telephone: 225-769-2128 • E-mail: [email protected]

Executive Vice President........................... CHARLES WALKER9826 Crest Meadow, Dallas, TX 75230-5331

Telephone: 214-987-0467 • E-mail: [email protected]

Vice President Membership ............................... OAK MACKEY6406 E. Presidio Street, Mesa, AZ 85215

Telephone: 480-641-3033 • Fax: 480-641-0506E-mail: [email protected]

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

Telephone: 315-986-7374

Secretary and Director ofAdministrative Services.................................... JAMES P. DYKE

P.O. Box 700, Mesilla Park, NM 88047Telephone: 505-523-0301

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

9826 Crest Meadow, Dallas, TX 75230-5331Telephone: 214-987-0467 • E-mail: [email protected]

GROUP VICE PRESIDENTS

Headquarters ............................... THIS POSITION IS VACANT

44th Bomb Group........................................ PERRY A. MORSE2041 Village Cir E, York, PA 17404

Telephone: 717-846-8948 • E-mail: [email protected]

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

Telephone: 321-259-6861E-mail: [email protected]

389th Bomb Group .................................... FIELDER NEWTON3301 Shellers Bend #914, State College, PA 16801-3068

Telephone: 814-235-0889

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

Telephone: 480-641-3033 • Fax: 480-641-0506E-mail: [email protected]

445th Bomb Group........................THIS POSITION IS VACANT

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


448th Bomb Group .......................................... KING SCHULTZ2011 Lemonberry Lane, La Costa Glen, Carlsbad, CA 92009

Telephone: 760-704-6430

453rd Bomb Group........................................... LLOYD PRANG2451 Willow St., Greenwood, IN 46142

Telephone: 317-567-3251

458th Bomb Group .................................. E.A. “RICK” ROKICKI2605 Chapel Lake Dr. #207, Gambrills, MD 21054

Telephone: 410-721-0298 • Fax: 410-721-0283

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


467th Bomb Group..................................... JOHN E. STEVENS3526 Largo Circle, San Diego, CA 92110

Telephone: 619-222-4639

489th Bomb Group ................... CHARLES H. FREUDENTHAL 8421 Berea Drive, Vienna, VA 22180


491st Bomb Group....................... THIS POSITION IS VACANT

492nd Bomb Group...................... THIS POSITION IS VACANT

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

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

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

90-27 170th Street, Jamaica, NY 11432Telephone: 202-232-1423

E-mail: [email protected]

SECOND AIR DIVISION MEMORIAL LIBRARYTrust Librarian ................................................. LIBBY MORGANThe Forum, Millennium Plain, Norwich, Norfolk, NR2 1AW, UK

E-mail: [email protected]: www.2ndair.org.uk

2

MATTHEW MARTIN, ChairmanDairy Farmhouse, Low Common, Swardeston,

Norwich NR14 8LG, Norfolk, England

PROF. CHRISTOPHER BIGSBYSchool of American Studies, University of East Anglia

Norwich, Norfolk, NR4 7TJ, England

LIZA DAVISCultural Attaché, Cultural Office, Public Affairs, U.S. Embassy,

24 Grosvenor Square, London, W1A 1AE, England

DAVID DOUGLASLangton Cottage, Langton by Spilsby, Lincolnshire PE23 4PU

BEN DU BROWFramingham Cottage, Framingham Pigot,

Norwich, NR14 7PZ, Norfolk, England

JOSEPH M. DZENOWAGIS, JR.23890 Middlebelt Road, Farmington Hills, MI 48336-2954 USA

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

MEMORIAL TRUST BOARD OF GOVERNORS

TABLE OF CONTENTSPresident’s Message

RICHARD C. ROBERT ....................................... 3

Report of the 2ADA Representative on theBoard of Governors of the Memorial Trust

CHUCK WALKER ............................................ 4

Report of the Chairman of the MemorialTrust of the 2nd Air Division USAAF

MATTHEW MARTIN ......................................... 5

The Editor’s ContributionRAY PYTEL ................................................... 7

2ADA Membership NewsOAK MACKEY ............................................. 10

News from Across the PondLIBBY MORGAN ........................................... 12

Folded Wings ................................................ 4

63rd Annual Convention Information ... 17-20

Letters to the Editor .................................... 34

GROUP REPORTS44th News

PERRY MORSE ............................................. 28

Open Letter to the 93rdJOHN LEE ................................................... 30

392nd Bomb GroupOAK MACKEY ............................................... 6

News of the 453rd from Flame LeapLLOYD PRANG ............................................... 6

458th Bomb GroupRICK ROKICKI .............................................. 11

489th NotesCHARLES FREUDENTHAL............................... 10

FEATURESView of the Normandy D-Day Invasionfrom 14,000 Feet

RICHARD C. ROBERT...................... FRONT COVER

The Evelyn Cohen and Jordan UttalMemorial Cataloguing Project

DR. JOHN ALBAN ........................................... 5

“Operation Greatest Gift”MASONIC LODGE GRAND MASTER NAGEL ......... 8

Golden Girl Award-Winning Saluteto the B-24

C.N. (BUD) CHAMBERLAIN................................ 9

Two Americans in NorwichSTEPHANIE LEAL ......................................... 13

One Friday Evening . . .LUCIEN GIORDANO ...................................... 13

The Tell-Tale HaircutEARL ZIMMERMAN ....................................... 14

Tom Eaton – Service of ThanksgivingTHE VERY REVEREND GRAHAM SMITH............. 15

Thoughts on the Passing of Tom EatonBARBARA MILLER ........................................ 16

Educating Lt. Walker“PLANE TALK”.............................................. 21

Battle of Britain – 70th AnniversaryGEOFF SIMPSON ........................................... 22

The Forgotten “Few”GEOFF SIMPSON ........................................... 24

Don’t Say “Raid” – Say “Mission”FRED B. BARTON .......................................... 25

Of Honored MemoryTAMAR A. MEHURON..................................... 26

8th AF Battle Casualty Report8TH AF NEWS ............................................... 26

Sortie Loss RateROGER FREEMAN ......................................... 27

Time TravellerIAN SCAIFE.................................................. 29

The Irish Visit of “Travelin’ Trollop”JOHN THRELFALL ......................................... 31

The Fantastic Comeback of ApronsRAY PYTEL & BADGER NEWS.......................... 32

World War II’s Unsung HeroesAMY GOODPASTER ......................... BACK COVER

SECOND AIR DIVISION ASSOCIATION

DAVID Q. GURNEYThe Priory, Church Street, Litcham, Kings Lynn,

PE32 2NS, Norfolk, England

ANTHONY HARMERMeadow Farm, Barford Road, Colton, Norwich, NR9 5DA

ANDREW HAWKER10 Rectory Lane, Mulbarton,

Norwich, NR14 8AG, Norfolk, England

DAVID HILLShotesham Lodge, The Street, Shotesham All Saints,

Norwich, NR15 1YL, Norfolk, England

MICHAEL LONGE4 Edenhurst Close, Unthank Road, Norwich, NR4 7Q7

DAVID SISSONThe White House, 5 Earlham Road, Norwich, NR2 3RA

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

3

T he 63rd Annual Convention of the Second Air Division Association will be heldSeptember 10-13, 2010 at the Omni Royal Orleans Hotel in the New Orleans French

Quarter. There will be delicious food, great entertainment and important matters toconsider. You all come and LET THE GOOD TIMES ROLL!

On 12 February 2010 at 12:00 noon, it was my great honor and privilege to repre-sent the 2ADA at a “Service of Thanksgiving” for Thomas Christopher Eaton at theNorwich Cathedral. Tom was a former Lord Mayor of Norwich, and long-time Governorand Chairman of the 2nd Air Division Memorial Trust. It was a very proper and fittingmemorial service with the Bishop of Norwich in attendance. Tom’s three grown chil-dren each gave a short talk about their father. The cathedral was literally packed withthe many friends and relatives of the Eaton family. Past President Earl Zimmerman andI were the only Americans in attendance, and were seated near the front of the cathedralwith the Memorial Trust Governors. We were profusely thanked during and after thememorial service for coming over from America to attend Tom Eaton’s memorial service.

While in Norwich, Earl and I visited the Memorial Library and were welcomed andbrought up to date on library activities by the Trust Librarian, Libby Morgan. We alsovisited the Norfolk Record Office at the Archive Center with Memorial Trust ChairmanMatthew Martin. The County Archivist, Dr. John Alban, gave us a grand tour of the fa -cility, and showed us a sampling of the 116 boxes of Memorial Library records storedin the Norfolk Archive Center. These historic records pertain to the Memorial Trust,the Memorial Library, the 2nd Air Division and its fighter and bomb group personnel,and the Second Air Division Association.

The Memorial Trust Board of Governors has authorized using the funds donated inmemory of Evelyn Cohen and Jordan Uttal for a most unique memorial in their honor,and one which I fully support. The memorial is entitled “The Evelyn Cohen and

Jordan Uttal Memorial Cataloguing Project for the 2nd Air Division Archive.”

The Cohen and Uttal families, as well as major donors, have approved this memorial. The Memorial Library’s archived records at the Norfolk Record Office in Norwich

will be catalogued by a professional archivist in accordance with International Stan-dards. This will be a joint venture project supported by the Norfolk Library Service,the Norfolk Record Office, and the Memorial Trust. The Norfolk Library & InformationService will contribute 5,000 GBP; the Norfolk Record Office will provide “in kind serv-ices” consisting of staff time and equipment in the amount of 6,000 GBP; and the Memo-rial Trust will fund the remaining cost of some 17,000 GBP.

This Cataloguing Project at the Norfolk Archive Center is expected to start in June2010, and take approximately 9 to 10 months to complete. After the records are cata-logued, they will be digitized and added to the Norfolk Record Office catalogue, whichwill make the records instantly accessible to people worldwide. Elsewhere in thisJournal there is a detailed report on the Memorial Cataloguing Project by the NorfolkCounty Archivist, Dr. John Alban (see page 5).

This will be my final “President’s Message” in the Journal, as my term of office as2ADA President will end at the close of our September convention in New Orleans. Muchhas happened on my watch: We have lost two very outstanding members — HonoraryPresident Jordan Uttal and Past President Richard D. Butler; the Memorial Trust Gov-ernors established “The Evelyn Cohen and Jordan Uttal Memorial Cataloguing Projectfor the 2nd Air Division Archive” at the Norfolk Record Office; and our long-servingTreasurer, Elwood W. “Bill” Nothstein, who previously announced his retirement effec-tive June 30th for health reasons, has agreed to stay on as Treasurer until his succes-sor can be elected at the September 10-13, 2010 convention in New Orleans.

This summer, I will be making my third and final trip to England as 2ADA President toattend the Memorial Trust Board of Governors meeting in Norwich on July 22nd. Myother two trips were to attend the Annual General Meeting of the Memorial Trust Boardof Governors in November 2009, and Tom Eaton’s Memorial Service in February 2010.

I have enjoyed my term as your President, and look forward to seeing all of you atthe upcoming 63rd Annual Convention of the Second Air Division Association in NewOrleans, Louisiana. ■

President’s MessageBY RICHARD C. ROBERT (453RD)

THE SECOND AIR DIVISION ASSOCIATION

traces 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).

THE JOURNAL is the official publication of the2nd Air Division Association.

Memo from theConvention Chairman

BY BETTY LEE

T ime is flying . . . soon it will be time to packyour suitcases for the trip to New Orleans.

We’ll be waiting to greet you at the hotel. Therewill be time for doing the work of the 2ADA aswell as sightseeing, eating, sitting and talkingwith your old and new friends. You can be cer-tain that you will have some of the best en -tertainment you have had in a while, coupledwith the best Southern Hospitality we can offer.All in all we’ll do our very best to make surethis is a convention to remember.

Just a note, you might want to re memberto pack a bathing suit. The pool area atop thehotel has a beautiful view of the city architec-ture and the river. There are shaded loungingareas as well as sunny spots for re laxing. Thereis also a fitness center and a bar for cool drinks.Snacks can be ordered from a special menu.

You will be impressed with the hotel staff.They stand ready to make your visit special.

We pray for good weather, for travel mer-cies and for a good gathering for us all as we“Let the Good Times Roll!” ■

4

M ost of you are aware that I usuallyattend the July and November Gov-

ernors’ meetings. I chose to attend theApril meeting this year because the Gov-ernors planned a Memorial Tea in our li -brary in memory of Jordan Uttal and TomEaton. I was asked to speak on behalf ofJordan whereas Matthew Martin spokeon behalf of Tom Eaton.

In order to take advantage of our fre-quent flyer miles, we booked AmericanAirlines to Toronto, Canada, then BritishAir to London.

The plane loaded in Dallas and wasready to depart when the captain an -nounced there would be a delay. It seemsone of the flight attendants had forgottenher passport. It turned into nearly an hourdelay. Fortunately, our schedule calledfor a three-hour stopover in Toronto, soall turned out well.

This trip was one of the most satisfyingof any I have taken. Chairman MatthewMartin did his usual fine job in conduct-ing the Board’s business. The Library isdoing exceptionally well under the guid-

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

BY CHUCK WALKER (445TH)ance of Libby Morgan. Attendance keepsincreasing. Did you know the NorwichMillennium Library of which our Memo-rial Library a part, is the most used li braryin England?

The Finance Committee presentedthe 2010 budget. It appears to be wellthought out. Of course, England is suf-fering the same financial depression weare, but the committee felt confident withtheir numbers.

The Second Air Division owes unend-ing thanks to the Governors of the Memo-rial Trust, both those who have served inthe past and those now serving. They allwork as volunteers.

I spoke of the Memorial Tea earlier. Itmade the trip over worthwhile. The Chair -man had invited some sixty guests to theLibrary for wine and nibbles (they weregreat) to join in a celebration of Jordan’sand Tom’s contributions to the Library.Some of the guests who attended wereSir Timothy Colman; past Chairman PaulKing and Hester; David Hastings, thefather of the Millennium Library; Hilary

Hammond and Jill; Derek Hills; and avery special guest of honor, Robin Eaton.It pleases me greatly that I knew all thepeople there. They are all dear friends. Ittruly was a delightful hour for all thosewho attended. Matthew Martin told meeveryone invited attended.

In connection with the Board meetingthe Governors sponsored a reception forthe visiting dignitaries of the AmericanStudies Program at East Anglia University.Those attending were privileged to heartwo lectures by nationally known profes-sors on the subject.

Our added pleasure on this trip washaving Dede’s daughter, Dr. ConnieCasad, and her husband Mark join us.Although they had been to England sev-eral times, they were especially impressedwith Norwich and the attention and thecompany of many of the Governors. Theyexpressed a desire to come back with ussome day.

It was a great trip. We are looking for-ward to the November meeting.

Stay well and happy!! ■

FOLDED WINGS44th BG

William Glazer

93rd BG

Thomas A. HalkerPaul M. Stroich

LTC Edward E. Weir (Ret)

389th BG

Hugo O. HasslachFred J. Miller

Alexander NovickoffCol. Charles H. Peterson (Ret)

A.J. Pribush

392nd BG

Gilbert R. BambauerStanley C. Zybort

445th BG

Antonio E. BertapelleJohn W. Van BogelenRodney M. Peterson

446th BG

Rodney E. JacksonCol. Herbert T. Levack (Ret)

448th BG

Jack L. CooperEarl Furnace (489th)

John W. HottingerJack C. MillerVictor F. Roys

James ShapcottFrancis X. SheehanStanley L. WinterArthur E. ZanderJoseph H. Zonyk

453rd BG

Sidney H. BlakeHerman Lefco

LTC Earle P. Nase (Ret)Thomas A. Nelson (492nd, 467th)

Bert H. Wiseman

458th BG

Jerome BrillFrederick J. Honold

Thomas F. Walsh

466th BG

John J. DoskoczArnold W. Hansen

467th BG

John D. CollinsMaurice B. Dunn

John E. SchmidbauerEdward A. Tripold

489th BG

Roy W. LybrookNeal E. Sorensen

491st BG

Gerard D. Werdell

492nd BG

Ernest M. GavittFrank J. GoldcampBernerd N. Harding

Irving E. Koltun (445th)Odis F. Waggoner

5

GREETINGS FROM NORWICH!As I think you will read elsewhere in thisedition of the Journal, we have em barkedupon a most important project here inthe UK. Over the years, large amounts ofpaper and other material about the 2ndAir Division have been deposited at theNorfolk Record Office. This material hasbeen sitting in boxes and no one alive hasdetails of what they all contain. In theGovernors’ view it is vital that all thecontents of these boxes are gone throughcomprehensively and correctly cataloguedby a professional archivist. This will enablehistorians, academics and others to locatethe information they require for their re -searches. In due course, details can beloaded onto the Internet so that theseresearches can be carried out from any-where in the world without the need forthe person concerned to come to Nor-wich. Increasingly, this is the way histor-ical research is carried out nowadays, sowe need to do this to maintain our rele-vance and accessibility for succeedinggenerations.

It is estimated that it will take the ar -chivist just under one year to sift andcatalogue all the material. This was nevergoing to be an easy or cheap exercise.After the most careful consideration, theGovernors decided to use the money youhave so generously given in memory ofEvelyn Cohen and Jordan Uttal. I person-ally checked with Jordan Uttal’s nephewand Evelyn Cohen’s sister Lillian, togetherwith other principal benefactors, to seeif they agreed with our plans, and I ampleased to report that they have given ittheir wholehearted support. As the proj-ect proceeds I will give you, the readersof the Journal, updates as to how thework is progressing.

Speaking personally, I can think of nomore fitting tribute to both Evelyn andJordan than the story of the MemorialLibrary, along with information about the2nd Air Division’s presence here duringthe Second World War, being made avail-able for future generations to read aboutand research. After all, there is no otherstory like it anywhere else in the world.

Turning to other matters, we weredelighted to welcome Chuck Walker, hiswife Dede Casad, Dede’s daughter Con-nie and her husband Mark to our Gover-nors’ meeting in April. Since I became

Report of the Chairman ofthe Memorial Trust of the 2nd Air Division USAAF

BY MATTHEW MARTIN, CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF GOVERNORS

Chairman I have always taken the viewthat any American with links to the 2ndAir Division who is in Norwich at thetime is most welcome to come to ourmeetings. The April meeting coincidedwith the 55th Annual Convention of theBritish Association of American Studiesbeing held here in Norwich. There wereover 200 academics and students fromaround the world, many of whom visitedyour Library. I spoke personally to someof them and they expressed real interestin learning how your Library came intobeing and what is on offer there.

Libby Morgan, our Trust Librarian, hasnearly finished a major project, namely acomplete revamp of our website. I hopeit will go live sometime during the sum-

mer, and for those of you who use theInternet I hope you will approve of allthat you see there. There is an ever-increasing need for this website to remainaccurate and up-to-date. It is very muchpart of the “living” memorial for whichwe are responsible.

My wife Patsy and I are looking for-ward to your convention in New Orleansin September. Neither of us has been therebefore and we know there is much to see.We are then off for a tour of some specialplaces in the States and Canada. It prom-ises to be a most interesting and worth-while trip for us. I do hope as many ascan will make the journey to New Orleans.I much look forward to seeing you there.In the meantime, keep taking the pills! ■

The Evelyn Cohen and Jordan UttalMemorial Cataloguing Project

— Status Report, 18 May 2010 —BY DR. JOHN ALBAN,

COUNTY ARCHIVIST, NORFOLK RECORD OFFICE

T his is a new and exciting project to update the catalogue of the internation-ally significant archives of the 2nd Air Division, United States Army Air Force

(USAAF), Memorial Trust and Memorial Library.Funded through a donation made by the 2nd Air Division Association for ten

months, with contributions from the Norfolk Record Office and the Norfolk Libraryand Information Service, the Evelyn Cohen and Jordan Uttal Memorial Catalogu-ing Project is a collaboration between the 2nd Air Division Memorial Trust, 2ndAir Division Memorial Library and the Norfolk Record Office.

The archive includes the personal papers (including diaries, memoirs andphotographs) of 2nd Air Division servicemen who were based in Norfolk duringthe Second World War, together with documents relating to the foundation andbusiness of the 2nd Air Division Memorial Trust and Memorial Library.

The Norfolk Record Office, where the project will be based, is housed in themodern, state-of-the-art Archive Centre in Norwich, a “TNA-approved repository”under the British National Archives’ inspection régime. The Record Office hasalso been ranked by The National Archives as a four-star archive service and isthe largest local authority archive service in the United Kingdom, outside London.The entire holdings of the Record Office, including the 2nd Air Division Archive,have been “Designated” by the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council as beingof outstanding national and international importance.

Work has begun to recruit an archivist to undertake the cataloguing project,with the post being advertised in May, and it is hoped to have the project catalogu-ing archivist in post by June, when the work will start. The Record Office has appoint -ed archivist Hannah Verge as Project Manager and is in the process of bringingtogether a Project Board. Record Office staff are currently busy preparing for theproject, which will also involve the wider community through the use of volunteers,who will be helping with tasks such as repacking records to archival standards. ■

6

F inally some good news. The goodnews concerns the 2ADA convention

that is going to be held in New Orleans,September 10-13 of this year. At the 63rdconvention of the 2ADA in Grapevine,Texas, the 453rd managed to get a won-derful hospitality suite and it was ex treme -ly well attended. We had another wonder-ful complimentary “gathering” room thefollowing year at the Westin hotel for ourexclusive use at the convention in Rose-mont (Chicago), Illinois. It was also wellattended. I didn’t have any ideas for whatto do in New Orleans until I got the fol-lowing e-mail letter from Dick Robert acouple of days ago:

The 453rd BGA will most likely be en -

titled to one of the four hospitality suites

on the second floor of the Omni Royal

Orleans Hotel, due to their usual large

attendance.

However, as 2ADA President, I can

offer the 453rd a better option — the

Presidential Suite Living Room in

the Penthouse where I am staying on

top of the hotel. This living room is al -

most the same size as the one we had at

the Doubletree on Canal Street some years

ago. It has a very large built-in bar and

lots of comfortable seating with a nice

view of the city.

The biggest perk of all, though, is

exemption from the hotel ban on outside

liquor & bar supplies in hospitality suites.

We can bring in anything we wish from

outside sources to the Presidential Suite

without penalty!!! All needed bar and

party supplies can be bought from local

supermarkets. My wife’s son-in-law, Jude

Brand, has offered to manage the bar at

no cost to the 453rd BGA.

It is my recollection, that the 453rd

treasury has ample funds to cover the

cost of stocking this hospitality room

bar for our members and guests. Let me

know what you think of this proposal.

Of course I replied immediately andsaid thank you and yes! Oh, this is goingto be a great party.

The good news couldn’t last, however.On Wednesday, May 19, Irene fell in thegarage, while trying to tell me I had misseda spot in the lawn, which I had been mow-ing. She banged her head — the MRIshowed no damage, just a black eye. Butshe broke her right arm. The doctor said

it might take about three months to com-pletely heal.

Murray Schwartz wrote, “I have beenaway from my e-mail for several monthsbecause of family health issues. Just readyour February 20th e-mail on contribu-tions to Evelyn and now Jordan’s memo-rial contributions. I am sending checksfor both of these outstanding people toOak Mackey. Good work, Thanks.”

I wrote to Murray, thanking him andmentioned that Irene had fallen. He re -plied: “So sorry to hear that Irene had afall. Poor gal has had more than her shareof problems. Our problem started with afall in Florida. Getting older doesn’t helpeither. I fell on the squash court andknocked myself out. Had the rescue squadhospital trip and accompanying MRI. Inow play wearing a bicycle helmet. GiveIrene my and Shirley’s best regards andtell her we pray to see her in New Or leansin September. Best of Luck. Murray andShirley Schwartz.”

The good news is that I now knowMurray and Shirley Schwartz, and Jack

Raiser, are going to be in New Orleans.And Gwen, Dick’s wife, is planning theentertainment for all three nights.

Oh yes! Also, please let me know ifyou’re going to be coming to New Or -leans. This is really going to be the lastone for the 2ADA. I can’t see the 2ADAcontinuing to hold conventions. And un -less some one else chooses to do it, I can’tsee the 453rd having this type of gather-ing. Anyway, in the past I got inf or ma -tion regarding who is coming to the con-vention from Evelyn Cohen. Now, un -less you tell me I won’t know that you’regoing to be there. This is not good, soplease tell me! Also, if your kids are com-ing with you, please give their names tome. This information is important, soplease do as I have requested.

If there is any possibility of your com-ing to New Orleans, please do it. I realizethe airlines have made it almost impossi-ble, but this is worth the effort. The air-lines DO provide wheelchair service tohelp you get around the various terminalsand through the security checkpoints.This is a very good service — make sureyou take advantage of it if you have diffi-culty walking. Please be there — NewOrleans, that is. ■

BY LLOYD W. PRANG

OLD BUCKENHAM

T his report will be brief, as therehas been a paucity of activity with -

in the 392nd BG Memorial Asssocia-tion since my last report in the Springissue of the Journal. I am writing thison 24 May 2010. You will receive thiscopy of the Summer Journal in earlyAugust, about the same time the 392ndBGMA is having their annual meetingat the Crowne Plaza Hotel near theDetroit Metro Airport. The big eventhere is the “Thunder Over Michigan”air show sponsored by the Yankee AirForce and the 8th Air Force HistoricalSociety, which will be at the WillowRun Airport. Do I need remind you thisis the same airport where the WillowRun Ford Factory was located duringWWII? Where about half of all the19,000 B-24s of WWII were made? Evenso, and it is kind of sad, there will beonly one flying B-24 at the air show,and it is the only flying B-24 in theworld today. It is owned by the CollingsFoundation who fly it on a tour of theentire U.S. each summer, so althoughit is the only flying B-24, it is seen andenjoyed by many. Other aircraft ondisplay and flying at the air show are: aMesserschmitt 262 jet fighter, a Messer -schmitt 109E, five North American P-51fighters, two North American B-25bomb ers, five AT-6 North American ad -vanced trainers, one Douglas C-47, oneDouglas AD-5, three Boeing PT-17 pri-mary trainers. and eleven Boeing B-17bombers.

By a stroke of good luck I receiveda letter from Jim Goar today sayingthere are 27 Crusaders registered atthe hotel. Fantastic, this is going to bea great party! ■

BY OAK MACKEY

WENDLING

392nd

FROM“AVIATION WISDOM”:

Both optimists and pessimistscontribute to society.

The optimist invents theaeroplane, the pessimist the

parachute.

7

A n interesting story appeared in a re -cent issue of World War II magazine

which neatly follows up the Spring Jour-

nal article, “Germans Confront the NaziPast.” It confronts the Dresden bombingcontroversy as follows:

GERMAN HISTORIANSSAY NAZIS EXAGGERATED

DRESDEN DEATH TOLLby Justin Ewers

Reprinted from World War II Magazine

It is a name that continues to evokeimages of fire and death. Along with Hiro -shima and Nagasaki, Dresden has becomeone of the preeminent symbols of theworst horrors of World War II. The fero-cious Allied firebombing raid beginningthe night of February 13, 1945, by an aer-ial armada of more than 1,000 bombers,obliterated 13 square miles of a city packedwith refugees from elsewhere in devas-tated Germany. In the days after the raid,Nazi propagandists put the death toll atover 200,000. In the decades that followed,some estimates pushed that number ashigh as 500,000.

Among historians, though, there haslong been a high degree of uncertaintyabout the scope of the devastation. Someexperts who spent the postwar years cit-ing Dresden’s death toll as in the hun-dreds of thousands, including the Britishhistorian David Irving, were later discred-ited as Holocaust deniers or Nazi sympa-thizers. (Irving, for one, served 13 monthsin an Austrian jail in 2005-2006 for deny-ing the Holocaust.) While few doubtedthat the original Nazi estimates were exag-gerated, discussion about what really hap-pened in the city in February 1945 tendedto devolve into angry exchanges over whe -ther the bombing constituted a war crime.

This spring, an official report requestedby the Dresden City Council may finallyhelp quell some of the fury. Based on fiveyears of research in the city’s archives,the report, by a group of widely respect-ed historians known as the Dresden His-torians’ Commission, confirms what manyscholars have been arguing for years:The bombing of Dresden, though horrible,

The Editor’sContribution

BY RAY PYTEL (445TH)

was not much different in scale thandozens of other WWII bombing raids car-ried out by both sides. And the death tollwas far less than commonly thought: like-ly no higher than 25,000 people.

Since 2005, some of Germany’s mostdistinguished scholars, including HorstBoog, the country’s leading authority onthe air war in Europe, have been diggingthrough a range of archival sources, fromcemetery records to the files of registraroffices and local courts, in a painstakingeffort to reconstruct the recovery effortafter the bombing.

Balancing these archival records withhundreds of eyewitness accounts, the com-mission created a list of 25,000 potentialvictims, both identified and unidentified.It dismissed outright any figure higher thanthat, rejecting as “untrue” the claims thathundreds of thousands of bodies wereobliterated in the attack and never recov-ered. Indeed, after conducting an exhaus-tive street-by-street archaeological inves-tigation of the city center, as well as aspatial analysis of the post-raid recoveryeffort, the commission says there is “no

evidence” that the chaos following theattack made an accurate estimate of thedeath toll impossible.

“It is true that the responsible author-ities were required to improvise in manycases, given the extent of the catastropheand the pressures of time,” the report’sauthors write. “But the commission isnevertheless convinced that at least thenumber of persons killed were recordedin an essentially orderly manner.”

Interestingly, the commission notesthat a death toll of 25,000 is roughly thesame as the official number released byauthorities in 1945 and 1946, after the Naziswere gone. Some historians, includingFrederick Taylor, in his book Dresden:

Tuesday, February 13, 1945, have recent-ly argued that the Nazis simply added azero to their own casualty lists for prop-aganda purposes.

As definitive as the commission’s con-clusions may seem, there are some inDresden who refuse to accept that thereport signals the end of the city’s spe-cial status as a unique victim of the war.

A group of German historians says the Allied bombing raid that demolished the city ofDresden was comparable in scale to many other such raids, with about 25,000 killed.

(continued on page 8)

Shortly after the report’s release in March,150 demonstrators descended on Dres-den’s town hall in protest. “This [report]has not ended the debate at all,” the city’scultural commissioner, Ralf Lunau, toldthe London Times. Even if Dresden wasn’tthe “Holocaust of bombs” some have madeit out to be, he insists, the report’s find-ing that “only” 25,000 people were killeddoes little to remove the moral stain stilllingering over the raid.

So the political fires in Dresden willlikely continue to burn, but perhaps notquite as hotly as they used to.

LEND-LEASE TO USSRAnother bit of history repressed by Stalinwas the U.S. Lend-Lease contribution of air-craft. An article in the July 2010 issue ofthe British publication Flypast had the fol-lowing opening statement in a long articleon the 881 B-25s lend-leased to the USSR:

“Overwhelming superiority, both in

numbers of personnel and equipment,

was a major factor in the Soviet victory

on the Eastern Front during World War

Two. In particular, the USSR was able

to manufacture huge numbers of tanks

and aircraft.

“Those figures were swelled further by

additional equipment from Britain and

the U.S. under the Lend-Lease Act. The

U.S. alone provided Russia with 18,700

aircraft, including 881 North American

B-25 Mitchell medium bombers.”

This is the first statement that I haveseen as to the number of U.S. aircraft thatthe Soviets obtained from us during WWII.

ANSWER TO THE SPRING QUIZSee the article entitled “Golden Girl Award-Winning Salute to the B-24” on page 9.

SUMMER QUIZState the number of combat deaths bythe three major Alllied powers, the U.S.,England, and the USSR, and the three Axispowers, Germany, Italy, and Japan, dur-ing WWII. ■

THE EDITOR’S CONTRIBUTION(continued from page 7)

A demonstrator’s “Dresden Without Nazis”poster takes aim at Neo-Nazis’ efforts to usethe bombing for political gain.

8

Masonic Lodge Grand Master Nagel’s Project

“Operation Greatest Gift”Greatest Gift for the Greatest Generation

World War II ended in 1945, but it wasn’t until 2004 that a memorial was dedi -cated in Washington, D.C. to the 16 million who served in the armed forces

during that war.

Health and financial obstacles have prevented most surviving veterans, now wellinto their 80s, from taking the long trip to honor their fallen friends and theiryears of service.

Operation Greatest Gift, the Grand Master’s Project for 2009-2010, will make thisdream come true for hundreds of California’s World War II veterans.

We will organize several three-day trips to Washington, D.C. designed to providewhat many veterans cannot provide for themselves: an assisted visit to the memo-rial, at no cost to them. Because of our support, they will have an opportunity tosay goodbye to fallen friends, be recognized for their service to our country, andcome to terms with an important part of their lives.

The Grand Master’s Project will also raise funds to support the work of the Ma -sonic Hospital Visitors Program Committee. This committee of dedicated Masonsensures that there is always a presence at California’s veterans’ hospitals by pro-viding friendship, social programs, and regular visitation.

Together, we can show our veterans that their service has not been forgotten.

SUPPORTING “OPERATION GREATEST GIFT”We expect to raise $400,000 to make this dream a reality. The Grand Master willbe traveling throughout the state, and will be honored to accept gifts from bothlodges and individuals.

Please contact the Grand Lodge Office of Philanthropy at 415-292-9117. ■

On the Lighter Side . . .

I n the Fall 1995 Journal on page 3,Chuck Walker advised us of the na tional

publicity our B-24 would be receiving.Thanks to the efforts of Stroh BrewingCompany, on behalf of its Schlitz Beer, theLiberator was to be pictured on every caseof Schlitz distributed starting in April 1995,as a salute to the Liberator and commem-orating the 50th anniversary of the victo-rious end of World War II.

Chuck also pointed out that the CollingsB-24 “All American” would be embarkingon a 100 city tour, and as a tie-in with thisevent, the Schlitz Golden Girl logo hadbeen painted on the nose of the aircraft.

In that same issue, on page 5, GeoffGregory added further comments, point-ing out that “this promotion exposes ourB-24 to millions of people in one stroke.”

You were further reminded of theseactivities in the Winter 1995 Journal (page27) in an article titled “What's in a Name.”We were told therein that Victor Dzeno -wagis, son of Joe Dzenowagis (467th)was deeply involved in this promotion,and that he would ensure that the mate-rials would be produced in such a manneras to result in a program that not only sellsthe product, but, as importantly, wouldbe true to the B-24, and the 50th anniver-sary. He also added, “Some of my friendsin the sales force have told me that thisis one of the best received programs theyhave ever seen.”

Now, here’s the very gratifying “rest ofthe story.” Too late for inclusion in theWinter Journal, we received a copy of apress release dated 20 October 1995 whichreported that:

(1) Stroh Brewing Co., brewers ofSchlitz beer, was awarded the 1995 WorldPro Award for “the best promotion in theworld” for its Schlitz WWlI commemora-tive promotion.

(2) The award competition, organizedby PROMO magazine, recognized Strohfor its comprehensive promotion devel-oped to mark the 50th anniversary of theend of WWII.

(3) This winning promotion also wonthe Gold Award (the top national award)in the 1995 World Pro Awards consumerpromotion category.

(4) The specially designed B-24 packsand the 12 packs featured a color image ofthe World War II B-24 Liberator aircraft.

(5) One of the judges in the contest isquoted as being “totally overcome by the

promotion.” He added, “I could almost hearthe Glenn Miller band playing in the back-ground. Nothing else was even close.”

(6) The competition organized byPROMO magazine included 211 entriesfrom 11 countries in North America, SouthAmerica, and Europe. At our Lexingtonconvention there was a large display ofthe B-24 Schlitz packs similar to that pic-

Golden Girl Award-Winning Salute to the B-24BY C.N. (BUD) CHAMBERLAIN (489TH BG) • REPRINTED FROM THE 2ADA JOURNAL, SPRING 1996, VOL. 35, NO. 1

tured here. At the end of the conventionthe cases were given to any of us who hadthe energy to carry them home.

All of us with connections to the 2ndAir Division appreciate this favorable at -tention to our Liberator. We repeat ourthanks to Victor Dzenowagis for his partin this salute to the veterans of WorldWar II. ■

9

“Flying the Friendly Skies”My friend’s flight from Boston to New York City was delayed, so she missed

her connection home to Seattle. She joined a group of other passengers in

line at the ticket counter, each hoping to book seats on the next flight to

that destination.

All the travelers waited patiently,

except for one man, who treated the

agent very rudely. “I had an aisle

seat reserved, and I better get an aisle seat when we get on another

plane,” he demanded. A few minutes later, everyone was relieved when

they learned that there would be room for all.

“And, sir,” the ticket agent said, turning to the obnoxious man, “I am happy

to tell you that you will have an aisle seat.” Still muttering, the man picked

up his carry-on and left for the gate. “And I’m also happy to announce,”

the agent continued, “that the rest of you will be seated in first class.” ■

10

“WELL, IT JUST COME TO ME,” as AndyGriffith used to say, “Yessir, it just cometo me.” What just came to me is the factthat I have 36 years of active service and36 years of 2ADA membership. The activeservice started first — in 1934, on my 18thbirthday, in ‘B’ Company, 16th Infantry. Igot to go to the 2nd Corps Area West PointPrep School for two terms but never gotto West Point. Worked my way up to Cor-poral before discharge in 1937. Promotionwasn’t easy then — one stripe per hitch.

The Second Air Division Associationdidn’t start until 1975. I read about it in

Stars & Stripes, and joined up. Bill Rober -tie, then 2ADA President, appointed me asVP for the 489th, since the 19-member con-tingent didn’t have one. I was the GroupVP for 11 years, and we kept adding mem-bers until we had more than 400.

After my years we twisted GeorgeNokes’ arm until he agreed to take over.After eleven years of military service Ihad worked my way back to M/Sgt (it’s along story) and was an Air Force radiocorrespondent, mostly in Korea. Jumpingback to the 2ADA: Jim Davis followedGeorge Nokes as VP, then Neal Soren sen,Ralph Belward, Jim Davis again, Neal Sor -ensen again, John deCani, Mel Pontillo,and me again.

Memories? Remember Chaplain Char-lie Wakefield? He stocked up on Listerinebefore we left Wendover; emptied the bot-tles and filled them with Scotch. And Iremember my good friend John McGrath,the Group Navigator. John rode a bicyclevery well. But he didn’t make turns verywell. One day he disappeared into a bighedge. It was straight ahead of him, and asI said, John didn’t turn too well.

And there was Thanksgiving, whenDave Davies, the RAF Liaison Officer, kind -ly offered to find a turkey for those of usquartered in the former 95th Wing Nis-sen Huts. He did, too; a 25-pound LIVEturkey in a sack, and not friendly. No prob -lem, at first. Everyone knew how to killthe turkey and prepare it for roasting.Strange — when we offered these peoplean opportunity to demonstrate their skills,they all had to go elsewhere. So we drewfor the short straw, and Charlie Wakefieldlost — or won, depending on how youlook at it. So off Charlie and I went towhat used to be the Wing Commander’skitchen and dispatched the bird. Luckily,a sympathetic mess sergeant roasted itfor us, so we really had a feast of turkeyand other good things (I forget what elsethere was). Then we had a parade throughthe building to honor Tom Tur key. Char-lie wrapped it in a white sheet, four of uscarrying a small table, upside down andcarrying the leftover bones. Everyone elsefollowed, chanting our home made thanksfor a fine day.

Next day, back to Spam. ■

HALESWORTH

BY CHARLES FREUDENTHAL

T oday is May 24, 2010 and it has beennearly a year since I became the Vice

President of Membership. As one mightexpect, it has been a learning process andan exciting challenge. Evelyn Cohen hadthis job for over fifty years and was anexpert who rarely, if ever, made a mistake.To follow in her footsteps has been adaunting task, and I have made a few mis -steps. For example, a few of you madeyour dues payment right on time afterthe first dues notice, and yet you receiveda second notice because I failed to postyour payment in the files. You are all awonderful bunch of members and in thepast year I have not received a singlecomplaint. You make my job a pleasanttask and I thank you sincerely.

Last June 2009 there were 2229 mem-bers in the 2ADA roster. In December2009 dues notices were sent to all mem-bers. Your response was very good andby April 2010, 1400 members had paidtheir dues. On April 1st, 600 second duesnotices were mailed out to members whohad not yet paid. As of today 355 mem-bers have not paid their dues, amongthem there may be some who have died

and their family has not reported theirdeath to me, there may be some who arein a nursing home and have lost interestin the 2ADA, and some may have simplylost interest. There are 26 who have movedwithout sending a change of address andthe Post Office can’t find them. There havebeen 105 deaths reported in the past year.Subtracting 105 and 355 from 2229 resultsin a membership today of 1769, howeverI believe some of those 355 members willyet pay their dues.

This Journal has arrived in your homearound the first of August. To the vastmajority who have paid their 2010 dues,“Thank You Very Much.” If you are amongthe 355 who have not paid your 2010 dues,please do so now to retain your mem-bership in the Second Air Division Asso-ciation, the world’s most prestigious vet-erans organization. Do you really wantto terminate your membership? Give thismatter some serious thought, then writethat check payable to the Second AirDivision Association and mail it to 6406E. Presidio St., Mesa, AZ 85215. Hey, thedues are only $20.00 and that’s for a wholeyear, or $0.05 per day, just one nickel. Who

sez a nickel won’t buy anything?Not long ago a friend proposed a mer -

ger of the Second Air Division Associationand the Heritage League! My first reac -tion was that of a typical negative-think-ing old man, and I rejected the idea. Butafter further conversation, the idea be -came more appealing. The merged organ-ization would provide an immediate in -flux of young, willing and capable work-ers to take over the administrative jobs.Us old guys could set back and enjoy ourre main ing years; tell me, what’s wrong withthat? My e-mail address is [email protected]. ■

2ADA MEMBERSHIP NEWSBY OAK MACKEY (392ND), 2ADA VP MEMBERSHIP

FROM THEU.S. AIR FORCE MANUAL:

“It is generallyinadvisable to bail out

directly over an area youhave just bombed.”

11

LIBERATORSOVER NORWICH

P ublished by Schif-fer, authored by

Ron MacKay with MikeBailey and Darin Scor -za (458th). Photos arefrom the Mike Baileycollection, with inputsof text and photos fromDarin Scorza and textby one of England’spremier historians. Thisbook has been in prog -ress for several yearsand will soon be avail-able. Size is 8.5" x 11",

with more than 460 black and white and color images. 304 pages,hard cover and lists for $69.99. ISBN 978-0-7643-3515-0. This isauthor Ron MacKay’s fifth Schiffer book on USAAF units in WWII.It covers the 240 missions flown by the 458th, Azon radio con-trolled bombs, ordnance over 13,000 tons dropped. Covers thecost of 65 crews, MIA, KIA or involved in operational accidents.It would appear that finally we’re getting a large and compre-hensive history of the 458th Bomb Group at last. This may bethe final such printing of our group.

Sorry I do not have a source of purchase, shipping charges oravailability. However, that information is forthcoming but not intime to be included here — possibly the next issue of the Journal.

PILOT’S CHECKLISTI received the following information from Bud Hartzell on how

the Pilot’s Check list was born. Because of limited space, here’s acondensed version of the article with all relevant information.

On October 30, 1935, at Wright Airfield in Dayton, Ohio, the

Army Air Corps held a flight competition for aircraft manufac-

turers competing to build the next generation long range bomber.

Boeing Corporation’s four-engined model 299 appeared to be

the number one choice since it could carry five times the bomb

load, fly faster than specified and almost twice the distance the

Army contract requested. The aircraft seemed to be a “shoo-in.”

In the trail, the aircraft lifted off smoothly, climbed to 300

feet, stalled and fell off on one wing and crashed and burned.

Two of the five crew members were killed, including the pilot,

Major Ployer P. Hill (thus Hill AFB, Ogden, Utah).

Investigation revealed nothing mechanical had gone wrong.

Crash had been deemed “Pilot Error.” However, it was deter-

mined that the aircraft was more complex than previous air-

craft (four engineers, retractable landing gear, wing flaps, trim

tabs, constant speed propellers, etc.). While doing all this, Major

Hill forgot to release the new control locking system of rudder,

elevator and ailerons. The Boeing model, as one newspaper

put it, was “too much airplane for one man to fly.” (What was

the copilot doing?) Douglas Aircraft Corporation was the

winner and Boeing nearly went bankrupt.

A group of test pilots got together and considered what could/

should be done. They came up with an ingeniously simple

approach. They created a Pilot’s Checklist with step-by-step

checks for ground control, taxiing, pre-takeoff, takeoff and

climb, landing, etc. With that checklist in hand, pilots went on

to fly the Model 299 a total of 18 million miles without a sin-

gle accident. Ultimately, the Army Air Corps ordered more than

12,000 which became known as the B-17 Flying Fortress.

So now you know, thanks to Bud Hartzell.

AN ASIDEI was a student pilot in early 1946. The aircraft was an Aeron-

ca Champ also known as a “T” (for trainer). Instruments were air -speed indicator, altimeter and compass – with sight gauge and fuelquantity. After five hours of solo, I was scheduled to do touch-and-go landings. Local field instructions were “If you don’t touch downbefore the intersection of a taxi strip, go around.” The Susque-hanna River was just a few feet from the end of the runway.

Normal procedure was to pull out the carburetor heat onfinal approach with reduced engine power to avoid carb ice. WhenI touched down too far, I applied power to go around. Nothinghappened! I was sure I’d be swimming soon. Out of the cornerof my eye I saw the carb heat control sticking out. Quickly clos-ing the heat, the engine rapidly accelerated and I did my normal“missed approach” procedure, with very sweaty everything, every-where! Could have used a checklist that day, April 22, 1946.

SAD NEWSI just received very sad news from David Hastings concern-

ing Christine Armes, who was tragically killed in an accidentjust after the July 4th holiday. Christine was such a dear friendof the 458th, and prior to her death she and David were in theplanning stages of a service to be held at the 458th memorial atHorsham St. Faith. For those who wish to send a card, the ad -dress is: Firman Ct. #10, Thorpe St. Andrew, Norwich, NorfolkNR7 ON1, England. ■

HORSHAM ST. FAITH

BY RICK ROKICKI

Boeing 299. Vehicle on far left — could that be a 1935 SUV?

BY LIBBY MORGAN,TRUST LIBRARIAN

The Merry Month of May atthe Memorial Library

“Never yet was a springtime, when the buds forgot to bloom.”

MARGARET ELIZABETH SANGSTER

“You are as welcome as the flowers in May.”

CHARLES MACKLIN

A fter a rather long, bleak and snowy winter (yes, we’ve hadsnow here in Norfolk this year), spring has finally sprung

in Norwich with, at long last, some warm sunshine to welcomeour Memorial Library visitors. And despite disruptions to trav-el arrangements caused by the ash cloud from the Eyjafjalla-joekull volcano, we’ve been delighted to see so many Americanvisitors here at the Memorial Library, especially over the lastcouple of weeks.

Monday 17th and Tuesday 18th May stand out as special days,with a seemingly never-ending stream of visitors from acrossthe pond. It is always such a pleasure and a privilege to meetwith friends and families of 2nd Air Division veterans. We wereespecially pleased to meet with Annette Tison, historian of the392nd Bomb Group, and her husband Don.

Perhaps I should let our visitors’ comments speak for them-selves. These quotes are taken from our visitors book, 17th –19th May 2010:

• Wonderful exhibit and collections!

• Thank you for preserving the legacy of the 392nd BG

• A brilliant archive

• Brilliant and fascinating

• Fabulous and heart-warming – thank you

• Thank you for your care of this memorial

• Excellent display!

• Great memorial !

• Fantastic tribute

Next month we’re looking forward to welcoming veterans, fam-ily and friends of the 467th Bomb Group, who are staying inNorwich from 10th – 17th June. They have an action-packedweek planned, but have a free afternoon on 12th June to visitus here in the Memorial Library. ■

The American InvasionRemembered:

Recorded Memoirs of USAAFServicemen Based in Norfolk During

the Second World War

O n 26th May, Jonathan Draper (Archivist, Norfolk SoundArchive) gave a lunchtime presentation at the Nor-

folk Record Office featuring sound recordings from the2nd Air Division Memorial Library’s oral history archive.

This was a fascinating presentation featuring 12 short soundclips of 2nd Air Division veterans talking about their WorldWar Two experiences here in East Anglia. Clips used inthe presentation included:

• Richard Kennedy (448th Bomb Group) talking abouttraining and the flight from America to England [MC371/882/10]

• Charles Domek (458th Bomb Group) describing condi-tions inside the B-24 Liberator [MC 376/221]

• Robert Dubowsky (44th Bomb Group) describing land-ing in Alsace Lorraine following flak damage [MC 371/882/19]

• Joseph Whitaker (392nd Bomb Group) remembering hisinteraction with the locals and his experiences of Eng-land [MC 371/882/17]

• Marvin Kite (44th Bomb Group) recalling the interac-tion between USAAF servicemen and the local inhabi-tants and getting married by telephone [MC 371/882/29]

The talk was very well attended and I’m delighted thatJonathan has agreed to give a repeat performance for ushere in the Memorial Library on 22nd September, and atother Norfolk Libraries.

You can find descriptions of the USAAF recordings on theNorfolk Record Office’s online catalogue. Go to the ad -vanced search screen at http://nrocat.norfolk.gov.uk/DServe/public/searches/nroadvanced.htm and enter MC371 or MC 376 in the CatalogueRef field and choose AudioRecording from the drop-down menu of the Format field.

The Norfolk Record Office launched the Norfolk SoundArchive in April 2003. Its purpose is to collect, preserveand provide public access to sound recordings relevant tolife in Norfolk. The Norfolk Sound Archive is part of theNorfolk Record Office, a joint service of Norfolk CountyCouncil and District Councils in Norfolk.

Website: http://www.archives.norfolk.gov.uk/sound_archive/nrosound01.htm Email: [email protected] ■

12

13

We’ve been busy here at the 2nd Air Division MemorialLibrary. As the two American Scholars, Lucien Giordano

and I have been making connections with as many groups aswe have access to, furthering the public awareness of the library.And it has been so much fun! Lucien and I picked up the “Read-ing Across the Pond” book group when we began working atthe Memorial Library. We have a brilliant group of twelve read-ers, and we’ve read and discussed everything from Faulkner toCormac McCarthy to Jonathan Safron Foer! This month we’rereading The Help. It’s a very new book about race relations inJackson, Mississippi in the 1960s.

Since Lucien and I are both creative writers, we decided tohost creative writing workshops for Adult Learner’s Week thisyear. The four workshops we are running (with last year’s Amer-ican Scholar, Meghan Purvis) are completely booked! Norwichis running for “Cultural Capital of England” and is full of writerslooking to refine their work. It’s so much fun to be part of that!

The start to June is going to be a very busy one for us. We’veteamed up with the Children’s Library (just next door to us herein the Norfolk and Norwich Millennium Library) and Lucien andI will be reading and colouring with the kids in an event we’vecalled “Teddy Bears Picnic.” The kids have been invited to bringin their teddies for show-and-tell, and we’re going to talk abouthow the Teddy Bear got his name from President Teddy Roose -velt. We’re also pairing with the Children’s Library again in Julyto do “Space Poems.” The kids are going to write poems togeth-er after we discuss America and the lunar landings. I’m reallylooking forward to that one.


Two Americans in NorwichBY STEPHANIE LEAL, UEA AMERICAN SCHOLAR, 2ND AIR DIVISION MEMORIAL LIBRARY

But back to June! For the anniversary of D-Day, we have twoevents running. The first is a Reminiscence Coffee Morning. We’veinvited our patrons (and anyone else who would like to attend!)for free tea, coffee, and biscuits to reminisce about their mem-ories of WWII. It will be led by Pam Veale of the Norfolk andSuffolk Aviation Museum. I think it’s going to be a really specialevent, and I cannot wait to meet everyone who attends!

Secondly, on June 7, we are showing the film Bedford: The

Town They Left Behind. With funding from the American Em -bassy, we’ve been able to rent out the beautiful Curve Auditori-um, also housed in the Forum. We also have a world class dis-cussion panel for afterwards, including an RAF D-Day veteran,Prof. Richard Crockatt from the School of American Studies atthe University of East Anglia, and David Bedford, Superintend-ent of the American Cemetery at Madingley. It should be a reallyspecial event.

Phew! With all that’s going on you’d wonder how we hadtime to do anything else, but don’t worry. We are always havingfun as a staff. A few weeks ago Lucien, Trust Librarian Libby,and I visited the Norfolk and Suffolk Aviation Museum in Flix-ton. It was absolutely phenomenal. We were there for two hours,and I am pretty sure we should have stayed for the week: therewas just so much to see! The museum doesn’t turn any artifactsaway, so it’s full to the brim with trinkets, posters, papers, gadg-ets, and a large variety of real life aircraft. It’s run by a big teamof volunteers who are such good tour guides. It’s so incredible,the history that we have here in Norfolk and Suffolk, and it’samazing to be part of it through the Memorial Library. ■

One Friday Evening . . .BY LUCIEN GIORDANO, UEA AMERICAN SCHOLAR, 2ND AIR DIVISION MEMORIAL LIBRARY

O n Friday evening, 9 April 2010, the 2nd Air Division Memo-rial Library helped to host the civic reception for the annu-

al British Association of American Studies (BAAS) conference.This is a prestigious event held in a different British city andhosted by a different university each year. This year, the Uni-versity of East Anglia was chosen to organize the conference.They, in turn, were pleased to give us the opportunity to receivethe nearly 200 international academics who made the trip toNorwich from over twenty countries.

The Governors of the 2nd Air Division Memorial Trust and thelibrary staff saw to it that everybody was well received. Prior tothe reception there was a tour through the Memorial Library, withvisits from renowned authors, Yale Professor Wai-Chee Dimockand University of Illinois Professor Bruce Michelson. Amongstthe many visitors, there were a few with books on our shelves.

Following the tour the Governors provided wine and canapésfor the conference delegates at the reception which was held inthe Forum building here in the centre of Norwich. The chanceto unwind and mingle after a long afternoon of presentationsand lectures was well-received after a long day of presentationsand lectures at the UEA campus.

The conviviality was, however, only part of a much more im -portant evening for the library. There was a schedule of speak -ers, three of whom were extremely relevant to the MemorialLibrary. The first was Matthew Martin, Chairman of the Governorsof the Memorial Trust. Matthew welcomed everybody to the

Forum and graciously thanked those who had stopped in andsigned our visitors book. Next, Dr. Wendy McMahon of the Uni-versity of East Anglia took the lectern.

Dr. McMahon had recently organized an outreach project thatbrought American Studies to “at-risk” Norwich school children.I was fortunate enough to be a part of this project. Along withanother PhD student, Catherine Barter, Dr. McMahon and I con-ducted a day-long seminar in three schools. The seminar, entitled“What America Means to Me,” asked eleven-year-olds to articu-late and then reconsider what they know and believe aboutAmerica and its influences in Britain. Our goal was to dispelmyths and prove that there is more to the USA than fast-food,malls, big cities and sky-scrapers. We especially wanted to talkabout history. I used my background with the library to connectWWII, GIs in Norwich, and contemporary British pop music.

The students and I discussed the meaningful relationshipsthat our airmen and the people of Norfolk formed. That day, manyrealized why they have American grandparents, great-uncles,aunts, and cousins across the pond. Furthermore, we explainedhow the music our GIs made popular between 1943 and 1945 hasdirectly influenced the types of music that are popular today.The students responded very well to this history and were movedby the toll the war extracted on so many 2AD servicemen.

The culmination of the seminar was to have the studentsrespond creatively to what they had learned. Many poems, let-

14

ters, and drawings were produced. It was obvious how deeplythey cared for the history of the 2nd Air Division by the num-bers of responses they had to WWII history. As a result of theexcellent work these students did, a book was published.

This ground-breaking book, which demonstrates the capa-bilities at-risk students have when they are motivated by some-thing personally important, was presented for the first time atthe BAAS Conference. The U.S. Embassy now has plans to spon -sor an expansion of the project. With all of the famous writersin attendance, it was the work of these children that stole thespotlight. Maybe that was because of the heart-felt sentimentscontained within their work. As one student wrote, in his poementitled, “The Special Relationship,” American airmen away

from their country, / Many miles away from home. / Different

place, different people. . . . / We were in it together.

I believe that even Professor Dimock, who spoke next, playedsecond-fiddle to these wonderful students. And it was Dimockaround whom the evening was centered. This, in itself, was agreat honor for our library. I had the opportunity to dine withher afterwards and she was effusive with her praise for whatwe do and the results of the outreach project.

As such, it was a fantastic evening for me and the library.With the exposure we received, the hospitality provided by theGovernors, and the influence of the Memorial Library on an am -bitious project, it is my hope that what we are, why we are here,and what we are doing is, at least within certain niches, beingrecognized by people around the world.

✈ ✈ ✈ ✈

If there is anyone who would like to purchase a copy of the book,

which I believe you will find most inspiring and enjoyable,

please e-mail Wendy McMahon at [email protected]. ■

ONE FRIDAY EVENING (continued from page 13)

The Tell-Tale HaircutBY EARL ZIMMERMAN (389TH)

C irca 1968, I was assigned to theTech nical Operations Division in the

Office of Special Investigations, USAF, asa Special Agent and taught agents in OSIand other government agencies the art ofopening safes, surreptitiously, and pickinglocks.

On occasion I was asked to put on a“dog and pony show” for visiting dignita -ries, to show the latest techniques of theart. Classified methods were not disclosed.

My boss, B/General Robert Burnham,advised me that I was to give a presenta-tion of the latest devices to Secretary ofthe Air Force, Eugene Zuckert, and theAir Force Chief of Staff, General William“Butch” Blanchard, at the Pentagon. Theday arrived and General Burnham came tomy shop to make sure everything was inorder. He looked at me and said, “You needa haircut.” Fortunately, Colonel CharlesJ. Weiss, Jr. was present and volunteered togive me a trim. He advised that he workedhis way through college as a barber. (By

the way, Col. Weiss was assigned to the93rd BG during WWII and we both servedin OSI after the war.) Someone suggestedlater that Charlie was not a true barber,as he worked for an animal hospital andtrimmed dogs.

After the trim I went to the Pentagon,set up my equipment in a small conferenceroom, and greeted Zuckert and Gen. Blan-chard when they arrived. Zuckert said,“You have twenty minutes.” After my dem-onstration, which lasted about thirty min -utes, Zuckert became very interested ina lock which he said he had on his boathouse. He wanted me to teach him thesecret of how to open it without a keybut couldn’t manipulate it very well andI agreed to make some devices for him sohe could practice as he knew the method.

When my demonstration was over,Gen. Blanchard looked at me and said, “Iknow you.”

“Yes, sir, I was assigned to the 509thBomb Group at Walker AFB, in 1947 whenyou were the Commander during the UFOincident.”

He touched me on the shoulder and said,“Where did you get that lousy haircut?”

“A Colonel gave it to me.”He said, “That figures.” ■

15

T he year after Tom was born, the poetClifford Bax wrote the words we have

just heard. They were subsequently setto music by his great friend Gustav Holst.The poem speaks of the universal senseof shock at the carnage of the Great War;something from which we today havenot yet fully recovered. Bax had lost histwo sons at Ypres and at the Somme. Holst,also, was profoundly affected and had in1916 completed his famous suite, The

Planets, from which he was to adapt thefine tune from Jupiter for another hymnin his service, I vow to thee my country.

In his poem Clifford Bax laments missedopportunities for human fulfillment underGod. Earth might be fair, he writes, andall men glad and wise. But nonetheless,Age after age their tragic empires rise.

The Great War had to some extent beenfought along the lines of Waterloo and Tra -falgar, but with modern weapons. In theface of such foolishness, and with mostof our worldly ambitions being of suchillusory value, the prospect of a world thatis fair and infused with wisdom appearsto be slipping beyond our reach: The poetpleads, Turn back, O Man, forswear thy

foolish ways. It’s not until the third versethat a glimmer of hope appears. From thepossibility that Earth might be fair, anddespite all that has taken place, we readthat Earth shall be fair and all her people

one. Courage is required to seek perfec-tion, even though in human terms we knowperfection is unattainable; Persistence

is required to seek truth, to seek peace, toseek justice and harmony and knowledge,and to remain undaunted in the face ofsetbacks; Conviction is required to seethat these ideals, though elusive, are notillusory and therefore attainable.

Courage, persistence and conviction.Those words fairly triangulate Tom’s char-acter. On leaving Stowe School he wasarticled to his father’s firm of Overbury,Steward and Eaton, though he only qual-ified after the Second World War. For al -most thirty years he was senior partner,and only retired as consultant in 2005. Tomhas been described as “stolid and stoic,dependable and diligent, possessing anold world charm in keeping with his pro-fession as an old-style family solicitor.”(EDP 611, February 2010) While the in -

Tom Eaton – Service of ThanksgivingTHE DEAN’S ADDRESS AT NORWICH CATHEDRAL, 12 FEBRUARY 2010

BY THE VERY REVEREND GRAHAM SMITHREPRINTED FROM “MANCROFT,” THE PARISH MAGAZINE OF ST. PETER MANCROFT CHURCH

terests of his clients always came first,he eagerly looked for ways of contribut-ing to the well-being of the City. In 1957he served as Lord Mayor of Norwich —one of the youngest on record. And it wasat this time that he met Robin. Their mar-riage, a year later in Oxford, began a mar-vellous partnership which contributed evermore to his involvement in public life:Deputy Lieutenant of Norfolk, Chairmanof the Governors of the USAAF 2nd AirDivision Memorial Library, Trustee of theRoyal Norfolk Regimental Association,Chairman of the Norwich YMCA, Chair-man of Governors of Wymondham Col-lege, Trustee of the Theatre Royal, toname just a few.

Tom was a leading figure in the cam-paign to rebuild the Central Library fol-lowing the fire in 1994. The result was TheForum which opened in 2001 and whichhouses the 2nd Air Division’s Roll ofHonour, archives and other material.

It was a remarkable vision for a post-war city from a man who was traditionalin so many ways, and yet understood howpeople might live and work and studytogether, mindful of the past; and con-vinced, as Clifford Bax put it, that Earth

shall be fair and all her people one.

Where did this courage, persistenceand conviction stem from? The Eatonfamily had moved to Norwich from Suf-folk in 1790. They lived in the City Cen-tre and worshiped at St Peter Mancroft,before moving to Eaton in 1877. By 1917Fred Eaton was a respected lawyer in thecity and churchwarden at St. Andrew’s(the church next to Waitrose), a post he

held for 45 years. Tom was born in 1918.But a year later tragedy struck the family:His older sister Barbara Mary, aged two,died suddenly in an accident. Fred andhis wife Ruth gave two fine windows “inthanksgiving to God for the memory ofBarbara.” Each window depicts an angelwatching over a girl and a boy. We mightsurmise, though we will never know forsure, that those children are Barbara andTom. The windows were restored last yearand can be seen in the porch of St. An -drew’s Church. Tom had two brothers,George and Andrew (both of whom diedyoung), and a sister Margaret (who is withus today). Theirs was a conventional, lov-ing upbringing though clearly not with-out its sorrows. It prepared Tom for per-haps the greatest test of his life.

As a young TA Officer in the 4th Bat-talion of the Royal Norfolk Regiment, hewas wounded in the defence of Singaporein 1942, and mentioned in despatches. Forthe next three and a half years, as a pris-oner of war, he was kept in Changi bar-racks and subsequently in the notoriousprison. Initially 45,000 men were keptthere, mainly British and Australian. Tomand his men witnessed terrible things.

We can imagine the impact on his menof Tom’s integrity and humanity duringthose years. Each day, for example, hemade sure that the rations were sharedfairly among officers and men. Becausethey were not permitted to sing the Na -tional Anthem, they sang instead everyevening the hymn with which this serv-ice will conclude — “The day thou gavest,Lord, is ended.” Tom was born into afamily where Christian Faith informedeverything they stood for and did.

The way that he coped with those ter-rible years in Changi was second natureto him, just as his love of God and senseof Christian service shaped his profession-al life, his work in local politics, his pro-file in the City, and his view of family life.Both as a prisoner and in his work withthe Far Eastern Prisoners of War Associ-ation, he was able to rationalise the treat -ment they received at the hands of theJapanese. Above all, his instinct shapedby his faith in the crucified and risen Christwas to forgive: to forgive and to move on


16

W hen I first met Tom Eaton person-ally, we were setting up the arrange-

ments for the great Mancroft Appeal whichresulted in the building of the Octagon,the rewiring and redecoration of thechurch, and the installation of the Collinsorgan. Like many others, I was in awe ofhim: tall, handsome, vigorous in move-ment and measured in speech. Tom wasevery inch a man of the law and a sol-dier. I had heard of his distinguished warservice and knew of his civic work and hisgreat foresight in establishing the 2nd AirDivision Memorial Library as a war memo-rial to the United States airmen whom Iremembered thronging the city on week-ends in the war and hearing their planesas they flew overhead night after nighton their bombing raids on Germany. Itwas typical of Tom that he wanted nostatic war memorial but a living organi-sation to be enjoyed by successive gen-erations of Norwich people.

Awe turned to admiration when I wasprivileged to have meetings with Tom andthe Far East Prisoners of War Associationwhen planning their last great service inMancroft, and what an occasion it was.The church was packed with elderly menall proudly wearing the Royal Norfolk tie,something Tom always wore. Conversa-tion was buzzing, old memories were re -called, and although their hair was whiterand their shoulders slightly stooped whenTom arrived, complete with bowler andfurled umbrella, the atmosphere was elec-tric, shoulders straightened, and silencewas instant. I knew I was witnessing whatleadership means, and I have never for-gotten that moment. The lovely monu-ment on the south aisle wall has wordscomposed by Tom and the remainingmonies in the Association’s coffers fur-nished the south transept chapel. In thechapel is a booklet with a memoir ofthose terrible years spent as prisoners ofwar. Many of the men told me of Tom’sorganisational skills in the distributionof rations and the maintenance of disci-pline and order in both the barracks andin Changi jail which did much to main-tain dignity and give hope. At his memo-rial service we sang the moving hymn“The day thou gavest Lord is ended.” Itwas sung every night in the camp, theNational Anthem being forbidden — Brit -ish soldiers are resourceful. Also in thechapel is a booklet of letters, copies of

Thoughts on the Passing of Tom EatonBY BARBARA MILLER, A FRIEND OF TOM

REPRINTED FROM “MANCROFT,” THE PARISH MAGAZINE OF ST. PETER MANCROFT CHURCH

those sent by Tom to his family from theship on the way out to Singapore and onthe poignant journey home four yearslater. In them you see a young man withall his life before him, enjoying the voy-age, enjoying the stop in Cape Town, danc-ing at the country club, and even thinkingabout settling there after the war. How-ever in the homecoming letters, all ischanged. Norwich beckons and he can-not wait to get back to his beloved familyand city; indeed his son stated that had itnot been for the war he doubted his fatherwould have ventured further than Thet-ford! It is always a privilege to have aglimpse of a time when someone whomyou only knew as older, was young.

Over the years for a variety of reasons,not least the move from Albemarle Roadto Church Avenue, I was able to enjoyTom’s company and to appreciate hismischievous sense of humour, to listento his wonderful fund of stories dredgedfrom his prodigious memory for peopleand events, to see his joy in his home and

family, and mark his eagle eye for detailand forward thinking. At the memorialservice in the packed cathedral we wereconscious that he had planned it all, thehymns, the prayers, and he would havebeen proud of his children, David, Kate,and Mary, who spoke so lovingly of theirlove and admiration for their father. Inhis beautiful address the Dean identifiedthe hymn “Turn back O Man” as the epit-ome of everything Tom stood for — hon-our, decency, service and courage. Whe -ther seeing him striding down NewmarketRoad, holding court in the Norfolk Club,speaking in the Council Chamber at theCity Hall, relaxing with Robin in his gar-den, laughing at the Pantomime on Box-ing Day, enjoying meals with friends, at aservice in Mancroft, or dealing with legalmatters at his office, Tom was indeed a“Man for all Seasons,” and all who knewhim mourn his passing and rejoice in along life lived to the full.

The day thou gavest Lord is ended —

thy praise shall sanctify our rest. ■

SERVICE OF THANKSGIVING (continued from page 15)

along the paths of wisdom and ultimately of fulfillment in Christ. Forgive us our

trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.

Those qualities of forgiveness and the appeal to Wisdom as found in the heart ofGod were qualities shown by another author who features in this service. The Brit -ish Ambassador to Washington, Sir Cecil Spring-Rice, had a distinguished dip lomaticcareer, having persuaded the U.S. to enter the Great War in Europe. At the end of1917, to his surprise and shock he was quite suddenly relinquished of his post. Thenews came by telegram. On his departure in January 1918 he left on his desk thescript of the hymn that we are about to sing. The words belong to an era, and em -ploy phrases which might seem dated to us now, but they are still full of content.They speak of duty, duty informed by love of one’s country and of one’s fellowhuman beings. There is possibly a tinge of bitterness in the words of the first verse.A third verse, which is not sung these days, rages at the carnage of the Great War.

But it is the final verse, that we will sing, that has caught the imagination somuch, 90 years later. It doesn’t mention the name of God or of Jesus, but it is allabout our understanding and love of God’s ways as found in Christ. We can hearTom singing this hymn — (Pretty badly it seems because we’ve just learnt that hewas tone deaf! Never mind.) It was written by a man who had known greatness andsuffering. That’s why Tom could sing it, and perhaps all of us can sing it too.

This final verse speaks of another “country.” In the gospels, Jesus called it “theKingdom of God.” Unlike earthly kingdoms, what is of ultimate importance lies inthe ordinary things — the hopes and the joys that we all experience, and throughwhich God reveals his great love for us; things which cause us to recover our ownhumanity, and look to the needs of one another, but especially the most vulnerableamong us. To live in this country is to live the resurrection life of Christ both with-in and beyond this life on earth. This is a country with no armies, and whosefortress is a faithful heart, her pride is suffering. It’s a country where the characterof God’s Son, Jesus, models courage, persistence and conviction. And the ways ofthis country are “ways of gentleness and all her paths are peace.” ■

21

A fter nine weeks at the Fort WorthArmy Air Field, student officer grad-

uates get a small scroll. There are nospeeches or formalities. The scroll statessimply that the officer has satisfactorilycompleted his course in Consolidated B-24 Liberator “first pilot” training. That lit-tle certificate stands for a lot of work, andan education that has cost the nation thou-sands of dollars.

Educating Lt. WalkerAn embryo Liberator pilot works terrificallyREPRINTED FROM WARTIME “PLANE TALK,” CIRCA 1943-1945

WHAT THEY READ ABOUT US BACK HOME . . .


Emergency bomb release is learned.

Studying the E-6B Computer in navigation.

Studying lowering of flaps on a “mock-up.”

Blind flying check-up in Link trainer.

Instructors say anybody who can fly anairplane can fly the Liberator. But learningto fly the B-24 is actually only a part ofthe Training Command’s B-24 “pilot tran-sition” course. This explains why freshlycommissioned flight officers and seasonedlieutenant colonels alike need nine weeksof highly concentrated post-graduate study.

New student officers pouring into FortWorth every four and a half weeks aregiven three hours merely to look a Liber-ator over, after being given a list of itsparts covering six typewritten pages.

Detailed knowledge of the ship’s manysystems and mechanisms are consideredby the Training Command to be of great-est importance for “first pilots” who willcommand combat crews on bombingmissions.

As first pilots, these flyers must knowtheir craft from the simplest pre-takeoff

procedure to the most complicated detailsof navigation and mechanical repair. Inaddition, they must understand the essen-tials of the job done by every man undertheir command — the copilot, navigator,bombardier, aerial engineer, radio opera-tor, and four gunners.

This is an undertaking of big propor-tions. Students put in an eighteen hourwork day throughout the course.

How does a student spend that time?Suppose we follow a typical student offi-cer from the time he reports for duty untilhe receives his first pilot’s certificate ofproficiency.

Meet, then, Lt, Leighton Walker, ofHous ton, Texas. He is a young flyer of 24who won his wings and commission atLubbock Army Flying School. Shortly aftergraduating from Lubbock, Lt. Walker re -ceived his orders to report to Fort Worth.

Arriving at the big base, Lt. Walker re·ports to the commandant of the studenttraining detachment, and immediately goesinto two days of “processing.” He fills out,as one student has described it, “four-and-

a-half hours of forms.” These cover hislife history.

Then he reports to the station hospitalflight surgeon for a physical checkup.

Lt. Walker now is assigned to a groupand squadron. If he has any ideas abouthaving considerable freedom now thathe is an officer instead of a cadet, he isquickly disillusioned. He meets his in struc -tor, and strolls together with several otherstudents to the flying line, for his first for -mal introduction to the sky-giant he willsoon be flying into battle.

His first glimpse of the gadget-packedinstrument panel of a Liberator, a planeeight times the weight of the largest shipa student pilot has ever flown before, isbound to seem staggering. But all essen-tial functions of the bomber are carefullyexplained to him. He then takes his firstflight. He goes as observer. Students donot solo a B-24 until they have had 45 ormore hours of observation and flying time

in the copilot seat.Lt. Walker thereafter gets up at about

5:30 every morning, has breakfast, and isout on the flying line, ready to go, at 6:30.He flies from 6:30 until noon. He shootsrepeated landings; becomes familiar withthe long checklist which must be accom-plished many times before and duringevery flight; learns crew distribution; be -comes familiar with the ship’s many in -struments; learns the use of the ship’sintricate radio system, its warning bell sys -tem, prop feathering and unfeathering,operation of de-icers and anti-icers, emer-gency landing gear operation and a hostof other procedures.

22

Ed. Note: As a tribute to our magnificent

predecessors, we reprint two timely arti-

cles from “This England” magazine. See

also “The Forgotten Few” on page 24.

T he images are so familiar. The groupsof relaxed young men in the open air

grinning at the camera, or occasionallylooking rather serious. Here are the scenesthat sum up, for those who were not there,the mostly hot and sunny summer andautumn of 1940, when many feared thatthe noise of German tanks might soon beheard in the towns and villages of Kentand Sussex.

Compared with the pictures of the dra -matic and often terrible scenes from theSomme or the D-Day beaches, how canthese possibly be fighting men in the frontline? Yet they certainly are. The aircraft,Hurricane or Spitfire, that figure in thebackgrounds give the clue.

Nearby too, usually unseen, would havebeen a telephone. When it rang, the mes-sage might be: “NAAFI wagon coming.”It was just as likely to be an order to“Scramble!”, causing a rush of pilots andground crew towards the aircraft.

Perhaps the most published photographof all showing one of these scenes is thattaken on the morning of 29th July 1940at Hawkinge airfield, near Folkestone inKent. Awfully exposed to Luftwaffe attack,Hawkinge was generally not the place tobase squadrons full time. However, fromairfields such as Biggin Hill and Grave -send, closer to London, the fighters wouldoften move forward to spend the daylighthours facing the Germans massing acrossthe Channel.

During July and August 1940, No. 610(County of Chester) Squadron was at Big-gin Hill and frequently flew its Spitfiresdown to the coast. This group (top photo)

captured by an official photographer onJuly 29th consisted of: Standing, left to

right: Pilot Officer Stan Norris, SergeantRay Chandler (back to camera), Squa dronLeader John Ellis, the Commanding Offi-cer (almost hidden), Sergeant NormanRam say, Flight Lieutenant Bill Warner,Sergeant Ronnie Hamlyn, and Flying Offi-cer Fred Gardiner. Sitting, left to right:

Flight Lieutenant Edward Smith, PilotOfficer Joe Pegge, Sergeant Claude Par-sons, and Sergeant Doug Corfe.

Before the war 610 was part of theAuxiliary Air Force. Despite ten months of

BATTLE OF BRITAIN 70th AnniversaryBY GEOFF SIMPSON • REPRINTED FROM THIS ENGLAND, SUMMER 2010

war, casualties and postings, two of themen in the photograph, Warner and Smith,had been 1930s weekend fliers with thesquadron. Bill Warner was the son of SirLionel Warner, General Manager and Sec-retary of the Mersey Docks and HarbourBoard. In contrast Doug Corfe had beena member of the squadron’s ground crewwho had been accepted for pilot trainingand had transferred to the Royal AirForce Volunteer Reserve. His full-time job

had been as a clerk with the Docks andHarbour Board.

Sadly the diminutive Bill Warner waskilled in action less than three weeks afterthis photograph was taken. In the lateafternoon of Friday 16th August 1940 hewas shot down off the Kent coast incombat with German fighters and report-ed missing.

Norman Ramsay may be looking ratherserious in this photograph, but he was

Two familiar photographs from the Battle of Britain . . .. . . but who are the men in the pictures, and what became of them?

23

actually celebrating his 21st birthday thatday. For Stan Norris, the realities of warwould be brought home later on July 29th.His Spitfire was damaged in combat, buthe managed to land safely.

Those two, along with Chandler, Ellis,Hamlyn, Gardiner, Pegge and Smith sur-vived the war, although Joe Pegge, remem -bered as a joker, would be killed in an aircrash in 1950 while still serving in theRAF. Norris became a King’s Messenger.

In November 1941, Parsons, by then aFlight Sergeant, was lost during a sweepover the Netherlands. The following year,Warrant Officer Corfe died in the defenceof Malta.

T he second photograph is equally fa -miliar and stands out in part because

rather old-fashioned Sidcot flying suitsseem to have been the preferred mode ofdress on No. 242 Squadron. Many peoplewill recognize the squadron’s Command-ing Officer, Squadron Leader DouglasBader, standing seventh from the leftwith his hands in his pockets. Those withhim, from left to right, are: Pilot OfficerDenis Crowley-Milling, Pilot Officer HughTamblyn, Flight Lieutenant Stan Turner,Sergeant Joseph Savill, Pilot Officer Nor-man Campbell, Pilot Officer Willie Mc -Knight DFC, Flight Lieutenant Eric Ball,Flying Officer Michael Homer DFC, andPilot Officer Marvin Brown.

A significant number of 242 Squadronpilots in 1940 were Canadian, which wastrue of Tamblyn, Turner, Campbell, Mc -Knight and Brown. The scene is some-times captioned as being taken at Col -tishall in Norfolk and on other occasionsat Coltishall’s sector station of Duxfordnear Cambridge. The squadron was basedat Coltishall.

The date also varies in captions, but itis easy to pin it down to a few days and,regrettably, that is because of the presenceof Michael Homer, a native of Swanage,an old boy of Wellington College and agraduate of the RAF College, Cranwell.Homer had won his DFC as a Hampdenpilot in Bomber Command when hepressed home his attack on two Germanwarships and then brought his damagedaircraft safely home.

When the call went out for bomberpilots to volunteer to fly fighters, he wasone of those to step forward. He joinedNo. 1 Squadron in September 1940, movedto 242 on the 21st of the month and waskilled six days later when his burningHurricane crashed near Sittingbourne,Kent. Michael Homer, who was 21 whenhe died, is one of 15 Commonwealth buri-als from the Second World War buried in

Swanage (Godlingston) cemetery at Ul -well. In 1990 a plaque was placed at thescene of his crash.

Norman Campbell also died in actionin the Battle of Britain. On 17th October1940 his aircraft fell into the sea afterapparently being hit by return fire from aGerman aircraft he was attacking. He liesfar from his home in Ontario in the ceme -tery at Scottow, Norfolk, north of Coltishall.

Willie McKnight disappeared on a sor-tie over France in January 1941 and Mar-vin Brown was killed in a flying accidentin February. Two months later Hugh Tam -blyn was lost in action, a couple of daysafter going to Buckingham Palace to re -ceive the DFC from the King.

Eric Ball and Douglas Bader both be -came POWs. Ball was killed in a flyingaccident in 1946, while Group CaptainBader led the first Battle of Britain fly-past over London in September 1945. Hewas knighted in 1976 and died in 1982.

“Crow” Crowley-Milling was shot downover France in August 1941. The Frenchresistance helped him reach Spain, wherehe was interned for a time before return-ing to the UK in December. In the post-war RAF he reached the rank of Air Mar-shal. One of the highlights of his servicewas leading a Meteor wing in the Coro-nation flypast in 1953.

Though they could spend their eve -nings in pubs and clubs, possibly withwives and girlfriends, each day the pilotsin these two photographs returned to thestruggle to save England from invasion,constantly facing possible death or dis-figurement. ■

Statue of Battle of Britain legend, Sir Doug -las Bader, at Goodwood Airfield near Chi -chester in Sussex. MURRAY MARSH

After lunch, from 1:30 until 5 p.m.,Lt. Walker works in Ground Schooland in the engineering shop. There hedelves into navigation, radio, meteor-ology and weather study, aircraft andsurface ship identification, first aid,code review and signal lamps, andchemical warfare defense.

At the engineering shop he puts onwork clothes, and studies the B-24’smaintenance and mechanical problems.

At 5 o’clock Lt. Walker’s day is stillfar from done. He reports from GroundSchool to the Student officer area for45 minutes of physical exercise. Afterdinner he is ready for an hour of radiocode practice. At 8 o’clock he goes tothe Link Trainer School, where he ac -quires instrument time. An hour of that,and Lt. Walker is ready to return tothe barracks — to study for his nextday’s ground school classes. He getsto bed about 11 o’clock.

By the third week, Lt, Walker isdoing some night flying, getting readyfor his first cross country and altitudeflights. He takes his first night X-C, orcross country, during his fifth week.His 30,000 foot altitude flight with fulloxygen equipment comes during hissixth.

By his seventh week he is accumu-lating solo hours and making longflights to distant parts of the country.On these flights students make all theirown preparations, chart their owncourse, select their landing fields, andput to actual practice all the manysubjects they have been studying aloftand on the ground. Lt. Walker and hiscopilot, who work as a team through-out their course, must know what todo when their instructor suddenly shutsoff some vital function of the plane.To make these flights even more diffi-cult, commanders often schedule themunder the most trying of weather con-ditions. During the ninth and finalweek, Lt. Walker is flying close for ma -tions of the type em ployed on combatbombing missions.

After graduation he goes on to anOperational Training Unit, where hemeets the crew he will command in thea ters of operation, and completeswith them the final phase of histraining.

From there it’s overseas and intocom bat in a fully outfitted B-24, withan education that has cost the nationaround $30,000, and a crew that is afighting team and raring to go. ■

EDUCATING LT. WALKER(continued from page 21)

24

A number of names are often mentionedwhen tales are told of the Battle of

Britain in 1940. “Sailor” Malan, “Tin Legs”Bader, Bob Tuck, “Ginger” Lacey and AlDeere are amongst those who have passedinto legend for their part in saving Britainfrom German invasion.

Sometimes forgotten though is the factthat, between 10th July and 31st October1940, about 2,940 men of RAF FighterCommand earned the “immediate” awardof the 1939-45 Star with Battle of Britainclasp and therefore became mem bers of“The Few.”

Many were never credited with shoot-ing down an enemy aircraft and some diedin their first few days, or even on theirfirst day in action. A few years ago thelate Air Chief Marshal Sir ChristopherFoxley-Norris, himself a Hurricane pilotin the Battle, wrote: “The fact that theywere there and played their part deci-sively tipped the balance in our favour.”

The point came home to one armyofficer’s wife on 12th October 1940. Stand-ing on the clifftop between Folkestoneand Dover she and other onlookers werehorrified to see a number of MesserschmittBf 109 fighters swoop to attack two Spit-fires. One of the British aircraft crashedin a field at Capel-le-Ferne, near where theNational Memorial to The Few now stands.

Still in the wreckage when soldiers, led bythe lady’s husband, reached the scene wasthe body of 24-year-old Pilot Officer Her-bert Case, a farmer’s son from Somerset.

Later, Pilot Officer Case’s mother re -ceived a letter from the army wife, whowrote, “Everybody was terribly upsetwhen the Spitfire was shot down. I haveseldom seen my husband so affected, buthe assured me that the boy must havebeen killed in the air before he crashed.I thought this knowledge might be of somesmall comfort to you in your tragic sor-row and pride, in the astonishing courageof these sons whose deeds fill the worldwith admiration.”

Herbert Case was oneof those “un knowns”who tipped the bal-ance. He had been amember of the RoyalAir Force VolunteerReserve in the late1930s and was calledto full-time service onthe out break of war.

His operational career with Nos. 64 and72 Squadrons lasted a little over a monthand he claimed no Luftwaffe aircraftdestroyed, although one of his comradesremembered him as “a young man keento get to grips with the enemy.”

Much shorter even than the front-line ca -reer of Herbert Case was that of PilotOfficer Neville Solomon, who flew Blen -heims briefly be fore joining No. 17 Squa -dron. He had no Hurricane experience andso was sent to an Operational TrainingUnit, before returning to 17 Squa dron on

10th August 1940. OnAugust 18th, some -times described asFighter Command’s“Hardest Day” of theBattle of Britain,Neville Solomon wasshot down into thesea off Dover. Hisbody came ashorein France.

Flying Officer Arthur Rose-Price wasthe brother of the actor, Dennis Price, andan RAF instructor. He achieved his wishof a posting to a fighter squadron on Sep-tember 2nd, joining No. 501 Squadron. Hiscareer in action did not last long enoughfor him to unpack his luggage. That after-noon his Hurricane was shot down overDungeness and he is remembered on theRunnymede Memorial.

Sergeant Bill Green had a torrid intro-duction to combat in the Battle with 501,but lived to tell the story. He becameoperational on 20th August 1940, but justfour days later he found himself in a fightwith German aircraft attacking Manstonairfield on the Kent coast. His Hurricanewas hit by anti-aircraft fire and he crashednear Hawkinge, another coastal airfieldused by Fighter Command. On August29th he was shot down again, this time incombat with Bf 109s, and bailed outwound ed at 16,000 feet. He did not man-age to open his parachute until he was300 feet above the sea off Folkestone.Aged 92, Bill was a cheery presence atthe annual Memorial Day at the NationalMemorial at Capel-le-Ferne in 2009.

At St. Luke’s Church, Whyteleafe, Sur-rey, close to the Battle of Britain airfieldsof Kenley and Croydon, part of the church-yard has become known as “Airmen'sCorner.” Some of The Few lie togetherhere. One of them is Sergeant FrederickErnest Richard Shepherd who, on 1stSeptember 1940 as the Battle of Britainneared its climax, achieved his ambitionto become a Spitfire pilot with 611 (WestLancashire) Squadron. Ten days later hisaircraft was shot down over Croydon.He bailed out with his parachute on fireand fell dead at Farleigh, Surrey. He was22 and married.

A few feet from Sergeant Shepherd liesDavid Hughes, who had worked on his

The Forgotten “Few”BY GEOFF SIMPSONREPRINTED FROM THIS ENGLAND, SUMMER 2010

Sculpted by Paul Day and unveiled in September 2005, this bronze monument to theBattle of Britain stands on Victoria Embankment in London. (continued on page 27)

Herbert Case

Neville Solomon

25

W atching Liberator bombers take offfrom an airdrome in the ETO —

Euro pean Theatre of Operations — isrestricted to the military personnel. Onlythey get close. If you wear a war corre-spondent’s uniform, you may climb to theroof of the control tower. But not untilthe mission returns may you enter thebriefing room where the charts of theflight are spread out for minute analysis.

Getting ready, after the crew are inplace, covers more minutes than the take -off itself.

A Liberator bomber in flight is halfman, half machine. The machine requiresof its human partners only very reason-able things. But it is inexorable about en -forcing these laws of its being. Upon themen therefore falls the double responsibil-ity of thinking for themselves and for themachine. It can be their chariot of glory,if they operate it properly — or their grave,if they neglect its clear-cut demands.

Is everything clear down below? Areall the ground men away from the propel-lers? Then, and only then, does the pilotpunch the button that spins his No. 1 en -gine — first on the pilot’s left — intomotion. Brakes locked, ailerons down,but otherwise ready to soar, the plane be -comes alive.

Eyes on dozens of dashboard indica-tors, pilot and copilot check manifold pres-

sure and oil pressure. Then No. 2 enginespins. This too is checked. Then No. 3engine turns over lazily, gains power, thepropeller spinning in almost invisibleblurs. Then No. 4 engine.

Petrol is scarce here — scarce in everysection of the European Theatre of Oper-ations. Yet these youngsters will not takeoff until a sixth sense, evoked by thou-sands of flying hours, reads in the toned-down hum, the message that the warmed-up engines are ready for steady, depend-able work. Then, getting their signal from

the control tower, one by one the Liber-ators taxi down the wide concrete roadcalled the perimeter. Every plane has itsspecial parking space, called a dispersalpoint. Here planes are parked in the openair, widely separated, so that no enemybomb could ever destroy more than acouple. One by one they wheel down thecenter runway and take the air.

It looks effortless, foolproof. But theflight control officers do their share ofworrying from the sidelines. “Sweatingthem out,” is the phrase they use. Theynote that the first plane or two uses aboutthree-fourths of the runway, builds up alegitimate speed and momentum, andtakes the air in safety. The next plane usesa little less; the next still less; until thefollowing planes strike out on their ownwith most of the runway still unused.

The reason is that the wind-stream fromthe propellers up ahead build up an aircurrent, which deceives the sensitive in -struments on your dashboard. You thinkyou have more ground-speed than is actu-ally true. And so, if you are not careful, youfind your plane climbing almost straightinto the air. Dangerous, that; because thewindstream from up front hits your wingsunevenly, so that one wing may rise andthe other drop. New pilots don’t believethis, and have to learn by experience. Itis one of the lessons that comes from fly-ing in formation.

The formation is customarily a V shape,

Don’t say “Raid” — say “Mission”BY FRED B. BARTON • REPRINTED FROM WARTIME “PLANE TALK,” NOVEMBER 1943

WHAT THEY READ ABOUT US BACK HOME . . .


Crew in England“bombing-up” aLiberator with1000-lb. bombs.

26

OF HONORED MEMORYBy TAMAR A. MEHURON, Associate Editor, AIR FORCE Magazine / May 1999

WORLD WAR II CASUALTIESBattle Non-Battle Total Wounds Number Ratio of Battle Deaths

Deaths Deaths Deaths Not Mortal Who Served to Number Who Served

Army Air Forces 52,173 37,856 90,029 17,359 2,244,000 2.33*

Army 182,701 45,544 231,245 548,502 9,016,000 2.03*

Navy 236,950 25,664 262,614 237,778 4,183,466 0.88*

Marine Corps 219,733 24,778 224,511 268,207 4,669,100 2.95*

Total World War II Deaths 408,400

AAF Percentage of Total 17.89 33.25 2.58 13.93 *Over 12% of air crews

The Heavy Toll of Two Battles

B-24s – Ploesti, Romania, August 1, 1943 Number Involved Combat Deaths/Aircraft Lost Attrition RatePERSONNEL 1770 582 30.10%AIRCRAFT 177 54 30.50%

B-17s – Schweinfurt, Germany, October 14, 1943 Number Involved Combat Deaths/Aircraft Lost Attrition RatePERSONNEL 2290 590 26.20%AIRCRAFT 229 67 29.30%

SOURCE: AIR FORCE MEMORIAL FOUNDATION

8TH AF BATTLE CASUALTY REPORT

Your editor recently read an in terest -ing re port on the 8th AF casualties in

June, July, and August of 1944.This 65-page report is Chapter IX (pages

547 through 611) of a report, Wound Bal-

listics, prepared by the Medical Depart-ment, U.S. Army, Office of the SurgeonGeneral, Washington, DC. The book maybe identified by Library of Congress Cat-alog Card Number 62-600002.

Due to the need for data on air com -bat casualties, the Chief Surgeon of theETOUSA, on 1 June 1944, appointed MajorAllan Palmer to be chief of a MedicalOperations Research Section. From thereport they produced, it appears that theMedical ORS was located on the groundsof the Cambridge American Ceme tery. Inhis report, Palmer states that those threemonths in 1944 were chosen in the be liefthat they would “yield a satisfactory sam -ple of casualty data . . .”

For the record, the report noted thatthe 8th AF was served by the 1st, 7th, 65th,91st, 97th, and 184th General Hospitals,and by the 49th, 121st, 136th, 231st, 280th,and 303rd Station Hospitals. It is a shameto note that we are only in contact todaywith members of the 65th, the 231st and

the 303rd. It would be interesting to knowthe location of each of the hospitals.

The report covered casualty statisticsfor the 12, 14, and 14 heavy bombardmentgroups in the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd BombDivisions respectively. This forceconducted 69,682 combat sor ties duringthe period under study.

A survey of their findings produces thefollowing data by type of aircraft:

B-17 B-24Sorties 39,724 29,958Man-combat msns 357,516* 299,580*A/C MIA 0000,390 0000,303

Crew MIA 3,510* 3,030*A/C Ret 000,624 0000,320

w/casualtiesCrew WIA 0000,673 0000,334Crew KIA 00000, 690000 , 41

*The report states that the B-17 carriedan average of nine crew members duringthe per iod, while the B-24 carried an aver-age of ten crew members. It also statedthat the 8AF had estimated that 40% ofthe MIAs in the first six months of 1944were KIA. (Ed. Note: In the 13 months of

combat by members of the 466th BG,

428 men were MIA on combat missions.

Of these, we have found through MACRs

that 222 were KIA. That rate is 52%.

This may indicate that the 8AF KIA

estimate for MIAs was low).

Another look at the figures given inthis report shows the following data, byDivision:

1st BD 2nd BD 3rd BDSorties 23,488 24,448 21,746A/C MIA 237 272 184Av. # WIA,

per group 32.17 20.21 24.14Av. # KIA,

per group 3.42 2.36 2.57

A breakdown by crew position shows rel-ative casualty rates as follows:

Bombardier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17.6Navigator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12.2Pilot (2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14.0Top Turret . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.4Radio Operator . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.5Ball Turret . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.9Waist Gunner (2) . . . . . . . . . . . 20.9Tail Gunner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12.5

It was interesting to learn that 94% of the (continued on next page)

REPRINTED FROM THE 8TH AF NEWS, JULY, 1986

27

casualties brought back to the UK during this per iod were the result of flak. 4.5 weredue to fight er attacks, and 1.5% due to un known causes.

The most remarkable statistic in this report was the fact that during the study peri-od the battle casualty rate (MIAs and those casualties returned to the UK) was 1.87per 1000 man-combat missions in B-17s, while it was only 1.25 per 1000 man-combatmissions for those fortu nate crew members who flew combat in B-24s. This reportmakes you wonder where all those fables about the perils of B-24 life came from.

Accordingly, it seems to have been safer to have been assigned to the 2nd BombDivision during this period. In regard to the data on the casualty rate by position, itappears to have been safer, during this period, to have had a crew position nearest thecenter of the aircraft.

All in all, this report should be of high interest to many 8th AF historians. ■

SORTIE LOSS RATEREPRINTED FROM

THE 8TH AF NEWS, JULY 1989Another look at the unit data found in theback of Roger Freeman’s source book, TheMighty Eighth, gives an in teresting look atthe relative security of the various heavybomber groups.

*2AD – B-24 Groups: The table speaks foritself. You can see that except for the hardluck outfit (492nd BG) those units that ar -rived early had a harder time of bringingtheir planes back than those units thatreached combat status in 1944.

**It should also be noted that those bombgroups in the top ten in safety recordsbrought B-24s to the 8AF. Also please notethat five of the top ten (490, 486, 487, 34and 493) of the 3rd Air Division later con-verted to B-17s in the fall of 1944.

† Carpetbagger B-24s

‡ One squadron Pathfinder B-24s

8TH AF BATTLE CASUALTY REPORT (continued from page 26)

THE FORGOTTEN “FEW” (continued from page 24)

father’s farms in New Zealand before travelling across the world to sign up andfight for the Mother Country. Sergeant Hughes, a Blenheim air gunner with No. 600(City of London) Squadron, had been operational for 12 days when he was lost on3rd October 1940.

Also buried in Airmen’s Corner are a number of men of the Croydon and Ken-ley ground crews who ignored enemy attacks to keep the aircraft flying and diedas heroically as the aircrew.

Perhaps one of the most remarkable things about “The Few” is that so many ofthem were not professional fliers. More than 1,000 of the men who flew into actionto prevent a German invasion in the summer and autumn of 1940 were pre-war part-timers, mainly from the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (about 780), the AuxiliaryAir Force (nearly 200), and the University Air Squadrons at Oxford, Cam bridge, andLondon (almost 100). The majority of these young men were called up at the out-break of war and the next year found themselves taking part in the greatest air bat-tle of all.

Sergeant Burley Higgins, for instance, was a Derbyshire school teacher beforethe war. He was never a household name, but in a very short career he certainlydid his bit for the war effort. On 2nd July 1940 he joined No. 32 Squadron and thenext day he was credited with a share in the destruction of a Luftwaffe Dornier. Bythe time of his death in action on September 14th he had shot down four more Ger-man aircraft.

Some of The Few who survived perhaps deserve more of the credit than theyhave ever received. Flight Sergeant George “Grumpy” Unwin had joined the RAFas far back as 1929 as an apprentice clerk. He was accepted for pilot training and,aged 27, he became a double-figure scorer in 1940, flying Spitfires with No. 19 Squa -dron from Duxford and its satellite airfield of Fowlmere.

Another in double figures in the Battle of Britain was the balding Pilot OfficerCharles Upton who flew Hurricanes with No. 43 Squadron, “The Fighting Cocks”and No. 607 (County of Durham) Squadron.

Who has now heard of Flying Officer Desmond Annesley Peter McMullen? Yetthis Spitfire pilot, born in Godstone, Surrey, and an old boy of Cheltenham College,according to one credible source accumulated a score in the fighting over Dunkirkand the Battle of Britain of 12 enemy aircraft destroyed, eight probably destroyed,six shared and five damaged. In the post-war RAF, McMullen, who served withNos. 54 and 222 Squadrons in 1940, reached the rank of Wing Commander beforere tiring in 1957. He died in 1985.

The pilots mentioned at the start of this article were charismatic characters,who were taken up by the press. They earned their fame and deserve our gratitude.So do the men who fought and often died in obscurity alongside them.

✈ ✈ ✈ ✈

To coincide with the 70th anniversary, Geoff Simpson, a Trustee of the Battle of

Britain Memorial Trust, has written a comprehensive “Dictionary of the Battle

of Britain” which provides a complete A to Z (from “Ace” to “Women’s Auxiliary

Air Corps”) of every aspect of the conflict. Launched at the RAF Club in London

in October 2009, this important new book is available by post direct from “This

England,” PO Box 52, Cheltenham, Glos., GL50 1YQ, England. ■

28

T he 44th Bomb Group has encoun-tered a series of successes this year.

First, a project which former presidentRoy Owen had worked on for years, cameto fruition. He strived to have the 44thBomb Group attached to an existing com-bat group, so the history of the 44th wouldbe carried forward.

Three months ago, Col. Kent Furman

informed the 44th that a 44th FightingGroup had been established. Board mem-bers and people in the area were invitedto attend the Activation Ceremony at Hol-loman AFB. Nineteen members of the44th and families accepted the gracious-ness of their hospitality. An A1C wasassigned to each couple, and became es -corts to all events. Col. Donald Lindbergpresided over the banquet presentations.The 44th presented Steve Adams’ book,The History of the 44th Bomb Group in

WWII. Lee Aston bestowed a picture ofLeon Johnson in his Africa activities, andJackie Strong, daughter of Roy Owen, gavethem an 8 Ball Tails sun catcher.

The honors were shared with the famedTuskegee Airmen, a fighting force that de -fended the 15th Air Force during WWII.

The second great moment was the ap -proval of the Secretary of the Army toplace a monument in the courtyard at theArmy Heritage Education Center in Car -

lisle, PA. The monument has been deliv-ered, and its unveiling will be during theArmy Heritage weekend.

Third, the 44th was informed that amuseum was being created in France,honoring the Resistance Fighters whoworked with the Allies to inform Britainof the activities of German troops. Theywere also responsible for aiding manydowned airmen to get safely back to Eng -land. Recently they held an event memo-rializing the Sobatka crew, two of whommade it safely back to England. The 44thsupplied stories and pictures of MiltonRosenblatt and Frank Schaeffer duringtheir evasion escapades. The book by thelate Archie Barlow, Escape in the Pyre-

nees, became a part of their collection.Any airman who evaded with the help

of the Resistance is invited to share hisstory. The contact person is Pierre Beren-guer. The e-mail address is: [email protected]. ■

SHIPDHAM

44thBY PERRY MORSE,

VP of the 44th Bomb GroupVeterans Association

DON’T SAY “RAID” (continued from

page 25)

and the number of planes in a formationvaries with the bombing program for theday. Because of this V, a whole broadsidecan be brought to bear upon any ap proach-ing enemy craft, be it Nazi Focke-Wulf orwhatever. And of course the formationsfly at different altitudes, the better tointercept and fight off the enemy and goforward to the day’s bombing objective.

The success our young men in theseLiberator bombers are attaining is newsyou can read back home in your dailynews paper. The papers do not tell youall of the news, which is well. But atleast you can see the steady progress onour east ern and western fronts alike.These air crews of ours have learned un -believably. Two years ago, many of theseboys were at work, at school, innocentof any aviation knowledge. Today theyare great airmen.

You would feel proud, watching atone of these airdromes in the ETO, whenour young men come home from a day’smission.

Here comes a plane in which one ofthe ten men has been badly wounded.But the crew administered first aid in theair. The man will recover.

Here comes a plane which literally wentthrough a wall of flak — that explosiveanti-aircraft stuff which hurls jaggedchunks of metal in all directions at what-ever height the enemy decides will be mostunpleasant for our ships. Some of thesebombing planes come back with as many

as a thousand machine-gun and flak holesin them. Some come back practically burn-ing, but still able to fly. Some have part ofa wing shot off, but are able to glide backacross the Channel and mushroom to earth.

There’s a technique to making a crashlanding. The pilots stay forward. The eightothers — navigator, bombardier and thesix gunners — crowd into the radio roomand press their bodies flat against the for-ward wall. Pilot and copilot land the planeon any soft patch (they hope for a brus-sels sprout garden, but will settle for anypotato patch) with the plane flat on itsbelly, wheels retracted. With luck theyslide a couple of hundred feet and stop.Without luck the plane can nose downinto an unsuspected ditch, crush its gaso-line tanks.

Some men don’t come back. The othersgive all possible data at the session calledthe interrogation. Maybe a plane wasforced down in enemy country. Maybe acrew parachuted from a burning plane:“hit the silk,” is the expression. Maybe themen dived overboard into the open oceanand may now be waiting for a rescue craft.Not all those who fail to return are count-ed as dead. There still may be hope.

But of all such things the young pilotsspeak casually, if they speak at all. Oftheir own prowess in landing two-tondemolition bombs on a vital enemy am -munition dump or aircraft or submarinefactory, they say very little. They havelearned to be modest. Luck rides withhim who takes little credit to himself.

Talk with these young fellows and you

quickly note that their innermost thoughtsare not on killing. They speak of “mis-sions,” not of raids. And indeed, a “mis-sion” is far more than a raid; it is a battlewhere our men must often fight againstenormous odds. War is their business atthe moment. But when the moment ofvictory comes, then they want to get awayfrom the smell of powder and the smudgeof flame. They want to quit these foreigncountries where you have to drink wineand warm beer because you never seemilk and you can’t trust the water. Theyare homesick for ice cream sodas anddouble malteds and movies and cleangirls to dance with and company otherthan men.

They think a lot, too, about their jobsafter the war. Naturally enough, many ofthem plan to go on with the training thata bountiful Uncle Sam has given them, ata cost of probably $25,000 per flying officer.

“For myself I’d like nothing better,”says one bomber pilot with a score of suc-cessful missions behind him, “than to flyone of these Liberators on a fast freightroute, say carrying fresh fruit from Cali-fornia or Texas to eastern U.S. cities.”

When you see them landing back atyour home fields, you fathers and mothersand uncles and big brothers back in theU.S.A., you can kill the fatted calf (or bet-ter yet, a steer). Have steaks, if you can.Have vegetables. Have fruit; any kind butplums.

You won’t need anything wild to drink.Anything will be all right if it just has icecream in it. Lots of ice cream. ■

29

Time TravellerBY IAN SCAIFE • REPRINTED FROM FLYPAST, FEBRUARY 2010

A vid aviation buff though I am, untilrecently my travels had been res trict -

ed to air bases and airshows throughoutthe UK and Western Europe. Last year Iexpanded my aviation horizons to theUSA, and visited Midland Field in Texasfor the annual Commemorative Air ForceAirshow. I was looking forward to seeing,hearing and photographing the show’swide variety of World War Two pistontypes. What I was expecting was, I sup-pose, Duxford with bigger skies, betterweather and different accents.

Before I went I had been told that itwas possible to fly in some of the CAF’saircraft. Displaying typical British scep-ticism, I dismissed such comments as anexaggeration, a type of verbal flight offantasy.

DREAM COME TRUEMoving through the support teams

setting out shirts and other merchandise,I was drawn to the stand for ConsolidatedB-24 Liberator Ol’ 927. This marvellousaircraft, which many will recall as Dia-

mond Lil when she visited the UK in 1992,has since been repainted and re turned toB-24A configuration. Knowing that a faintheart never won fair lady, my surprise atblurting out the question: “Any chance ofa flight in your B-24?” was ex ceeded onlyby the cheery response of: “We have aspace this afternoon or later Saturday orSunday after the show!”

While I recovered from this shock, theteam offered me some leaflets and paper-work, adding that the cost would be $450(then around £260). Their willingness totake credit cards reassured me that thiswas by no means an unusual or backdoor practice. I perused the forms I hadbeen asked to sign — in effect a series oflegal disclaimers in return for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

At the appointed hour, I turned up,camera at the ready, to meet the flightcrew and the five other lucky “guests.”Adding to the authenticity of our experi-ence, our trip out to the Liberator was

made in the back of a World War Twovintage U.S. personnel carrier.

The senior flight engineer gave a sim-ple ten-minute brief, detailing the flightplan, safety procedures, and the conductwe should observe while airborne — inother words, how to move around safelyduring flight. There would be no guidingaisle lighting here!

IN FLIGHTOn board we were shown to a series

of very solid bench-type seats and se cure -ly strapped in. We were reminded thatwhen moving about we should keep onehand on the “ship” at all times, as well asavoiding such obvious pitfalls as step-ping on the floor-mounted dorsal turret,the Plexiglas structure of which was notdesigned for load bearing.

Safely secured, the four big Pratt &Whitney R-1830 Twin Wasp radials werefired up, bringing in the aroma of highoctane fuel and oil.

As soon as the wheels were up, theengineer signalled OK to move around,and we had the best part of an hour tosavour the sights and the sounds. Seek-ing structural parts to take a steadyinghold of, the movement of exposed controlwires and the obvious minimum gaugeof all metal components served as a re -minder of the slender protection and safe-ty margins during military operations.

Wandering down to the tail gun posi-(continued on next page)

30

The 93rd’s next reunion is to be in Sa -vannah, Georgia, October 21 to 25.

There will be a dedication ceremony forthe stained glass window at the EighthAir Force Museum Chapel. The reunionis being held there during this time peri-od since the 93rd has worked to raise thecost of this memorial and is responsiblefor the raising of the funds over the pastseveral years.

We all have to work toward a verysuccessful 2ADA convention in New Or -leans in September. This may well be ourlast for the 2ADA. For this reason alonewe should all work toward making thisone of our most well-attended. I believeour President Dick Robert is doing an out -standing job working toward a smoothbeginning to the possible dissolution inthe not too distant future. Many of the“younger generation” members of the Her-itage League (and one member of the 93rdBG) are serving in back-up positions tothe current officers and are ready to con-tinue the work of the organization. Thatimportant work is of course the fundingand continuation of support of our Memo-rial Library in Norwich. Time, as I alwayssay, is running out, and we vets want toleave this in good hands.

As some of you may know, I am servingas Group Relations Committee Chairmanfor the 2ADA this year. As a result of thatposition I have had some correspondencefrom members. And a few weeks ago Iwas surprised by a visit from Ted Watsonof the 466th BG. He arrived at our doorwith the Journal in hand. He was visitinghis brother in Palm Bay and they droveout to visit and talk about the 2ADA.Unfortunately I was not at home, but heleft his phone number and we did have anice long conversation later that afternoon.You never know what is going to happenwhen you agree to do a job. I value allthe notes and calls I have had throughoutthe years I’ve served in different capaci-ties. I would still like to hear more fromthose who are Vice Presidents of theBomb Groups or acting in that capacity.

Don Champlain is a good friend thatI met at church a number of years ago.After he found out that I had served dur-ing WWII in the 2ADA, he mentioned thathis brother also served in the 2ADA but

in the 446th BG. As time passed I learnedmore about his brother and was very in -terested in what happened to him. Ashort excerpt of the story as Don knowsit follows. This is being told by the pilot,who was the only survivor when theirship was hit:

We left the formation about 15 seconds

past the bomb release point. I did not bail

out. I assume I was blown out. I last saw

my crew members before we were hit. I

believe that we received a direct hit by

flak fire and that the fuel tanks exploded.

I did not hear the explosion but was

burned when I regained consciousness.

I was falling and did not see any part

of the plane or crew thereafter. We had

received no previous battle damage and

were still in formation when hit. 2/Lt.

Vaughn was probably killed by the ex -

plosion; he was last seen in the waist

before we were hit and I had no contact

with him after the hit. If because of Sgt.

Hohenstein’s position he was not killed

by the explosion, he probably went down

without his chute because he had a de -

tachable chest pack. S/Sgt. Looney was

probably killed by the explosion, also

S/Sgt. Lanier. I think S/Sgt. Nye most like -

ly was killed by the explosion of the

shell and fuel tanks. T/Sgt. Gallagher re -

ported “Bomb Bay Clear” a few seconds

before we were hit, no contact thereafter;

he also was probably killed by shell

fragments of the explosion and fuel tanks.

T/Sgt. Moseman I believe was unconscious

from the time we were hit. 2/Lt. Cham-

plain reported “Bombs Away” about 15

seconds before we were hit. He had a

detachable chest pack, but probably did

not regain consciousness in time to use

it. If he was blown clear, he was without

a chute. 1/Lt. Kieffer probably was knocked

unconscious and went down with the

ship or was blown out as I was and had

no parachute. He also had a detachable

chest pack. 2/Lt. Steele, my copilot, also

wore a back chute, but normally kept

his safety belt fastened — therefore he

probably went down with the ship.

The B-24 flown by 1/Lt. Colson crashedat 11.35 hours at Neunkirchen, north ofSaarbrucken, Germany. Records indicatethat the plane was shot down by flak andexploded in the air during the attack. After

the plane hit the ground it was destroyed98% by fire and impact. Ten crew mem-bers were killed by the explosion andwere buried in the POW cemetery of Neun -kirchen, the former cemetery for Jews.One crew member, the pilot 1/Lt Colson,was captured by the 35 922A S.S. De tach -ment and transferred to a hospital fortreatment of his wounds.

Don Champlain will be attending theconvention in New Orleans for the firsttime. He also served in WWII and was re -cently given a special French award forhis service. He has some interesting sto-ries to tell.

See you in New Orleans in Septemberand Savannah in October! ■

HARDWICK

Open Letter to the 93rdand Group Relations Committee

BY JOHN LEE

TIME TRAVELLER (continued

from page 29)

tion, obviously without the operationalmunitions, parachutes and other storesit would once have carried, the spaciousfuselage offered good freedom of move-ment. Vertical rails, complete with sam-ple iron “bombs,” served as useful re -minders of the aircraft’s purpose.

Moving to the slit aperture for thewaist gun position, the incoming rushof air was breathtaking. Grabbing holdof the heavy 0.50 Browning M2 machinegun and battling the elements at 4,000feet (1,220m) on a sunny Texas day, didlittle justice to the service life of airgunners at 20,000 feet over cold andhostile European skies.

TIME TRAVELMoving forward and up to the cock-

pit (no tortuous clambering over themid-wing spar, as you would in theAvro Lancaster) provided a wonder fulopportunity to ob serve the pilot andcopilot at work in their high visibility“office.” Studying the original instru-ments and controls added to the feel-ing that I’d stepped back in time.

Despite delays caused by incomingtraffic, it was all too soon time to strapin for long finals. A sudden rush of airand clunking of metal from the lowerfront fuselage — a little unnerving —heralded the doors opening to releasethe undercarriage.

There was so much to take in — thesheer size, the raw power, the noise, thesmells, and the freedom to wander atwill during flight. Above all though, Ishall remember the warm and friendlyattitude of the crew, their constantsmiles reflecting their own enjoyment ofthe experience. Kindred spirits indeed. ■

31

A few years ago, a family friend wholives in Co. Donegal in the Republic

of Ireland, knowing of my interest in avi-ation, sent me a copy of Donal MacCar-ron’s book, Wings Over Ireland. In onesection of the book, there was a photo-graph of a B-24 which had made a wheels-up landing on a beach at Lahinch in Co.Clare on the west coast of Ireland. Its namewas “Travelin’ Trollop.” As my wife and Ihad visited Lahinch with our friend, mycuriosity was aroused as to the circum-stances of the incident. I consulted mycopy of Roger Freeman’s The Mighty

Eighth, but could find no reference to the“Travelin’ Trollop.” I then wrote to theAFHRA/RSA at Maxwell AFB in Alabama.They cleared up the mystery for me. Thefollowing is the story of the last flight ofthe “Travelin’ Trollop.”

On 9th July 1943, B-24D 42-40784,“Travelin’ Trollop” and her crew took offfrom Gander, Newfoundland bound forPrestwick in Scotland. From there theywere to fly to join the 567th Squadron ofthe 389th BG at Hethel in Norfolk, Eng-land. Her crew consisted of: 2nd Lt. MaxE. Benthuysen, pilot; 2nd Lt. Albert H.Leigh ton, copilot; 2nd Lt. Manuel A. Pro-tos, navigator; 2nd Lt. William E. Fowler,bombardier; T/Sgt. Lester D. Walton; en -gineer; T/Sgt. Henry J. Crawford, rad;S/Sgt. Johnnie P. Lechmann, engineer;S/Sgt. Chester V. Miller, rad; S/Sgt. JohnL. Busch, gunner; S/Sgt. James C. Bean,gunner. Also Major Adelbert D. Cross whowas listed against a bracketed x.

At an earlier briefing, the pilot and nav-igator had been promised good weatherconditions for the entire flight. As was

The Irish Visit of “Travelin’ Trollop”BY JOHN THRELFALL (RAF)

the case on many occasions, this forecastwas to prove notoriously inaccurate. Asthey approached Ireland, they attemptedto get a ‘position’ fix from Derrynacross(this base I believe was in County Ferma -nagh). Because of running into weatherconditions much worse than forecast, theywere unable to do so and had to dropdown to 3,000 feet.

After making unsuccessful attempts tocontact Prestwick, Belleek, Nutts Corner,Stornoway or Valley Ranges, the pilot de -cided to drop down to 500 feet in the hopeof being able to get a visible fix. Unfortu-nately they were unable to do so. Theirposition regarding fuel was becomingcritical. The pilot was left with no alter-native but to put the ‘Lib’ down on the

deck. Luck was on their side at last, asthey spotted a long sandy beach. 2nd Lt.Benthuysen made a ‘wheels-up’ landingand none of the crew was injured.

That is how the “Travelin’ Trollop”came to an end. The Irish Air Corps sal-vaged her engines, guns and some instru-ments. The crew were transported on toEngland where they joined their squadron.

The Air Accident Board put some ofthe cause of the accident down to the in -experience of the crew. It was certainlyno slur on their ability to do their job,because while serving with the 389th BGthey became a lead crew.

The information I have used in thisarticle came from material sent to me bythe AFHRA/RSA in Alabama. The photo-graphs were reproduced with the kindpermission of Donal MacCarron, authorof Wings Over Ireland and also Landfall

Ireland. Donal was in the ‘Local DefenceForce Eire’ and attended the landing siteon the beach in Lahinch.

✈ ✈ ✈ ✈

Author’s Note: The photo reproductions

shown here were made for me by Roy

Smith. Roy is a fellow aviation enthusi-

ast who never tires of producing such

work for me. Having begun his engi neer -

ing career with the Blackburn Aircraft

Company, his favourite aircraft is the

Buccaneer. He also has a “soft spot” for

the Blackburn Beverley. I am very grate-

ful to Roy for all he has done for me. ■

The crew at Dow Field, Maine, before departing for Gander, Newfoundland.

Travelin’ Trollop on the beach at Lahinch, Co. Clare, Eire, July 10, 1943.

32

Who’d have thought that being tiedto apron strings would become a

pop trend?But there you see her. Charlotte York,

the glamorous hostess in the film “Sex andthe City 2,” wearing what? An apron?

Yes, her costume is nothing less than afull-length pinafore printed with frolicking,trendy cupcakes. Now, if the relentlesslychic “SATC 2” cast spotlights an apron, thenit must be that “Aprons are soooo back!”

I don’t think the younger generationsknow what an apron is — but they’recatching on fast!

The principal use of a mother’s apronwas to protect the dress underneath, be -cause she only had a few dresses and itwas easier to wash aprons than dresses.Aprons also used less material when Momwould sit down at the sewing machine.Along with that, they were used as potholders when removing hot pans fromthe oven.

Mothers would use it to set their hot,baked apple pies on the window sill tocool. Their granddaughters take their piesout of the freezer to thaw.

The Fantastic Comeback of ApronsBY RAY PYTEL & PARTIALLY FROM BADGER NEWS

It was good for drying children’s tearsand on occasion was even used for clean-ing out dirty ears.

When company came, those apronswere ideal hiding places for shy kids. Andwhen the company was unexpected, itwas surprising how much furniture thatapron could dust in just a few seconds.

On the farm, kindling for the wood-

burning kitchen stove was brought intothe house in that apron and it wipedmany a perspiring brow that bent overthe hot stove. When dinner was ready,Grandma walked out onto the porch andwaved her apron so Grandpa and theboys knew it was time to come in fromthe fields for dinner.

From the garden, it carried all sorts ofvegetables. After the peas had beenshucked, it carried out the hulls. In theautumn it was used to bring in applesthat had fallen from the trees.

From the chicken coop, the apron wasused for carrying eggs, fuzzy chicks, andsometimes half-hatched eggs to finish in -cubating in the warming oven.

It will be a long time before someoneinvents something that will have as manyuses as the old-time apron.

“SATC 2” may be catching up with atrend rather than creating one. Todayaprons are hotter than splattered bacongrease. Etsy.com, the online marketplacefor hand-made clothing, lists thousandsof aprons for sale. “What goes around,comes around!” ■

A man had just settled into his seat next to a window

on the plane when another man sat down in the aisle

seat and put his dog between them.

The first man asked why the dog was allowed

on the plane. The second man explained that

he was a DEA agent and that the dog was a

sniffing dog.

“His name is Sniffer, and he’s the best there

is,” he said. “I’ll show you once we get airborne

when I put him to work.”

The plane took off, and once it had leveled off,

the agent said, “Watch this,” and he told Sniffer

to “search.”

Sniffer jumped down, walked along the aisle,

and finally sat very purposefully next to a

woman for several seconds. Sniffer then

returned to his seat and put one paw on the

agent’s arm. The agent said, “Good boy,” turned

to the other man and said, “That woman is in possession

of marijuana, so I’m making a note of her seat number.

The authorities will apprehend her when we land.”

“Say, that’s pretty neat,” replied the first man. Once

again, the agent sent Sniffer to search the aisles. The dog

sniffed again, sat down beside a man for a few

seconds, returned to his seat and placed two

paws on the agent’s arm. The agent said,

“That man is carrying cocaine, so, again,

I’m making a note of his seat number for

the police.”

The agent then told Sniffer to search

again. Sniffer walked up and down the

aisles for a little while, sat down for a

moment, and then came racing back to the

agent. He jumped in the middle seat and pro-

ceeded to poop all over the place. The first man

was really disgusted by this behavior and

couldn’t figure out why a well-trained dog

would act like that, so he asked the agent, “What’s

going on?”

The agent nervously replied, “He just found a bomb!”

The “Smart” Dog

WARTIME ADVERTISING

33

34

To the Editor:You’ve always put out a great Jour-

nal, and the Spring 2010 edition is super -lative. I’ve always thought myself a rea-sonable scholar of WWII, but I saw infor-mation in this issue of which I was totallyunaware. Especially informative was theGerman review of Germany’s WWII his-tory. To me, very telling was the passagein italics near the end, stating that Ger-man “collective silence” after the war wasbecause, prior to 1945, everyone had bene -fited (sic) from the Nazi regime in one wayor another.

Peter Masefield’s 1943 article about theB-24 was also highly informative.

Jim Goar (392nd)1555 N. Main StreetFrankfort, IN 46041

✈ ✈ ✈ ✈

To the Editor:I’ve always liked the American ser vice-

men, and will never forget their kindness tome. I was only about six years old in 1943.

I was walking down the main street ofBuxton, called Spring Gardens (Buxton isthe highest market town in England, andthe coldest town in England), when I sawall these GI flyers, and I was fascinatedby their American English accents. Re -mem ber I can, when we had ration booksto buy food. Chocolate and chewing gum— I had never seen those things in my life.

There used to be a saying here in thoseyears, “Have you any gum, chum?” Soexcitedly I saw this airman and went upand asked him, “Have you any gum,chum?” He was a big bloke, must havebeen 6 feet 4 inches in height. He pickedme up, and said, “Do you know where Iam from?” and he told me he was fromTexas. He gave me lots of gum, and thengave me some chocolate bars for me toenjoy. I was so thrilled to have them. I’llnever forget that kindness. I fell in lovewith Texas!

I fell in love with America! I can re -member the stars and stripes he had onhis uniform. Whenever I see the U.S. flagit reminds me what wonderful and kindpeople Americans are. That remembrancenever left me, and that experience hasstayed with me all my life.

I often wonder if that soldier fromTexas got home. I hope he did. He was sogood to me, that bloke!

I found out later that he was probablybased at RAF Burtonwood, in Warring-ton. The base has been demolished andis no longer there, it’s all gone. But in thehearts and minds of people in that area,I am sure they will never forget the LittleAmerica, as Burtonwood was then called.

I never knew then that one day I wouldgo for a vacation to the United States.There I ended up meeting my wife, whocame from Michigan. She was a lovely,kind person. I’ll never forget Renee; shewill always be in my mind and heart. AndI’ll never forget “Have you any gum,chum?” from 1943! Thank you, America!God bless.

Robert Bonsall74 Sherwood RoadBuxton, DerbyshireEngland SK17 9ES

✈ ✈ ✈ ✈

To the Editor:Maureen and I have recently returned

from a short break in Norfolk. We wereon a five-day coach tour based at the Hol-iday Inn in Norwich. The holiday includ-ed two excursions, so we only had one“free day.” Unfortunately this meant I didnot have enough time to visit Tibenhamor any of the other WWII bases.

I did however realise one ambition: Wehad a couple of hours in the 2AD Memo-rial Library. I met the manager, JennyChristian, someone whom I had onlyspoken to on the telephone previously.She and her staff were very kind and atten-tive to us. She sat us down with a pile ofbooks and a mug of tea and chatted withus for fifteen or twenty minutes. We alsomet an elderly gentleman who was origi-nally from Florida but now lives in Nor-wich. He was with the 389th at Hethel.He told us that during his service in WWIIhe had met a man from Yorkshire, andthat in 1964 he had hitch-hiked from Nor-wich to a place called Barnoldswick. Hewas most surprised when we told himthat was where we lived. It just goes toshow what a small world we live in.

On our next planned short break I will

be able to fulfill another of my ambitions.We will be visiting Duxford, the home ofBritain’s biggest air museum. In their“American Collection” they have a B-24,so I am finally going to see one. Also wewill be visiting Bletchley Park, the war -time home of a code-breaking team whocracked the Enigma Code. It should be avery interesting few days.

On the first of June, we are going on avisit to a submarine museum at Birken-head in Merseyside. We will travel bycoach to Liverpool and then take a ferryacross to Birkenhead. One exhibit that isof interest to me is the last U-boat to besunk in WWII. I am not sure of the loca-tion of the sinking, but what I do know isthat it was sunk by a B-24 of the 547thSquadron. My next task is to discover any-thing I can about the 547th Squadron.

John Threlfall30 Lower West AvenueBarnoldswickLancashire BB18 6DWEngland

✈ ✈ ✈ ✈

To the Editor:Just a note to give you our new ad -

dress in our retirement at Sagewood. Ourtelephone number remains the same: 480-951-0343.

We have a living room, a study roomfor our e-mail, phones and Mary’s sewingmachine, lots of bookcases, two bath-rooms with showers, bedroom, kitchen,and outside porch room.

We can see the mountains all aroundus, some 15-25 miles away. There are out -door and indoor swimming rooms, anexercise room, two movie rooms, diningroom, bar room, card rooms, and mail-box rooms. They take us to a golf course,to the airport, to ball games, and trips toArizona attractions. Almost heaven. Wecan go to a dining room for any meal, orwe can eat any meal in our apartment.You can see it is tough living!

James Lorenz (466th)Sagewood4555 E. Mayo Blvd., Unit 3201Phoenix, AZ 85050-5982

✈ ✈ ✈ ✈

To the Editor:My father, J.W. Tikey, was a lead Path -

finder pilot on a B-24 in the 466th BombGroup in the 1944 period. He flew 30 com-bat missions plus three extra gas refuel-ing missions for General Patton in 1944.He was awarded the French Croix de

35

784TH BOMBARDMENT SQUADRON (P) AAFOFFICE OF THE OPERATIONS OFFICER

STATION #120 APO 558

5 DECEMBER 1944

This is to certify that Capt. Joseph W. Tikey and 1st Lt. Henry Tevelin4 haveflown the following missions, with the following leads:

DATE TARGET TYPE OF LEAD22 March 1944 Osnabruch, Germany Deputy Squadron

8 April 1944 Brunswick, Germany Deputy Squadron

10 April 1944 Bourges, France Deputy Squadron

13 April 1944 Lachfeld, Germany Element

24 April 1944 Leipheim, Germany 3 Squadron

25 April 1944 Mannheim, Germany Squadron

1 May 1944 Maiscoelle, France Deputy Squadron

7 May 1944 Osnabruch, Germany 1 Division

8 May 1944 Brunswich, Germany Squadron

12 May 1944 Bolhen, Germany Element

13 May 1944 Tutow, Germany Group

24 May 1944 Melvin, France Wing

25 May 1944 Mulhouze, France Element

26 May 1944 Zeitz, Germany 1 Division & 8th AF

5 June 1944 Boulogne, France Wing

8 June 1944 Pontaboult, France Group

11 June 1944 Blois, France 2 Wing

14 June 1944 Pas De Calais, France Wing

21 June 1944 Gorenflois, France Wing

22 June 1944 Pas De Calais, France Deputy Squadron

25 June 1944 Bretigny, France Group

7 July 1944 Lutzkendorf, Germany Wing

5 August 1944 Brunswick, Germany Wing

24 August 1944 Misburg, Germany Group

6 October 1944 Weinzendorf, Germany Wing

17 October 1944 Cologne, Germany Group

30 October 1944 Hamburg, Germany Group

16 November 1944 Eschweiler, Germany Group

26 November 1944 Bielefield, Germany Group

29 November 1944 Bielefield, Germany Wing

1 General Peck aboard2 Won Croix de Guerre Avec Etoile d’Argent3 Destroyed 60 M-262 twin engine jets on ground4 Navigator

Signed, with the seal of the 466th BG,by Norman R. Crosson, Captain, Air Corps

Operations Officer

Guerre avec Etoile d’Argent, three DFCs,nine Air Medals, and other medals for histhree and a half years of active duty.

I am very proud of my father’s warrecord. Please publish the attached copyof his specific leads.

His first B-24 was the famous “SlickChick,” now in the Ford Museum in Dear -born, Michigan.

He will soon be 90 years old and is liv-ing in a retirement home.

W.B. Tikey4604 S. Lamar, Apt. D-302Austin, TX 78745

✈ ✈ ✈ ✈

To the Editor:Thought you might like to see this photo

of my license plate. Note the date on theplate, 9-01 on the right side, 9-02 on theleft side.

I’ve had this plate since 1997. I had adisability plate for my wife in prior years.

Dave (Duffy) Borland (389th)

✈ ✈ ✈ ✈

Mauldin tribute

Willie and Joe would be cranky, no doubt, butproud. The U.S. Postal Service unveiled a postagestamp in March honoring Bill Mauldin, the WorldWar II cartoonist whose two whisker-stubbedinfantrymen spent much of the war sharing thedark comedy of life on the front lines with civil-ians and real-life soldiers alike. Mauldin wonthe Pulitzer Prize in 1945 for his “distinguishedservice” as a cartoonist, and he and both ofhis much-loved characters appear on the stamp.

SECOND AIR DIVISION ASSOCIATIONEIGHTH AIR FORCE

RAY PYTEL, JOURNAL EDITORP.O. BOX 484, ELKHORN, WI 53121-0484

Non-Profit Org.U.S. Postage

PAIDIpswich, MA 01938

Permit No. 74

FOLDED WINGS?CHANGE OF ADDRESS?

All information should be sent to:Oak Mackey

6406 E. Presidio StreetMesa, AZ 85215

T he Women Air Force Service Pilots(WASP) of World War II will finally

be given the recognition and honor theydeserve today when they receive the Con -gressional Gold Medal in a ceremony heldat the United States Capitol.

These pilots were trailblazers, a groupof 1,102 female civilians who flew militaryaircraft under the direction of the UnitedStates Army Air Forces. They flew morethan 60 million miles in 78 different typesof aircraft, from the smallest trainers tothe fastest fighters and the largest bomb -ers. They undertook every type of missionexcept combat. Thirty-eight of them gavetheir lives in the service of their country.

From 1942 to 1944 the WASP ferried air -craft from factories to air bases through-out the United States. They were stationedat 120 Army air bases across America, andmany also towed targets for anti-aircraftgunnery training. The Army Air Forcestrained the women to fly the fleet’s largestbombers to prove to the men these planeswere safe to fly.

Despite their outward appearance asofficial members of the U.S. Army Air For -

World War II’s Unsung HeroesBY AMY GOODPASTER • REPRINTED FROM THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, MARCH 10, 2010

ces, the WASP were actually consideredcivil servants during the war. In spite ofa highly publicized attempt to militarizethem in 1944, the women pilots were notgranted veteran status until 1977.

When a WASP was killed, the women

pilots received no formal recognition, nohonors, no gold star in the window, andno American flag on their coffin. Fellowpilots contributed money to help bring thebody and belongings home — the UnitedStates Government refused to pay for theremains to be shipped to their families.

When the WASP were unceremoniouslydeactivated in December 1944, five monthsbefore the end of the war, they never re -ceived the military status they were prom -ised, even though many of them were sentto officers training school. Even today theWASP can only be buried at ArlingtonNational Cemetery as enlisted membersof the military, not with officers’ honors.Finally these intrepid women will be hon-ored for their heroic service.

The surviving members of the WASP,who are now grandmothers and great-grandmothers, will unite for the last timein Washington, D.C. They will proudly taketheir place in history among the unsungheroes of World War II. Fueled by patri-otism and a love of flying, their examplewill continue to inspire future generationsof women aviators. ■

Liz Strofus confers with Jim Johns ather first luncheon since receiving theCongressional Medal.

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