97th BG Wm Ross Website Comments and Corrections
Hello Doug,
I just stumbled over the announcement of your great new homepage.
I am especially interested in your coverage of 97th BG.
Having done quite some research into the bombing of my home town Feldkirch in Austria – which was carried out by planes from 97th BG on 1st October 1943 – I try to get us much information on the history of this group as possible.
I could find the mission report of 1st October 1943 through NARA and AFHRA – but so far was unable to gather anything in pictures of planes, crews and the airfield in Tunisia from where the mission originated.
I still do not know, which planes and crews from 97th BG took part in the raid, which was directed against the Messerschmitt factory in Augsburg, Southern Germany, but failed to reach the primary target.
One of my (futile?) projects is to find the bomb strike photos of 97th BG taken on 1st October 1943.
Possibly your father-in-law even took part in that mission?
I am looking forward very much to what you will display from his collection. Apart from the forum in armyairforces.com unfortunately there has not been much on the internet concerning 97th BG.
Maybe you can correct that.
With Greetings from Austria,
Gerhard Winkler
Gerhard Winkler [e.g.winkler@schule.at]
Hello Gerhard,
I share your frustration in not getting much from the web on the 97th BG. I tried to piece together what I could like a puzzle. I may at some point do some research in the US Archives in MD. I would like to get more info. on my own fathers B-25 487th Squadron. I will update the websites as more becomes available. I will look specifically for the Oct 1 43 mission. My father-in-law was back in the States since August 43.
Greetings from Saudi Arabia,
Doug Cook
Northwest Arabia Team Leader
Central Area Exploration Division
Saudi Aramco
1/27/07
Dear Doug,
I have already visited the US Archives in MD personally and found nothing specific. However this does not mean, that nothing can be found there – because my “research” there was restricted to a few hours.
However I have enjoyed the visit there extremely, because NARA is such a fascinating institution. I found the staff there very helpful. I add a picture of my visit at NARA.
I feel, that there is not much on BG level concerning 97th BG to find at NARA, maybe a bit more at AFHRA.
The key to success could be to search documents at wing level (5th wing) or at AF level (12th AF, later 15th AF).
So I appreciate it, if you have a look at Oct 1 43 mission, when you go to NARA.
What I have so far, I have on CD – there is even a version in English. If you are interested, please let me know. And you would have to tell me your current snail mail address.
Even if your father-in-law left the MTO in August 1943, I am looking forward very much to what your website will show, especially in terms of pictures from planes, crews and bases.
At the moment here in Austria, we do only scarcely have more snow than in Saudi Arabia. But as I look out of the window this seems to improve today.
Greetings from Austria
Gerhard Winkler
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Thanks! I look forward to the rest of the scans.
Doug Cook
From: Gerhard Winkler
[mailto:e.g.winkler@schule.at]
Sent: Wednesday, February 14, 2007 10:51 PM
To: Cook, Douglas J.
Subject: AW: History of 97th BG
Hello Doug,
I have something that might be of interrest to you.
In 1943 the famous photographer Margaret Bourke-White, working for LIFE, went on a combat mission against the airfield of Tunis with the 97th BG.
The date is not given in the newspaper article but was January 22, 1943, according to the biography of Mrs. White.
This date would fall within the tour of duty of your father-in-law.
I have bought the issue of LIFE magazine and am in the process of scanning the article.
I enclose scan of the first page of the article.
Please be aware that the copyright of course is with LIFE.
Greetings from Austria
Gerhard Winkler
Von: Cook, Douglas J. [mailto:douglas.cook@aramco.com]
Gesendet: Samstag, 27. Jänner 2007 05:09
An: Gerhard Winkler
Betreff: RE: History of 97th BG
Hello Gerhard,
I share your frustration in not getting much from the web on the 97th BG. I tried to piece together what I could like a puzzle. I may at some point do some research in the US Archives in MD. I would like to get more info. on my own fathers B-25 487th Squadron. I will update the websites as more becomes available. I will look specifically for the Oct 1 43 mission. My father-in-law was back in the States since August 43.
Greetings from Saudi Arabia,
Doug Cook
Northwest Arabia Team Leader
Central Area Exploration Division
Saudi Aramco
Phone 966-3-873-7724
Hi Doug,
Found it a very interesting site and I'll certainly visit it again when I have more time.
Really impressed by the high quality photographs and information + details from Google Earth.
Keep up the good work !
Best regards from cold Belgium
Luc Luc Vervoort from ArmyAirForces [AF9th@yahoo.co.uk]
Hi Luc,
Thanks for the message. Can you be more specific on where the typo was found. I checked back on the announcement at the 97th BG Forum and I find it is correct. I enjoyed the project and will continue to update it as I find more material or corrections.
Greetings from Saudi Arabia,
Doug Cook
Northwest Arabia Team Leader
Central Area Exploration Division
Saudi Aramco
1/24/07
Subject: RE: New Site 97th BG 414th Squadron
Hi Doug,
I enjoyed looking at your new website. My uncle was in the 97th BG, the 341st Bomb Sq. at Polebrook. He arrived in England in June 1942 and died Nov 17, 1942 when his plane developed engine trouble and crashed in the Bay of Biscay enroute to North Africa. So my uncle was among the first arrivals in England, and it has been a little more difficult trying to find out information. Your website helps to give me a better idea of what his life was like during that time. My husband and I were fortunate to attend the last 97th BG reunion this past October in DC. What a wonderful group of men, none of whom considered themselves heroes...only doing their job. I had hoped to meet someone who might have known my uncle or knew of the crash. I did talk to one gentleman who knew about the plane crash (Brig Gen Asa N. Duncan was onboard--all were killed) and had known the squadron commander, Maj John Knox, who was also on board. This website certainly helped direct me to more information (a book that gives an eyewitness account of the crash) than my family had previously.
My husband is retired AF, and when you mentioned in your father-in-law's biography that he had worked at Famous Barr, it caught my attention because we were stationed at Scott AFB, Illinois and always enjoyed our trips to St.Louis.
Thanks again for compiling and creating the website in tribute to your father-in -law.
Jan
Hi Doug,
I enjoyed looking at your new website. My uncle was in the 97th BG, the
341st Bomb Sq. at Polebrook. He arrived in
England in June 1942 and died Nov 17, 1942 when his plane developed engine
trouble and crashed in the Bay of Biscay enroute to
North Africa. So my uncle was among the first arrivals in England, and it
has been a little more difficult trying to find out information. Your
website helps to give me a better idea of what his life was like during that
time. My husband and I were fortunate to attend the last 97th BG reunion
this past October in DC. What a wonderful group of men, none of whom
considered themselves heroes...only doing their job.
I had hoped to meet someone who might have known my uncle or knew of the
crash. I did talk to one gentleman who knew about the plane crash (Brig
Gen Asa N. Duncan was onboard--all were killed) and
had known the squadron commander, Maj John Knox, who
was also on board. This website certainly helped direct me to more
information (a book that gives an eyewitness account of the crash) than my
family had previously.
My husband is retired AF, and when you mentioned in your father-in-law's
biography that he had worked at Famous Barr, it caught my attention because we
were stationed at Scott AFB, Illinois and always enjoyed our trips to St.Louis.
Thanks again for compiling and creating the website in tribute to your
father-in -law.
Jan
Jan Lindquist
niece of B-17 top turret gunner
killed November 17, 1942
1/30/07
Doug,
It has been fantastic to read through the pages of your website and check out the great images, maps etc. I am writing a book about Col. Hank Tillman, Jr. a good friend who was a B17 pilot who flew 52 combat missions in the 414th BS from July 15, 1943 to January 24, 1944. Col. Tillman and I have met numerous times. since March of 2006 and I was fortunate to attend the 97th's reunion in October of 2006 with him. At the reunion I met many wonderful vets and my favorite was Tillman's ball turret gunner, Frank Dancey. I would love to talk to you and share information about the 414th since your Father in Law's service with the 414th finished the month after Col. Tillman's service commenced. Col. Tillman and Frank Dancey flew together on Aug.25, 1943 in the Smokey Stover and their first mission was on Stinky Jr. on July 15, 1943. You have more info collected on the 414th than I have seen anywhere. I am still hoping to buy a copy of the 97th history so that I understand the entire evolution of the group in North Africa and Italy. I have lots of photos taken at the USAF Memorial dedication, the 97th Reunion and scanned photos from Frank Dancey who took many rolls of film during his tour. I will be glad to share any digital photos with you as I feel is it most important to keep these memories and images in our history so that we do not forget the sacrifices made and challenges taken on by our veterans.
The attached image is Col. Tillman and his crew on his first plane "Sweet Adaline" named after his mother.
I will be home this evening and my phone number is 703-938-0603. My work number on weekdays is 703-918-4359.
Please call me when you can or email me so that we can share information.
Sincerely,
David Shelby
David Shelby [david.shelby@ddlomni.com]
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David,
I appreciate your comments and am thrilled that you are in contact with the 414th. I would be glad to put up a website section with images and anecdotes from Col. Tillman and Frank Dancey. I would not want to "scoop" your book but complement it. Its your call on what you want to share with full credit given to the source. When your book is in print, I can "advertise" it.
I live in Saudi Arabia but will be in Colorado Mar. 20-26 at 719-260-6814.
Cheers from the Magic Kingdom,
Doug Cook
Northwest Arabia Team Leader
Central Area Exploration Division
Saudi Aramco
Phone 966-3-873-7724 GMT +3
Hi David,
I look forward to working on the web site with you. Thanks for the 414th Mission Pages! I found a little treasure there for the mission 4/10/43 hitting the Cruiser Gorzia. My father-in-law was on that mission and is referenced in a news clipping on the we site. I Google Gorzia and found her history and photo so I will add that to the website also.
Text in MS Word is great. I am no web site wizard. My daughter will attest to that! I actually make my HTML files in MS Word. JPGs are great also. I scan at 200 to 300 dpi Large original make large files but I crop and resize. The images on the webpage I have decimated to have the largest pixel dimension no bigger than about 800 x 1200 so that the file size is under 300kb. You can send me your high res images and I will work with them e.g. I cropped the mission sheets, lightened, added contrast, cut back the blue and saved the files at 260kb size.
My background:
Born Mar. 25, 1955 in Ohio. Grew up in Michigan. BS Oceanography (and scuba instructor)Univ. of Michigan. Moved to Key Largo and ran a diving charter boat and business for 5 years. Got married during that time in 1980. 1984 MS Geology Univ. of Florida then joined Conoco in Houston. Worked deep water Gulf of Mexico and Nigeria in oil field development and exploration. Moved to BHP in Houston in 1992 and continued exploration in deep water Gulf of Mexico for 5 years. My Gulf of Mexico experience had a big highlight for me. I participated in 6 research cruises with the Johnson Sea-Link submersibles diving to 2600 feet to study oil seeps and chemosynthetic communities (critters that live on oil and gas!) Eager to get out of Houston traffic, we moved to Saudi Aramco in 1998. I am the Team Leader for exploring Northwest Saudi to the Jordan and Iraq borders. I have two successful wells drilling now on my prospects that have discovered significant new oil and gas reserves. We live in Dhahran on the Persian Gulf. It is a very large compound- actually a walled secure city with lots of trees and grass and recreation. We have a yacht club where I sail my Hobie Cat. I am an astronomy buff. I collect aeronautical and aerospace memorabilia. I scuba dive in Red Sea several times a year. We get to do a lot of traveling. E.g. last year we went to South Africa, Bali, Australia, and to the US 3 times. We have a condo in Manitou Springs, CO that is our US base. I have a 21 year old daughter just out of college and working in San Francisco. Daughter number 2 (surprise) was born here and is in second grade.
Now you know my story!
Cheers,
Doug
-----Original Message-----
From: David Shelby [mailto:david.shelby@ddlomni.com]
Sent: Sunday, February 04, 2007 10:40 PM
To: Cook, Douglas J.
Subject: RE: 97th Bomb Group 414th Squadron History website
Doug,
I'm so glad that you liked the photos. I met with Col. Tillman yesterday and it was enjoyable as always. We talked specifically about the huge amount of energy and time required for both of us in order to
complete and publish a books and how daunting the task is. I described
your website and how we could take some of the Colonel's info and his photos along with Sgt. Dancey and make it immediately available to anyone that can get to the web. He is agreeable, with the understanding that he would review a printed copy that I give him prior to going online with it.
With that said, I will begin to gather images and text that will be interesting that relate to Col. Tillman's 414th experiences along with Sgt. Danceys. After I get approval, can I just send you the text in MS Word? Are JPGs OK for the images? What dpi and number of pixels would
work for you? I like the way that you photos are very clear and large
and that you cannot right click on them and save your own high res version (of course I tried that already!). This will keep the high quality images protected and in the possession of the owner. Can you do the same with my section?
I don't want to pry to much personally about you, but could you describe a bit of your background so that I can pass it on to Col. Tillman and Sgt Dancey? I understand that your Father served in the Med Theater as did your Father in law was in 414th, and your Uncle was in the Pacific Theater. That's a lot of family Air Corp. history!
This web method will be a wonderful way to move ahead quickly and share photos and Air Corp. history sooner than later. I still hope to make a book or short documentary eventually but I like the idea of visible progress.
If you are a NFL fan I hope you will be able to see the Super Bowl where you are.
Best regards
David
PS - I copied this document (see attachments) yesterday but have not
cleaned it up yet. This may be out on the web or in a book somewhere
but it was the first time I had seen it. I do not know where the Col.
got it but can find out if you post it on your page.
David Shelby
DDL OMNI Engineering
703-903-9777
ddlomni.com
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Doug,
I just recently found your web site and I find it as very nice. My grandfather, William "Bill" Watson was a bombardier on War Pappy 42-30407 with 414th Bomber Squadron, 97th Bomber Group. Any idea how I can find information about the air crew for his plane. The pilot's list is listed as Richter. I have black and white photographs of them, it looks while they were in North Africa. I also have photographs from the air where the bombs have hit the ground (smoke and craters), I don't if its through the bomb scope. On the bottom of the photos, it has notations (date, place, bomber squadron).
Thanks,
Rob Valentine
Doug,
We exchanged a few emails earlier this year and I described my project of interviewing Col. Hank Tillman, Jr. B17 pilot, 12th and 15th Air Forces, 414th Bomb Squadron for a book. I have met with the Col. twice this year so far and talked a few more times. I told him about your website and we discussed the idea of you posting some photos and details of his service with the Air Corp. He was a bit hesitant to go ahead with this since he gets so many phone calls, letters and requests as he shares his WWII stories with many and he is written up in his local paper frequently. He asked me if we post text and photos on your website, that it would mean that he would receive more letters and calls and I said probably not, since you would not list his address or phone number etc. Anyway I expect to call him tomorrow April 1, on his birthday, and will mention the concept of posting photos and perhaps and stories and not featuring him too much.
With that being said, the good news follows.
I just spoke with Frank Dancey for 45 minutes. He is a great guy and one that I always learn so much from. Sgt. Frank Dancey was Tillman's ball turret gunner for 50 missions. He said that it would be fine if you posted his photos on the web. If you would like to add a section about Frank for now, that would be most excellent! I don't remember what photos I sent you in the past so I will send a few more now. The mission logs were copied from his original diary which I haven't seen yet. He is trying to find this at his home! He shot this photo of Jimmy Doolittle and I think it was in North Africa.
I recently purchased some original WWII photos from a seller on ebay.
THIS IS THE SELLER'S DESCRIPTION OF THE PHOTOS:
|
I have a lot of photographs taken by an Army Photographer assigned to the 15th Air Force, 1943-1945. He began service in 1943 in Watertown, South Dakota. From there he went to Photographer's School at Lowry Field, Colorado. After school he went to the 15th Air Force in North Africa. From there, still with the 15th, he went to Italy. |
I do not know the photographers name other than "Jack" and the seller would only give it to the person that one a separate auction! My thoughts were that since I own about 20 originals that relate to North Africa and Italy, that you might want to post some of these on your website as well. I am including as starters a neat shot that I am certain is of Eddie Rickenbacker (center) and I am reasonably certain Ernest Hemingway (right) and perhaps Jimmy Doolittle (left). The additional photos of Doolittle and Hemingway are included so that you can help me ID the guys in my photo.
My main idea is to share this history with other's that are researching it and to get it "out there" before all of the vets from this war are gone. I hope that you have the time and can post some of these and that you find it helpful with your research.
I will send you another batch of pics taken by Frank Dancey and some more from my new collection this coming week.
FYI - I just met a B17 tail gunner last week in the middle of a parking lot just 2 blocks from my house in Vienna VA. He said that they bombed Berlin 3 times on different raids and that he would talk with me soon. I hope that this happens. :>)
cheers
David
David Shelby
DDL OMNI Engineering 703-903-9777 ddlomni.com
Hi David,
I just got back from my trip to the US (CA and CO) and am going throuh emails. Thanks for the photos. Yes, I would like to put up a section on Frank Dancey. You have sent some great photos and mission logs. I see the "Smokey Stover", my father-in-law's plane on one mission. I wonder if Frank remembers pilot Bill Ross? I would like to get a bio and some anecdotes from Frank if possible to add to the section. The Doolittle photos are interesting. I am a collector abd have a signed Doolittle photo. If the Doolittle, Rickenbacher, Hemingway photo is real and from N. Africa its a nice historic piece like the Churchill photo in Bill Ross' collection. I am trying to enhace it to bring out more detail.
Hoping to hear more from you soon.
Cheers,
Doug Cook
Hello Doug,
I trust that your trip was fun and that you fit in some relaxation. Our family is looking forward to the weekend of May 11th for a trip to the Jamestown VA 400th anniversary celebration. We will be staying in a home directly across the river from the original Jamestown Fort and settlement. A much easier trek that you just made! I do love to travel and hope to make it to England and Europe again.
I am very excited that you are ready to post the section on Frank Dancey. I will ask him about Bill Ross and the Smokey Stover when I contact him in the near future. I hope that you can give me an idea of how many images you want to post in Dancey's section and then I can then send with proper annotation. I have taken notes during my discussion with Frank and already have some details from him in Col. Tillman's write-up.
The info in the following paragraph is accurate and can be used as an introduction: Sgt. Frank Dancey flew 50 combat missions as a ball turret gunner and all but one with Col. Hank Tillman, Jr. as pilot. Frank and Hank were in the 414th Bomb Squadron with the 12th Air Force in North Africa. They were eventually assigned to the 15th Air Force in Italy. The dates of their missions were July 1943 to January 1944. They bombed Rome with Jimmy Doolittle leading the way on July 19th 1943. They were told during briefings for this mission to avoid many parts of the city where civilians were present and especially to stay away from the Vatican and the surrounding area. German radio helped to circulate rumors that Catholic airmen did not have to fly this particular mission unless they wanted to, so that arguments and controversy would occur between the men. (Dakar Natives shot) - Frank told me that these men would help to guard their tents and camp while they were out on missions. Some things still disappeared at times as the security was difficult to maintain with the temporary nature of the bases.
I am sure that Elaine P is one of Frank's photos but I don't know where it was taken. Great nose art!
Back to work for me. I will write again this week and send you more photos and descriptions.
Have a great week.
David
Put up Tillman and Dancey 1st Draft:
What a great way to start the day. I will forward a link to your site to Frank's sons and to his daughter.
The only correction I see right now is that in the Sweet Adaline photo caption Frank Dancey is the shortest guy on the far left and Hank Tillman is the second guy from the right. This photo was taken in Rabat, West Africa in July of 1943. I will send you more info about the Sweet Adaline 42-30307, which was named after Tillman's mother. Frank said that they never flew this in combat and it was transferred to another crew and renamed the "Bonnie Sue". It was shot down by an Italian captured P-38 on 11 August 1943. I will condense a few more quotes from Frank and send more photos this week. I have tons going on but this will stay high on my to-do list.
The winds are whipping around the East coast today.
Have a terrific week
David
From: Robert Kalinak [mailto:robert.kalinak@gmail.com]
Subject: 97 BG 414 Squadron
Good day, I like your web site, perhaps you could help me in research I am doing for my family.
A cousin of my Mother, Tech Sgt. Andrew Poczik Jr. was a member of the 97th BG, 414th
Squadron. He was lost July 8, 1943, B-17F, 42-5090, MACR 69, which I obtained from Lynn
Gamma at Maxwell AFB. Seeing that your website deals with the 414th Squadron, I was curious if you had any info on the crew of 42-5090, I f you do have any info. or leads I would appreciate anything you could share, Thanks.
Sincerely,
Robert Kalinak, Grandson of Charles Poczik
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi Robert,
Thanks for the email. I wish I did have more information. This line is on my website:
B-17F-35-BO 42-5090 (97th BG, 414th BS) MIA Jul 8, 1943. All crew KIA. MACR 69
I got this from: http://home.att.net/~jbaugher/1942_1.html
Maxwell Research http://www.au.af.mil/au/afhra/
You may be able to his miltary service record from: http://www.archives.gov/
I filled out their form and got my father-in-law's service record.
Good luck!
Doug Cook
Gerhard,
Thanks for the photo. I wll add it to the website with credit to you. I have not heard from TimeLife, so after many weeks, I put the article up anyway. If I ever get an objection, I will take it down.
Cheers,
Doug
From: Gerhard Winkler
[mailto:e.g.winkler@schule.at]
Sent: Monday, May 14, 2007 12:51 AM
To: Cook, Douglas J.
Subject: LIFE Permission to use an article from 1943 granted?
Hello Doug,
I just would like to ask you, if you ever got an answer from LIFE, concerning their copyright.
I enclose a picture I cropped from GoogleEarth and “enhanced” a little bit.
It shows the airfield at Oudna, Tunisia, from where the 97th BG flew the airstrike against Feldkirch on 1st October 1943.
Even the hardstands around the airstrip still clearly show through the soil and vegetation.
From your website I conclude, that your father-in-law holds pictures from the camp in Tunisia.
I would be mightily interested…
Greetings from Austria,
Gerhard
From: Steven Nelson
[mailto:steveo05196@yahoo.com]
Sent: Monday, June 25, 2007 12:58 AM
To: Cook, Douglas J.
Subject: my grand father
i saw your site and thought id email you. im researching my grandfather and his wwII days he was in the 414th. he went down on april 3 1944 his macr is 3962 and tail number 42-30436. im in army aviation also im an apache crew chief in the 101st airborne. My Grandfather passed away last year when i was in iraq. if you have any information on him i would greatly appreciate it if you emailed it to me. thank you
Steven
Steven,
Thanks for the email. I wish I did have more information. This line is on my website:
B-17F-105-BO 42-30436 (97th BG, 414th BS) lost Apr 3, 1944. MACR 3962
I got this from: http://home.att.net/~jbaugher/1942_1.html
Maxwell Research http://www.au.af.mil/au/afhra/
You may be able to his military service record from: http://www.archives.gov/
I filled out their form and got my father-in-law's service record.
If you are able to gather enough information for a story, I would be glad to post it on the website.
Good luck!
Doug Cook
From: Doorknob52@aol.com [mailto:Doorknob52@aol.com]
Sent: Sunday, August 26, 2007 1:36 AM
To: Cook, Douglas J.
Subject: Re: P-38 Fighter Pilot Book etc. winning bid
In a message dated 8/24/2007 10:18:57 P.M. Mountain Daylight Time, douglas.cook@aramco.com writes:
http://www.reddog1944.com/Missions_Targets_Combat_Action.htm
You must be very proud of your father. Remarkable man!
Amazing coincidence! One stanza of the poem, Lightnings in the Sky, is quoted in my book (Page 104) in a letter from my brother in 1943. Like the author of the poem, Bob was also a radio-operator gunner on B-17s.
More amazing - checked my combat flight log and almost half my B-17 escort missions matched the mission logs of the 97th Bomb Group. Same days. Same targets. We were there!
Thanks,
Fredric Arnold
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Frederic,
It’s an honor to correspond with you. It seems obvious that you were connected to my father-in-law in the 97th BG as fighter escort. I wonder who did write the poem if not in fact your brother? May I briefly quote you and promote your book on the website?
My father was in Corsica as a B-25 pilot in 1944, also on the website: http://www.redog1944.com
Thanks again,
Doug Cook
The author of the poem Lightnings in the Sky was Tech. Sgt. Robert H. Bryson, Radio Operator-Gunner. He wrote it while on an unescorted mission in a B-17 Flying Fortress over North Africa. The P-38 was the only fighter plane capable of escorting bombers to their targets and return.
The poem first appeared in a publication, the Lockheed "Star" in 1943.
Our Squadron escorted B-17s, B-25s, and B-26s. We also dive bombed and strafed military targets. I finished my 50 mission tour of combat duty in July 1943 before your father was in Corsica.
Of our original 14 P-38 fighter pilots, 12 were killed. I was one of the two survivors. The tragic loss of my comrades is memorialized in the film documentary, Between Two Worlds, presently being screened at film Festivals throughout the country and has won several Best Documentary Awards. I have listed DVDs on eBay. For details: www.doorknob52.com.
After you have read my book, I hope you will be able to make favorable comments for the public.
Our correspondence has touched me deeply.
With warm regards
Fredric Arnold
-----Original
Message-----
From: jakeegan@twcny.rr.com [mailto:jakeegan@twcny.rr.com]
Sent: Sunday, September 02, 2007 7:17 PM
To: Cook, Douglas J.
Subject: re: Contacts from 97th BG and 414th Squadron Welcome!
Mr. Cook:
I am doing some research about my grandfathers service with the 97th Bomb
Group.
I have a small collection of digital copies of the photoes he took in North
Africe between Jan - Nov 1943.
Some of the pictures are of planes, and I have some names of the people he
served with.
Anyway, I've got a bit of a puzzle, and you seem to have some information,
so I'd like to know if you could help.
Your website listed a scheme for squadron markings:
1 for the 340th, 2 for the 341st, 3 for the 342nd and 4 for the 414th.
But the book I was perusing the other day (B-17 Flying Fortress Units of the
MTO, Hess, Osprey Publishing) said the following:
0 for the 340th
1 for the 341st
2 for the 342nd
4 for the 414th
The same book however ALSO contains color plates and some photos of planes identified as with the 414th Bomb Squadron, but bearing the "triangle over #1" markings that seem more consistent with the 341/340th according to the schema you (or the Hess book) mention.
SO. Something isn't quite right.
Now -- the photos I have show planes with 2 types of tail markings --
Triangle over 0 and Triangle over 1 -- the triangle over 0 markings seem to be more consistent with the Hess book schema -- those planes most likely belonging to the 340th Bomb Squadron.
The pictures I have of the "triangle over 1" marking seem like they could be either 414th squadron planes OR 341st Squadron planes.
Now -- specific questions for you.re:
http://www.reddog1944.com/414th_Squadron_Planes_and_Crews.htm
1. the first 3 or so "formation pictures" on the page clearly show the
"triangle over 4" schema. Do you know roughly when those shots were taken? Do you have any specifics from them about who took them and what mission?
2. The "Roster of Officers Emergency Addresses" -- same question -- do you have a date or a source on that? If you did, it would give some indication about this little puzzle.
The two schemas described yours and Ness's seem to be logical -- so I
wouldn't be surprised if the Ness schema is more an early 1943 thing and the schema you describe is more a 1944 thing.
I was told by some other researchers with more knowledge than myself that in 1943-1944 squadron markings were changing around all the time.
AND -- it's not that hard to convert a 1 to a 4.
Anyway -- all of this means my grandfather likely served with either the
341st bomb squadron OR the 414th. It was most definitely the 97th Bomb
Group.
The markings are puzzling me, so let me know if you can advise,
gratefully, John Keegan
Tiocfaidh ár Lá
-----------------------------------------------------------------
John,
I am not an expert on the markings but what I have found on the web is fairly consistent with my father-in-law' pictures of planes from the 97th BG 414th (obvious triangle above 4- other markings not seen, missions and dates
unknown) BS as shown on my web page:
http://www.reddog1944.com/414th_Squadron_Planes_and_Crews.htm These photos are certainly 414th BS and circa Jan to Aug, 1943. Note that other photos of 97th BG planes from my father-in-laws collection only have serial numbers on the tail so the schema is not universal.
I got the schema from the link below:
http://www.armyairforces.com/forum/m_45731/mpage_1/key_/tm.htm#45745
The emergency contact list was my father-in-law's and obviously he was counting the missions to the magic 50 that would get you sent home. He left the theater in Aug. 1943.
You may be able to get your grandfathers military service record from:
I filled out their form (SSN and/or service record number required) and got my father-in-law's service record.
If you are able to gather enough information for a story and want to share photos, I would be glad to post it on the website.
Good luck! Keep in touch
Doug Cook
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From:
jakeegan@twcny.rr.com [mailto:jakeegan@twcny.rr.com]
Sent: Monday, September 03, 2007 5:33 PM
To: Cook, Douglas J.
Subject: RE: Contacts from 97th BG and 414th Squadron Welcome!
Doug:
Thank you. That basically explains it.
1. I think the 4 = 414 was consistent, even in the early part of 1943.
2. I think the colour plates pictured in the Ness book are incorrect and likely the result of artistic error. There are PHOTOs in the same book that contradict that schema and are more in line with your information.
3. I do think the original Ness explanation is correct 0 = 340th, 1 = 341st
and 2 = 342nd and 4 = 414th. This is because I've never seen any pictures of a "triangle over #3" but I have seen 0, 1, 2 and 4.
I think the book is in error. I will send you some of the pictures if you'd like. They are nearly certainly from the 341st Squadron.
My grandfather served from Jan 1943 to Nov 1943, flew his 50 missions, came home, had 11 kids.
Best regards and thank you!!!
Doug:
Thank you for sharing all this.
I went back after what you told me and reviewed the Ness book. It's a pretty simple explanation.
1. Ness is correct about the basic squadron numbering scheme from 1943 on.
It did not change and remained the same for the 97th, although
the markings changed somewhat. He correctly explained the markings in the appendix as 340 = 0, 341 = 1, 342 = 2, 4 = 414.
2. At least one and likely both of the planes pictured in the colour plates of the Ness book with squadron # 1 are mislabelled as 414th planes when in fact they are 341st squadron planes. I did a aircraft serial number search on 42-30267 and it went down in Romania with the 341st/97th and not the 414th.
(97th BG, 341st BS, 'Hustlin' Hussy') shot down Jun 23, 1944 near Mizil, Romania. MACR 6951
3. Ness's explanation (Appendix pg. 88) of 0 = 340th, 1 = 341st, 2 = 342nd and 4 = 414th is correct and the only squadron numbering ever used.
The two colour plates in the book with 1 pictured on the tail are mislabelled and should say 341st, at least definately for 42-30267 and
probably for 42-5346 as well. The tail markings did change some in that
the squadron number eventually is in a circle and the Y is added inside the
triangle -- but the triangle and 0,1,2 and 4 markings are consistent.
4. I've done some scouring of existing 97th bomb group photoes on the web and in books, there are no units with a 3 for the squadron markings for the 97th that I can find. However, the Ness book and my grandfathers photoes
both show planes with a 0 for the squadron number. That is consistent with
the explanation in Ness's appendix of 340 = 0, 341 = 1, 342 = 2 and 414 = 4.
My grandfather served from January 1943 to November 1943, departing the 12th AF about the same time that the units moved from N. Africa.
He was a radio operator and we believe most or all of the men in his aircrew returned home safely after completing 50 missions.
So the book is both correct and in error. (Osprey Publishing, go figure!)
Anyway, thanks for all your help.
Tiocfaidh ár Lá
John A. Keegan
----------------------------------------------------------
Hi again John,
Thanks for the research answers. I will correct my webpage accordingly. What will you do with your grandfather's photos? I would be more than happy to make a web section devoted to him if want to share photos, bio, anecdotes... Proper credit would be given. The pictures can't be directly copied with a right mouse click. My website has mushroomed over the last few years with similar contributions. I keep making corrections and additions to make it a historical reference for families and researchers who live in the formerly Nazi occupied countries of Europe that our father's and grandfathers help liberate.
Sincerely,
Doug Cook
Dhahran, Saudi Arabia
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: John A WAKELIN
[mailto:jwakelin@msn.com]
Sent: Saturday, September 08, 2007 11:42 PM
To: Cook, Douglas J.
Subject: B17G-Our Baby
Doug,
Good evening
I met Mr Lowell D. Morrow - Bombardier on 42-31392 Our Baby on its 27th and final mission. He was one of those who walked out after the crash.
His son does not have any history of his dad - I have managed to put together, some stuff, including a photograph of the Bf 109 and pilot that shot them down, I know the crew captain was James N Clem, but that is about the extent of what I can find, any help will be greatly appreciated.
Can you direct me to a site which may have a photograph of this aircraft, I noticed on a Croatian web site mention of there being several photographs of this aircraft, but I was unable to negotiate my way through such a 'foreign' language. Also (from a rough translation) this aircraft at one time held a record for ????most missions without an abort or turnback?????
Has the 97th BG website been closed or is it 'hidden away' somewhere.
Thanks for you site
Kindest regards
John A Wakelin. Indianapolis, Indiana
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi John,
My apologies if you were unable get to the website. I was doing some major upload/maintenance Thurs-Fri.
For the 97th BG try:
http://www.reddog1944.com/97th_Bomb_Group_414th_Squadron_Index.htm
http://www.reddog1944.com/414th_Squadron_Planes_and_Crews.htm
Note that I have not found a great deal out there about the details of planes from the 97th BG and I tried to focus on my father-in-law’s 414th squadron.
If you know Mr. Morrow’s SSN or military ID number his son can try to get his service records:
I was successful getting a gold mine of records for my father-in-law.
I would be happy to put a web page dedicated to Mr Morrow if we can put together more pieces of the puzzle.
I just noted my webpage had the plane listed and it was from the 97th BG 414th Squadron:
B-17G-15-BO 42-31392 (97th BG, 414th BS) shot down by Bf 109 fighter May 24, 1944 over Zagreb, Yugoslavia. MACR 5187
http://www.accident-report.com/Crew_Names/namec_clay.html You can file a request on the MACR report. There may be a fee.
Conflicting information from a forum site:
http://www.armyairforces.com/forum/m_44794/mpage_1/tm.htm#54940
Fred :-) You may already have this informaton....This is from the 5th Wing History of Aircraft Assigned.....a/c 42-31392 97th BG 341 Sq MIA Ploesti.. 24-5-44..fighters..crashed at Sisak. James Clem crew,..Keenan, Gardner, Morrow, Reisenberger,Churchill, Ray, Cottrell,Cwierz, Gilbert. ( MACR 5187) Jim :-) [signature]
Its got the crew members and plane numbers but the squadron and crash site don’t match. The 97th did not bomb Ploesti to my knowledge.
Sisak is near Zagreb- that rings true:
Sisak (German: Sissek, Hungarian: Sziszek, Italian: Siscia) is a city in central Croatia. The city's population in 2001 was 52,236 [1] and it is the administrative centre of Sisak-Moslavina county. Sisak is located at the confluence of the Kupa, Sava, and Odra rivers, 57 km southeast of the Croatian capital Zagreb.
I will keep looking. Lets try to compile something on this.
Cheers from Saudi Arabia,
Doug Cook
John,
Perhaps you have been through this forum already:
http://www.armyairforces.com/forum/m_46517/mpage_1/printable.htm
http://www.armyairforces.com/forum/m_46517/mpage_1/key_/tm.htm#46517
The forum has a lot of chatter about the crash.
I have emailed through the forum (blind email) Zeljko Bocek who lives in Sisak and has parts of the plane and newspaper accounts. If he gets back to me, I will share and try to get you in direct contact.
Cheers,
Doug Cook
Viliam,
I have website on the 97th BG 414th Sq:
http://www.reddog1944.com/97th_Bomb_Group_414th_Squadron_Index.htm
http://www.reddog1944.com/414th_Squadron_Planes_and_Crews.htm
A reader wrote the query below and I have since found your thread in a forum about two downed planes. Can you provide a photo and further information on the mission?
Thanks,
Doug Cook
Dhahran, Saudi Arabia
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
RE: B17G-Our Baby- some confusion on planes but maybe we're getting somewhere:
http://www.armyairforces.com/forum/m_69219/printable.htm
|
viliam klabnik -> RE: Looking for info on Sgt Thomas Edward Burke, 341st Squadron (1/5/2005 1:38:05 AM) |
|
|
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.armyairforces.com/forum/m_69219/printable.htm
There is a Burke shown as
a crewmember on 42-30169 "Lady Luck" of the 414th BS,
that was MIA Atzgersdorf 24 May 44. Attacked
by fighters,crashed at St. Marien. Robert Close crew, Welch,Greenfield,England, Marlow,Haight,Burke,Theusen,Shafres,Fullerton.
(MACR 5070. Usual listing order is P,CP,N,B,
FE,RO,BT,LW,RW, and TG. However, that was not always correct. Sometimes, a crwmwmbwer was "borrowed" from another Sq, to
fill in a position..other possibilty is that the squadron designation is incorrect,and he actually was in the 414th.
I am including an email address for a lady whose hsuband was in the 414th BS, and she may be able to assist
you further, regarding the 97th BG and the 414thBS.
Her name is Ruth Hermann, her email is rherman@theriver.com
9/19/07 David Shelby [david.shelby@ddlomni.com]
Doug,
Greetings to you! I am including some additional photos relating to Col Hank Tillman and Sgt. Frank Dancey. I have talked and written to Col. Tillman several times during the last few months. He is still doing reasonably well at home but unfortunately has not had the energy for any additional interviews with me. He is still undergoing many visits and tests at Walter Reid Hospital for his numerous medical conditions.
Info on attached photos that you can post on your website (if you will be so kind).
Tillman receiving DFC - probably Air Corp photo
Tillman at controls - no writing on the back of this one so unsure if this was training or combat mission etc. - credit Frank Dancey
Dancey Tillman Jocko (pet monkey) from Dancey's camera looks very similar to other camp photos in Africa by Dancey - credit Frank Dancey
Kan-Do! photo - crew unknown to me although Tillman and Dancey flew #438 in two combat missions. This is not Tillman's crew - photographer unknown
Tillman and P-38 - photographer unknown
I am sure that you have heard of Ken Burn's WWII seven part documentary which begins this Sunday Sept 23rd. Don't miss this one!
I have interviewed my Uncle Capt. James Cheatham twice this year. He was in the 26th Yankee Division, 102nd Field Artillery, and served as Battery B commander. He has an amazing collection of photos that he shot including Battle of the Bulge. He was in charge of 20,000 Germans in a POW camp just after the war at Ebensee Austria. I have had some other fascinating WWII vet experiences including making friends with an 82nd Airborne, 505th PIR Sgt. named James Rodier who made 4 combat jumps including Normandy. I am planning on meeting and talking to another Air Corp vet next week that is a good friend of my mother in laws. In October I will be joining Historic Vienna Inc.
http://www.historicviennainc.org/
as a board member and hope to be able to ask WWII vets from our town to contact me through the Historic group to discuss and record their experiences. If I can get this going right away it will tie in nicely with Ken Burns series since many people will be more interested in saving and recording history. I pray that all is well with you and your family.
Cheers,
David
PS - I included a photo by Capt. James Cheatham for you to see. I think that you will agree that he is a very excellent photographer
From: Cook, Douglas J.
[mailto:douglas.cook@aramco.com]
Sent: Monday, September 24, 2007 12:28 AM
To: David Shelby
Subject: RE: Tillman and Dancey photos for you
to post
Hi David,
I have been making a lot of modifications to the web pages including material being sent to me. I will be glad to add these photos.
http://www.reddog1944.com/414th_Squadron_Tillan_Dancey.htm See the new reference--
SPERRYBALL TURRET DETAILS. It would be nice to get some stories from Frank Dancey who spent a lot of time in that freezing (-40 deg F) turret!
I also added this section on a P38 squadron that flew missions escorting the 97th BG and 414th Sq. I have corresponded with Fredric Arnold and read his book.
http://www.reddog1944.com/P38.htm
Cheers from Saudi Arabia,
Doug Cook
Doug,
Excellent site additions for you. Bravo! I do plan on talking to Frank again soon and capturing more history from someone who sat in that contraption during combat and will be glad to share it with you. I do have detailed notes from a prior meeting with Frank that I can check for additional info your site. I often wish for more time to interview and thank these amazing men. I will be meeting a new Air Corp vet next week who served in Africa. MSGT Thomas Ulam is a friend of my mother in laws. He knows that I am interested in WWII vets so I am looking forward to learning from him and sharing as well. I watched the first segment of the Ken Burns doc last night and it was wonderful. I learned that more civilians were killed during the war than all of the soldiers, sailors and airmen combined.
Thank you in advance for adding these additional photos on your site. I am understanding more each day that there are still many untold stories and undiscovered images out there - many are heartbreaking, some are humorous and some show bravery beyond comprehension.
I will write again very soon.
Your friend
David
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
9/25/07
Hi David,
I have added photos to the web pages for Hank Tillman and Frank Dancey. The ‘Kan Do’ photo is the page about planes and crews.
http://www.reddog1944.com/97th_Bomb_Group_414th_Squadron_Index.htm
Thanks for the submissions!
Doug Cook
9/25/07
Greetings Doug,
A super fast turn-around on the updates! You are AWESOME! A++
On your title for the Kan-Do, you could elaborate if you care to. These details in black are from my notes that Frank Dancey's and Col. T provided relating to that particular day's events:
Col. Tillman and his crew were scheduled not to fly on Oct 14, 1943. Sgt. Paul Fuchs was the Engineer and gunner with Col. Tillman and Frank Dancey's crew. Paul had accepted an additional mission on the "Kan-Do" on October 14th as Frank Dancey had done on "Ther-N-Back" so that they could get in their required missions sooner . Frank said that when the two of them showed up at the field for duty as volunteer replacement gunners, that Paul was sent to one ship and Frank to another. Paul Fuchs was killed when the Kan-Do was lost in action. The gunner that replaced Paul's slot on Tillman's crew was the "Kan- Do" crew member who was sick the day that the Kan-Do was lost. The transfer of the airman without a crew, to Tillman's crew who had lost their gunner, was made because they fit each other's needs.
Please rephrase or use what you would like of the above text as it is not perfect.
Last night I did find my notes from interviews with Frank Dancey relating to being in the ball turret. I will write them up and send what can be posted to you as soon as time permits. I may call Frank and get permission to include some very personal notes.
It is quite wonderful to have projects such as this to be a part of. Thanks again to you for including me in your efforts.
When you have the time, would you consider emailing me some high quality JPGs of any of the ships listed below that you have? I realize that I am asking for a lot. Please do not go out of your way searching for these if you don't already have them. I will also take a few pointers on websites with images or other sources where I can look fif you care to share. I will send printed copies to Col. T and Frank. I have searched for these planes previously on the web without much success. I can see the photos of some of them on your site but cannot SAVE AS. This is fine as I said before to you, as it protects your wonderful collection from being swiped!
342 Stinky Jr.
254 Flamingo
147 Old Ironsides
731 Smokey Stover
117 F.O. #1 (I wonder what that stands for?) :>)
696 Fort Alamo 2nd
336 Virgin Sturgeon
348 Kan-Do
346 Reluctant Dragon
223 There-N-Back
405 Frank said No Name for this ship in his log
407 No Name provided
436 Phantom Lady
943 Joe Blow
Have a beautiful day.
David
PS - I will be sending you a couple of photos later today of an original There-N-Back jacket!
Doug,
I don't believe that I have sent you the attached images previously but they may fit in somewhere on your site. I shot the attached photos of the 414th BS and the 97th Memorial Wreath at the 97th BG's Reunion on October 22, 2006 when they visitied the WWII memorial in Washington DC. The USO Liberty Belles were at another event the same weekend at a hotel in Arlington. They sang "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" and danced with Col. Tillman. What a wonderful moment that was!
Please credit the shot of the hangar in Foggia Italy and the German sign inside to Sgt. Frank Dancey.
I still need to work on some more text for you that is approved to post by Frank.
later
David
Doug,
The website additions are perfect. I can now see and access the text links to missions from the typed mission list which just showed up as lines on my PC previously. Thanks so much for continuing to add to these sections as it will allow others to share and understand details about the Air Corps that they may never have seen before. I talked with Frank Dancey and Col. Hank this weekend and also mailed them printed copies of some sections of your website that I thought that they would enjoy. Frank has some new descriptions about being in the ball turret that I will forward to you after I write it up properly. We talked for about 40 minutes last Saturday!
The photos you sent of Ther-N-Bak and Smokey Stover are superb. I will print copies and mail to Col. Hank and Sgt. Frank, with your permission.
Enjoy your UK visit and stay safe during your travels. Attached are a couple of pics from my Oct 2005 trip with my parents and brother Mason.
David
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From:
Glock57@bellsouth.net [mailto:Glock57@bellsouth.net]
Sent: Friday, November 23, 2007 3:17 PM
To: Cook, Douglas J.
Subject: Looking for info. on my uncle
Importance: High
Mr. Cook,
My name is Jim Upton, orginally from West Palm Beach, Fla. now residing in Dandridge, TN after retiring from Law Enforcement. My uncle, Staff Sgt. James W. Sandiford was a left waist gunner on a B-17 and was assigned to the 414th. Bomb Squadron--97th. Bomb group. On 11/27/43 his plane(42-30705) was enroute to bomb a Marshalling yard in Rimini, Italy along with other B-17,s when they were attacked by German ME-109,s His plane along with another B-17 were shot down and the pilot and right waist gunner managed to bail out and were taken POW upon landing. My uncle and the rest of the crew went down with the plane. After a year of investigation and obtaining all of the Government reports, the location of my uncles plane has been located on the side of a mountain in Apecchio, Italy and will soon be searched by a group called "Area" from Italy. My contact in Italy (Lorenzo Fresi) is in charge of this and is a great person. I have spoken with the lone survivor of my uncles plane (right waist gunner Joseph Christie) who resides in PA., but he really does not want to talk much about it as I feel he is still haunted by the memories and I can fully understand. I have never been able to find out the name of my uncles plane and was wondering if you could help me on this. Once the crash site is searched, any personal items will be photographed, collected and will be sent to me and I will make every effort to have them returned to the family members as I have all the names of the crew and their home towns. I will have this story released to the Associated Press so they can assist me on this. My uncle was returned to West Palm Beach, Fla. and was buried in March of 1949. I was three years old at the time and for some reason remember attending the funeral, but that is my only memory. If there is any way you or someone you know can obtain the name of my uncles plane, I would really appreciate it . The MACR listing for his plane is 1303 and the other B-17 is MACR 1304 (tail number 42-5875). The crash site for this B-17 has also been located.
Sincerely,
James M. Upton
1316 Old Chisholm Trail
Dandridge,TN 37725
E-mail----Glock57@bellsouth.net
Cell---(865) 654-7719
Jim,
Everything I have on the 414th Squadron is on my website. I am always eager to expand it.
If you know Staff Sgt. James W. Sandiford ‘s SSN or military ID number his son can try to get his service records:
I was successful getting a gold mine of records for my father-in-law.
I would be happy to put a web page dedicated to Mr Morrow if we can put together more pieces of the puzzle.
I just noted my webpage had the plane listed and it was from the 97th BG 414th Squadron:
B-17F-115-BO 42-30705 (97th BG, 414th BS) lost Nov 27, 1943. MACR 1303
The MACR list was gotten from the imbedded link maintained by the email below. He may be of some help.
Also try the links below:
http://www.accident-report.com/Crew_Names/namec_clay.html You can file a request on the MACR report. There may be a fee.
http://www.aviationarchaeology.com/src/reports.htm
I hope you get all the information you want and are successful locating the plane(s). I would be happy to put up a web page dedicated to your Uncle’s service and the story of finding his plane.
Sincerely,
Doug Cook
Dhahran, Saudi Arabia
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
11/28/07
Doug,
Greetings to you!
I have talked to Frank several times over the last few months and recorded and transcribed our conversations and taken notes. In general I tried to be as accurate as possible with this account - even though it needs more organization. I sent a copy to Frank for review a week or so ago but have not heard back from him. I think that any of this could be posted by you, but perhaps picking out a few paragraphs describing mission details s would work best for your section on Frank and Hank and the ball turret functions. Please let me know what you think.
David Shelby [david.shelby@ddlomni.com]
Hi David,
I just got back after a weeks field trip in NW Arabia near Iraq and Jordan. Great geology.
I will work on adding the material soon.
Thanks to you and Frank,
Doug Cook
Doug,
I will pass on your well wishes to Col. Tillman the next time we are in touch. Thanks so very much for adding all of the new text from Frank. I apologize that my writings have so many errors. I need to add more quotations in order to show where Frank's exact words are used, but I will concentrate for starters accuracy of the text.
Corrections below are marked in green, errors in red. I worked from top to bottom so it would be easier for you to make the changes.
Here are the corrections:
Frank would be helped out of the ball turret when the pilots determined that they (PLEASE CHANGE THEY to the) ship was out of danger.
"We didn’t fly that (PLEASE CHANGE THAT TO one) day and around noon Flak became excited and ran down to the spot where his crew normally parked their B17 and acted upset and strange. When the rest of the crews told us later that Flak’s crew was knocked down, we (PLEASE CHANGE AS IS MARKED IN GREEN) asked the other crews what time they hit the target."
Col. Tillman’s (SHOULD READ Col. Tillman) was the wingman for Doolittle when they bombed Rome.
I asked Frank if he thought about the fact that other young kids were trying to kill them and that they had to kill other young men on the opposing side. He said “We all thought about that a lot but he had decided that he did not care who he had to kill as long as he was able to return to his hometown in Asbury Park NJ.”
Correct as follows: "We all thought about that a lot, but I decided that I didn't care who I had to kill, as long as I could return to my hometown in Asbury Park, NJ".
Please strike the entire sentence about the ball turret spinning and the 20mm rounds, Frank said that this is wrong. I must have heard this incorrectly from Frank.
This prisoner said on the Jewish holiday they had no Germany because all of the stores where (PLEASE CHANGE TO were) closed.
One German on the boat said that you were never going to see the United States. We’ve got a lot of submarines out here that will sink this ship.
PLEASE CHANGE ABOVE TO THE FOLLOWING AS SHOWN HERE:
One German prisoner on the ship said "You are never going to see the United States again. We’ve got a lot of submarines out here that will sink this ship."
Frank Dancey told the story of how a little boy from a Catholic family was complaining about having to eat fish sticks every Friday night for dinner. His parents said, “We do this because Jesus died on a Friday for our sins”. “That’s true” said the boy “but he didn’t have to die EVERY Friday!”
PLEASE UPDATE ABOVE TEXT WITH FOLLOWING TEXT:
Frank Dancey told the story about what his daughter said during a Friday night dinner at home, “How come we have to eat fish sticks every Friday night for dinner?” said Cathy. Frank replied, “We do this to remember Jesus because he died on a Friday for our sins”. “That’s true,” said Cathy “but he didn’t have to die EVERY Friday!” Frank said that he told this to some nuns that he knew and they loved this story.
I am glad (and embarrased) that I found these errors, as I need to update the same info in my master file on Frank.
Cheers,
David
Doug
Thanks for taking action on these corrections when you have the time. The most important one is the removal of the turret spinning sentence.
It is most rewarding to see these images and stories from Frank and Hank on the web after getting info from these guys during the last two years. I have been passing links on to your site to friends who are interested in the Air Corps. Col. Tillman submitted a DVD, 100 scanned images, and the text I have compiled on the Col. and the completed forms to Congressman Gilcrest's (MD) office in December 2006 for the Library of Congress - Veteran's History Project and they still haven't been turned it in yet! I talked a lady at their office Friday and they are waiting for a large batch to do all at once and have college volunteers processing them and making sure the packages are correct. They said that I still need to provide a detailed video summary for the contents of the DVD but that is the first that I heard of that so I will have to get it done this week. I am ready for the Col.'s info to be posted NOW while the vets are around to see it!
Have a good week.
David
Hi Doug,
Please replace the paragraph about Flak (the dog) knowing about his downed crew with the following text:
“Talking about crazy stuff, a crew that had a tent near mine had a dog named Flak. We didn’t fly one day and around noon Flak became excited and ran down to the spot where his crew normally parked their B17 and acted upset and strange. When we heard that Flak’s crew was knocked down, we asked the other crews what time they hit the target. The time that we were told was just about the same time that Flak became upset. It was crazy that the dog knew what was happening.”
You can keep it in quotes as well as this is what Frank told me.
Col. Tillman is home from Walter Reed and doing reasonably well. My friend Tom said that his memory is in good shape! I know that he is glad to be home and I will call later today to see how he feels.
CHECK OUT THE FOLLOWING about some new vets I met this past weekend:
This past Saturday I was fortunate enough to meet and visit with several WW2 vets in a retirement home in Chantilly, Virginia. My neighbor’s uncle, Woody Jones, came ashore in a landing craft on D Day at 0625 hours. He was with the 29th Division, 116th Regiment, E Company and landed on Omaha Beach. He is 91 years young and still remembers many of his fellow soldiers with a little bit of prompting by his nephew, who had notes from one of their discussions from several years ago. It was an honor to shake his hand and spend an hour with him. I gave him some photographs that I shot at the D Day memorial in Bedford. We recorded his recollections today so that his family can eventually have a copy so that they will know his history. Woody received the Silver Star for his actions on D Day which included using a bangalore torpedo that took out a pillbox.
later
David
Hi Brandon,
I just got back from a two week holiday. Thanks for the information. I will gladly update the webpage. If you have any other photos, stories, or information on your grandfather, I will add it dedicate it to him.
Thanks,
Doug Cook
Dhahran, Saudi Arabia
From: Garretson, Brandon
[mailto:bgarretson@camber.com]
Sent: Thursday, December 20, 2007 9:01 PM
To: Cook, Douglas J.
Subject: Kan-Do #438 "crew unknown"
For what its worth, I can help you with a piece to the puzzle.
In that photo of the Kan-Do you have on your website, my grandfather is in the front row, far left.
His name was Roland Garretson, he was a waist gunner on that plane.
From what I understand, he was grounded with an illness on the day the Kan-Do made her last flight.
I suppose Sergeant Paul Fuchs was the man who volunteered to fly in my grandfathers place.
I never met my grandfather, but I think he carried a great remorse after the Kan-Do was lost, I think he regretted not being with his crew that day for the rest of his life.
Sincerely,
Brandon Roland Garretson
From:
Glock57@bellsouth.net [mailto:Glock57@bellsouth.net]
Sent: Monday, December 31, 2007 3:07 AM
To: Cook, Douglas J.
Subject: Web site on Tillman and Dancey
Importance: High
Doug,
After speaking with you via e-mail on my uncle James W. Sandiford who was shot down over Italy on 11/27/43 and my search for the remains of the aircraft, I re-read your web page and noticed at the very bottom it list a B-17 called "Ther N Bak." Yesterday I was cataloging all of my research and reading this over, and I found the following that had been sent to me back in June of 2005. When the B-17 was attacked by ME-109's, the right waist gunner and the pilot manged to parachute out before it blew up and crashed. Mr. Joseph Christie was the right waist gunner, and along with the pilot were taken P.O.W. for the duration of the war. Re-reading some of my research, found this entry on item number 108 and it reads as follows: JOSEPH CHRISTIE JR. P.O.W. 18 MONTHS. PLANE BLEW UP OVER RIMINI NOV.27,1943. "THER N BAK."
I have a picture of the crew that was taken days prior to the crash and Mr. Christie was the one who sent me the pictures along with the crew members identified in the picture. If you want a copy of the picture, send me your mailing address and I will send it to you so you update your web site for that entry.
Hope this helps you. Weather permitting according to my contact in Italy the search will start shortly----I HOPE.
Jim Upton
Hi Jim,
Thanks for the information on ‘Ther n Bak’. I would like the crew picture to include in the website. Can you scan it to a jpg file and send as an email attachment? If not, my mailing address is:
Douglas Cook
PO Box 12253
Saudi
Aramco
Dhahran,
31311
Saudi
Arabia
Cheers,
Doug Cook
Dear Crew member of Bombardier's Lounge WWII Big Band Jazz on KRML,
Carmel:
Happy New Year (1942, `43, `44 or `45).
Attached is a Desktop Image for your PC or Mac—the cockpit of a B-17G, compliments of Capt. Mike and Bombardier's Lounge WWII Big Band Jazz, with the music that helped save the World.
Desktop jpeg:
From: A. W. [mailto:pillar7@yahoo.com]
Sent: Friday, January 04, 2008 6:53 PM
To: Cook, Douglas J.
Subject: 97th Bomb Group 414 Sqdn website
Mr. Cook,
I noticed your website (below) on the 97BG/414Sqdn
operations of WWII. I enjoy finding sites such as
yours, as they bring some contemporary insight into
the locations I visit.
Please accept only one minor criticism of your site:
the photos which you identify as Gerbini are actually
the Catania airfield (Fontanarossa), which was and
remains a dual-use civ-mil facility. (You will note
the curve of the highway at the bottom of your modern
satellite photo of Catania matches the road passing
abreast of Fontanarossa in the satellite photo you
identify as Gerbini.)
Gerbini, which was actually a complex of several (up
to 12) grass fields, is further inland from the coast.
The Sigonella airfield used today by the Italian Air
Force and the U.S. Navy (under NATO) was one of the
satellite fields of the Gerbini complex. Gerbini
proper was located to the north-west of Sigonella.
Both are around 10 miles from Catania Fontanarossa.
Ciao from Catania!
http://www.reddog1944.com/Missions_Targets_Combat_Action.htm
Pillar,
Thanks for the correction,
Putting together the website was like a big puzzle with too few clews at times. Input from readers has been very helpful. I will make the change.
Cheers,
Doug Cook
Dhahran, Saudi Arabia
Jim,
Thanks for the reply. You could try to reach Tillman or Dancey through David Shelby [david.shelby@ddlomni.com]. David has been documenting their story and feeding it to me.
Cheers,
Doug Cook
From:
Glock57@bellsouth.net [mailto:Glock57@bellsouth.net]
Sent: Tuesday, January 22, 2008 1:11 AM
To: Cook, Douglas J.
Subject: RE: mail
Doug,
I did what you said to do and was able to get it. THANKS A LOT. I just wonder if Col. Tillman or Sgt. Dancey might remember my uncle and the plane as they were there in Italy during that period I think.
How could I find out?
Jim
-------------- Original message from "Cook, Douglas J." <douglas.cook@aramco.com>: --------------
Hi Jim,
Yes, I just got the envelope yesterday. I will get it scanned and on the website soon. I’m a little uncertain of the ID’s on the picture. You listed left to right with 2 unknown. Did the listing include the guy kneeling in front or is he an unknown?
Website access:
http://www.reddog1944.com/ home page
scroll down to 414th Squadron Tillman and Dancey and click that…
It takes you to this link:
http://www.reddog1944.com/414th_Squadron_Tillan_Dancey.htm
An intermediate page is for the 97th BG 414th Squadron you can get this from the home page and then to Tillman and Dancey from the index on the left.
I upload this stuff from home but it works from every computer I’ve tried here and in the US. Are you able to navigate other pages from the home page? Most have a lot of pictures to load. If you are on a slow modem, it may take a while. I’m on broadband and the pages open almost instantly.
Let me know if you get there.
Thanks,
Doug
Doug,
The one to the far right next to the open crew door is unknown, and the one kneeling is also unknown. I believe that either Mr. Christie has moved from Pa. or he is deceased. No phone number listing in Pa. for him anymore. The other crew members I identified in the letter I had attached to the picture. Anything else you need, do not hesitate to ask.
Jim Upton
Blitz W
[blitz4569@yahoo.com] Jan 27, 2008
Doug, You've done a wonderful job of the web site of the 414th. My Father was a waist gunner in 'Stinky Jr" tail# 342. My father, Harrison William Welch, flew in N. Africa from 10 Mar 43 thru 26 Aug 43, thats when he completed his 50 missions. I've attached some photos they aren't all that great but real. One photo is of his jacket patch. Please pass this info along to other interested parties.
Blitz Welch
I'm researching B-17F 42-5090, which
belonged to the 97th BG, 414 BS, I have a copy of MACR 69, I know the plane was
lost near Sicily, July 8, 1943,
T. Sgt. Andrew Poczik is a relation of mine, he was Aerial Engineer. I would like to know if there
is info pertaining to the crew & mission and what other missions this crew
flew on. Thanks in advance.
Bob Kalinak
HI DOUG
Glad that you received the CD. You
have my permission to post any of the photos on your site. I have
sent you the masters (my highest quality files) so you may need to
resample to keep the sizes down. If I can do any of that work, just email
me:
1. File names needed
2. Pixels sizes desired
3. File type desired
and I will resample and email the smaller files back to you.
Below is a short article that I submitted as per Col. Tillman's suggestion. This was printed in the Kent Island Bay Times last week (a small local Eastern Shore paper). I have not seen the printed copy yet, so I don't know what they named the article. I have attached the two photos that I submitted with the article. You can use any part of this story on your site that you want as well.
I have referred lots of people to your site and have heard rave reviews from them about it. Keep up the GREAT WORK!
My son is helping me to add some of my WWII vet friends and their stories and photos to the web. I will send you the link when I can get a bit more details uploaded.
Isn't it terrific to see two Big Ten rivals teaming up to do good historical work together?
your friend
David Shelby - PSU - BA Art - 1980!
On February 16th, Col. Hank Tillman enjoyed a visit at his home on Kent Island with David Shelby and Dave Miller, two friends from Vienna Virginia, who are documenting the Colonel’s military history. Very interesting experiences are always related by Col. Hank during these interviews. The following is a story that he told on this particular visit. “We flew from West Palm Beach, Florida to Puerto Rico, then on to British Guiana and from there to Belem Field, Brazil. Near Belem, we buzzed the Amazon River in our B17. Some surprised locals paddling below in a canoe, were waving at the plane and they capsized during their excitement. It was quite challenging to take off from the very short runway in Belem. We were briefed before our departure that it was a very touch and go take off. The officer at the base would come out and stand next to the runway and signal when the engines were revved to the proper power level, when to release your brakes, and when to put down half flaps. The landing gear had to be retracted immediately upon clearing the ground. Our B17 just cleared the treetops, and upon our arrival in Africa we found debris from those trees in the wheel wells and landing gear. To cross the Atlantic, we flew from Natal, Brazil to Dakar, North Africa. The flight took 11 hours and 45 minutes and covered 1630 miles.”
The Colonel enjoys sharing these memories with others since so many veterans never made it back to tell the stories themselves. Col. Hank sends out his sincere thanks to all and feels blessed to have his family, friends and his home care staff watching over him and helping him in so many ways. The support by so many friends on the island have been a source of strength and great inspiration for him. On Sunday February 24th a child at his church gave him a wonderful card that expressed the family’s appreciation of the Colonel’s continued attendance and service.
David Shelby (left) Col. Tillman (center) Dave Miller (right) holding framed flag that was flown in space and given to Col. Tillman when he and his wife Betty visited the NASA Space Center in Houston, Texas
Mar 16, 2008
Doug,
I am overwhelmed at the amount of excellent new text, photos and interactive links added to your site. You have done a fine job of selecting words and photos that will honor these vets, inspire others and help all of us understand more about this important part of the world's history. I have not been able to proof everything carefully yet and will do so this coming week. I understand from your note that the omitted letter in the Tillman links will be very hard to correct.
I will plan on trying to get the full image of Col. T's letter home after being wounded as that is a very interesting part of his story. You do have a place in an index listing in a box on the left side of a page that shows blue highlighted text that says LINKS but the box is clipping it so it can not be selected.
I am still trying to assist Congressman Gilchrest's office in submitting Col. Tillman's Library of Congress - Veteran's History Project information that I gave them in December of 2006! I don't know when that will be complete or accessable to researchers so it is terrific that you have posted all of this powerful info NOW so that others can enjoy it. Thanks again for your wonderful tribute to our veterans. You have accomplished something that you can be proud of.
I will continue to forward your links to others that are interested in this collection of history.
Your friend,
David Shelby
Mar 17, 2008
Good evening Doug,
Earlier this afternoon I found the comments of the replacement gunner's grandson on your website and have emailed him, hoping that he will call or email me so that we can talk.
Here's my message:
Brandon,
It was quite interesting to read your comments relating to your Grandfather on Doug's website this morning as I have been researching and meeting various vets from the 97th for the past few years. I have a great respect for all of these men and the service that they provided our country. It must have truly been a terrible thing to lose the rest of your crew as your grandfather did on that day. I just can't imagine the pain and confusion of wondering why things played out that way. During several discussions with Col. Tillman, who became your Grandfather's pilot, and Frank Dancey, the ball turret gunner on the same crew, I have come to learn that there were many strange twists of fate that took lives during the war, and that you never knew when your number would be called.
I am so grateful to Doug for posting all of the history and I would like to talk to you about your grandfather's service at some time in the near future if you are willing.
David Shelby
Have a great week.
Gerhard,
I just got back to my desk from a trip to the States. Thanks for the corrections. I will make the changes.
As I wrote before, I requested permission from Life on the putting up the article but never got a reply. I will take it down if they protest.
Thanks again,
Doug Cook
From: Gerhard Winkler
[mailto:e.g.winkler@schule.at]
Sent: Tuesday, April 08, 2008 9:39 PM
To: Cook, Douglas J.
Subject: your website
Dear Doug,
just stumbled across the new part of your website.
Great photographs, especially those with the VIPs.
Thank you for including Feldkirch.
May I point out, that your sources misled you in two points, which however can easily be corrected:
1) The primary target on 10/1/43 was not “Rusberg” but “Augsburg” in Germany (the fault lies with the typewriter, then used to write the lists of targets).
2) Google led you to another “Feldkirch” I did not even know until now.
The correct place is Feldkirch in Austria. I enclose another view from Google Earth (the river across the background is the Rhine again – forming the border to Switzerland, in the background too is Lake Constance / Bodensee)
How could you convince LIFE to allow publication and what did they write you?
Do you plan to put more pictures of 97th BG on the net (airplanes, crews, bases in Northern Africa)?
If you are still in contact with the old folks, please do ask them, if they have a strike photograph from 10/1/1943, what ever the name of the target is.
All the best
Gerhard
From: Steven Nelson
[mailto:steveo05196@yahoo.com]
Sent: Wednesday, April 09, 2008 6:11 PM
To: Cook, Douglas J.
Subject: my grandfather
I’m researching my grandfather and say your webpage. He was in the 414th he flew in 42-30436 which you do have listed on your website.I was wondering if you had any further information about his aircraft, crew, or anything else. I would appreciate anything. I’m in army aviation also. i crewed apache helicopters for 4 years and now I maintain Chinooks.
Thank you.
Steve,
Thanks for writing. I have posted all the information I have and am always looking for more.
If you know your grandfather’s SSN or military ID number you can try to get his service records:
I was successful getting a gold mine of records for my father-in-law.
I note that the plane was B-17F-105-BO 42-30436 (97th BG, 414th BS) lost Apr 3, 1944. MACR 3962. Was your grandfather on the plane when lost?
For a fee you can get the MACR report:
http://www.accident-report.com/prices.html
I would be happy put up a section dedicated to him if you can put his story together.
Regards,
Doug Cook
Dhahran
Saudi Arabia
From: Mark Arsenault
[mailto:mark0079@comcast.net]
Sent: Sunday, April 27, 2008 6:35 PM
To: Cook, Douglas J.
Subject: 414th squadron
Hi Doug,
I believe that my grandmother's brother, Anthony P. Hajkowski, was in the 414th during the war. His B-17 went missing on Oct. 14, 1943, and he was never found.
I'm interested in learning more about the squad.
Do you know what model B-17 the 414th flew at the time?
Are there other resources you could guide me to?
-Mark Arsenault
Easton, Mass.
Mark,
Thanks for writing. I have posted virtually everything I have on the 414th BS. My webpages, much of which I credit to other contributors, do not list a mission objective for that date.
http://reddog1944.com/Missions_Targets_Combat_Action.htm
However, the planes and crews site does list a plane downed on that date:
http://reddog1944.com/414th_Squadron_Planes_and_Crews.htm
B-17F-105-BO 42-30438 (97th BG, 414th BS) lost Oct 14, 1943. MACR 973 (B-17 F Model 105 Boeing)
If you know your grandmother's brother’s SSN or military ID number you can try to get his service records:
I was successful getting a gold mine of records for my father-in-law.
For a fee you can get the MACR Missing Air Crew Report) report:
http://www.accident-report.com/prices.html
or
http://www.airforcehistory.hq.af.mil/faq/MACR.htm
I would be happy put up a section dedicated to him if you can put his story together.
Regards,
Doug Cook
Dhahran
Saudi Arabia
From: David Shelby
[mailto:david.shelby@ddlomni.com]
Sent: Monday, April 28, 2008 4:11 PM
To: Cook, Douglas J.
Subject: FW: Kan Do info
Importance: High
Hi Doug,
I had a nice talk yesterday with Mark Arsenault, who's Great Uncle was lost on the Kan Do. I have included my response to him (see below). It is wonderful to be able to help him out relating to his interests in the 97th etc. I am not sure what anecdote you were referring to from Col. Tillman during your last email and can't find it so far on your site.
My wife Allison and I attended a tribute to Col. T at his church yesterday which was very nice. They could not get his White House speech converted to DVD from VHS in time to show on a big screen so he spoke for 20 minutes! about his memories, mainly honoring those veterans that have fallen that he knew. Col. Hank told me that you had called him from Saudi and was very excited about that. I am glad that you talked and know that it must have meant a great deal to you as well.
I will send more pics from the Col.'s tribute as time permits.
From: David Shelby
Sent: Monday, April 28, 2008 8:23 AM
To: Mark Arsenault (mark0079@comcast.net)
Subject: Kan Do info
Importance: High
Mark,
It was a great pleasure talking with you last night about your Great Uncle and your interest in the Kan Do and the 97th Bomb Group. This photo is owned by Col. Tillman and he may remember where he originally got it. I have attached the highest quality cleaned up image I have of the Kan Do photo and the original that I shot at Col. Tillman's home. The next time I visit with him I can bring a better camera and get you a higher quality version. I don't remember if I looked on the back to see if there were any notes or markings. The other attached image I sent is the details from the B17 book called "The B17 Flying Fortress Story" which lists B17's and where they were first shipped from etc. The text "w/Walker" follows the date of the loss of the plane so that may have the pilot's name when the crash occured.
I am sure that Col. Tillman and Frank Dancey will be glad to talk to you in relation to this. It will not be easy for them since they lost their great friend Paul Fuchs in the same crash. Please email me your Great Uncle's name so that I can keep it with my collected information. Also, remember that many different crews may have flown the "Kan Do" even though it only was in action from August 1, 1943 until October 14th. If you can be certain of the identity of your Great Uncle in this photo then this may well be the entire crew, with the possible exception that Paul Fuchs could be in this photo or it may be the gunner who was sick and couldn't fly the day of the crash. You can ask Col. Tillman if Paul is in the photo as he would probably recognize him. I am fairly certain that the gunner from the Kan Do that was replaced by Paul, has passed away as Col. Hank and Frank have told me that they are the last two men still living from their crew.
If you find any another info relating to the 414th or the Kan Do etc. please let me know. Doug Cook will probably add more details on his site to tell the story of that ship and your Great Uncle if you can give him the text or any additional photos, diary pages etc.
I will call Frank today and let him know that you may call this week to prepare him for your call and since I want to tell him about Col. Tillman's tribute by his church that was held yesterday.
Mark,
From the data that David Shelby sent:
This lists the Bases the ship was stationed. Pont-du-Fahs and Depienne are in Tunisia where my father-in-law was stationed in 414th.
I am doing some more research:
http://www.milhist.net/usaaf/mto43b.html
THURSDAY, 14 OCTOBER 1943
MEDITERRANEAN (Twelfth Air Force):
In Italy, XII Bomber Command B-25's hit Argos Airfield and B-17's bomb the
Terni marshalling yard. Other B-17's and B-24's attack a bridge at Giulianova,
the town area of Piano-Vomano and railroad and highway bridges N of Pescara and
along the E coast of Italy. Weather hinders tactical aircraft operations, butthe XII Air Support Command and RAF DAF hit trains and vehicles and fly patrolsfrom N of the Volturno River to Formia and N of Pescara.
HQ 31st Fighter Group and it's 308th and 309th Fighter Squadrons transferfrom Montecorvino to Pomigliano, Italy with Spitfires.
The 5th Photographic Squadron (Light), Twelfth Air Force, based at La Marsa,Tunisia with F-5's transfers operations from Pontecagnano to Pomigliano, Italy.
The 111th Reconnaissance Squadron (Fighter), 68th Reconnaissance Group,
ceases operating from Capaccio and returns to it's base at Pomigliano, Italy
with P-51's.The 525th Fighter-Bomber Squadron, 86th Fighter-Bomber Group, transfers from
Sele Airfield to Serretella Airfield, Italy with A-36's.
SATURDAY, 10 JUNE 1944
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Fifteenth Air Force):
550+ B-17s and B-24s attack targets in Italy; B-17s hit a marshalling yard
at Mestre and oil storage and marshalling yard at Porto Marghera; B-24s hit oil
refinery at Trieste, air depot at Ferrara and the town of Ancona. P-51s and
P-38s fly escort, and in Rumania, strafe targets of opportunity between
Bucharest and the Danube River and S of Craiova, and dive-bomb an oil refinery
at Ploesti.WEDNESDAY, 17 MAY 1944
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Fifteenth Air Force):
450+ bombers hit targets in Italy and Yugoslavia; the B-17s bomb the
marshalling yard at Ancona, Italy and troop concentrations at Bihac,
Yugoslavia; the B-24s bomb the port areas at San Stefano al Mare, Piombino,Portoferraio and Orbetello, Italy; P-38s strafe airfields at Ghedi, Villafranca
di Verona, Modena, Forli and Reggio Emilia, Italy while other fighters fly 130+sorties of escort duty.
The RR marshalling yards as bombing target can be seen in this closer image of Ancona below at center. It seems that the weather did not permit successfully dropping their bombs so it did not count as a combat mission even though they obviously did encounter resistance. The ‘Kan Do’ must be lying nearby offshore.
Thats it for now.
Cheers,
Doug Cook
From: Allison Lukenich [mailto:allukeni@hacc.edu]
Sent: Wednesday, May 21, 2008 7:03 PM
To: Cook, Douglas J.
Subject: Reddog1944
Hi Doug,
My name is Allison and Frank Dancey is my PopPop. John is my dad. Your site is great and we often don't have time to sit and learn about these things that he did in the war. The information was great and I can picture PopPop retelling his stories. I think I have always been reluctant to ask him questions about it because I know it was a rough time for all the soldiers so it was nice to read your interview.
Thank you for getting this up and running. It is greatly appreciated and
admired.
Sincerely,
Allison (Dancey) Lukenich
Hi Allison,
Thanks for writing. I have enjoyed putting the website together to honor the heroes in our families. I have especially appreciated the submissions from Frank Dancey. I believe David Shelby submitted a picture with you and Frank at the Smithsonian. We had a special visit there with my father-in-law Col. Bill Ross (414th BS same time as Frank) just before he passed on.
Regards,
Doug Cook
Dhahran, Saudi Arabia
6/20/08
Gentlemen,
I got the missing crew report for the Kan-Do from the National Archives. There's not a lot of info, but all the crewmen are named, including my great uncle, Anthony Hajkowski. There's also a crude map that shows their last known position. I have attached scans.
My great aunt confirms that her brother is in the Kan-Do photo, front row, third from left.
Very best
Mark Arsenault
Editor’s Notes: Tillman and Dancey files fix links on Kan Do to Dancey’s Log ref and the More on Kan Do ref
414th Planes and Crews add Kan Do MACR
Pilot Laird K. Walker 1ST Lt
Copilot Leo L. Magee 2nd Lt
Bombardier John R. Shores 2nd Lt
Navigator Daniel Ulrich 2nd Lt
Aerial Engineer Paul H. Fuchs T/Sgt
Radio Operator Anthony P. Hajkowski T/Sgt
Ball Turret Gunner John H. Carruthers S/Sgt
Right Waist Gunner Wayne E.Herrick S/Sgt
Tail Gunner Norman K. Mathews S/Sgt
Left Waist Gunner John S. Michalik S/Sgt
From: Vintage Boating
Life [mailto:boats@vintageboatinglife.com]
Sent: Tuesday, October 07, 2008 11:42 PM
To: Cook, Douglas J.
Subject: Stinky Jr. B-17 WWII
Doug,
I happened across your web site as related to the B-17F, "Stinky Jr." during WWII.
My father was the pilot of that B-17. He is now 89 years old and lives in Nashville, TN and his name is Cooper M. Schley. His co-pilot was Lee Wood who is also still alive. If you would like more information about him or would like to contact him, please let me know... I'm sure he would be delighted to talk with you...
Sincerely,
Tom Schley (pronounced as "Sly")
From: HCarr46981@aol.com
[mailto:HCarr46981@aol.com]
Sent: Wednesday, December 10, 2008 10:16 AM
To: Cook, Douglas J.
Subject: Looking for info on my father member of the 414th Bomb Squadron
My father, SMSGT (RET) USAF Harry J. Carroll (Deceased Jan 3, 2006) was a waist gunner and was one of two survivors of Aircraft # 42-5147, MACR 720, Shot down on the 8th of Sept 1943 over Frasotti Italy.
I was doing some research and found this was the only aircraft downed on that mission of 131 aircraft.
I don't think my father knew that fact as he never made mention of it. He spent 18 months in Stalag 17B. I think there were 3 survivors. My father said he and the tail gunner were the only one to get out, but there are only seven names on the list of crew members from a 1986 97th bomb group reunion paper I have. I would like any pictures of my fathers plane before that terrible day they were shot down. I would also like any contact names for patches and memorabilia.
Thank You
Harry Jay Carroll
MSGT (Retired) USAF
Harry,
Thanks for writing. I have posted all that I have on the 97th BG 414th BS. I do get and post submissions from vets and families of vets. I am going to suggest some research options and would love some feedback if you get any farther.
Try the link below, register and go the 97th BG forum and post the questions you posed to me:
A pay site with MACR reports:
http://www.accident-report.com/prices.html
You may be able to get your grandfather’s military service record from:
I filled out their form (SSN and/or service record number required) and got my father-in-law's service record.
If you are able to gather enough information for a story and want to share photos, I would be glad to post it on the website.
Good luck! Keep in touch
From: Bruce Womack
[mailto:rockeyecrm@eoni.com]
Sent: Saturday, January 03, 2009 2:16 AM
To: Cook, Douglas J.
Subject: B-17 Ther-N-Bak
#223
Your site is fantastic!! My father was Sgt Raymond M Womack, 97th Bomb Group, 414th Squadron, Flight Engineer on B-17 # 223 Ther-N-Bak. He arrived with the 414th in Jan 1943 and was grounded with 50 missions in July same year. One of the photos on your site labeled Rollout for takeoff… shows the Ther-N-Bak. I can tell from the nose art. I have some great photos of B-17 # 223, several views of the bomber and crew. Also a shot after the plane made an emergency landing, bullet holes in the wind screen. I also have an original copy of his mission list which matches exactly with your list of mission flown by the 414th. <<<<<<Bruce>>>>>>>
From: Bruce Womack
[mailto:rockeyecrm@eoni.com]
Sent: Monday, January 05, 2009 11:35 PM
To: Cook, Douglas J.
Subject: RE: B-17 Ther-N-Bak
#223
The disk is sounding better all the time. Send me an address and I will burn a disk a snail mail it. How much stuff do you want? I have shots of what have to be the 414th camp, people digging fox holes and slit trenches, people (the crew) in a slit trench, individual crew members standing next to their gun positions, etc. I think I mentioned this, but I also have the original of his “Individual Record Combat Crew Member, Operational Time, and Awards”. This document as well as the letter that I think I sent you indicate that he was put in for the DFC, but his discharge records only refer to the Air Medal with nine oak leaf clusters, Middle Eastern Campaign and Good Conduct Medal. I wonder if it would be possible to get him the DFC after the fact, so to speak. You mentioned a separate page, what would that involve? I think there is enough stuff. Based on your email address, you are probably a busy person, so let me know if this gets to be too much. <<<<<Bruce>>>>>
Hi Bruce,
This is great stuff. I have the letter, two crew photos, the bullet hole, and plane being towed.
I will post anything you think is worthy. I have lots of space on my web site. The time is my hobby time on the weekends. If you send a disk, please include a word doc with the file names and captions. Contributions from vets and their families have helped the website become a resource for others.
I don’t know what the possibility is of getting the DFC posthumously. You might try the link below, register and go the 97th BG forum and post the question you posed to me:
Regards,
Doug
Cook
From: Guy York
[mailto:guy@omnimassage.com]
Sent: Wednesday, February 04, 2009 11:16 PM
To: Cook, Douglas J.
Subject:
Hello Doug
I am looking for information on 2 LT Paul (Pete) Slaten my Great Uncle
Reported KIA July 6th 1943
414th Squadron 97th BG
B-17 # 42-301212
I have searched your site with no luck as yet (great
site)
Can you help?
Guy W. York
2301 E. 2nd Street
Odessa, TX 79761
432-334-4900
Guy,
Thanks for writing. I
have posted all that I have on the 97th BG 414th BS. I do
get and post submissions from vets and families of vets. I am going to
suggest some research options and would love some feedback if you get any
farther.
Try the link below, register
and go the 97th BG forum and post the questions you posed to me:
A pay site with MACR
reports:
http://www.accident-report.com/prices.html
You may be able to get your
grandfather’s military service record from:
I filled out their form (SSN
and/or service record number required) and got my father-in-law's service
record.
If you are able to gather
enough information for a story, I would be glad to post it on the website.
Good luck! Keep in
touch
Doug Cook
From: Guy York
[guy@omnimassage.com]
Sent: Monday, February 09, 2009 11:33 PM
To: Cook, Douglas J.
Subject: Re: RE:Pete Slaten
Hello Doug,
Thanks again for your help.
Attached is the accident report for the crash on 6
July 1943. The details listed are very limited but a full crew list is here. I
am wondering if you might post the report to your site. It could possibly help
others who are searching for information and it might also bring some
information our on my uncle, Lt. Paul B. Slaten.
I read an account on you site of another 17
"ground looping" into fuel barrels along the runway due to a 20 MPH
crosswind. They were lucky and walked away where as the entire crew of 16152
was killed.
Kind Regards,
Guy
W. York
2301 E. 2nd Street
Odessa, TX 79761
432-334-4900
From: aeromiltec [aeromiltec@bluewin.ch]
Sent: Sunday, February 15, 2009 9:39 AM
To: Cook, Douglas J.
Subject: 97BG at Ploesti
|
Hi
Doug I
am HALPRO, TW and Rumania bombings historian and worked many
years on my book which is going to be ready by end of this year. I have the MACRs on most of
the Rumania losses of 97BG Is
there any way you could assist me with material on the aircraft and crew losses of yourBG towards my book ? Best
Regards Alex
Kandel CEO |
Alex,
Thanks
for writing. I am very interested in your research endeavor.
However, all of the information I have is posted on my website. I would
be glad to provide digital copies of anything you need since the copy option
from the pages is disabled.
The best
source of information may be a book on the 97th BG titled 'Venit
Hora'. Unfortunately, I have not been able to
locate a copy. I learned about it from this site:
97th BG Forum:
http://forum.armyairforces.com/97th-BG-f78.aspx
Note there are recent referces
to Romania. You can register and post queries. I would be very
interested to add to my website with information you have uncovered.
Regards,
Doug Cook
Dhahran, Saudi
Arabia
Alex,
I just
found this:
The 97th Bombardment
Group History Book Venit Hora, Available for $65,
including shipping in the USA, from: 97th Bomb Group History c/o Louis Barwick 2311 N.W. 63rd Terrace Sunrise, FL 33313.
Doug
From: Scuba268@aol.com
[mailto:Scuba268@aol.com]
Sent: Friday, March 27, 2009 2:53 AM
To: Cook, Douglas J.
Subject: Question
My father was a tail gunner from 1941-1945. Do you know of anyway I can find out what plane he was assigned to ? Or do you know any way I can find out any kind of information ? He is now 91 and ahlzimers.
I am trying to gather any kind of information that I can. He still talks
about some of his missions and gets sort of excited. I am trying to do anything
I can to keep his mind working. His most famous story is either about bombing
Berlin on Christmas or the fact that he was the only survivor of a mid air
collision between 2 B-17's. If you can offer any help
or tell me where to look, I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you.
From: Upchurch, Marty [mailto:Marty_Upchurch@efiglobal.com]
Sent: Tuesday, March 31, 2009 9:46 PM
To: Cook, Douglas J.
Subject: Photo of Ther-N-Bak
Hi again,
On your website for the 97th BG 414th BS, you have
several photos of the plane Ther-N-Bak. I was wondering
if you would be willing to send me a copy of one of the photos. I am a member of the 99th BGHS and am trying
to help gather documents and photos for the group, and we do not have any
photos of this plane. It would be
greatly appreciated if you could provide a copy for our archives. The photo would not be passed on to anyone
without your prior permission.
Sincerely,
Marty Upchurch
Nephew of Fred Eulert, 347th BS, 99th BG, KIA April 2, 1944 & Nephew
of Lloyd Upchurch, 775th BS, 463rd BG, KIA June 10, 1944
Marty,
I have attached photos of Ther-N-Bak for you.
Thanks for writing.
Regards,
Doug Cook
From: Upchurch, Marty [mailto:Marty_Upchurch@efiglobal.com]
Sent: Tuesday, March 31, 2009 5:57 PM
To: Cook, Douglas J.
Subject: Possible 97th BG 414th BS member Carl Edwin
Jennings
Doug,
There is a post on Armyairforces.com by a man who is
trying to find any info he can on his father who is dying. Some of the info he has is that his dad was a
tail gunner in B-17s, and was supposedly a sole survivor of a mid-air collision
between two B-17s. Something he has
indicates that his dad may have been in the 414th BS. If you have any info he would greatly
appreciate it as soon as possible. It
sounds like his dad will be passing any time now. The link to the posted message is below:
http://forum.armyairforces.com/tm.aspx?high=&m=169805&mpage=1#169880
By the way, you have an awesome site on the
97th/414th.
Marty
From: Paul Duff
[mailto:airborneyellow@hotmail.com]
Sent: Thursday, April 02, 2009 11:32 AM
To: Cook, Douglas J.
Subject: Your 97th BG website
Hi Doug
Nice site with some great photos!
One small point. On this page:
http://www.reddog1944.com/Missions_Targets_Combat_Action.htm
a little way down from the top, you have a photo of Churchill at an air mission
briefing in a tent in Algeria. Though the person next to him is labelled as Alan Brooke in the enlarged extract, in fact
it's Anthony Eden (British Foreign Secretary thoughout the war, later Prime Minister) who
accompanied Churchill throughout the Tehran conference & this trip.
However, I'm almost sure that Brooke is also in the photo - sitting on the end
of the bench third to the left of Churchill, with his chin in his hand.
Just thought you might be interested
Cheers
Paul
UK
Paul,
I just got back in country. Thanks for the
correction. There is a strong resemblance between Eden and Brooke
but I will agree that Eden’s eyebrows are a good clue. I will redocument the photo with three British
VIP’s! This photo was in my father-in-law’s photo album
undocumented. I don’t know who took the photo. Have you seen it
published anywhere?
Regards,
Doug Cook
From: Guy York
[mailto:guy@omnimassage.com]
Sent: Saturday, June 27, 2009 3:29 PM
To: Cook, Douglas J.
Subject: Re: RE:Pete Slaten
Hello Doug,
Just wanted to give you an update...I still plan on
putting together the information on Pete for your web site but I have gotten
distracted the last couple of months. (see attached
photos)
I built a B-17 Waist Gunner Simulator complete with
.50 cal machine gun that shoots paintballs. Our first outing is on the 4th of
July...we will set up the Simulator and our targets on a baseball field in Fort
Stockton, TX...Am very anxious to see how the public likes it.
Best Regards
Guy
From: John Myshrall [mailto:myshrallbayou@hotmail.com]
Sent: Sunday, August 02, 2009 3:17 AM
To: Cook, Douglas J.
Subject: 414th BS, 97th BG
Hello Doug:
My name is John Myshrall, I recently visited your website. Thank you for sharing so
much information, I'm sure your family is grateful for how you have honored
your father. I wish I had started much earlier in my search for my father's
military information. He is age 89 now and remembers so very little. I have
been researching for several months now and still have a long way to go. I hope
to build a website soon to honor my dad as you did yours. If your father is
still living I hope he is in good health.
My father, Joseph R. "Rod" Myshrall, served
with your father in the 97th BG. He arrived in England in Jun 1942, but didn't
begin missions until 1943. He was stationed in N.Africa
fom 1 Jan - 13 Sep 1943. He was in the 341st BS, tail
gunner on the "Thunderbird" (41-24437). My father's combat mission
record indicates that he
flew with th 414th at least once on 4 Apr 1943, Naples, Italy. I don't know if
it was with your father or not. He was a big fan of the pilot's so I'm sure
they must have rubbed elbows at some time or another. My childhood was filled
with stories of the pilots he served with.
I was wondering if you have any records regarding the flight I mentioned above.
Also, do you have any info on a plane known as the "Flying Patch"
that flew with the 97th (I assume in the 341st) during this time? We believe
this may have been the plane my father flew his first 24 missions on, his last 26 were flown on the "Thunderbird".
He has asked me to try and find pictures of them both and I have been
unsuccessful to date.
Well, thanks for reading my ramblings. I hope to hear back from you.
John Myshrall (a proud son)
4107 Glenview Ct
Columbia, MO 65202
John,
You might try the link below, register and go the 97th BG
forum and post the question you posed to me:
Good hunting!
Regards,
Doug Cook
From: Bridges, Tyler
[mailto:tbridges@mcclatchydc.com]
Sent: Thursday, October 15, 2009 12:24 AM
To: Cook, Douglas J.
Subject: FW: Oudna Air Base
Hi
Doug:
Still hoping to hear back from you.
Best,
Tyler
From: Bridges, Tyler
Sent: Wednesday, July 01, 2009 3:33 PM
To: 'douglas.cook@aramco.com'
Subject: Oudna Air Base
Hi Doug:
I got your name from a web page on the 97th Bomb
Group.
I am conducting the research for a book on what
happened to the Fascinatin' Witch and its crew. The
plane (which belonged to the 44th Bomb Group, 66th Squadron) was a B-24 shot
down just after bombing Wiener Neustadt, Austria, on
October 1, 1943. The pilot was my father, Richard W. Bridges.
The Fascinatin'
Witch took off that day from Oudna. I'm trying
to recreate what life was like during the two weeks that the 44th Bomb Group
spent there. Have you come across anyone writing about what life was like there?
Is the base still there?
Thanks,
Tyler Bridges
Hi Tyler,
I thought I had answered your email.
I am sorry to say that I can be of little help to you directly. All
the information I have is posted on my websites. I don’t have
anything about that bomb group. However
You might try the link below, register and go the 97th BG forum and
post the question you posed to me:
If you know your father's
SSN or military ID number you can try to get his service records:
I was successful getting a gold mine of records for my
father-in-law.
Although not of the same bomb group, this
diary may help you with the story of what life was like for a bomber pilot in
N. Africa:
http://www.reddog1944.com/War%20diary%20of%20Will%20S%20Arnett.htm
(not Oudna but you get the idea) Camp life in
Tunisia:
http://www.reddog1944.com/Camp_Photos_Tunisia.htm
Life off base on R&R:
http://www.reddog1944.com/R&R_Tunisia.htm
Regards,
Doug Cook
From: CHRIS TABERY
[mailto:christabery@verizon.net]
Sent: Saturday, December 12, 2009 10:47 PM
To: Cook, Douglas J.
Subject: hello
I have been reading my fathers diary from his 50 missions he flew on B17's will 97th Bomb group, 414th. Each mission is detailed. One entry is July 9th, 1943 concerning Ther N Bak. He mentions last seeing it with 12 Nazi fighters on it, at 20,000 feet in steep glide. That night he says "there were two empty beds in our tent". Names he mentions are Andy Poczak, Hester, Worfson, Kutchuk, and the "others". Do you have knowledge of their fate? These names do not fit what I find on your website.
Thanks for any info.
Chris Tabery
Hemet, Ca.
Chris,
I am very interested in your father’s
diary. Could you scan it and send it to
me? I would love to dedicate a web page
to your father and include the diary and any other material you would want to
share: bio, photos, anecdotes. All credit would be given to you and your
father. This is how my website has grown
from just material from my family to now include many other vets stories. It is by no means a complete resource.
To answer you specific question- all that I
have is posted.
You might try the link below, register and go the 97th BG forum and
post the question you posed to me:
Another possible source would be to get a
copy of this book:
The 97th Bombardment Group History Book Venit Hora, Available for $65, including shipping in
the USA, from: 97th Bomb Group History c/o Louis Barwick
2311 N.W. 63rd Terrace Sunrise, FL 33313. 954-742-6646
Regards,
Doug Cook
Hello Doug,
I found your web site while looking for any information I can find on my late
father, Victor M. Thompson, who served in WWII. My dad was a radioman aboard
the B17, but my brother tells me at times he was the bombardier.His
plane was called the "Kwitcherbitchen", not
totally sure of the spelling.I am wondering if there
was more than one B17 with that name and spelled differently? We did find a
picture with the crew of a B17 with that name and bought it on Ebay but we didn't recognize our father as being in the
picture. I do remember him talking about Italy and Africa. Do you know how I
can find out which squadron my father belonged to?
Any help you could give me would be appreciated.
Thanks
Deb
From: CHRIS TABERY
[mailto:christabery@verizon.net]
Sent: Sunday, December 13, 2009 6:55 PM
To: Cook, Douglas J.
Subject: Re: hello
Thanks, Doug. I will work on it. It is a lot, but may interface with some one else's stories. Perhaps I will just send the highlights. I had the privilege of flying in the B17 a few years ago. What a thrill and emotional to get a small glimpse of the toughness those men had to survive 50 missions! Of course, many did not. It makes one realize how close we were to NOT being born. I am the one in the red shirt. Thanks for the information.
Hi again Chris. I am thrilled that you may be willing to
contribute to the growing website to honor our fathers. You may have gathered that it was my
father-in-law in the 97th BG 414th squadron. I looked for Tabery
and the others on the officer’s roster I have.
What was your father’s name and what crew position did he have?
My father was in the same theater
(Mediterranean) as a B-25 pilot.
http://www.reddog1944.com/487th%20Squadron%20Index.htm
He did not talk much about the war but he
survived 70 missions. They upped it from 25 to 50 to 70 (after which you were
deemed mentally unfit for combat) while he was there. The book Catch-22 was written by a man in my
father’s bomb group. He came out as a
Captain and wing leader. He saw men
under his command get shot down on almost every mission. He was there almost to the day when the
Germans surrendered from Italy. I wish
to fly in a B-25 or B-17 some day. I have an open invitation but the logistics
of my living in Saudi Arabia make it difficult.
Regards,
Doug Cook
From: CHRIS TABERY
[mailto:christabery@verizon.net]
Sent: Monday, December 14, 2009 7:59 PM
To: Cook, Douglas J.
Subject: Re: hello
My father was Earl M. Hansen T-sgt . He was a radio operator and waist gunner. He wrote a book of his 50 missions and other lively experiences while in North Africa. it actually is very humorous at times and the family thinks it would make a great movie. He has been gone 5 years now and I wish I had asked him more questions. His 50 missions are from 5-13-43 thru 12-14-43. Each entry has the plane number, not necessarily the name. Is there a list of plane numbers with their names some where? Also, his brother was shot down over Germany Nov 25, 1944. He was seen alive on the crowd, but later found with a bullet in his back. He was 19 and a Second Lt./navigator in the 8th airforce. I would love to find the name of his plane or crew. Any ideas on that? His name was Ray (or Raymond) Arthur Hansen. Thanks for your interest. I wonder if your wife's father knew mine. That would be something.
Hi Chris,
I can offer no more information but
condolences on your father and uncle.
The forum I previously mentioned may be your best source of
information. The ‘Venit
Hora’ book (wish I had a copy) may be able to match
up planes and their fate.
If you know your uncle Arthur Hansen’s SSN or military ID number try to get his service records:
I was successful getting a gold mine of records for my father-in-law.
Regards,
Doug Cook
From: Deb O'Hara
[mailto:debby.ohara@gmail.com]
Sent: Thursday, January 07, 2010 6:41 AM
To: Cook, Douglas J.
Subject: Re: looking for information
Hello
Doug,
I still have to take a look at all your links but I thought I would let you
know that I found the son of one of the other crewmen from my dad's B-17 online
on a forum, and he had actually posted a photo that included my dad!!
It was the 97th BG. 342nd Squdron. His pilot was Nick
Kantar, though there were missions with different pilots at times I am finding
out. The missing piece to the puzzle is the that my dad always talked about his
B-17 being named the Kwiturbitchin, and now I find
there were many B-17s by that name and the son of the crewman I found said his
dad never mentioned that name to him?? I have found some pictures online of a
B-17 by that name but it's says it's from the 414th.....could they have
borrowed a plane from the 342nd to run a mission?
Thanks again
Deb
---------------------------------------------------------
Hi Deb,
I don’t by any means have an exhaustive
list of planes from the 97th BG. The trail can be somewhat
confusing. Yes, the crews did mix and match crew members and planes. A
given crew may have trained together on one plane and then flew it over to
Africa as their plane. Once the action really started the mix and match
was inevitable. Yes there can be several planes with the same informal name.
The only way to uniquely ID a plane is by its serial number. I have also
an example of a plane going from the 414th BS to another squadron
but keeping the same name.
Regards,
Doug Cook
From: Scott Wolf
[mailto:wobblybootipa@yahoo.com]
Sent: Thursday, January 07, 2010 7:23 AM
To: Cook, Douglas J.
Subject: WW 2
|
My father was Lt. Raymond C. Wolf, Bombadier 97th 414 Air Medal, 3 Purple Hearts, and Dist Flying
Cross for this mission over Hungary... jettisoned all bombs but one and
threaded the needle. I have priceless photos, negs
and artifacts. (The commander spelled our name wrong in the photo>) |
Scott,
Thanks for writing. That’s a great
bomb run photo. Would you like to contribute so that I can make web pages
dedicated to your father?
Photos with captions;
bio; anecdotes; awards; citations; etc.
Regards,
Doug Cook
From: Herzig,
Jürg [mailto:Juerg.Herzig@sisclear.com]
Sent: Wednesday, January 20, 2010 10:42 AM
To: Cook, Douglas J.
Subject: FW: B-17 crash Feb. 27, 1945 in Trimbach
Switzerland - 15th Air Force, 97th Bomb Group, 414th Squadron
Importance: High
Dear Sir
My name is Juerg Herzig, I am Swiss and researching the crash of a B-17 of the 15th Air Force, 97th Bomb Group, 414th Squadron, near my hometown. The B-17 call sign Mickey 4 crashed on Feb 27, 1945 in Trimbach, Switzerland after the crew bailed out. The plane was part of a bombing raid of Augsburg/Germany.
I have the missing aircrew report but I am looking for a photo showing the plane Mickey or even one of the crew or crew members. The crew was:
Pilot:
George, L. Albin, Maj -
became a P.O.W
Copilot: John B. Campbell, Maj -
became a P.O.W
Navigator: Billy F. Bolton, Cpt -
became a P.O.W
Navigator: Alvin F. Smith, 1st Lt - became a P.O.W
Bombardier: Robert M. Martin, 1st Lt - became a P.O.W
Engineer: Paul E. Culley, S/Sgt - became a P.O.W
Radio: Harold C. Isaacson, S/Sgt - became a P.O.W
Waist Gunner: William D. Beavers, Jr., S/Sgt - became a P.O.W
Waist Gunner: Roy Zermeno, S/Sgt - became a P.O.W
Tail Gunner: Richard L. Adkins, S/Sgt – whereabouts unknown
Any help is appreciated. I also have photos of the crashed Mickey 4 B-17. Please reply soon.
Cordial Greetings
Juerg Herzig
St. Laurentiusstrasse 12
CH-4613 Rickenbach
Switzerland
Tel: ++41-62-216-03-86
E-Mail: outlaws@bluewin.ch
Juerg,
Thank you for writing. All that I have on the 97th BG 414th BS is online but I am always looking for more. You have given me more information than I can give you. However, I can suggest some reserach tools:
You might try the link below, register and go the 97th BG forum and post the question you posed to me:
Another possible source would be to get a copy of this book:
The 97th Bombardment Group History Book Venit
Hora, Available
for $65, including shipping in the USA, from: 97th Bomb Group History c/o Louis
Barwick 2311 N.W. 63rd Terrace Sunrise, FL 33313.
954-742-6646
If you can get more information and if you would like me to
post your photos, I
would be glad to add it to the website.
Regards,
Doug Cook
From: Herzig,
Jürg [mailto:Juerg.Herzig@sisclear.com]
Sent: Monday, February 01, 2010 12:08 PM
To: Cook, Douglas J.
Subject: RE: B-17 crash Feb. 27, 1945 in Trimbach
Switzerland - 15th Air Force, 97th Bomb Group, 414th Squadron
Hi Doug
On my website http://standwheretheyfought.jimdo.com/b-17-flying-fortress-crash-in-trimbach-february-27-1945/
I also found a photo of Dottie somewhere in the net
There are 3 photos plus then and now
However; I will
send them to do and hope to visit the farmer in Trimbach
soon
From: tim
merrifield [mailto:tsm_35@hotmail.com]
Sent: Tuesday, February 16, 2010 5:35 AM
To: Cook, Douglas J.
Subject: 97 bomb group 414 squadron
dear, doug.
I ran across your site, and found it very interesting. i
believe my father was a member of the 414, I remember him talking about
being in italy and also North Africa, not sure
of the dates. he would only talk if asked about
these things, He passed away in 2003 and i wish i had asked him so many
questions. Not sure if your
interested, but i have many pictures of places,
people, and bombers, not sure if these pictures are some you already have,
i know my father was into photography and developing his own. If this
is still a work in progress i could scan and send you some pics
if not, then thanks again its
a site i will keep going back to. I feel i owe a
lot to these men that fought for our country, and they should never be forgot.
My fathers name was Lloyd A Merrifield.
thanks again, Tim
Merrifield
doug,
I will try to get some pictures scanned this weekend, and sent
out. Not sure about a couple things. I found my fathers record and report of seperation
papers, they have his organization listed as 97th fighter squadron 82d fighter
group, but i also have a couple liberty passes and
they have his name and org. as the 414 B.S.
I also found a paper listing the 97th bomb GP and the names in the 341
bomb SQ. and the names of the men in the 414th bomb SQ. his name is listed under the 414th.
His seperation papers list him as Sgt. and his
military occupation as power turret and gunsight specialist and that he worked exclusively on the b
17s in the mediterranean theater. He departed in aug 1943 destiation Eur Afr Mid
ET ,and shipped back to the states aug of
45.
Decorations, good conduct medal, Distinguished unit badge(oak
leaf cluster)and middle eastern theater campaign ribbon.
I will keep digging into things and get some photos out.
tim
From: tim
merrifield [mailto:tsm_35@hotmail.com]
Sent: Wednesday, February 24, 2010 4:19 AM
To: Cook, Douglas J.
Subject:
doug,
I am not that great with computers,but i tried to send you a few pictures. the only pictures
that had something written on them were pictures that were taken when on
leave i believe, like pics
of st peters,swiss
guard, pompeii,venice
i have many pictures of planes and other things,but have no idea if they were from the 414th ,and is
it ok to send pictures of men standing with or around the planes if i do
have any idea who they are ? couple pictures of
my father(sitting on the wing) (under the plane with frag bombs) let me know
if you get these or can open them...thanks
tim
Hello Will,
I'm Blitz Welch and my father was Harrison William Welch and was a waist gunner
on a B-17 and his jacket patch was of the "Nut Cracker". But
funny thing my father would rarely talk about his exploits except for the funny
ones. But do have all of his military records when he was in the Army Air
Corp. I've had to try to piece together his history in North Africa where
he flew 50 missions and just over 250 hours before being grounded.
If you would please give me information on the plane(tail
numbers, serial numbers, model..) and I'll give you what info that I
have. Also I'm going to forward this to another gentleman who is also
researching information about the "Nut Cracker".
From:
william merryman <isisthedog@hotmail.com>
Subject: 414th 97group(h)
To: blitz4569@yahoo.com
Date: Friday, December 4, 2009, 6:25 PM
Hello, My name is William James Merryman.
My grand father William James Shea was in the 414th
and was a mechanic on A B-17 called the NUTCRACKER. I am trying my hardest to find out any info I can about this,
sadly my grandfather passed away saveral years ago. I
am very interested in the picture of the (nutcracker) patch that you
posted on reddog. I have a photo of the plane framed
in my home, and the it is the same name and logo as
the patch. I would greatly appreciate any help You may
be able to offer me.
The story I was told was told,was that the plane was hit in the wing by flack
and was lost on It's 51st mission, and for that
reason it dropped more tonnage of bombs than any other plane in the war. I
don't know if this is true. I do know that my grandfather spent some very
unpleasant time in A P.O.W. camp.
In my mind anybody that had the Will to do the things that
our parents and grandparents did in the wars of the past is worth remembering.
They are all hero's and should be treated as such.
Humbly: Will Merryman
From: Sam Silvey [samsilvey@qwest.net]
Sent: Wednesday, March 10, 2010 6:11 PM
To: Cook, Douglas J.
Subject: B-17 All American
Doug,
I had the occasion to do a Google search
knowing full well that the ‘All American’ is forever remembered. I was excited
to see your site and go over the many historic accounts of the many B-17s and
especially the ‘All American’, my Uncle Ralph Burbridge’s
plane. In February, 3 of my brothers and myself fl to Mesa,
AZ to celebrate Ralph’s 90th birthday.
Ralph was the bombardier on the ‘All American’
and was and still is our war hero in addition to our father who served in the
Navy in the Pacific.
I have a favor to ask. I would sure like
to have a digital image or two of the pictures you have of the ‘All American’
and the document that shows the Emergency List of those that made it through 50
missions. I noticed Ralph and Kenny Bragg’s (the pilot) names on it.
I’m somewhat the de facto family historian
of our family having done genealogy for 30 some years and I think it would be
great to include these things in our history. In exchange I would gladly supply
to you some of the things I’ve collected over the years on my Uncle Ralph and
the crew as well.
Thanks so much for taking the time to
document all of this.
Sincerely,
Sam
Silvey
Sam,
Thanks
for writing. I have attached a .doc file with the images you
requested. You can copy and paste them as needed. Note that I got
the "All American" images and story are from
the sites referenced. The roster images are scanned from my father-in-law's
war album which I am curator of.
My
website has expanded dramatically with submissions from readers/ squadron
members and families. I would be honored to make web pages dedicated
to your uncle Ralph and your father. I only started this project
after my father and father-in-law had passed.
Items
needed:
Photos with captions; bio
including family and photos, post war life; anecdotes; medals, awards;
citations; etc.
Keep in touch,
Doug Cook
Dhahran,
Saudi Arabia
From: tim
merrifield [mailto:tsm_35@hotmail.com]
Sent: Sunday, March 14, 2010 8:02 PM
To: Cook, Douglas J.
Subject: RE: 414th Photos are great!
doug,
I want to thank you, you did a very nice job. Sorry it has taken me
so long to get back to you. Do you get many emails about your site? or much interest? It was an amazing time in our
history, and i am glad you are doing the work you are to keep those men
and times in our minds, I have a cousin that is in his late 70s, he
is in a veterans home and i go visit him every couple weeks. I don't
like (nursing homes) for the most part, but that veterans home is
really just so full of history and men that fought for our country, its a place i
enjoy going. thanks again, and keep up the good
work.
tim,
Thanks Tim,
I will keep working on the upload problems
that make some of the pictures incomplete.
I do enjoy getting comments and submissions from visitors of the
website. Yes, each veteran is part of our
history and has a tale worth telling.
Regards,
Doug Cook
414th - My Dad flew on the Superstitious Aloysius begining July 8, 1943
Dear Doug,
I recently
joined the ArmyAirForce site to determine if there
was any information on the 414th that I could match up to names and pictures
I found last year in my Dad’s flight bag. I came across your website and
I was able to match a picture of the “Reluctant Dragon” (
requested by Dave in an e-mail to you 0 which was sitting on the ground
nearby my Dad’s B-17.
Besides the
military photos, I found pictures of Bob Hope
and Frances Langford entertaining the 97th Group at the local
airfield. I just sent the negatives out for development and to be burned to a
CD so I will begin to gather notes and names from my Dad’s files and forward
then to you.
I recently
posted a message on the AAF website regarding the raid on Villa San Giovanni on
16th of July 1943 that may give a little insight into my Dad.
I accidentally
stumbled into his combat activities during WWll while
I was doing research on my Dad’s involvement with the Israeli Air force June
1948. Turns out he was one of the first members of that group when he flew a
surplus B-17 overseas. I had hoped to find the links back to his original
crew/friends in WWll that got him involved in the
1948 situation. It is remarkable that an Irish Catholic kid who grew up in
Woodhaven NY was recruited in 1948….but that will be another story some day.
I look forward
to communicating with you.
Larry Craven ( son of Lawrence F. Craven)
425 Birchtree Lane
Northvale, NJ
07647
201.767.1020 ( h
From: James
Wiseman [mailto:jwiseman@carrollu.edu]
Sent: Wednesday, April 28, 2010 3:23 PM
To: Cook, Douglas J.
Subject: Web Site
Mr. Cook,
I absolutely love your site about the 97th
Bomb Group. My dad (James V. Wiseman, JR Lavernia,
Texas – B17 Reluctant Dragon) served in this group as a pilot and
co-pilot. He passed away this last Dec. He rarely talked about his
experiences, but on those rare occasions we could get him started the stories
were amazing. Thanks for honoring this group of amazing men.
jim
Jim Wiseman
Vice President of Enrollment
Carroll University
262-524-7221
jwiseman@carrollu.edu
From: Laurance
Thomas [mailto:lkt1710@yahoo.com]
Sent: Saturday, May 29, 2010 10:44 PM
To: Cook, Douglas J.
Subject: Wonderful site!!!
|
Dear Mr. Cook, I was browsing the net today looking for infomation on the AAF stationed in N. Africa and Italy during WW2. My father Joe G. Thomas had enlisted in January 1942 so he could be a part of the Air Force rather than getting drafted into the infantry. He served with the 50th Air Service Squadron which supported the B-17 Bombers. His crew consisted of.... Tech Sgt---Walker Staff Sgt---Clista Buck Sgt--Thomas Corpl--------Matheson Pfc-----------Tatum Pfc-----------Zamenick Before shipping out from Fort Dix Walker recieved an ear injury and was kept stateside. Putting Dad as #2 incharge. They shipped to Scotland, then England and then Algeria. There Clista was hospitalized with T.B. and Dad moved up to Tech. Sgt.. He was assigned to the repairs of the "All American". In Dads memoirs he had included an excerpt from another source claiming... A 22 year old pilot came into the mess hall looking for a ball turret gunner. Elton Conda replied. Ken Bragg explained his gunner fell ill and Conda would fly with him today. The brash young gunner asked, "Can you fly the damn plane?" Bragg answered with, " Can you shoot the damn guns?" Before the day was half over Conda found out how well Ken Bragg could fly. From Biskra they moved to Chateau-Dun-Du-Rhumel,Depienne,Bizerta,Toronto Italy and Foggia before returning home in May 1945. I had found your site to be a wonderful inspiration to me in my memories on this Memorial day of my father who passed away 9-11-1995. Thankyou for keeping this piece of history alive. Laurance Thomas |
Dear Mr. Cook,
Yes, you definately have my permission to use what I have sent you. However, as I stated in my first correspondance, the piece referring to how Mr. Bragg and Mr. Conda had become connected was an excerpt from a publication that Dad had added. I don't know what the legal obligations would be for that section. Robert R. Kerwood, 12543 Oxford Ave. Apt.1 Hawthorne California (978-8295) had printed a History Of the 50th A.S.S. and sent Dad a copy in 1989. In most publications I have read on the "All American" (via the net) they do not make mention that the 50th squadron had her flying and combat ready in just 3 weeks after the ME 109 collision.
I did make a topographical error previously, (and will catch grief from my siblings if you print it wrong) Dad had passed away on 9-11-2005. Not 1995, I must have had an old timers moment.
Dads passion was music, primarily country swing, jazz, big band.....He had understood what the song "On a Wing and a Prayer" had meant since it was released in the 1940's. Dad and his band mates from Plano Texas had hooked up with Bill and Norman Nettles from Shreveport,La. in 1940 or '41 and recorded three 78rpm records (6 songs). They were on the Victor label who was working out of the Jefferson Hotel in Dallas. In 1942, while stationed in Savannah Georgia, Dad entered a Kress dept store and the girl working the record dept. had all three records. She graciously played them for him and his buddy. It was the first time he'd heard them since they were recorded. His buddy was excited to know a "real recording star"!
Here I go rambling on...
Thankyou again for your wonderful site,
Laurance
Jonathan,
Good
luck on your search and THANKS for the Maxwell access sites!!!
At the
Archives in College Park, Md. the game plan is to get there early. I
think they open at 9 AM. You have to fill out papers and get a photo ID
badge to get up to the research wing. There are very friendly people to
help you through their filig cards of what boxed
material they have. You request the boxes at set times of the day and
then collect a cart with them to go to a table to inspect the actual
documents. You can take photos or use their copy machines. I
came away with over 100 bomb run photos and detailed mission
descriptions. I did not get the mission sheets with crew names that I was
after. They suggested Maxwell.
I wil give that a try online as you have given me the paths.
Regards,
Doug
Cook
Dhahran, Saudi Arabia
From:
Jonathan Rasch [jonathan.rasch@gmail.com]
Sent: Thursday, September 30, 2010 7:41 AM
To: Cook, Douglas J.
Subject: Re: Question about 487th Sqd. Files
on the website.
I
appreciate you getting back to me. I began researching my grandfather's
service when we located a box containing some of his medals after my grandmother's
death. I still don't know if anyone else in the family has items of his
from the war, and I am waiting to find out what else we may have.
All I
had to start with was a couple of handwritten notes of his, a few pairs of
flight wings, and 2 medals. My research has provided a lot of great
information and I was able to put a lot of the story together. I've come
a long way in the process. I know he was a bombardier in the 440th Bomb
Squadron, 319th Bomb Group, 42nd Bomb Wing, 12th Air
Force. He was shot down around his 19th mission and captured as a
POW. He was taken to Stalag Luft
III where he stayed until they were forced to march quite a distance to a rail
car for transport to Stalag VIIA. He was
finally liberated and came back to the states in late 1945. I've come a
long way but there are still some areas where we would like to continue
research.
I have
some very difficult to read copies of some of his documents, and I have
contacted the AFHRA and the NPRC about records. I am waiting to receive
copies of what the NPRC has in his reconstructed file, but it was destroyed by
the fire in 1973.
I am
looking to expand my research about his group and when I located the site you
had put together I was amazed at the number of photos you have online and that
you had some of the copies of his documents.
I have
identified some items I am going to request from the AFHRA at Maxwell AFB, in addition to that there are some items from his bomb
group in a historical archive at the University of Akron. I'm located in
MN so that will be a little bit of a trip to get down there to access and see
what they have. It's good to hear that you located some of those items
from the National Archives. I had considered going there to do some
research, but it is hard to find information on what they have and if it would
be worth it for a trip.
I
appreciate you getting back to me, and I would love to hear more about the
process you went through going to the National Archives and how you located
items that were relevant to what you were looking for.
As far
as the Air Force Historical Research Association at Maxwell AFB, I do have a
few things to share with you. You mentioned that in your email. I
was in the process of ordering some information from them when I accidentally
found what I was looking for online. There is a site set up that took all
of the raw data of what they hold and created a search engine of the holdings
in their archive.
If you
go to the following address it will take you to the site. http://airforcehistoryindex.org/
I know a
few years ago they started rescanning the paper documents that were originally
kept on microfilm. Those scans are a pdf document that contains the
contents of some of the paperwork that they received.
Check
out this link for an example. http://57thbombwing.com/446th_History/19431001_19431031.pdf
I've
done quite a bit of searching, and I think I've figured out how to effectively
search for a specific groups files. The great
news is that if there are specific files located for a squadron, group or bomb
wing those files can be requested and are sent to the person on a cd containing
the .pdf files. For a fee of $30 the AFHRA will send you a CD containing
the files that would be on one microfilm roll. It is a considerable
savings considering in the past someone would have to travel to Maxwell AFB to
research on their own or pay to get a roll of microfilm duplicated and
then go to the library to view it or pay additional money to have it
converted.
I
located the files from my grandfather's bomb group and squadron, but it is not
really focused on individuals, it does give a good picture of what the unit was
doing throughout the war.
If
you're interested I can help identify some of the microfilm rolls
that would be relevant to the 340th or 487th if you're not able to locate
it.
I hope
this information helps, if you are still researching. I would still like
to hear more about going to the National Archives whenever you have time.
It's amazing the amount of information that is available online, and I commend
you for sharing all of the info you've found. In 5 years there may be a
son, daughter or grandchild that is looking for information on their
family members and sites like yours are going to be of great benefit.
Thanks
again
Jonathan Rasch
From: Robert
Lineberger [aircobra1@gmail.com]
Sent: Wednesday, September 22, 2010 4:09 AM
To: Cook, Douglas J.
Subject: Bro-in-law of Bob Rast of 97th 414
flew "Nut Cracker" B-17 lost right wing
Hi,
I am Bob Lineberger, an 80 year old Lutheran pastor whose sister, Dolly
Lineberger, was married to Bob Rast who was shot down
on his 49th mission and whose plane's picture is the lead picture of the
history of the 97th..
If you get this, please
respond...THANKS
--
www.congareeflyersinc.com
www.smac-sc.com
www.kc-flyers.com
Hi Bob,
Thanks
for writing. I'm always glad to get more material to expand and correct
what is on the website.
The only
reference I can find to the "Nut Cracker" is patch of the plane's
nose art submitted by Blitz Welch blitz4569@yahoo.com from
his father Harrison who flew in that plane. I don't know any of the other
history especially the shoot down. This patch picture is in the link
below.
http://www.reddog1944.com/414th_Squadron_Planes_and_Crews.htm
If you
have photos, biographical info, and historical details or anecdotes to submit,
I would be glad to dedicate pages to Bob Rast to the
website.
Regards
from Saudi Arabia,
Doug
Cook
Dear Mr. Cook,
Bob Rast was the assistant manager of the 5 Points Theater here
in Col. SC in the late 1930s. My sister, Sarah (Dolly) Lineberger, worked
in the restaurant next door. Bob went over each morning for coffee.
They fell in love, were married when he was commissioned. I'm send you a
LOAD of email that I have on my computer and you can do with it what you
want. He flew the Nutcracker which is the lead picture in the history of
the 97th. It was flying left to the lead ship. After the bomb run
there were turning to come home when flack cut off his right wing. 4 in
the plane were killed. It seems that a second shell penetrated the bottom
with the wing flack and killed the men in the back blowing off part of the top
or something. The lead ship, as I recolect, was
taking pictures every 15 seconds of the bomb run which was just finished.
The details are in that book August 1, 1943. I'm sending you a copy of a
letter which tells about this.. Pardon the volume of
email, but I want to send you what I have and you can use it as you like.
Thanks for returning an email to me. Bob was closer to me than my
brother's by geography as I was growing up...he was indeed like a brother to
me. He has 3 great children. I'm 80 years old now. ...a
retired Lutheran pastor who lives in Columbia, SC where I was born and where
Bob was born and raised. My dad was a pastor and built a Lutheran
church just two blocks from where Bob worked in the theater.
Hope the emails don't
swamp you, I'm old enought
to appreciate what all you men did back then!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sincerely,
Bob Lineberger 2317 Exton Shore Dr., Columbia, SC 29209 aircobra1@gmail.com
From: Robert Lineberger
[aircobra1@gmail.com]
Sent: Thursday, September 23, 2010 3:25 AM
To: Cook, Douglas J.
Subject: Lette I wrote which has info about Rast in it
Editor
WORLD WAR II
Suite D-2
741 Miller Drive SE
Leesburg, VA 20175
Dear Sir:
On page 82 of WORLD WAR II, April 2006 edition, you have
pictured the B-17 named “The Nut Cracker,” Serial Number 42-2985. The name came
from the nose art in one of the enclosed pictures of the heads of Hirohito,
Mussolini and Hitler in a commonly used nutcracker.
The pilot and aircraft commander was my brother-in-law.
His name was Robert H. Rast, II. That picture is the
lead picture in the “coffee table” book of the 97th Bombardment
Group with a prayer under it, “Immortal Is The Name.”
This picture has been published many times but no publisher has ever connected
his name to the picture. I wish you would give him the well-deserved honor of
doing that. Documentation is given in a photo copy of an excerpt from the
history of the 97th Bombardment Group book.
He was born in Columbia, SC. He took the U. S. Army Air
Corp entrance exam twice, with his friend, and they both flunked. They hired a
tutor to teach them the math they needed. They had only graduated from high
school. They took it a third time and passed. He was the assistant manager of
the Five Points Theater in Columbia at the time. He and my sister, Sarah, were
married after he graduated from flight school and was commissioned.
He flew his B-17 to Brazil from Florida, refueled and
then on to North Africa.
He was shot down on his 49th mission over
Naples, Italy. He was captured by an Italian soldier on foot. He was imprisoned
there until the war in Italy ended. The population of the prison was going on
foot to the American lines and a German patrol recaptured all of them. The were
put in cattle cars in the railroad yard at Naples. There were 8,000 American
prisoners in the yard. The yard was bombed by B-17s. Four thousand prisoners
were killed in the bombing. This was told me by Rast.
Page 2
They were then shipped to a stalag
in Germany. They had to walk 90 miles to another stalag
in the dead of winter. On that trip his knee which he injured in the parachute
landing gave out and a German guard approached him to shoot him in the head as
they were doing to the prisoners who fell by the side instead of letting them
freeze to death. His friend, also a prisoner, spoke German fluently and
convinced him to permit him to tie two of the
sleds together which they were pulling with their Red Cross
supplies on them. That done, his friend pulled both sleds
with him on one the rest of the distance. Then other prisoners who fell
by the side were also treated in the same manner.
He remained in prison for the remainder of the war. He first night of freedom was in a German flag factory. He
picked up a 4’ x 6’ Luftwaffe Banner, red with a white field (circle) with the
Luftwaffe Cross in it and hand carried that to me at my home in Wilson, NC. I
was 16 at the time. He worked with Metropolitan Insurance company a while
here in Columbia, SC.
He later re-enlisted, was sent to Biloxi for special
training, then sent to Greenville, SC, at an AF base, back to Biloxi, the to Cassels, Germany, as commander
of a detached radar outpost.
He then went into SAC. Then he flew KC 97s in
Texas. Then he flew KC135s at Westover AFB in Massachusetts. Many pilots were
being discharged before they could retire and he obtained a spot in Okinawa as
commander of another radar site.
There he was in an H 19 helicopter with 4 others in the
passenger compartment with the pilot and co-pilot in the cockpit. A rotor blade
began to shake, the pilot descended to 400’ over the ocean, then the rotor
broke and the helicopter hit the water head first. The open passenger
compartment door slammed shut. Rast saw a blur of
light in the compartment filled with fuel and water. He made his way have
through the escape hatch and inflated his May West and lost consciousness.
Okinawa fishermen rescued the pilots and passengers. Rast
was the 4th person out. The 5th person did not get out
and died.
He retired in Tampa, Fl, as Col..
After surviving being shot down on his 49th mission and a helicopter
crash prostate cancer killed him
Page 3
His wife and he died about 3 months apart. He leaves
three, children: Patti, Mark and Robert, III.
Mark spent 5 years in the Navy and 15 years as an air
traffic controller at the air base near Miami, FL. He is now a police
dispatcher for Tampa.
He was more than a brother to me, even though he was my
brother-in-law. If you can, please give him the honor of
being the pilot of the “Nutcracker” when it was shot down in that picture.
Two 88 mm anti aircraft shells hit the B-17. On cut off the
wing at the RIGHT outboard engine. The other penetrated the rear of the
plane and killed 4 of the crew.
He could not see that the wing tip was gone from his left
seat. The bombardier went out at 25,000 feet knowing the plan could not fly. He
free fell to the altitude of oxygen. Rast could not
get the plane righted but held it steady while the four men that were alive
could get out and it circled the parachutist as they descended.
Sincerely,
Robert B. Lineberger
2317 Exton Shore Dr.
Columbia, SC 29209
From: Robert Lineberger
[aircobra1@gmail.com]
Sent: Thursday, September 23, 2010 3:34 AM
To: Cook, Douglas J.
Subject: RC Model 5' wingspan
Doug,
Encouraged by Rast I got my private
pilot's license in Jan. 1982
and had a heart attack in July of that year on my 52nd birthday. Laid
out for two years. (Spent 8 years as a chaplain in the Civil
Air
Patrol. Got recertified for 6 months.
Couldn't afford the required
medical tests to keep my medical certificate updated and that's when I
got into remote control models. I have 4 P-47's this size. They fly
about 75/80 mph. All have retracts, some have flaps. They're fun
for
a now OLD guy. Also have a 5' span biplane Waco and Sopwith
Camel. They help keep me out of trouble.
This is all I am sending you. I hope I haven't caused
a breakdown
of your income email, but I thought Rast's history
might be of
interest to you. He was good to my sister and their children.
Sincerely, Bob Lineberger
From:
Robert Lineberger [aircobra1@gmail.com]
Sent: Thursday, September 23, 2010 4:39 PM
To: Cook, Douglas J.
Subject: Page 114 of VENIT HORA
Doug,
In this squib for the "coffee table" book of the
97th it indicates
that Rast is a 1Lt . Bob was
the last to leave the plane. Four
were killed. A German and and Italian soldier
came to where he
landed. He hurt his kneww in the jump. He
went with the Italian guy
knowing Italy would soon surrender. The whole compound was freed when
Italy did surrender but a German ..large.. patrol recaptured them all
and put them in the railroad yard in Naples. He said there were 8,000
PWs there in cattle cars... Some where I got the idea that they were
bombed because the US did not know they were prisoners in the cattle
cars and 4000 were killed. I can't prove that in writing anywhere.
Bob didn't say, or I don't remember, what happened to the
other 4
who parachuted. Bob
From: Robert Lineberger [aircobra1@gmail.com]
Sent: Thursday, September 23, 2010 4:47 PM
To: Cook, Douglas J.
Subject: Rast was command pilot..left seat..he could not see
right wing gone
This picture appears on page 115 of VENIT HORA with the cut lines,
"Death of a Queen" It also appears in an OLD book by Jablonski,
FLYING FORTRESS, published about 20-40 years ago. it
is a full page
picture but gives no indication to which group it was from or who was
pilot. I have seen it several times but it has NEVER listed the name
of the pilot or any of the crew. I'm getting an article together for
a reporter to put in THE STATE, a paper published here in Columbia to
coninside with a B-17G that will be coming to
Columbia on October
18,19 in which one of my daughters has given me a
ride. It is owned
by the EAA....$400 for the ride. I'm thrilled.
This picture appears in the web site you have but at an earlier
date than when it was shot down. This picture was made by the lead
ship to which Rast was flying on the left, just back
of it when the
wing was cut off. The lead shep was taking
pictures every 15 seconds
and got it. The credit is given to someone else on your web site.
I'll try to find it and send the address to you. Bob
You have been sent 1 picture.
Nutcracker-Naples11.jpg
Doug, the picture I just sent
also appears on Page 4 of VENIT HORA as the lead on the page just past the
table of contents. Almost a full page picture with a poem under it,
"Immortal is the Name."
Lord, hold them in thy mighty
hand
Above the ocean and the land
Like wings of Eagles mounting
high
Along the
pathways of the sky.
Immortal is the name they bear
And high the nonour
that they share
Until a thousand years have
rolled,
Their deeds of valour shall be told.
In dark ofnight
and light of day
God speed and bless them on their
way.
And homeward safely guide each
one
Wdith glory gained and duty done.
Anonymous
Bob
From: Robert Lineberger
[aircobra1@gmail.com]
Sent: Friday, September 24, 2010 12:19 PM
To: Cook, Douglas J.
Subject: a little about me
Doug,
I am a retired Lutheran Pastor..born in Columbia,
SC. Lived here until 10 years old. Born 1930. 89th birthday July. Graduated from Lenoir-Rhyne College,
Hickory, NC '52. Lutheran Theological Southern
Seminary here '55. Wife of 52 years died in 2004 of colon, liver
and lung cancer..dr. missed it. He was treating
her for asthma..let her loose 27 lbs before he took
the first xray..died in 30
days after that. remarried 5 years ago. Lovely lady 10 years younger. New
her since 1990. Hadn't seen her in 15 years. Ran into her in grocery store. She had been divorced. Two sons, two grandsons. 7 bros
&sisters most in Sumter 30 miles away. Daughter
in Cincinnati, Orlando, son in Richmond VA.
Got private license in Jan. '82. Found aircraft
owners who had instructor rating. first 1946
J-3 Instructor and plane $14 an hour..tot. 12 hours; next 1968 Cessna 150 $25 hr. 1800' strip in
woods..had heart attack July 1982 (52 yrs old..average age of male heart attack..if
you ever start sweating for no reason see a cardiologist immediately .... That
happened again at 78 years of age..two arteries
blocked 90%..got to card. two
stints..front and rear arteries..long
story...
Started flying RC models in summer of '82..love 5'span
war birds. Had Corsair, Aircobra (my favorite
but hard to build}, settled n P-47s have 3 flying, two bipes,
one 47 on shelf waiting for radio and engine. We now have a 2.4 gight radio that is "bound" transmitter to
receiver and vice/versa that only talk to each other. I saw 75 models
with these radios fly at ONE TIME at the same place..marvelous
VENIT HORA was published by Taylor Publishing Co.1993...I bought it from a guy
in Florida who had the supply at the time..paid $60
for it... the picture of the Nutcracker was also in FLYING FORTRESS by JaBlonski about 20-40 years ago... no one ever associated Rast's name with the photo...I've tried to get that done
through the museum at Dayton and other places...
I had a black and white my sister gave me from the original..
She (Sarah Lineberger) worked in a restaurant next door to the Five Points
Theater here in Col. where Bob was Asst. Mng. he went over each morning for coffee. they fell in love, were married when he was
commissioned...she lived with us in Wilson, NC while he was overseas. A
guy in Wilson..a gunner whose name I cannot remember
came home from the 97 414 and told her Bob would be home in two weeks.
She sat on the steps waiting everyday...a guy comes up on a bicycle with a
missing in action telegraph. She cried for weeks. She had won a
"Miss Wilson" Tobacco Festival beauty contest at which Bob smoked a
pack of cigarettes in the early 40s.... He really was a great guy. He was
an asst. mng for Metropolitan Life with my brother
Ted (who retired as supervisor of Florida Division of Met Life) here in
Col. They..Dolly and Bob took me to Myrtle Beach
when I was 15 (1946 after WWII)..wore my belly out on
a rubber raft...first time I saw the ocean.... My dad was a Luth.
Pastor...mom taught piano all her life...had 95 music pupils come to the house
when school was not in session when she was 85..two older bros also Luth pastors...
I'm in the ELCA. Retired in 1995 after 40 years as a
pastor. My pension is now being cut 27% for 3 years during this
economy mess....I've played trumpet since the second grade..Mom
taught her six kids to play musical instruments..in
late 20s and early 30s they had a Playing Parson's Band....did concerts and
stuff...made some change, too. I'll send you a family pic before I was born...
I was pastor in Bluefield WV 1987-89 and a geologist in my cong. showed me a
lump of coal from 4000' under the surface with the impression of a fern in
it!!! A sea captain in Hampton VA showed me a tooth he caught in a
net that was 4000 yrs old...a molar of a mastodon from an ice berg from the
silt on the ocean floor in the North Atlantic before it settled into the ocean floor...I'm
fascinated with stuff like that...I wake up early and sometimes get back to
sleep..call o f mother nature..leaving
for Orlando at 7 this morning..it's about 5 now, I
think....
I appreciate what you do for the 97..those were great
men...If you ever get to Columbia look me up..if you
fly here I'll let you use my car... have a '96 Pontiac with 102,000 miles on
it. I'll have to drive it til it quits...I had
no time..not much anyway with my wife while I
worked...I was tied up on weekends and she taught school..when
I retired I QUIT..we chased kids and leaves in every
state east of the Mississippi .I've driven 500,000 miles since I retired..we
spent a great time together since then...Was able to get a 15 year mortgage on
the first home we owned here in Columbia. Had a house allowance instead
of parsonage..lived in parsonages all my life.
We got it paid for in April and she died in May...I sold my house and moved in
with my wife. She was a nurse at the VA hospital here and was divorced
before she bought this house...so her husband had never lived here..that made it good for both of us...
I'm going to eat a banana and
go back to bed....keep in touch and tell me more about yourself...Bob
Lineberger
Doug, this is a picture of my
family except for my father..looking at the picture,
I'm on the left, back row, then from left to right, my brothers Corley, Henry,
Ted.
Front
row left to right Dolly (sara,
bob's wife) then the older lady is my mother and the other lady is my
sister Betty. I'm in Orlando this week end visiting my second daughter
and don't have the picture in front of me. It was taken years ago.
I sent it to you to show you Bob's wife. Bob was still alive then
but not there. I don't know what medals he received. Bob
-------------------
Hi
Doug...As i indicated on the previous email, I am visiting my daughter in
Orlando and am using her IMAC to check my email. I've got you site saved
as favorite on my PC at home and will get back to you on that the first part of
next week. I looked for that one shot but did not find it. I was
scanning each of the great pictures you have on it but have not found it again.
When I do, I will give you the link. As well as I remember is was
given credit to someone as a picture PRIOR to August 1, 1943, the day Bob was
shot down. I've sent you so much stuff I don't remember what all.... I
have never seen the second picture you sent in this email group...the one when
the plane was on its SIDE at a much lower altitude..
The picture in the book (Venit Hora????) is the close up of the plane inverted. I
know THAT picture was taken by the lead plane in the bombing run that day.
It got that shot automatically taking a picture every 15 seconds and they
had turned to come home when the shells hit Bob... The Nutcracker just happened
to be in the right place for the picture to be made... It is THAT picture
that is on...I think Page 4...by itself with the "'prayer" underneath
the picture... nothing else is on that page. When I get home I'll
try to find out who had the remainder of the books...then he had about 50 left
and it cost about $50/60 dollars.
A few years ago in putting questions about Rast
on sites where you could leave questions and others reading them could respond,
I made contact with a detective in Detroit who had breakfast every Saturday (at
the time) with a small clutch of guys from the 414th...and one of them was the
secretary of the squad. He sent me a c of pics
on a disk from the 414th. That was before I retired (1995) and since then
my wife died, I've remarried, I've moved my treasures into half of a single
bedroom and a few boxes in a shed in the back yard. I will search to see
if I can find that disc, and if I find it I will make a copy of it and snail
mail it to you. When I get home I will use my favorite search engine...www.dogpile.com (which uses 30 other search engines) to
find stuff and let you know if I can locate that guy again. I really
can't do anything else from here. I will write you again next week.
THANKS for all you are doing.....Bob
From: Roxie Rawley [tnrhydrant@yahoo.com]
Sent: Thursday, October 14, 2010 4:07 AM
To: Cook, Douglas J.
Subject: 414 th
My father-in-law was in the 8th air force 97th bomb group
414 squadron based in england.
We are trying to find any aircraft he might have flew in .
He told us he bombed german submarine pens. He has passed away and we would like to research some of his
service time in WWII. Thanks for any help, Don Rawley
Largo fl.
Don,
Thanks for writing. I will try to
help. What was your father-in-law's name? Rank?
Crew Position? If we can put together some
information, I would love to dediacte a webpage to
him. Do you have any photos? A brief bio would add a lot.
First the 97th BG 414th Squadron
tenure in England was short:
http://www.reddog1944.com/97th_Bomb_Group_Chronology.htm
The first USAAF Flying Fortress
(B-17E serial number 41-9085) arrived at Prestwick in Scotland on July 1, 1942.
The first Flying Fortress raid over Europe was launched on August 17, 1942 by
18 B-17Es of the 97th Bombardment Group against railroad marshaling yards at
Rouen-Sotteville in France. Twelve planes made the
actual attack and the remaining six flew a diversionary sweep up the coast.
Brig Gen Ira Eaker flew along on this raid in B-17E
41-9023 "Yankee Doodle". The formation was escorted by Spitfires. No
opposition was encountered from the Luftwaffe.
Boeing B-17E Flying Fortress, “Yankee
Doodle,” 414th Squadron, 97th Bomb Group, 8th Air Force
On September 20, 1942, General James (Jimmy) Doolittle
formed the nucleus of the 12th Air Force in England, and early in October the
97th, 99th, 301st, and 2nd Bombardment Groups were transferred to the new
formation.
The main part of the aircraft left Polebrook on the 18th of November 1942 for Hurn, prior to flying directly to North Africa. The ground
unit sailed in convoy late in November 1942. Operations in
the Mediterranean theater with the 12th Air Force for a year.
It is likely that your father-in-law
transferred to North Africa before his tour was over.
http://www.reddog1944.com/414th_Squadron_Planes_and_Crews.htm#Roster
Do you find your father-in-law on this
1943 crew roster?
If you know your father-in-law's SSN or military ID number you can try to get his service records:
I was successful getting a gold mine of
records for my father-in-law.
Regards,
Doug Cook
Dhahran,
Saudi Arabia
Doug thank you so much for your reply.
I will be out of town until Sunday, i will then try to find as much info as i can. Name was Ernest G Thornton, Gunner. He
was a Sargent he actually was wounded by ack ack fire and returned home to
A base in Columbus Miss. He had scars on him the
day he died ,but never was given a medal for his wounds. I will get back
to ASAP when i return home Thanks again. Don Rawley
Largo, Florida.
From: wandatgoodwin
<wandatgoodwin@aol.com>
To: tsm_35 <tsm_35@hotmail.com>
Sent: Tue, Oct 19, 2010 10:03 pm
Subject: 97th Bomb Group Web Site and new book 'Last Roll Call"
I was so surprised when I stumbled
upon this site tonight. About two years ago I began a journey to help my
father, Kenneth Tucker, write his WWII memoir. He was with the 97th Bomb Group
- 414th Bomb Squadron and at the time I could find NOTHING on the internet
except that there were no longer reunions or newsletters. Somehow I missed your
site until tonight when I followed a link from the Army Air Force Forum. We
actually finished the book about a year ago. We just self published because I
really thought we would sell a few hundred copies in our area BUT the book has
sold over 1500 copies and has made its way into local high school curriculums, warbird museums and even flys
with the Yankee Air Museum airshow circuit. My father was not a decorated hero
nor is the book a tale of valor. It is a simple story about his crew and the
beloved B-17 where he was the tailgunner. I didn't
post this on the site because the last post was 2007 so I'm not sure
if you're still active. I would like to see if you could put some information
about the book on your site. I can't wait to show it to my dad tomorrow. Some
of the very pictures on the site are in his
book. He's 85 and in pretty good health. He still does book signings and short
guest speeches. If you guys will send me your addresses I will be happy to send
you a book in appreciation for what you do to keep this valuable part of our
history alive. If you want my dad to personalize it to you let me know. He
autographs all copies. Please visit the website though I'm sorry to say it
needs to be updated. As a result of the book my dad has been contacted by the
family of the only crew member who did not survive (Killed in a concentration
camp) long long story that I need to get on the web
site. Hope to hear from you guys soon. Please forward this to anyone else who
might be interested in hearing about my dad's book. www.lastrollcall.net
Wanda Tucker Goodwin
co-author Last Roll Call
850-624-8081
Great to hear from you. Yes, please add my father's name and link
to the book to your website. I'll get a book in the mail to you very soon. I'll
see my dad in a few days and I can't wait to show him the website.
Wanda
-----Original Message-----
From: Cook, Douglas J. <douglas.cook@aramco.com>
To: wandatgoodwin
<wandatgoodwin@aol.com>
Sent: Tue, Oct 19, 2010 11:18 pm
Subject: RE: 97th Bomb Group Web Site and new book 'Last Roll Call"
Wanda,
Thanks for writing and telling me about
your book. I am very interested in the story. May I include a link to
your website and book on my 97th BG 414th BS website?
http://www.reddog1944.com/97th_Bomb_Group_414th_Squadron_Index.htm
I would list Kenneth Tucker the left column
as a tailgunner and link to your website. My
website has grown only by submissions from readers. I started with my
father’s and father-in-law’s stories.
The latest addition to the website turns
out to be quite a story that deserved a book also:
http://www.reddog1944.com/RAST_97th%20BG%20414th%20BS.htm
I would very much like to get a copy
signed. It would go in my collection of aviation authors signed books that includes Charles Lindbergh, Gen. Hap
Arnold, etc, etc.
My mailing address is:
PO Box 12253
Saudi Aramco
Dharan, 31311
Saudi Arabia.
USPS Airmail works great.
Thanks and Regards,
Doug
Cook
From:
jcummings247@aol.com [jcummings247@aol.com]
Sent: Monday, November 15, 2010 4:26 PM
To: Cook, Douglas J.; rockeyecrm@eoni.com
Subject: Re: Capt. Truman Cummings
Hi Doug,
I'm very impressed with the site you
started for Capt. Cook and Col. Ross. I think I have looked at all of the
pages, but particularly the ones on Cook, Ross, and Womack, of course. It has
been very interesting being in contact with Bruce Womack, as he said, we both grew up staring at the same photographs of Ther-N-Bak. Bruce was definitely
able to get more information from his father, including the names of everyone
in that crew. I have a lot of photos, but I never knew who anyone else was.
Included in my dad's belongings are about
3 thick folders of papers that include his certificate of service, the extract
detailing how he got the Distinguished Flying Cross, lots of certification
paperwork from 1944-45 while he was being trained on other planes and ferrying
them, and reams of papers over a battle he had with the State of Illinois for
some service bonus he was supposed to have received. There are also many
newspaper clippings since he was from the small town of Earlville, Iowa where
if you sneezed too loud it made the news.
I have about 75 photographs, and some
of them are duplicates of what is already on your site, for instance the crew
photos of Ther-N-Bak
and the photo of Winston Churchill. I also have one of Churchill getting
out of his car and another getting back into the car. There are also photos in
dad's file that don't appear to be on your site, such as a boneyard of Nazi
planes, a shot of Peaches II with some guys who have painted "from Mildred
USA" on the bomb, rifle practice, a funny one of a GI Victory Garden where
they're growing Spam, aerial photos of targets which include the bombs, dad
sitting very close to some woman (which my mother would be annoyed if I
posted!), war bond rallies, Bob Hope and Frances Langford, and some that must
be from 44-45 when he was at Fairfield-Suisan base in the ferrying division.
I've attached two photos now, because they've always given me chills. There's
nothing written on the back of the photos, so I have no idea
which plane this is, but it is clearly one that didn't make it back. As
many times as I've looked at them, it was only when I scanned them that I
finally realized that the B17 is already upside down (and half its wing
missing). The second shot you can see it's sideways.
One thing that is missing is dad's mission log. I can assume it either matches
or is very similar to Womack's. Dad left on January 10, 1943 and returned on
September 26, 1943. His 50 missions were completed sometime in August, but he
stayed over longer to serve as some general's personal pilot, and the general
never went anywhere! Dad sat around for several weeks just hoping to be able to
fly him somewhere. It's sad I can't remember the general's name, but I'll ask
mom, she probably remembers. My dad lived to the age of 87 but the last several
years were rough, he had Alzheimer's, and it's an excrutiatingly
sad disease. He always recognized me as his child, but in the last few years I
turned into his "son." He'd always ask where I'd flown that day (I'm
not a pilot), and though he admired my swimming abilities couldn't understand
why I wore flowered swimsuits.
I'd be delighted and honored to contribute
to your site. I think I could select about a dozen photographs and write a
decent short bio that includes whatever stories I can remember him telling me
and mom. As usual for those men, he didn't speak of the war much,
and I had to cajole a few stories out of him. He'd always say, like they all
did, he wasn't a hero, he was just doing his job and
trying to get back in one piece. He sure loved to fly though. At the cusp of
the Korean war, the service gave him the option to
re-enlist, but Pan Am also offered him a job. He was very tempted to serve
again, but instead he took the Pan Am job and flew with them for 31 years (and
never took a sick day).
I understand you lived in Key Largo for
awhile? I live in Coral Gables, FL and love going to the Keys for a weekend
when I get the chance. I'll start writing a bio of Capt. Truman William
Cummings over the next few weeks. He went by Bill during the war, no one wanted
to call him Truman. Later on he went by Slim, he was tall and skinny.
Thanks for your wonderful website!
Jennifer Cummings
Jennifer,
Thanks for writing back and sharing.
I can relate to your saying that you grew up looking at your father's service
pictures. I did the same with my father's war album. He was a B-25 pilot
in Corsica in 1944. I did not get compelled to research my father's and father-in-law's military service until they passed on.
It's hard for me to imagine what they went through (especially having
responsibility for flight crews in combat and seeing other crews perish) at
such a young age.
You have a great collection to share and I
would be honored to help putting together a web page for Truman Cummings.
We can include whatever you want to post including his traing
and post combat service back in the states and with Pan Am. My father
never wanted to fly again after the war. Your scan detail is fine
and the attachments came through.
I can help with the story of that B-17
going down. I just recently got it from thge
brother-in-law of the pilot, Robert Rast, in that
plane and have his story dedicated on a new page. The B-17 is
"Nut Cracker".
http://www.reddog1944.com/RAST_97th%20BG%20414th%20BS.htm
B-17F-10-DL
42-2985 “Nut Cracker’ 97th BG,
414th BS ( MACR 355; missing air crew report) . Shot down by
anti-aircraft flak Aug 1, 1943 at Naples. Italy. 5 killed; 5 POW
(including Rast).
Yes, I
lived in Key Largo from 1977 to 1982 as a scuba instructor and ran my own dive
boat. I left for graduate school in geology at the Univ
of Fla and have been in the oil industry ever
since. I don't know if you got linked to my other website:
www.reddog-diving.com You
can find my Key Largo story there. My wife was a waitress at the
Bagel Emporium and lived in Coral Gables before we met in 1980.
Regards,
Doug
From: Joe [jmode@mindspring.com]
Sent: Wednesday, November 17, 2010 4:26 PM
To: Cook, Douglas J.
Subject: 97th BG
Doug,
I stumbled upon your site and am very grateful that you have compiled so much
information on the various bomb groups and the memories of those who served. My
great uncle, William Robert Bowers, was with the 97th BG, 340th BS. Enclosed
you will find some information related to his service and a few pictures to
boot. You have my permission to post the material as you see fit. I have
included biography information from my genealogy on our Bowers line, some of
which I am sure you do not need, but will include for you to decide. I will
send some emails from Robert Betette whose father
flew with my uncle and names for the pictures
Joe
William Robert Bowers was born 1 July 1918 and married Ann Marie Mashburn on 19 December 1945. Ann was born on 16 October
1937? He died on 8 November 1985 in Florida of lung cancer. On 19 July 2007
Uncle Carl told me that Robert ran the #2 Trolley in Knoxville and that’s where
he met Ann. Her husband, who played baseball, had died of a heart attack.
Children from her first marriage were Vivian and Robby. Ann and Robert then had
Susie, Betty, Ann, David, and Billy. Robert adopted Vivian and Robby. Uncle
Carl gave Robby (Robert) his Silver Star. Mom recalled that Robert drove a bus
and once she got on a bus and someone asked her if she was a Bowers. A friend
of Uncle Arts asked mom out of the blue if she was a Bowers and thought mom was
her mother Dora.Robert was a Tail Gunner during
W.W.II with the 340th Bomb Squadron, 97th Bomb Group, 3rd Air Force. The 97th
BG was established on 28 January 1942 and activated on 3 February 1942.
It moved to England and was with the 8th Air Force between May and July
1942. In November 1942 it moved to the Mediterranean Theater and joined
the 12th Air Force. In November 1943, it moved to the 15th Air
Force. The 97th BG was inactivated in Italy on 29 October 1945. Uncle Art
said he flew in a bomber called “Thunderbird”, which was named by its crew.
Robert was wounded by shrapnel two or three times, lost a lung, knocked
unconscious, and had to be pulled out of the tail section by his feet. He was
stationed in England then North Africa and participated in invasion of Africa,
bombed Germany, and destroyed oil fields in Romania. He ran out of fuel and had
to ditch in the desert as well as having two planes shot out from under him. On
25 April 2007 Uncle Carl Bowers told me that Robert used to haul “corn liquor”
in his truck and would park the truck on the street in front of their house,
would make his dad so mad. In the back the truck would have “fertilizer on top
and corn liquor underneath.” Robert used to deliver prescriptions for Coles
Drug Store on a motorcycle and put corn liquor in the saddlebags. Once he was
on his motorcycle, crossing the Grainger Street Bridge, and hit a patch of ice.
“He laid that motorcycle down and busted all his corn liquor.” Uncle Robert had
dark hair and brown eyes and was, according to Art, good at leather and
woodworking. At one time he had an orange grove, but lost it to a freeze. I
believe Uncle Carl said that Robert had owned a gas station, but the health
department shut him down because they thought lung X-rays showed evidence of
tuberculosis. The dark spots were actually pieces of shrapnel from when he was
wounded during WWII. Robert told them this, but they did not listen.(Mom said that Uncle Robert had married three times.
By his second wife, Julie, they had a son, little Robert who died. They lived
around 5th Avenue in Knoxville at the time)
Obituary-Story for Willam R. Bowers, Jr.
DIED: William Bowers, Jr.
Funeral for William Robert Bowers, Jr. 9-month-old son of Mr. and Mrs. W.R.
Bowers , will be held today at 10:30 at Rose’s Chapel, the Rev. J.K. Smith
officiating. Victim of a freak Thanksgiving accident, Robert died after an
orange seed was lodged in his lung.
William R. Bowers, Jr., 9-month-old son of Mr. and Mrs. William R. Bowers, 810
North Fifth Avenue, died at 11:45 a.m. today at General Hospital after an
illness of two days. Surviving, in addition to parents, are grandparents, Mr.
and Mrs. W.E. Bowers and Mrs. Julia Weaver, all of Knoxville. Services will be
at 10:30 on Monday at Rose’s Chapel. Rev. J.K. Smith will be in charge.
Joe,
My mothers' name is Ann Marie Mashburn, born June 26,
1919. I think her and daddy married December 19, 1945. I was their 1st child
and I was born on Feb. 19th 1947 at Knox County Hospital. My mother had 2
children Robert Larry and Vivian Gail by her previous marriage. Her first
husband had died of a heart attack when my sister Vivian was about 6 months
old. Then in addition to me there is my younger brother William Mark born July
27, 1957. He is the Assistant Fire Chief in Plant City Fl. He is married to
Shelia and they have 2 daughters, Toni Ann and Tiffany Sue. Then next is Bettye
Ann born July 12, 1951. She is married to Eddie Gschwender
and has 2 children, Sherri Ann and Ronald David. Then there is Charles David
married to Camille who have two children, Kenneth
Davis and Monica Ann. (Letter from Sue Wirt 1 Feb. 06.) (Aunt Nell Bowers
mentioned on 11-15-2010 that Vivian had a son, Robby, who went out on a fishing
trip on Christmas Day and never returned.)
Joe,
It was so wonderful to hear from you! I am so excited to finally get a
connection with someone else on my daddy's side of the family.
I was born in Knoxville, but daddy and momma moved to Fl when I was very young.
We came up to Knoxville mainly in the summer time and of course there were many
times that Grandma Bowers visited with us in FL. I loved her so very much and
have so many wonderful memories of her. It was quite amazing, Uncle Carl, gave
me a picture of her when she was a very young girl, and Joe, my granddaughter,
Sarah looks so amazingly like her!
I try so hard to remember everyone but unfortunately, the only siblings of my
daddy's that I really know is my Uncle Carl. I say "my" because
he has always been so dear to me, and such apart of
my life. In fact we just spoke on Tuesday evening. And, Ricky, he is so very
special. He refers to me as his Susie. Uncle Carl, Aunt Nita, Steve, Mike &
Ricky were very much a part of my life growing up. I still see Steve on
occasion but have not seen Mike in many years.
The last time I saw Uncle Art and Aunt Willy, I think was in the late
70's. As for your mamaw, my Aunt Dora, I have a
dim memory of her, in that, she and daddy looked alike and that she was a very
beautiful lady. It is the same for your Mother, Bettye. I just remember how
beautiful she was.
My daughter, Cheryl, has also has done some extensive genealogy with
Bowers/Grant side. If you would like to contact her via email her address it
is: themagnesgroup@bellsouth.net. I will forward your email to her. I know she
will be most anxious to be in touch with you.
Yes, I know what your mean about my momma. We have attempted on many occasions
to talk with her about daddy and his activities during the war but she just
does not have the information. It was not until recently, that I became aware
that they were not married during his tour in the military and that I have a
half sister named Carolyn. I would just love to come to Knoxville and see all
of my family. There are so many missing pieces to the puzzle. My brothers and
sisters just keep trying to put it together based upon what we can remember
daddy telling us.
The picture which is attached to the email from Mr., Bette in CA, is that my
daddy in the picture on the Isle of Capri? In 1980 for my daughter's 16th
birthday we went to Italy. Before we left my daddy told us his stories of being
in Italy, flying there, I believe he said from Germany on a bombing mission. He
said they stayed in Salerno and went to the Isle of Capri. In fact, I have a
picture of my daughter and me in a setting with a background identical to the
one that is attached to one of the emails you sent. Aside
from that, when we returned from Italy daddy remembered so many of the sights
in the pictures that we had taken. We made a point to visit the Isle of
Capri and Salerno, as well.
I loved my daddy very much and although it has been more than 20 years since he
went to be with Jesus, I still miss him terribly. I feel as if I am rambling
but I am just so excited to be actually able to communicate with a cousin!
Let's see, I can remember coming to Grandma Bowers' and playing with Barbara,
Marvin and Jack on the "mountain" by Grandma's house. I do remember
visiting at Uncle Melvin's home with Aunt Nell and Frankie and Brenda. (Letter
from Sue Wirt, 27 January 2006)
United States Army, Army Air Force. Be it known that SERGEANT WILLIAM R.
BOWERS, 34289151, unassigned, has satisfactorily completed the course of
instruction prescribed for AERIAL GUNNERS, at the LAS VEGAS
ARMY GUNNERY School. In testimony whereof and by virtue of vested authority I
do confer upon him this DIPLOMA. Given at Las Vegas, Nevada this Seventh day of
September in the year of our Lord one thousand nine hundred and
forty-two. Curtis E Wood, Air Corps Echelon Commander. W.H. Endicott,
Captain, Air Corps Secretary.
Army of the United States. To all who shall see these
presents, greeting: Know ye, that reposing special
trust and confidence in the fidelity and abilities of PRIVATE WILLIAM R.
BOWERS, 34289151, I do hereby appoint him SERGEANT (TEMPORARY) ARMY AIR FORCES
UNASSIGNED on the SEVENTH day of SEPTEMBER 1942. Given under my hand at LAS VEGAS ARMY GUNNERY SCHOOL, LAS VEGAS, NEVADA this SEVENTH
day of SEPTEMBER in the year of our Lord one thousand nine hundred and
FORTY-TWO FOR THE COMMANDING OFFICER: Herbert W. Anderson, Colonel, Air Corps,
Executive.
Following is a letter that was found at Gillespie Avenue Baptist Church
recently regarding Robert:
2nd Timothy: 2-3. Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus
Christ.
A word to let you know that we have not forgotten you.
Written 17 December 1943 by Rev. J.K. Smith, pastor of
Gillespie Avenue Baptist Church.
Robert Bowers is at home now. He was wounded in North Africa, again in Sicily,
and a third time in Italy. He was in the hospital in the U.S. several weeks,
but is now at home for 30 days. Then he is to return to the hospital in Palm
Beach, Florida. He hopes to get strong enough to return to his post in Europe.
He has the distinction of being the first Knoxville boy to shoot down an enemy
plane in North Africa. He has shot down three in all.
POSTAL TELEGRAPHS sent to William E. Bowers at 514 7th Avenue from Washington D.C.
on 25
May and 30 September 1943 state the following:
REGRET TO INFORM YOU THAT YOUR SON STAFF SARGEANT WILLIAM R. BOWERS WAS
SLIGHTLY WOUNDED IN ACTION ON MAY FIVE-TWELVE SEPTEMBER IN THE NORTH AFRICAN
AREA. REPORTS OF CONDITION EXPECTED EVERY FIFTEEN DAYS. YOU WILL BE ADVISED AS
REPORTS ARE RECEIVED. ADJUTANT GENERAL.
(Wounded twice, on May 5th and again on September 12, 1943)
Certificate-14 January 1944
The undersigned certifies that the medical records of Staff Sergeant William R.
Bowers, ASN 34289151, 340th Bomb Squadron, 97th Bomb Group, Army Air Force,
show that the above enlisted man received a combat injury while on a bombing
mission over Rome, Italy on 12 September 1943.
Signed: Frederick P. Maibauer, Captain, M.C. Flight Surgeon Consultant. (A mission record, #169,
shows a bomb run on Frosinone A/D, Italy, 12 Sept. 1943. Flak moderate, very
accurate. 11 air craft suffered flak damage. Another landed at friendly
field. Four men wounded: Lt Connors, Bombadier ; Lt. Fountain, Navigator; Lt. Hanson, Bombadere,
SSgt Bower (Bowers) Tail Gunner)
Section T, MaDill Field RTU (HB) 14 June 1944.
Subject: Recommendation for Flying Cadet School.
To: To whom it may concern.
1. S/Sgt. William R. Bowers, #34289151, has been known to the undersigned for approximately
three (3) months. During this time he has discharged his duties as an armorer
in a superior manner. He has taken cheerfully and willingly all
responsibilities and consistently has looked for work beyond the actual scope
of his duties. He further has shown leadership in his handling of men assigned
to him.
2. It is the opinion of the undersigned that S/Sgt. Bowers has all the
requisites to make a most capable flying officer and that his combat experience
will prove valuable in this office, both to himself and those with whom he will
come in contact. Thomas C. Hassett, 1st Lt., Ordnance
Dept. Acting Armament Officer.
Separation Qualification Record For: William R. Bowers, #34289151, Born: 1 July
1918. Date of Entry Into Active Service: 8 July
1942. Permanent Address: 1503 North 6th Avenue, Knoxville, Tenn. Highest Grade
Achieved: 9th Grade. Last year of Attendance: 1934. Major course of Study:
Academic. Last School Attended: Park Jr. High, Knoxville, Tennessee. Service
School: Gunnery School. Course: Flexible Gunnery. Weeks or Hours: 6 weeks.
Civilian Occupation: Machine operator, knitting mill. Operated
all types of machines in dye department for 5 years. Last date of
Employment: 17 June 1942. Employer: Standard Knitting Mill. Military Specialties:
Principle Duties: Gunner in Air Force and Flying Instructor. Military
Occupation: As gunner, had charge of bomb loading; knowledge of all armament
was necessary. Cal. 50 guns used. Final
inspector of guns. Instructor in complete cruise in
aerial gunnery. Cal. 50 guns. Final inspector of guns. Date of Separation: 23 December
1944. Lt. Charles R. Gibbs, 2d Lt., Separation Officer,
Thayer General Hospital, Nashville, Tennessee.
Hey Doug,
I really appreciate your adding this material to your site. I haven't forgotten your request to put the material together into some logical format; I have too many pots on the fire right now. I will work with what you have and correct a few things here and there. The only thing right off of the bat is in a few places you have Uncle Robert's name listed, I believe, as William R. Roberts rather than William Robert Bowers. For some reason he was Bob to some, and Bill to others. Go figure. If it is pertinent, regarding the picture of Robert and the older lady, this is his mother, my great grandmother, Jerusha Edith Grant Bowers. I assume this was taken when he was on leave, or just prior to leaving. Will see if I can find out.
3 more pictures:
1st picture is of Robert and his sister, my mamaw, Dora Katherine Bowers Davis.
2nd picture was taken when Robert was in the hospital recovering from wounds.
3rd picture is of Robert, far right, recovering from wounds at unknown hospital.
Will holler at you soon and have a great Thanksgiving. I forwarded the link to Uncle Robert's daughter, Sue Bowers Wirt. She will be very pleased indeed.
Take care and I remain,
Gratefully yours,
Joe
----------
Doug,
3 more pictures:
First picture: Here is the original bomber crew picture you requested minus the inserted names. Uncle Robert back row, right with cast on leg.
Second picture: Postal Message regarding Uncle Robert being wounded.
Third picture: Postal Message regarding Uncle Robert being wounded.
If you can use the postal messages, they may not be legible unless you expand them and make them larger once you have inserted them.
Have a few more to send,
Joe
--------------------------------
4th set of pictures:
First picture: Uncle Robert before joining up, 1942 Second picture: War Bond from Uncle Robert to his dad.
Third picture: Uncle Robert recovering from wound in hospital somewhere.
Hi
Craig,
You
might say that I chose to focus on the 97th BG that my father-in-law was in
Jan-Nov 1943. The 97th formed under the 8th AF in 1942 and was under the
15th AF for 18 months after Nov 1943. I will rethink how I present
the webpage.
A better
history is here:
http://www.8thafhs.org/bomber/97bg.htm
Would
you like me to post a web page for him? I'm always open for submissions.
Regards,
Doug
Cook
Dhahran, Saudi Arabia
From:
craigsmith48@comcast.net [mailto:craigsmith48@comcast.net]
Sent: Sunday, November 21, 2010 8:57 PM
To: Cook, Douglas J.
Subject: Re: 97th BG
Hi Doug,
Thanks for getting back to me. My dad (Ned
S. Smith) was in the 97bg 414th squadron. I believe he was a tail gunner in the
B-17 named Tuff Titty. I'll attach pictures. I'll also
send you a screen shot to your page that has my YouTube video.
I would really like you to post a page
about my dad. That would be a great honor.
Hope to hear from you soon.
Craig Smith
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqNoRNJSXx0
From:
Jacandorbotts@aol.com [mailto:Jacandorbotts@aol.com]
Sent: Monday, January 31, 2011 7:00 PM
To: Cook, Douglas J.
Subject: tiny correction
Congratulations again on the nice job of
collecting all that material for the public and for all of us who were in the
414th--97th.
One photo in the nice photo collection
purports to be that of the "Foggia airfield" site "now
returned to farm land." I don't know what it's a picture of, but it
doesn't show the field at Amendola, where we were
stationed. That field is still there, now much
improved, of course, and operated by the Italian air force. I was there
for a visit in 1990, and the layout of runways and hardstands is much
the same today, only very modern. Google or Mapquest
will get you a nice satellite view. Jack Botts
Jack,
Thanks for
the correction. I’m not sure how I came
to that image. On Google Earth would I
search for Amedola, Italy?
I take it
you were stationed there with the 97th BG 414th BS. I am honored to be contacted by you. What was your service duty? Would you be interested in sharing your story
and having a webpage dedicated to you? I
would be glad to work with you on it.
Regards,
Doug Cook
From: Mike [mailto:mshort3502@bresnan.net]
Sent: Tuesday, February 08, 2011 3:04 AM
To: Cook, Douglas J.
Subject: B-17 "Stinky Jr."
Importance: High
Doug,
What a wonderful website and a great tribute to the greatest generation.
My brother-in-law was the pilot of Stinky Jr. on 9/7/1943 and was shot down over Foggia, Italy. Two of the crew survived; my brother-in-law, 1st Lt. Glenn J. Rhodes, pilot; and Brian Johnson from New Jersey, the waist gunner. They both were taken as POW's. Rhodes ended up in Stalag Luft 1 in Barth, Germany. He was liberated by the Russian Army in May 1945. Johnson's whereabouts as a POW is not known to me. He did survive the war as my brother-in-law received a letter from him after the war.
Glenn Rhodes passed away May 14, 2009.
If you learn of any more information about this plane and crew I would appreciate hearing about it.
Thank You for all your research.
Sincerely,
Mike Short
307-258-5842
Hi Mike,
Thanks for
writing. As you have seen, what I have on the website
is incorrect. You have given me the correct history with a story to tell. I would be glad to dedicate a webpage to the crew. Would it
be possible to get more from Glenn Rhodes?
Here is an example of a similar story I put together with material from
Robert Rast’s brother-in-law:
http://www.reddog1944.com/RAST_97th%20BG%20414th%20BS.htm
Regards,
Doug Cook
From: chad smith
[mailto:chadsmith@frenship.us]
Sent: Tuesday, May 17, 2011 4:32 PM
To: Cook, Douglas J.
Subject: 414 Squadron
I got your email address from Bob Lineberger and he
said you might be able to assist me. I am trying to get information on my
grandfather who was a pilot of a B-17 in WW2. I have not been able to
find a lot of information until I found Bob on a web site then he directed me
to you. I have created a blog and I am following my grandfather through
his days in the war. Any information that you could send my way would be
greatly appreciated. What my blog centers around right now is bombing
missions. I am trying to tell where he flew, the area he bombed, why that
area was valuable and then stats on that bombing run like X amount of planes
dropped so many bombs, they meet this much resistance, lost this many planes.
Things like that. I would also love to find out what planes my
grandfather flew in. He always said that they changed planes every trip
so he never had a plane like the "Memphis Belle". And if somehow I stumbled across a picture of him while he was in
Italy that would be amazing. Below is his information, any help
you could give me or direction you could point me would be great. Thanks.
2nd Lt. Raymond R. Benham
414 Bomb Squadron
97th Bomb Group
15th Air Force
Shot down Oct 4 1944, plane tail number 44-8586
Blog Address
http://k2dad.wordpress.com/
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Chad,
I went to
your blog site. Congratulations on a your history project!
I wish I could be of more help but everything I have is posted. If you have not been to my 414th
BS site it may be of some help:
http://www.reddog1944.com/97th_Bomb_Group_414th_Squadron_Index.htm
I would be
glad to put up a webpage dedicated to your grandfather if you have material you
would like to share here. I could also
link it to your blog.
If you know his SSN or military ID number
try to get his service records:
I was successful
getting a gold mine of records for my father-in-law.
Regards,
Doug Cook
From: Laura
Raybourn [laura.raybourn@comcast.net]
Sent: Sunday, July 24, 2011 4:27 PM
To: Cook, Douglas J.; Susan Klein
Subject: Lt. Col. (USA RET.) Jesse S. Raybourn
Dear Mr. Cook ~
My father, Lt. Col. Jesse Raybourn was one of
the few surviving members of the 97th Bomb Group and was at the reunion in
Washington several years ago. I am trying to locate a website where I can
publish his obituary for the remaining members of the 97th and I came across a
history you edited and thus have your email address.
Would you have any contact information that
might be helpful in my search?
If so, it would be a great service to my family
if you could just pass it along. Thank you so much ~
Laura Raybourn
Sent: Tuesday, July
26, 2011 4:02 PM
To: Cook, Douglas J.
Subject: Re: Lt. Col. (USA RET.) Jesse S. Raybourn
Dear Doug ~
Thank you so much for getting back to me.
We are all reeling from the unexpected loss of my father and are travelling an
hour in different directions to plan his services etc and take care of my
mother (his wife of 70 years!). So needless to say I am barely keeping my
head above water. I have attached a copy of his obituary which we just
finished. If you are able to include it in your website
that would be great. Wherever you feel is most appropriate.
Also, I am a
filmmaker and several years ago I videotaped my father telling his life
story. Of course I am just now sitting down to try and edit it to screen
at his memorial service, but if you are interested in video clips down the line,
I would be happy to send you a disc. (Don't hold your breath though!)
Thanks so much for taking the time to keep these
stories alive!
Laura Raybourn
From: "Douglas J. Cook" <douglas.cook@aramco.com>
To: "Laura Raybourn"
<laura.raybourn@comcast.net>, "Susan Klein"
<srpk@comcast.net>
Sent: Monday, July 25, 2011 3:09:18 PM
Subject: RE: Lt. Col. (USA RET.) Jesse S. Raybourn
Laura,
I was
not sure if my first reply got sent:
Thanks
for writing. If it suits you, I would be honored to dedicate a web page
on my site to your father. Once uploaded, anyone could find it by
Google. I'm not sure what level you entered my website but let me guide
you in:
http://www.reddog1944.com/97th_Bomb_Group_414th_Squadron_Index.htm top level for 97th Bomb Group probably where you found
the history.
Did
you see the link to the 2006 reunion? Perhaps your father was there.
http://www.reddog1944.com/97th_BOMB_GROUP_REUNION_2006.htm
I
have links to individual veterans pages from
submissions from people like you. For example:
http://www.reddog1944.com/414th_Squadron_Tillan_Dancey.htm
http://www.reddog1944.com/RAST_97th%20BG%20414th%20BS.htm
Regards,
Doug Cook
Laura,
The
obituary has been posted:
http://www.reddog1944.com/Raybourn_Obituary_97th_BG.htm
It is linked
to my 97th BG page:
http://www.reddog1944.com/97th_Bomb_Group_414th_Squadron_Index.htm
Let me
know if its OK. You
should be able find it from a Google search in few days.
Regards,
Doug
Cook
From:
jcummings247@aol.com [mailto:jcummings247@aol.com]
Sent: Monday, September 12, 2011 5:37 PM
To: Cook, Douglas J.
Cc: rockeyecrm@eoni.com
Subject: Re: Capt. Truman Cummings
Hi
Doug,
At long last, I'm writing back to send you the bio and photos of my father,
Truman Cummings, who was the pilot of Ther-N-Bak. I apologize for the delay, but it turned into an
emotional project for me. I again looked through all the pages of your website
in order to make every effort not to send you duplicate photos, such as the
Churchill photos, aerial mission photos, the Nut Cracker, etc. I believe that
the mission photo from Cagliari, Sardinia isn't on your website anywhere.
I've attached the bio and a list of suggested captions for the photos. Please
edit as you see fit. Once again, I very much appreciate the time and effort
you've put into this website; it is a valuable resource for researchers,
history buffs, and the families of the servicemen. I looked through all the
pages all over again this weekend, which ended up being a better way to spend
9/11 than watching t.v. I've noticed more additions.
What a great website! I will send the photos in separate emails.
Thanks again. I hope all is well with you and your family.
Looking forward to hearing from you,
Jennifer Cummings
From: Lindamae [mailto:oldgeneralstorewestfall@yahoo.com]
Sent: Friday, November 11, 2011 11:45 PM
To: Cook, Douglas J.
Subject: reddog1944 site info
Thank you Doug for your great site.
I would like to update your info however, as my father was the navigator on the All American in 1943 when it sustained injury. Mom kept a wonderful scrapbook and I have more photos to send you if you wish to post them. But for today, in honor of Veteran’s Day and all veterans...here is the list of crew members and a note from my dad. Let me know if you would like more, including his written account of the incident.
Thanks
Linda Nuessle
Linda,
This
is a very precious piece of 97th BG history for Veteran’s
Day! I would love to receive more to share with 97th BG
vets and families. Thank you for contacting me.
Regards,
Doug
Cook
From: Sime Lisica [mailto:simelisica79@yahoo.com]
Sent: Tuesday, February 28, 2012 7:14 PM
To: Cook, Douglas J.
Subject: 97th B.G 414th Sq. information
Hello Doug,
My name is Sime Lisica and I live in
Croatia, part of the former Yugoslavia. I'm researching the planes and crews
that bailed out, crashed or ditched in my country during the WW2. While
searching through the internet, I've found interesting detail regarding one
97th B.G. 414th B.S. crew. I wonder if you could help me about it.
The crew listed below was picked up by the
Catalina of the 1st emergency rescue squadron on the morning of October 16th
1944 on the island, just a few miles SW from the place where I live today. I
believe the plane crashed the day, or a couple of days earlier, somewhere in
the area. In the text from the 1st E.R.S. it is mentioned that the plane
ditched, but somehow I believe it crashlanded on the
nearby island. Do you maybe have any information regarding the crew or plane
from the story I've attached below in the email.
I couldn't find the information or the
MACR on the footnote website (Fold3) or anywhere else about this crew. I'm
wondering if there is an escape statement somewhere, since it could help a
lot.
Do you know what happened to other at
least two crewmembers, since usually the crew was consisted of 10 members ?
If you maybe have any information about
this crew and plane, or might know someone that could know something, please
let me know. It is interesting that on this date October 16th 44, just a few
hours later a B-24 from the 485th B.G. had been crashed in the sea at the same
area. My friends and I were able to locate the wreck on the sea bottom in 2005
and we made a contact with one of the survived crewmembers. After he bailed, he
was rescued and hidden from the Germans by the young lady, who is still alive.
My friend Jerry Whiting, a historian of the 485th B.G. wrote the story about
this, in one of his books.
Great website by the way
! Thanks for sharing the information, photos and stories with all of us
who are interested. Couple of the photos of the B-17s in flight on your website
were pictured over Croatia, actually one photo was pictured over the islands,
very close to the place where this particular 97th B.G. crew was picked up by
the Catalina. Here is the information I've copied from the documents of the 1st
emergency rescue squadron:
Best regards,
Sime Lisica
16 October l944:
Early Morning take-off
at 0700. Lt Walker and his crew had the flight to a fix given as 44 l7'N
l4 48’E. Upon arriving there and landing in the harbor of an island, contact was
made with a British underground Captain who informed the pilot the men who were
ditched had been moved to another island. Take off from the harbor was
effected immediately and the PBY, proceeded to the designated spot. Circling
the village indicated, Lt Walker shot flares but receiving no reply decided to
circle the, entire island. After doing this, they returned to the village and
received a reply to his signal. Landing in the harbor, the flight
surgeon, Capt. Jack T Haskins, went a shore and
dressed the wounds of three of the men who had ditched. After taking care of
these wounded men all the downed crew members were taken aboard the PBY. These
eight survivors were from the 414 Bomb Squadron, 97th Bomb
Group, and included:
1st Lt Jack
DeHaas
2nd Lt Robert E Parker
T Sgt Foster B Powell
T Sgt Paul J Frierech
T Sgt Samuel Schinasi
S Sgt
William C. Hamilton
Sgt
Eugene A Albo
Sgt
William Straton
Sime,
All
the crew information I have is posted. You may try posting your query on
97th Bomb Group Forum.
forum.armyairforces.com/15th-AF-97th
There
are members there who have a book called ‘Venit Hora’ that may have more information.
Thanks
for writing. Let me know if you find more. I will post it.
Regards,
Doug
Cook
From: Noah Levy
[mailto:noahatlic@gmail.com]
Sent: Sunday, March 04, 2012 8:35 AM
To: Cook, Douglas J.
Subject: Hustlin Hussy
Hello my name
is Noah Levy, I am one of the grandson's to Harry W.
Locke (a waist gunner and radio engineer) on the Hustlin
Hussy. My grandfather died in June of 1998. He served in the early
1940's over in Africa, Italy, and a few other places. Prior to him dying
I asked him about the war of which he was not a fan of saying much about.
If I recall correctly they flew 52 missions, he was part of the 97th (I
was over at my grandmothers house today and was
looking at his only book I can find that he has, which is a 200 something page
book on the 97th and the B-17's of that time).
I have
searched high and low to find more info on the Hustlin
Hussy and the era my papa flew with it. I have spent years looking just
for an image of the plan and the pinup art on the nose and have come up with
very little. I have literally spent years letting time go by and the
internet I assumed would finally catch up but here I am years later and still
no images, info, or anything to confirm this time frame that he served.
At my grandmothers house today I reviewed lots of old photos of
him in Africa but no images of the plane.
I would
appreciate any info or any direction you may have to send me in to find more
info on my heritage and history of my hero H.W. Locke (aka Papa to me)
Thank you!
-Noah Levy
Noah,
Thanks for
writing. If you have pictures and
service information on you father, I would be glad to post a web page
dedicated to him.
www.reddog1944.com/97th_BG_Comments_and_Corrections.htm
Google Search
yielded from my website a dialog from John Keegan jakeegan@twcny.rr.com
John refers to this
book. I think I have a copy of it to
check for the plane.
B-17 Flying Fortress Units of the MTO, Hess, Osprey
Publishing
At least one and likely both of the planes pictured in
the colour plates of the Ness book with squadron # 1
are mislabelled as 414th planes when in fact they are
341st squadron planes. I did a
aircraft serial number search on 42-30267 and it went down in Romania with the
341st/97th and not the 414th.
(97th BG, 341st BS, 'Hustlin' Hussy') shot down Jun 23, 1944 near Mizil, Romania. MACR 6951
http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1942_2.html
42-30267 (97th BG, 341st BS, 'Hustlin' Hussy') shot down Jun 23, 1944 near Mizil, Romania. MACR
6951
You could also put out a query on this
forum:
forum.armyairforces.com/15th-AF-97th-Bomb-Group
Regards,
Doug Cook
From: Rene [mailto:rene.donofrio@sbcglobal.net]
Sent: Monday, March 19, 2012 9:12 PM
To: Cook, Douglas J.
Subject: 97th bomb gp/ 414th bomb sq
Dear sir,
I am tracing my family tree and came across a form on Ancestry.com for my Grandfather, John Patrick Boland, that is the Record of Burial Place of Veteran. It lists that he was a Cpl. in the 97th bomb gp 414th bomb sq from April 14, 1943 to November 24, 1945. I was wondering if you had any records on him and if there was a way I could get them. I did a search on Yahoo, and this is how I got your information from the website:
http://www.reddog1944.com/Missions_Targets_Combat_Action.htm I would be much abliged of any information you could give me about his time in the service. He never shared his stories about the war, so I am curious now that I know what group he was in.
Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Irene Rose (Dunlap) Donofrio granddaughter of John Patrick Boland, Daughter of Rose Ann (Boland) Dunlap
Hi Rene,
All the information I have is posted. You will find much more on the 414th BS at this top level page:
http://www.reddog1944.com/97th_Bomb_Group_414th_Squadron_Index.htm
You may be able to get your grandfathers military service record from:
I filled out their form (SSN and/or service record number required) and got my father-in-law's service record.
If you are able to gather enough information for a story and want to share photos, I would be glad to post it on the website.
Regards,
Doug Cook
From:
Robert Randall [randallb@jps.net]
Sent: Wednesday, April 11, 2012 7:18 PM
To: Cook, Douglas J.
Subject: Hell's Kitchen
I was surfing your website today and may have some information for you in
reference to the B-17 "Hell's Kitchen." Specifically, I am referring
to the photograph with crew members associated with the return of the aircraft
to the states. My grandmother kept a scrapbook during the war. Edward Forrest
Stoddard, Jr. is my 1st cousin, once removed. He passed away in 1971. The
individual squatting at the middle of the photograph bears a striking
resemblance to him. I have attached a newspaper article as evidence. It
mentions the fact that Edward Stoddard piloted the airplane back to the states.
He was a Lt. Col. at the time, and the individual in the photograph appears to
be wearing the rank insignia of a Lt. Col. Hope this helps clear up some
questions about the photograph. I would be interested to know what you think
about this.
Robert E. Randall Jr, PhD
Rocklin, CA
From: Hames, John G (John) [john.hames@alcatel-lucent.com]
Sent: Wednesday, May 30, 2012 8:43 PM
To: Cook, Douglas J.
Subject: James Doyle Hames
Hi Doug;
I have enjoyed looking at your web site regarding the 97th
BG and 414th BS.
My name is John Hames. My dad,
James Doyle Hames, served with the 97th BG
from England, North Africa, and Italy as an Ord. Tech.
The attached .ppt file has 2
pictures of my dad with members of the ground crew and in front of Peaches
II. I have read that Peaches II was assigned to the 414th.
My dad was awarded the Bronze Star but was listed to be with the 321st
BS. My dad died in 1969 w/o sharing any information with me. His
records were burned in the fire in St. Louis; therefore I don’t know where to
turn to find more information about the group in general and information
regarding my dad.
I will appreciate any information that you can share with
me as finding this information.
Best Regards,
John Hames
John,
Thanks for
writing. I would take the Bronze Star documentation as accurate.
The discrepancy about 414th vs 321st may be either
that your father or the plane was transferred within the 97th Bomb Group.
You may query the
97th BG forum for more information:
http://forum.armyairforces.com/97th-BG-f78.aspx
You may be able to get your grandfathers military service record
from:
I filled out their form (
If you are able to gather enough information for a story I would
be glad to post it on the website.
Good luck! Keep in touch
Doug Cook
> From: Guy York [mailto:guysmail.tx@gmail.com]
> Sent: Sunday, July 29, 2012 11:08 PM
> To: Cook, Douglas J.
> Subject: Photos & Info
>
> Hello Doug,
>
> It has been a while but I finally got around to gathering more photos and info for the memorial to Lt. Paul Slaten & Crew that you started putting together a couple years ago. I will send a few at a time. Please use any you can for the web page. I am also putting together a list of missions Pete and his crew made before the crash. I also want to put together the log book entries and locations visten enroute when the flew their new B-17F from Florida to North Africa. I think this is a very interesting story in itself.
>
> Here goes....
>
> Let me know what you think.
>
> Guy W. York
> Anchorage, Alaska
> 907-538-3591
> Hi Guy,
>
> I found your original emails from 2009. Looks like a project we left hanging.
>
> I received the pictures. Can you send me a credit line for your cousin?
>
> Can you put together a brief bio sketch for Slaten?
>
> Can you scan the log book entries and locations visited enroute when the flew their new B-17F from Florida to North Africa with the story you want to tell?
>
> Regards,
>
> Doug Cook
Hi Doug,
Ya, It has been a while. Lots of moving...Hawaii...Texas and now back to Alaska. Have gotten more active in the old military stuff again and am anxious to move forward with this project with your help. By the way, thanks for everything you do. It means a lot to a lot of folks.
The credit for all the information on my Great Uncle Pete is mostly due to my 2nd Cousin John Bailey. Pete died in 43. I was born in 49 but John grew up with the stories about Uncle Pete and knew him as a small child. John tells me about building wooden bombers with marbles as bombs that flew on a string across the chicken pin. A string attached to the plane activated the bomb release and the chickens caught hell. John has done a great job over the years accumulating and organizing Uncle Pete's story. John passed the gauntlet on to me a few years ago and I hope to do my share to keep Pete's memory alive along with the many other young me that left homes, school, jobs and the farm to go and save the world.
Guy W. York
Anchorage, Alaska
2012
Attached is a bio on Pete better than I could do. It is from our home town newspaper in Ft. Stockton Texas...I gives good detail about Pete...background...training...crash. You can take what you want from it or I can write something for you from the info provided.
Attached here is dome good "color" info...also from the home town newspaper...it includes some info about a training accident of some other boys but the middle part is all "Uncle Pete". You see he had a girlfriend that worked in the phone company in Ft. Stockton...Pyote training base as only about 80 miles North...Stories go that Pete would bring that 17 down main street over on one wing and buzz the phone company. When he left for Florida and Africa...my Mom tells me that his crew dropped a crate of his personal stuff out of the 17 right onto the farm...
Guy
From:
gmlewis@mindspring.com [mailto:gmlewis@mindspring.com]
Sent: Wednesday, September 26, 2012 4:19 AM
To: Cook, Douglas J.
Subject: 42-30426 B-17F 97th Bomb Group 414th Bomb Squadron, 15th Air Force
Greetings Doug.
I was looking through your website, and noticed that you didn't have this information.
I was wondering if you had any additional information on 2Lt. Virgil Grant Harris.
or additional photo of 42-30426?
42-30426 B-17F 97th Bomb Group 414th Bomb Squadron, 15th Air Force, shot down April 3, 1944 on mission #257 over Budapest Hungary (MARC #3962) Crew became POWs - Pilot - 2Lt. Virgil Grant Harris (Stalag Luft 1) / Copilot - 2Lt. David E. Cadmus (first mission with this crew; Stalag Luft 1 ) / Navigator - 2nd Lt Herbert (NMI) Schubert (Dulag Luft as Mess Officer) / Bombardier - 2LT William H. Echert / Flight Engineer - T/SGT George K. Bechtel (escaped from a moving train in Yugoslavia but recaptured) / Radio - S/SGT Vernon S. Anderson / Starboard Waist Gunner - S/SGT Lucien G. Bergez (Stalag 17B ) / Port Waist Gunner - Sgt. James C. Ready / Ball Turret Gunner SGT James N. Apolzan / Tail Gunner SGT Perry W. Hitchcock
Kind Regards,
Gary Lewis
From: Rick Flack
[mailto:rflackattack@hotmail.com]
Sent: Wednesday, November 28, 2012 7:17 AM
To: Cook, Douglas J.
Subject: 17-Aug-42 Recap, Documents and Related Film Clips - Yankee
Doodle
Doug Cook,
I just completed putting together a 6-Page Microsoft Word document that
I have attached to this email (6,792 KB). This document includes my text,
original scanned photos and military documents from my father's Military
Library, and several links to related video clips from the 17-Aug-42 97th Bomb
Group mission. Note that some of the film footage in the video links are not
from the 17-Aug-42 mission (bomb-bay scenes, waist gunners in action, etc), but were added by the film producers to provide a
complete picture for news release stories.
I have a huge volume of original material (photos, slides, military
documents, etc.) from my father's library that I maintain. I have been scanning
this material for several years (~2,000 images thus far) as time permits but
still have a long way to go before completion.
I found your link (http://www.reddog1944.com/414th_Squadron_Planes_and_Crews.htm)
to be very interesting. Thank you for making it available.
Hopefully you will find my material informative, and please feel free to
incorporate it into your website. Simply credit my father, Colonel
Rudolph Emil Flack (original 414th Squadron Commander). Minimally, I wish
to bring clarity and set the record straight regarding the 17-Aug-42
mission.
Please let me know if I may be of further assistance,
Fredrick Richard "Rick" Flack
15029 253rd Avenue SE
Issaquah, WA 98027-8265
206-669-5229 (Cell w/o Voice Mail)
425-392-9742 (Home w/Voice Mail)
RFlackAttack@hotmail.com
From: Rick Flack
[mailto:rflackattack@hotmail.com]
Sent: Monday, January 14, 2013 9:33 PM
To: Cook, Douglas J.
Subject: RE: 17-Aug-42 Recap, Documents and Related Film Clips - Yankee
Doodle
Hi
Doug,
Thank you for taking time to respond to my email. I fully understand
your work demands that must come first as I am in the same situation.
The full name (and rank at the time of the 17-Aug-42 mission) of each
crewman in the referenced photo are as follows:
|
Yankee Doodle B-17E (41-9023) Crew Listing for 17-Aug-42 Mission |
Duty |
|
Photo Top Row from Left to Right: |
|
|
2nd Lt James W. Dunn |
Navigator |
|
2nd Lt Carl E. Schultz |
Bombardier |
|
Captain Rudolph E. Flack (414th Squadron and Mission Commander, Flight Leader) |
Pilot |
|
2nd Lt John R. Dowswell |
Co-Pilot |
|
2nd Lt Will A. Hadden -- Did Not Fly (replaced by Sgt E. B. Clark -- Waist Gunner) |
|
|
Photo Bottom Row from Left to Right: |
|
|
Sgt Shiller Cohen (Photo) -- Did Not Fly on Yankee Doodle, Flew on "Big Punk" |
|
|
Staff Sgt Edwin N. Breedlove |
Radio Operator |
|
Sgt Ernest B. Clark (Ball Turret Gunner) |
Asst-Radio-Op |
|
Staff Sgt Paul W. Haygreen (Top Turret Gunner) |
Engineer |
|
Sgt Raymond C. Lewis (Tail Gunner) |
Gunner |
|
Sgt Frank Hayes (Waist Gunner) |
Asst-Engineer |
I did view all of the links as noted in your email. In fact, and as a point of interest, please
refer to the text in the second paragraph that that follows Life Magazine page
21, in your "http://www.reddog1944.com/LIFE_Margaret%20Bourke.htm"
link as the text states the following:
"Shortly before 9 a.
m. the squadron climbed into the dry air over its desert base and moved
northeastward toward the Tunisian border.
Miss Bourke-White rode in the lead plane, Little Bill, piloted by
26-year-old Major Rudy Flack of Pasadena, Calif., able and imperturbable
veteran of more than a score of combat missions in the European and African
theaters of operations."
Please refer to the attached news article (Wednesday, August 4, 1943 – Evening
Outlook, Santa Monica, California) that includes quotes from Miss Margaret
Bourke-White; whereby, she expands upon her story from above.
I would be honored to
provide you with material for inclusion into your website to honor my father
similar to what you did for Captain Truman W. Cummings. It will take me some time to put together a
short biography with related photos for such a website inclusion.
Thank you for your time,
interest and assistance in this matter and I am looking forward to future
communications.
With Warm Regards,
"Rick" Flack