Norwich, England May 1995 In honor of the 50th Anniversary of VE Day, I attended a reunion in Norwich, England which was the town central to the B-24 bomb groups of the Second Air Division. Ever since I saw the movie “12 O’clock High”, I dreamt of returning to Horsham St. Faith. So my wife,… Read More »50th Anniversary of VE Day
New York City, May 1945 I became a civilian on 6/23/45. I was one of the earliest to leave the service, even though the war was still on with Japan. I wanted to be a commercial pilot from the first days of the war and hence joined the Army Air Corps and selected the multi-engine… Read More »Civilian Life
St. Petersburg, Florida, Feb – May 1945 I was rotated back to the USA the beginning of 1/45. After one month’s furlough, I reported in February to the reclassification center in Miami Beach, Florida. After a few weeks there, I was sent to the Don Ce Sar Convalescent Hospital in St. Petersburg, Florida. It was… Read More »Don Ce Sar Convalescent Hospital
Europe, December 1944 Our last 4 missions were in late December to support the Battle of the Bulge. We flew December 24th, 25th, 27th, and my last mission was on the 28th. I had completed 36 missions. The official communication on December 31, 1944. In part, it read: “…completed an operational tour of 36 missions… Read More »Final Tour of Duty
Europe, December 1944 My crew had 7 glorious days of long needed rest and relaxation before our last tour of duty. The officers went to Knightshayes in Tiverton and the enlisted men went to South Port Rest Home in Birkdale (view original R&R Orders). It was the first time in Europe that I wore civilian… Read More »Knightshayes Court
Europe, December 1944 At the start of my tour in Europe I took this photo at a London studio for the folks back home. The bar on the hat defined my officer status. Flight Officer was blue, 2nd Lt. Gold, and 1st Lt. Silver. After 6 months, on 8/11/44, I was officially promoted to 2nd… Read More »Distinguished Flying Cross
Europe, 1944 Some team eh! My crew of the Howling Banshee certainly was some team. However, one of my buddies from the Lower East Side, Sid “Red” Katz, had his own A1 team in mind with me as their pilot. He sketched out a plane with his imaginary crew of the neighborhood guys he thought… Read More »Crew From New York City
Europe, 1944 We flew combat missions, practice missions, and sometimes transported fuel. I kept a Pilot’s Log of all my flight time and related flight data. Our combat missions varied in difficulty. Sometimes it was a “milk-run” and other times we encountered great danger, especially over the heavily antiaircraft areas of industrial Germany. We also… Read More »High Noon Over Germany
Horsham St. Faith, England, 1944 Horsham St. Faith was the HQ of the 96th Bomb Wing with its very desirable operating and living quarters. Originally, it was a RAF base and had permanent brick buildings for dining and living compared to the Quonset Huts (metal fabrication) and pot belly stoves at the other airfields. I… Read More »Horsham St. Faith Airfield
Europe, 1944 Army Air Corps 8th Air Force 2nd Air Division 96th Bomb Wing 458th Bomb Group 753rd Bomb Squadron After a year and half of training and preparation, I was now a part of the: 753rd Squadron 458th Bomb Group 96th Combat Wing 2nd Air Division 8th Air Force Army Air Corps The Second… Read More »The Second Air Division