tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25705756359283984062024-03-13T03:03:46.812-04:00The Charlie-Boy Chronicles: A WWII Pilot's Storycharlieboy chronicleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00948295416417329568noreply@blogger.comBlogger98125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2570575635928398406.post-33540004790671396722022-05-30T12:18:00.002-04:002022-05-30T12:18:36.489-04:00May we always remember and reflect on this Memorial Day the freedoms we enjoy and for those who sacrificed so much<p> https://biggeekdad.com/2016/05/memorial-day-tribute/#.YpTtYCN-fdw.link</p>charlieboy chronicleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00948295416417329568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2570575635928398406.post-39933222761710338612022-03-15T09:39:00.001-04:002022-03-15T09:39:56.925-04:00Sgt. Robert Ladislaw USAF of the 98th Bomb Group...passed away October 5th, 2019. <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj-l8ui8ACoNhKmfmkLXv9JA0WGzDWXki-SJmgjb87VKND4etytOFUwKH_8tWKe0Q3rMUdsFqJaHjTYP1c4Id11QfFBsDoIxcdNsLzzuBeVtW8eksnZprKLtFjx9n19_qKbYyh5bKegw4sQqjopKC4eGixGjNDl8IXLvCk2NZQdsN-PReRInu9NcSS4=s720" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="720" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj-l8ui8ACoNhKmfmkLXv9JA0WGzDWXki-SJmgjb87VKND4etytOFUwKH_8tWKe0Q3rMUdsFqJaHjTYP1c4Id11QfFBsDoIxcdNsLzzuBeVtW8eksnZprKLtFjx9n19_qKbYyh5bKegw4sQqjopKC4eGixGjNDl8IXLvCk2NZQdsN-PReRInu9NcSS4=s320" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh5eBKFdInDd9G16Vj0wlh70-t3-pwsIrLFobEZJqr2J4qWAvm5W1d_8mCI64C_D8YroM6Y19D-iQYF3iHBxkNWx74ZgG1SjKX1zLC5FXgyeew4ueYkHrpTPTK90W7aA0e7dqLGlQUF-k7E2_Y4Ln56P2MueNBaSFYEwsXng8OxGd1PQpFav9X6wMk9=s720" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="720" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh5eBKFdInDd9G16Vj0wlh70-t3-pwsIrLFobEZJqr2J4qWAvm5W1d_8mCI64C_D8YroM6Y19D-iQYF3iHBxkNWx74ZgG1SjKX1zLC5FXgyeew4ueYkHrpTPTK90W7aA0e7dqLGlQUF-k7E2_Y4Ln56P2MueNBaSFYEwsXng8OxGd1PQpFav9X6wMk9=s320" width="320" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><p> ROBERT LADISLAW, USAF (Ret), SMSgt Robert Passed peacefully at the Dayton VA
Hospice October 5th, 2019. He was married to his loving Wife Marian for
61 years. He is preceded in death by his Parents, Siblings, and his
Daughter Therese Ladislaw. Bob will be watching over his Wife Marian,
Daughter Ann (Gary) Detro, Grandchildren Marie Keaton, Lisa (Kyle)
Marcum, Bob Ladislaw, and Chris Cusick. Great Grandchildren Elizabeth,
Ava, and Scarlett, numerous nieces and nephews, and many lifelong
friends. His Honorable Service to the United States Air Force spanned 40
years. He volunteered at the National Museum of the United States Air
Force for 22 years and received the Director's Award for Volunteer of
the Year. Bob was a member of the 91st Strategic Reconnaissance Wing,
98th Bomb Group, B-47 Stratojet Association, B-52 Stratofortress
Association, Air Force Association Iron Gate Chapter, Knights of
Columbus, Disabled American Veterans, VFW Post 3283, and American Legion
Post 526. Bob loved his family and friends. Rest in Peace Papa. Our
Family thanks the Dayton VA Hospice Staff for their compassion and
respectful care of our family during this difficult time </p><p> I had the pleasure of meeting Bob and his wife, Marian in 2010 at the 98th Bomb Squadron reunion in Savannah Georgia. My dad and mother had gone to many of these reunions and Bob and Marian were a couple that they stayed in touch with over the years. I am so glad I had the opportunity to meet them in person. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjJpa67H3pJKhRh3E3_Zp7UJmA1C06UMoOWqiFublZCKr9BGoBVnQCX57F3k5NomHytdgqFWLUviWtTGh1hfs86Yaqav26tQzWV82NbXFPkhkW25Mq7G0eEeDOiiRBaFNc2vlMzDwSOB4gqDHKFz4j7nuyAzanVXhw5uqBNxnmtQRH4Dnolq1EHaGz3=s1554" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1036" data-original-width="1554" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjJpa67H3pJKhRh3E3_Zp7UJmA1C06UMoOWqiFublZCKr9BGoBVnQCX57F3k5NomHytdgqFWLUviWtTGh1hfs86Yaqav26tQzWV82NbXFPkhkW25Mq7G0eEeDOiiRBaFNc2vlMzDwSOB4gqDHKFz4j7nuyAzanVXhw5uqBNxnmtQRH4Dnolq1EHaGz3=s320" width="320" /></a></div> <p></p><p> <span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span>THE CREW OF THE GREEN-EYED IKEY<br /></p><p><br /> </p><p>Today is the 77th anniversary of the last mission of the flight of the Green-Eyed Ikey. We continue to honor them and those who have served so bravely defending our freedoms. May we continue to earn every day what they fought so bravely for. </p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiR4eIjUMHWdFn61WuHmQD3W37WdVYMHySbM7oyh3wmAyIbe5yF0hxmp_9NGBcKvrFt0pAAMFDYN9eczQ_Y7Az6CPEgc0NUSMy_4zpJJt5AAfJNfwYKXrrpWAVYS1td7OawoFVTY3y8ez0zUhIku2Ohq3DlDjwvZy1MiGIQnLXovqzCbfff-kvpKpT6=s660" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="457" data-original-width="660" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiR4eIjUMHWdFn61WuHmQD3W37WdVYMHySbM7oyh3wmAyIbe5yF0hxmp_9NGBcKvrFt0pAAMFDYN9eczQ_Y7Az6CPEgc0NUSMy_4zpJJt5AAfJNfwYKXrrpWAVYS1td7OawoFVTY3y8ez0zUhIku2Ohq3DlDjwvZy1MiGIQnLXovqzCbfff-kvpKpT6=s320" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>CAPTAIN CHARLES H. ESTES<br /></p>charlieboy chronicleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00948295416417329568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2570575635928398406.post-59883082380270722972021-03-15T08:59:00.002-04:002021-03-15T09:11:51.093-04:00The 76th Anniversary of the last mission of the Green-Eyed Ikey 415th Bomb Squadron of the 98th Bomb Group<p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyLApiHssQfy_GfrPSGUlqkp089cFQfMr_NtTv2KbRCxpV6QzBWVhz56Xt1hJPBoEz2BOU7_b9ABgd6LzE6pN3wDejclTn2lT_LaowhQtZL7UTp2k130qpuX93oI3JdRVNVzspssMapvg/s1554/CREW.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1036" data-original-width="1554" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyLApiHssQfy_GfrPSGUlqkp089cFQfMr_NtTv2KbRCxpV6QzBWVhz56Xt1hJPBoEz2BOU7_b9ABgd6LzE6pN3wDejclTn2lT_LaowhQtZL7UTp2k130qpuX93oI3JdRVNVzspssMapvg/s320/CREW.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My dad and the crew of the Green-Eyed Ikey<br />415th Bomb Squad of the 98th Bomb Group.</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="text-align: left;"> </span><span style="text-align: left;"> </span><em style="background-color: #5588aa; color: #000033; font-family: Trebuchet, "Trebuchet MS", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17.444px; font-weight: 700; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Kneeling from left: Sgt. John Norris, Sgt. Red Cochran,</span></span></em><br style="background-color: #5588aa; color: #000033; font-family: Trebuchet, "Trebuchet MS", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17.444px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; text-align: left;" /><em style="background-color: #5588aa; color: #000033; font-family: Trebuchet, "Trebuchet MS", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17.444px; font-weight: 700; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> Sgt. Harry Henry,</span></span></em><em style="background-color: #5588aa; color: #000033; font-family: Trebuchet, "Trebuchet MS", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17.444px; font-weight: 700; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: x-small;"> Sgt. Raphael Gonyea, Sgt. Don Brown.</span></em><br style="background-color: #5588aa; color: #000033; font-family: Trebuchet, "Trebuchet MS", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17.444px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; text-align: left;" /><em style="background-color: #5588aa; color: #000033; font-family: Trebuchet, "Trebuchet MS", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17.444px; font-weight: 700; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: x-small;">Top Row: Lt. Charles Estes, S</span></em><em style="background-color: #5588aa; color: #000033; font-family: Trebuchet, "Trebuchet MS", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17.444px; font-weight: 700; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: x-small;">gt. Frank Delois,</span></em><br style="background-color: #5588aa; color: #000033; font-family: Trebuchet, "Trebuchet MS", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17.444px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; text-align: left;" /><em style="background-color: #5588aa; color: #000033; font-family: Trebuchet, "Trebuchet MS", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17.444px; font-weight: 700; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: x-small;">John Congleton, Bob Swain.</span></em><br style="background-color: #5588aa; color: #000033; font-family: Trebuchet, "Trebuchet MS", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17.444px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; text-align: left;" /><em style="background-color: #5588aa; color: #000033; font-family: Trebuchet, "Trebuchet MS", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17.444px; font-weight: 700; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: x-small;">(Not pictured - Lt.</span></em><em style="background-color: #5588aa; color: #000033; font-family: Trebuchet, "Trebuchet MS", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17.444px; font-weight: 700; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: x-small;"> Valliant, Lt. Jim Mulligan,</span></em><br style="background-color: #5588aa; color: #000033; font-family: Trebuchet, "Trebuchet MS", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17.444px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; text-align: left;" /><em style="background-color: #5588aa; color: #000033; font-family: Trebuchet, "Trebuchet MS", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17.444px; font-weight: 700; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: x-small;">Lt. Swanson and Lt. Joe Dobkin. <br /></span></em><br style="background-color: #5588aa; color: #000033; font-family: Trebuchet, "Trebuchet MS", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17.444px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; text-align: left;" /></td></tr></tbody></table> <span> </span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS5w5ZmANxk0FBBFdwdKy9XyDRXsGAoRkX3bEhc6HHzclAlquEY-0IbiVM5hmgGQX6hesIPfYmA5T9JTXcIsoOBaA_8V8kV4tfTPl5uD1KZw_IxYJYHMPZJCJjx5lF6kSCgfPDuko3EAc/s720/415th2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="720" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS5w5ZmANxk0FBBFdwdKy9XyDRXsGAoRkX3bEhc6HHzclAlquEY-0IbiVM5hmgGQX6hesIPfYmA5T9JTXcIsoOBaA_8V8kV4tfTPl5uD1KZw_IxYJYHMPZJCJjx5lF6kSCgfPDuko3EAc/s320/415th2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alex and Barbara from San Diego, CA</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjrUcJIEqNGOlZzqxReLua4NiBYSDzrvA5NTF55vrBXYVtylPMC6Ti6kTbGJ8ymBGbt2pAU5F1F0Wey5CHhxTrBw03dMX3A-m7rSz1FySR0LFBKR6Ehx68BVfXYYiKVRB5WxYBLeM3fY8/s720/415th3.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="720" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjrUcJIEqNGOlZzqxReLua4NiBYSDzrvA5NTF55vrBXYVtylPMC6Ti6kTbGJ8ymBGbt2pAU5F1F0Wey5CHhxTrBw03dMX3A-m7rSz1FySR0LFBKR6Ehx68BVfXYYiKVRB5WxYBLeM3fY8/s320/415th3.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bob and Marian Ladislaw from Ohio. <br />They became good friends and made a trip to <br />Yazoo City to visit my Mother and Papa</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBgEMsnSEe-WAMfup9iSeXSIJJ1qiUvQ8zH1FDgIfgERuqjZOuxSYV6pQoFebHWqdONBAsOXatZzWkFCiBfhZOn9dOeu2EDLAOUWFeDcSHYLjL9D8oZjB8MdyFspXtpbWjL8KlHWuvIOs/s720/415th4.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="720" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBgEMsnSEe-WAMfup9iSeXSIJJ1qiUvQ8zH1FDgIfgERuqjZOuxSYV6pQoFebHWqdONBAsOXatZzWkFCiBfhZOn9dOeu2EDLAOUWFeDcSHYLjL9D8oZjB8MdyFspXtpbWjL8KlHWuvIOs/s320/415th4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixZtu88wOlGEhoSGHmnea12AAisnzAj9yzy2ueg5aqYVvq63IydJuA1wX6MWf9L6RhR2I-M6uwWk6cEQrPODRq4CD6TLArScfocNzmaRqYVsRSqNGcB4naZqCwBt16Y6QqyyxuZSQcgCc/s720/415th5.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="720" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixZtu88wOlGEhoSGHmnea12AAisnzAj9yzy2ueg5aqYVvq63IydJuA1wX6MWf9L6RhR2I-M6uwWk6cEQrPODRq4CD6TLArScfocNzmaRqYVsRSqNGcB4naZqCwBt16Y6QqyyxuZSQcgCc/s320/415th5.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These were some of the patches associated <br />with the 98th Bomb Group</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge6gyuKen0-D57It6ZkJFQQp1KVytv2hUNjgqLCV__cu9wvzVyF5lbkU1Y_kieig3H8bkEON3ZOPZ4OV-m3NeigYNA0PY_kWM1uGTUjuLnMLCOTd1dO2MhmxfMh37g8w_4aWVqYtVtnyc/s720/4156.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="720" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge6gyuKen0-D57It6ZkJFQQp1KVytv2hUNjgqLCV__cu9wvzVyF5lbkU1Y_kieig3H8bkEON3ZOPZ4OV-m3NeigYNA0PY_kWM1uGTUjuLnMLCOTd1dO2MhmxfMh37g8w_4aWVqYtVtnyc/s320/4156.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">John Formwalt, pilot in the 415th Bomb Squad<br />of the 98th Bomb Group.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlaKvSJkqFQ7ogcIiVWtkW8tiXe51rNBvkwbPNtVrgbzuvJijjpWwHpQh0kaeV_St3e7qaV6kRqV0pBNjD-yqFXWNFbYVMmbG3J1WeLniJHLSnaeURJFB3wRwLL9jbHu2mQnL4hGiYqh8/s720/415th.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="720" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlaKvSJkqFQ7ogcIiVWtkW8tiXe51rNBvkwbPNtVrgbzuvJijjpWwHpQh0kaeV_St3e7qaV6kRqV0pBNjD-yqFXWNFbYVMmbG3J1WeLniJHLSnaeURJFB3wRwLL9jbHu2mQnL4hGiYqh8/s320/415th.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ralph Donnelly, pilot in the 415th Bomb Squad<br />of the 98th Bomb Group. <br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /> In 2010 my husband Rick and I attended the reunion of the Pyramidiers 98th Bomb Group in Savannah, Georgia. My father had attended many of these reunions and enjoyed visiting with old friends he had made at these reunions and meeting new friends and sharing their stories. I had met a few of my dad's friends while at the reunion and was saddened to hear of others who had passed on. I met many wonderful men that evening and enjoyed listening to their stories. They were happy to share them with me and I knew how much it meant to them to know someone cared to listen. <p></p><p>With every passing year we lose 276 WWII vets. According to US Department of Veterans Affairs statistics, 325,574 of the 16 million Americans who served in WWII were alive in 2020. With their passing goes their stories of their heroism. </p><p>These wonderful men and women who at such a young age, responded to the call of duty to their country. I have read through my father's detailed accounting of his story in this blog hundreds of times. What it was like to go through basic training, how much he respected his crew and the friendships that lasted long after the war. He wrote of their many missions over Germany and Austria until their final mission where they were shot down. Through his words I felt as though as was there with him and his crew. Here you are this young man in your 20s in the midst of a war overseas, far from home and you and your crew must bail out over hopefully friendly territory in what was then Yugoslavia. I cannot imagine the emotions they were all experiencing. His story went on to describe how they made it back with the help of Tito's men through enemy lines. It's a great story of heroism. This was their story and I'm so glad it was told. As we lose so many of these brave men and women of that great generation, I am sad to think of all the others whose stories we will never hear. Will this next generation remember their bravery? Will they remember how a generation of young men and women answered their nations call to join with other countries to fight a war to bring freedom and restore democracy? I hope so. I remember the words of Lincoln at Gettysburg and those words remain true today. </p><p>"<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."</span></p><div><b style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;"><br /></b></div><p class="f--intro-text" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1a1819; font-family: calluna, serif; font-size: 1.625rem; font-weight: 600; line-height: 1.7em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></p>charlieboy chronicleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00948295416417329568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2570575635928398406.post-49159203449572239242020-03-14T22:44:00.003-04:002020-03-15T09:09:11.614-04:00Burial at Arlington Cemetery - Honoring 2nd Lt. James Mulligan <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="color: #000033; font-family: "trebuchet","trebuchet ms","arial",sans-serif;">
<b>T<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">he early morning hours on March 15th, 1945, seven B-24s sat idling on the runway of Lecce Air Field Italy awaiting the signal from the tower to begin their mission...to bomb the marshaling yard at the Schwechat oil refinery in Vienna, Austria. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">After successfully</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> completing</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> their mission </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">their B-24 Bomber suffered </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">heavy flak damage while over </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Yugoslavia. </span></b></div>
<div style="color: #000033; font-family: "trebuchet","trebuchet ms","arial",sans-serif;">
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> After being hit in their #2 and #4 engines the</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> crew </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">was forced to bail out, and with the help </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">of a small village and </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Marshall Tito's men,</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-weight: bold;"> the crew was able to walk back over the </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Alps and into Split, Yugoslavia where they</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> traveled by boat </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">across the Adriatic Sea </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">back to their base in Bari, Italy. </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Today marks the 75th anniversary of this mission. </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
March of 2018, 2nd Lt. James Mulligan and his wife, Lois, were buried at Arlington Cemetery in Virginia. There can be no greater honor to a veteran who has served his country well. Today in honor of the 75th anniversary of their mission, 2nd Lt. James Mulligan tells his story of the mission and the remaining months as the war came to an end. </b><br />
<b></b><br />
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: #000033; font-family: "trebuchet","trebuchet ms","arial",sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<b style="color: black; font-family: Times;"><span id="goog_451154604"></span><span id="goog_451154605"></span><a href="https://youtu.be/Qp6WKbR-_FI">https://youtu.be/Qp6WKbR-_FI</a></b></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiADEw8bVZy2S7nQMGwsrJ_Fs-yrzl7DxO3xVwN2qREonzLXKDQWSZsQI21rezCVcvz2B830vPyFZY-BDWuv3jY7BlHDFLTu5D5GtMCUsJqWSNNT-DfkqoYEcnmZDwlzT3MQbcA3EJ7WN8/s1600/Mulligan+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="480" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiADEw8bVZy2S7nQMGwsrJ_Fs-yrzl7DxO3xVwN2qREonzLXKDQWSZsQI21rezCVcvz2B830vPyFZY-BDWuv3jY7BlHDFLTu5D5GtMCUsJqWSNNT-DfkqoYEcnmZDwlzT3MQbcA3EJ7WN8/s320/Mulligan+%25281%2529.jpg" width="320" /></b></a></div>
<b><br />
<br />
<br />
<span id="goog_451154604"></span><span id="goog_451154605"></span><a href="https://youtu.be/Qp6WKbR-_FI">https://youtu.be/Qp6WKbR-_FI</a></b><br />
<b></b><br />
<b><br />
<br />
</b>
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="color: #000033; font-family: "trebuchet","trebuchet ms","arial",sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b></b><br /></span></div>
</div>
charlieboy chronicleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00948295416417329568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2570575635928398406.post-50244805192954715522019-03-15T19:39:00.002-04:002019-03-15T20:53:44.789-04:00MEDALS...THEY TELL A STORY<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><i>In the top drawer of Papa's dresser contained odds and ends...a pair of cufflinks, an old watch...and his war medals. I'm sure they meant something to him at the time. But as in life, you move on from the past and live your life in the present. There is a family to raise, a business to run. They're just medals...or are they really. Something awarded to you for honor, bravery and integrity. But they also tell a story.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><i>My sister Hope years later, took them from the drawer and together with my brother, Larry, arranged them and had it framed. </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><i>After Papa passed away, Larry had discovered some papers related to the medals, and discovered that he did not have the American and European campaign medals that had been awarded to him. He reached out to Senator Thad Cochran of Mississippi, and shortly soon after, received the medals.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><i>After much research, Larry visited a military store in Jackson, Mississippi, and the owner was able to give Larry great details of each of Papa's medals, dress coat buttons. </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>Larry then took all the medals and with the help of Hope, designed a shadow box that proudly displayed Papa's medals in a manner deserving.</i> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><i><b></b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><i>Larry returned to the military store with the framed shadow box and the owner was overjoyed to see it. He told Larry, that so many times young people would bring their dad's medals in to sell, and that it was heartwarming to see that our Papa's children thought enough of him to honor him this way. "Museum quality," he exclaimed. </i></span><br />
<br />
<i style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">We have a family tradition that each year the framed medals be passed around to each sibling. It is now my year to have the medals to enjoy.</span></i><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-top: -4px; overflow: hidden;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><i>We have lost many of our WWII veterans. With them goes their stories of this war. The medals they leave behind have become important, as symbols to always remind us of their honor, integrity and their devoted service to country.</i> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgznpSEwdFlKA8WyySuC47FbH0zKiVmxsH32SHCKzMy9pBkCeNU-tJ7SbfWgIj0w45_QwRwQKFle4OFwzRMC0IVeNXj6XLyZWfFqwF6UlUp2S62HMgHkbdu8VVDrSsZmMYcAgx1MqclNeU/s1600/medals.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="993" data-original-width="1600" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgznpSEwdFlKA8WyySuC47FbH0zKiVmxsH32SHCKzMy9pBkCeNU-tJ7SbfWgIj0w45_QwRwQKFle4OFwzRMC0IVeNXj6XLyZWfFqwF6UlUp2S62HMgHkbdu8VVDrSsZmMYcAgx1MqclNeU/s320/medals.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic5BboCrEG6S6TgsOBZ_3lOTYfHtEqbRsHPKxqlhuAGeERKbw5VB0CV0n-6DYm2DwNV2llC3pAYgpPmYUj2bt7WBj_itgbEC_iYVmxlOPBmllBqr9QtU6fSdpfwFwGowrBqhh1motqhyphenhyphenk/s1600/Scan+2019-3-15+13.03.36+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1155" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic5BboCrEG6S6TgsOBZ_3lOTYfHtEqbRsHPKxqlhuAGeERKbw5VB0CV0n-6DYm2DwNV2llC3pAYgpPmYUj2bt7WBj_itgbEC_iYVmxlOPBmllBqr9QtU6fSdpfwFwGowrBqhh1motqhyphenhyphenk/s320/Scan+2019-3-15+13.03.36+2.jpg" width="231" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcGsX1Oxr-64DXdMXEsbrP1jHhHOBOimhyphenhyphentJy2h_FxYzypqI3RipHXq_v3d9qkan6gQSgJrxJCXY-UKi_REb3L9-chz3bMW3jhqzjgzF28x5wVAMXM2id7IJTCAS4eOypZgKPNheGTu1g/s1600/Scan+2019-3-15+13.03.36+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1155" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcGsX1Oxr-64DXdMXEsbrP1jHhHOBOimhyphenhyphentJy2h_FxYzypqI3RipHXq_v3d9qkan6gQSgJrxJCXY-UKi_REb3L9-chz3bMW3jhqzjgzF28x5wVAMXM2id7IJTCAS4eOypZgKPNheGTu1g/s320/Scan+2019-3-15+13.03.36+4.jpg" width="231" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRZ66wCgBBJknwXqdLH3Q92RBS2ybzb5CRImFbGhiuY2KrW5cFf8xkx99hy8t0Y6-zFWbjjHToHZ2frBeU7PzKtZZg9_VefpupB6xQCTAKK9dJKdQpAErtM4VJbnF21-7XJyJ-4O6_3_M/s1600/Scan+2019-3-15+13.03.36+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1155" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRZ66wCgBBJknwXqdLH3Q92RBS2ybzb5CRImFbGhiuY2KrW5cFf8xkx99hy8t0Y6-zFWbjjHToHZ2frBeU7PzKtZZg9_VefpupB6xQCTAKK9dJKdQpAErtM4VJbnF21-7XJyJ-4O6_3_M/s320/Scan+2019-3-15+13.03.36+5.jpg" width="231" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaqOcvt2O-8Ns1kKeWOsX6su8w_HKA1aBaK9jqxA0Emr_n0VdAgKH4-FQOstfDH5M8jCv6NOlZ-hPXDYglY3UTERGUb8gv4rvDfo6AHY1J1p2kf7TRSaMux8hn4mDzPpjN0h7fl51CvSc/s1600/Scan+2019-3-15+13.03.36+6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1155" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaqOcvt2O-8Ns1kKeWOsX6su8w_HKA1aBaK9jqxA0Emr_n0VdAgKH4-FQOstfDH5M8jCv6NOlZ-hPXDYglY3UTERGUb8gv4rvDfo6AHY1J1p2kf7TRSaMux8hn4mDzPpjN0h7fl51CvSc/s320/Scan+2019-3-15+13.03.36+6.jpg" width="231" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv9uYyKSN9I4qPicr95haTFdbackri03JZY0xFD9djqgd0R8TyudL-4jvqcHjGiYZpZP0lLvDB3s1Q0NMbgdD7qyY5caQRYIbgBmWO4O1gn1ZU1lgd2WikeHL20sVBMAe387QbMHIHryI/s1600/Scan+2019-3-15+13.03.36+7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1155" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv9uYyKSN9I4qPicr95haTFdbackri03JZY0xFD9djqgd0R8TyudL-4jvqcHjGiYZpZP0lLvDB3s1Q0NMbgdD7qyY5caQRYIbgBmWO4O1gn1ZU1lgd2WikeHL20sVBMAe387QbMHIHryI/s320/Scan+2019-3-15+13.03.36+7.jpg" width="231" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinZ3vjDeUD2UHFX4SlJhCas77mF3V2uwRQwSdn-ukpOr3uP29UvD8QE5mTstrZaDB1NbY_KzercxQZlvFb3mqCPVs5jrAvx8x7UCsbMsZNxbVqASfmT1iWgldYZcQX5G60_7aG6GRS_nM/s1600/Scan+2019-3-15+13.03.36+8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1155" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinZ3vjDeUD2UHFX4SlJhCas77mF3V2uwRQwSdn-ukpOr3uP29UvD8QE5mTstrZaDB1NbY_KzercxQZlvFb3mqCPVs5jrAvx8x7UCsbMsZNxbVqASfmT1iWgldYZcQX5G60_7aG6GRS_nM/s320/Scan+2019-3-15+13.03.36+8.jpg" width="231" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoQ35kM7u-iE7-FXUCWaYcEGpI2qeeAia1W1dWEqpu6jd1b6adDxDdLMi05eNQln_C_uQFDHT5th7rMtf67j0d3iEDhserJfrsiTq1jxB44Z4EfCNYaIuaimMc_IR6UbPmSC3W5g6PiTQ/s1600/Scan+2019-3-15+13.03.36+9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1155" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoQ35kM7u-iE7-FXUCWaYcEGpI2qeeAia1W1dWEqpu6jd1b6adDxDdLMi05eNQln_C_uQFDHT5th7rMtf67j0d3iEDhserJfrsiTq1jxB44Z4EfCNYaIuaimMc_IR6UbPmSC3W5g6PiTQ/s320/Scan+2019-3-15+13.03.36+9.jpg" width="231" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTu5_j0qz1HvfWBgZJVXiumocI2MOWNUWKMAm9X2KJMorQCrAxCiMnQ6nfoa14fHNqOvh5MTFUEwmKDcmiVRXZwQvrdnCGByZatttGxrVtFOxEzKv4G6BWaiCK8ki6Xr0ywKQwIFLQ0aY/s1600/Scan+2019-3-15+13.03.36+10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1155" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTu5_j0qz1HvfWBgZJVXiumocI2MOWNUWKMAm9X2KJMorQCrAxCiMnQ6nfoa14fHNqOvh5MTFUEwmKDcmiVRXZwQvrdnCGByZatttGxrVtFOxEzKv4G6BWaiCK8ki6Xr0ywKQwIFLQ0aY/s320/Scan+2019-3-15+13.03.36+10.jpg" width="231" /></a></div>
<h2>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span></h2>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
charlieboy chronicleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00948295416417329568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2570575635928398406.post-58814671177619398602018-03-14T20:55:00.001-04:002018-03-14T20:55:12.315-04:0073rd Anniversary of the Green-Eyed Ikey B-24 Mission...this blog chronicles the story of their last bombing mission<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="color: #000033; font-family: trebuchet, 'trebuchet ms', arial, sans-serif; font-weight: bold;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i> </i></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i> </i>In the early morning hours on March 15th, 1945, seven B-24s sat idling on the runway of Lecce Air Field Italy awaiting the signal from the tower to begin their mission...to bomb the marshaling yard at the Schwechat oil refinery in Vienna, Austria. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">After successfully</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> completing</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> their mission </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">their B-24 Bomber suffered </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">heavy flak damage while over </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Yugoslavia. </span></div>
<div style="color: #000033; font-family: trebuchet, 'trebuchet ms', arial, sans-serif; font-weight: bold;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> After being hit in their #2 and #4 engines the</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> crew </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">was forced to bail out, and with the help </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">of a small village and </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Marshall Tito's men,</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-weight: bold;"> the crew was able to walk back over the </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Alps and into Split, Yugoslavia where they</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> traveled by boat </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">across the Adriatic Sea </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">back to their base in Bari, Italy.</span></div>
<div style="color: #000033; font-family: trebuchet, 'trebuchet ms', arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="color: #000033; font-family: trebuchet, 'trebuchet ms', arial, sans-serif; font-weight: bold;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Today marks the 73rd anniversary of this mission. Of the seven planes, four were lost. </span></div>
<div style="color: #000033; font-family: trebuchet, 'trebuchet ms', arial, sans-serif; font-weight: bold;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The Green-Eyed Ikey was the lead plane. This would be their 34th and final mission. There were eleven men aboard this B-24.</span></div>
<div style="color: #000033; font-family: trebuchet, 'trebuchet ms', arial, sans-serif; font-weight: bold;">
</div>
<div style="color: #000033;">
<div style="font-family: trebuchet, 'trebuchet ms', arial, sans-serif; font-weight: bold;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">After the war my father and his fellow crew</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> members </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">returned home to the States</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> where they married, raised </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">a family and</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> began a career. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">They were the lucky ones.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: trebuchet, 'trebuchet ms', arial, sans-serif; font-weight: bold;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Over 500,000 Army Air Corp men and </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">women</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> died </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">in air combat during WWII, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">and with them went their </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">untold stories</span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> of heroism and acts of valor. </span></div>
<div style="font-family: trebuchet, 'trebuchet ms', arial, sans-serif; font-weight: bold;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: bold;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Seven years ago I began this blog to honor my father and the men who were aboard this B-24 and to tell their story. As a proud daughter of a WWII veteran, I am honored to remember their efforts. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> For it is in </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">remembering them that we continue </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">to honor their devotion and commitment </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">to the service</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">of their country.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: trebuchet, 'trebuchet ms', arial, sans-serif; font-weight: bold;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Trebuchet, 'Trebuchet MS', Arial, sans-serif;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b> </b> May their story always live on in our </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">hearts for many, many years to come...</span></div>
</div>
<div style="color: #000033; font-family: trebuchet, 'trebuchet ms', arial, sans-serif; font-weight: bold;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="color: #000033; font-family: trebuchet, 'trebuchet ms', arial, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEKO93pr4eykRHcBhwcLrTP2hECca-8Da6MnSEwmE4HXEUN3GVq6GGSTdG9tYzZNAns73wssrGCAcwGtO6Zi7gvatxB-uBUPP1TBmzVdGUI9Z8PdCGnUPW9JYRSTQtYQ2XO38xaDFyHWs/s1600/CREW.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEKO93pr4eykRHcBhwcLrTP2hECca-8Da6MnSEwmE4HXEUN3GVq6GGSTdG9tYzZNAns73wssrGCAcwGtO6Zi7gvatxB-uBUPP1TBmzVdGUI9Z8PdCGnUPW9JYRSTQtYQ2XO38xaDFyHWs/s320/CREW.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
</div>
<div style="color: #000033; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Captain Charles H. Estes, Jr. (Pilot) - My father</span></div>
<div style="color: #000033; font-family: trebuchet, 'trebuchet ms', arial, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Lt. Col. John Walter Congleton (Co-Pilot)</span></div>
<div style="color: #000033; font-family: trebuchet, 'trebuchet ms', arial, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> 1st Lt. Bob Swain (Navigator)</span></div>
<div style="color: #000033; font-family: trebuchet, 'trebuchet ms', arial, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Sgt. John Norris (Lower Ball Gunner)</span></div>
<div style="color: #000033; font-family: trebuchet, 'trebuchet ms', arial, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Sgt. Raphael Gonyea (Turret Gunner and Radioman)</span></div>
<div style="color: #000033; font-family: trebuchet, 'trebuchet ms', arial, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Don Brown (Nose Gunner)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Sgt. Red Cochran ( Waist Gunner)</span></div>
<div style="color: #000033; font-family: trebuchet, 'trebuchet ms', arial, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Sgt. Walter Scott (Flight Engineer)</span></div>
<div style="color: #000033; font-family: trebuchet, 'trebuchet ms', arial, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> 2nd Lt. James Mulligan (Air Discipline Officer)</span></div>
<div style="color: #000033; font-family: trebuchet, 'trebuchet ms', arial, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Lt. Ernie Swanson ( Bombadier)</span></div>
<div style="color: #000033; font-family: trebuchet, 'trebuchet ms', arial, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Lt. Joe Dobkin (2nd Navigator</span></div>
<div style="color: #000033; font-family: trebuchet, 'trebuchet ms', arial, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="color: #000033; font-family: trebuchet, 'trebuchet ms', arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-style: italic;">Sgt. Frank Delois, flight engineer, a member of the crew was unable to fly</span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-style: italic;"> that day </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>due to illness and Sgt. Walter Scott took his place. </i></span></div>
</div>
charlieboy chronicleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00948295416417329568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2570575635928398406.post-25427691764563639142017-05-29T08:56:00.000-04:002017-05-29T13:26:47.275-04:00Remembering Sol Fein...Normandy D-Day Veteran<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: 'open sans', sans-serif; line-height: 1.35; margin-bottom: 15px;">
<div style="font-size: 18px;">
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.35; margin-bottom: 15px;">
<div style="color: #d52331;">
<div style="color: #d52331; font-size: 18px;">
</div>
<span style="color: #6fa8dc;"><span style="color: #d52331; font-size: 18px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 18px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 18px;">"We do not know one promise these men made, one pledge they gave, one word they spoke; but we do know they summed up and perfected, by one supreme act, the highest virtues of men and citizens. For love of country they accepted death, and thus resolved all doubts, and made immortal their patriotism and their virtue. James A. Garfield </span><span style="font-size: 14px; text-align: right;">May 30, 1868 Arling</span><span style="font-size: 14px; text-align: right;">on National Cemetery</span></span></span><br />
<div style="color: #d52331;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; text-align: right;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
</div>
<div style="font-size: 18px;">
I met Sol Fein while researching material for Papa's blog. I stumbled upon his blog and was just mesmerized by his postings. Sol was 85 and decided one day he needed to write about his WWII experiences. We spoke to each other many times throughout those six years. He enjoyed reading my postings on my father's blog. We shared many personal stories of our lives. He often referred to me as his long-lost cousin. He loved my southern accent. I knew he enjoyed playing cards with the guys so he enjoyed the packages of cheese straws I sent him from time to time. I had last spoken to Sol during the summer of 2016. Knowing his birthday was in December I had gone up on his blog to see what he had posted lately. I was stunned and shocked when I read where he had died October 27th. He children had posted the announcement of his passing. How much I had enjoyed our writings and conversations. He was so representative of a generation of men that gave us many of the freedoms we hold so dear. His blog was filled with a lot of life lessons learned from a tumultuous time in our world. I will continue to enjoy rereading his postings and value his shared thoughts from those experiences. </div>
</div>
<div style="color: #d52331;">
<div style="font-size: 18px;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuNTqmdhJhXV7POT7QWWbWiurxxzpai5F08_fUcm_ZSA113I142x6KxLvr3HWbJtzwK22rO-arkaF0Tu2Wdos_BuxiKMkHp6Mq1wrcw9NRmxkmfZ-dATbduAuf6jsRANRS6g0vhOqnf0E/s1600/Sol+Honor+Flight+2016.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="712" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuNTqmdhJhXV7POT7QWWbWiurxxzpai5F08_fUcm_ZSA113I142x6KxLvr3HWbJtzwK22rO-arkaF0Tu2Wdos_BuxiKMkHp6Mq1wrcw9NRmxkmfZ-dATbduAuf6jsRANRS6g0vhOqnf0E/s320/Sol+Honor+Flight+2016.jpg" width="237" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #444444;"><i>I invite you to visit his blog and read his postings. It is an amazing accounting of the D-Day Invasion of Normandy. </i></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 18px;">
<span style="color: #444444;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><i>www.sofine-normandyvet.blogspot.com</i></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 18px; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #444444;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 18px;">
<span style="color: #444444;"><i>The following is an excerpt from one of his postings on Memorial Day.</i></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 18px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #d52331; font-size: 18px;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div style="font-size: 18px;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxytMmk1V22OJqnt2bM1C2fXddwxZA0AlK1yHpkzj0NyVyqpk4Zn81HAcdB-MX9VkGZ3kmStWHcgwRywIAtJGb3-9RuK44drDv8WPFqpbHSyX5pxA7GhvzKIP31Tu07wnasTNIt-JR96M/s1600/young+sol.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="693" data-original-width="495" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxytMmk1V22OJqnt2bM1C2fXddwxZA0AlK1yHpkzj0NyVyqpk4Zn81HAcdB-MX9VkGZ3kmStWHcgwRywIAtJGb3-9RuK44drDv8WPFqpbHSyX5pxA7GhvzKIP31Tu07wnasTNIt-JR96M/s320/young+sol.jpg" width="228" /></a></div>
<strong style="font-family: 'comic sans ms';"><span style="color: red;"><br /></span></strong>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinftAT8BYtzkPptu3nqUCQdXD6yojj2O-DkBCr04-tNxxazP3pXB65yEyNbmF1ojnvpc9mb67Fc_gEWrw0RY8ZWYdr6WC6Iqyqt1D7qKifYFVaABoevNo3FUHtGTazgC2umLjQdFEjlf8/s1600/Sol+Fein.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinftAT8BYtzkPptu3nqUCQdXD6yojj2O-DkBCr04-tNxxazP3pXB65yEyNbmF1ojnvpc9mb67Fc_gEWrw0RY8ZWYdr6WC6Iqyqt1D7qKifYFVaABoevNo3FUHtGTazgC2umLjQdFEjlf8/s320/Sol+Fein.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<strong style="font-family: 'comic sans ms';"><span style="background-color: #eeeeee; color: red;"><br /></span></strong>
<strong style="font-family: 'comic sans ms';"><span style="background-color: white;">What is a Vet?</span></strong><br />
<strong style="font-family: 'comic sans ms';"><span style="background-color: white;">He is the cop on the beat who spent six months in Saudi Arabia sweating</span></strong><br />
<strong style="font-family: 'comic sans ms';"><span style="background-color: white;">two gallons a day making sure the armored personnel carriers didn't run</span></strong><br />
<strong style="font-family: 'comic sans ms';"><span style="background-color: white;">out of fuel.</span></strong><br />
<strong style="font-family: 'comic sans ms';"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></strong>
<strong style="font-family: 'comic sans ms';"><span style="background-color: white;">He is the barroom loudmouth, dumber than five wooden planks, whose</span></strong><br />
<strong style="font-family: 'comic sans ms';"><span style="background-color: white;">overgrown frat-boy behavior is outweighed a hundred times in the</span></strong><br />
<strong style="font-family: 'comic sans ms';"><span style="background-color: white;">cosmic scales by four hours of exquisite bravery near the 38th parallel.</span></strong><br />
<strong style="font-family: 'comic sans ms';"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></strong>
<strong style="font-family: 'comic sans ms';"><span style="background-color: white;">She (or he) is the nurse who fought against futility and went to sleep</span></strong><br />
<strong style="font-family: 'comic sans ms';"><span style="background-color: white;">sobbing every night for two solid years in Da Nang.</span></strong><br />
<strong style="font-family: 'comic sans ms';"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></strong>
<strong style="font-family: 'comic sans ms';"><span style="background-color: white;">He is the POW who went away one person and came back another - or</span></strong><br />
<strong style="font-family: 'comic sans ms';"><span style="background-color: white;">didn't come back AT ALL.</span></strong><br />
<strong style="font-family: 'comic sans ms';"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></strong>
<strong style="font-family: 'comic sans ms';"><span style="background-color: white;">He is the Parris Island drill instructor who has never seen combat but</span></strong><br />
<strong style="font-family: 'comic sans ms';"><span style="background-color: white;">has saved countless lives by turning slouchy, no-account rednecks and</span></strong><br />
<strong style="font-family: 'comic sans ms';"><span style="background-color: white;">gang members into Marines and teaching them to watch each other's backs.</span></strong><br />
<strong style="font-family: 'comic sans ms';"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></strong>
<strong style="font-family: 'comic sans ms';"><span style="background-color: white;">He is the parade-riding Legionnaire who pins on his ribbons and medals with a prosthetic hand.</span></strong><br />
<strong style="font-family: 'comic sans ms';"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></strong>
<strong style="font-family: 'comic sans ms';"><span style="background-color: white;">He is the career quartermaster who watches the ribbons and medals pass him by.</span></strong><br />
<strong style="font-family: 'comic sans ms';"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></strong>
<strong style="font-family: 'comic sans ms';"><span style="background-color: white;">He is the three anonymous heroes in the Tomb of the Unknowns whose presence at the Arlington National Cemetery must forever preserve the memory of all anonymous heroes whose valor dies unrecognized with them on the battlefield or in the ocean's sunless deep.</span></strong><br />
<strong style="font-family: 'comic sans ms';"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></strong>
<strong style="font-family: 'comic sans ms';"><span style="background-color: white;">He is the old guy bagging groceries at the supermarket - palsied now and aggravatingly slow - who helped liberate a Nazi death camp, or the old guy greeting you at Wal-Mart who watched from afar as the Viet Cong cut off the arms of children they had just vaccinated. And they wish all day long that their wives were still alive to hold them when the nightmares come.</span></strong><br />
<strong style="font-family: 'comic sans ms';"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></strong>
<strong style="font-family: 'comic sans ms';"><span style="background-color: white;">He is an ordinary and yet an extraordinary human being - a person who offered some of his life's most vital years in the service of his country, and who sacrificed his ambitions so others would not have to sacrifice theirs.</span></strong><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><b><i>He is a soldier and a savior and a sword against the darns, and he is nothing more than the finest, greatest testimony on behalf of the finest, greatest nation ever known.</i></b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><b><i>So remember, each time you see someone who has served our country, just lean over and say "thank you". That's all most people need, and in most cases it will mean more than any medals they could have been awarded or were awarded.</i></b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><b><i>Two little words that mean a lot..."THANK YOU."</i></b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><b><i>It's the soldier, not the reporter, who gave us our freedom of the press.</i></b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><b><i>It's the soldier, not the poet, who gave us our freedom of speech.</i></b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><b><i>It's the soldier, not the campus organizer, who gave us our freedom to demonstrate.</i></b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><b><i>It's the soldier who salutes the flag, who serves others with respect for the flag, and whose coffin is draped by the flag, who allows the protester to burn the flag.</i></b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><b><i>Just say "thank you", this Memorial Day."</i></b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div>
</div>
<div style="font-family: 'comic sans ms'; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><b><i>I will miss him very much. See you soon my friend! Love you Elizabeth</i></b></span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'comic sans ms'; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'comic sans ms'; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
</div>
charlieboy chronicleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00948295416417329568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2570575635928398406.post-75188808386562411522017-03-19T19:03:00.000-04:002017-03-19T19:03:35.648-04:0072nd Anniversary of the Vienna mission of the 415th Bomb Squadron of the 98th Bomb Group - A Special Dedication to 1st Lt. Hubert D. Clemmons, Jr.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
March 15th, 1945 marks the last mission for the crew of the Green-Eyed Ikey. Their<br />
mission was to bomb the Schwechat oil refinery in Vienna<br />
Austria. <br />
<br />
When I first started this blog seven years ago I had wanted to honor my father's<br />
service as a WWII pilot. In the course of writing this blog and doing research,<br />
I was able to find many of the family members of the crew. They shared their<br />
father's war experiences and pictures and they became a part of this amazing story.<br />
I soon realized that this blog had taken on a life of its own. So many wonderful<br />
emails I have received over the years from sons and daughters who had read<br />
the blog, looking for answers, clues as they researched their own father's<br />
war experiences. My most treasured emails though were those from<br />
WWII vets who after reading my blog would add details to different posts.<br />
<br />
This brings me to an email I received several months ago. Tom Clemmons,<br />
son of 1st Lt. Hubert Clemmons, Jr., had served in the 98th 415th squadron<br />
based in Lecce Italy. He also added that his dad had flown in the same<br />
mission March 15th to Vienna. I was thrilled with this discovery.<br />
I immediately contacted Tom and he informed me that his dad<br />
was still living and soon to be 94 in February. I asked Tom for pictures<br />
and a bio on his dad so I could do a special post. <br />
Regrettably Tom's dad passed away February 10th...just shy of his<br />
94th birthday. <br />
<br />
I hope that this special post on the anniversary of their mission to Vienna<br />
72 years ago today will bring honor to his service to his country, and<br />
our deepest gratitude for the lives and freedoms we have today.<br />
<br />
* * *<br />
<br />
<b><i> IN MEMORY OF 1ST LT. HUBERT CLEMMONS, JR.</i></b><br />
<b><i><br /></i></b>
<br />
<div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"> 1</span><span style="font-size: 9.3px; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: normal;"><sup>st</sup></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"> Lt. Hubert D. Clemmons Jr., 98</span><span style="font-size: 9.3px; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: normal;"><sup>th</sup></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"> B.G., 415</span><span style="font-size: 9.3px; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: normal;"><sup>th</sup></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"> Squadron</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Born February 24, 1923, Lebanon, TN</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Hubert worked in family grocery business, Eskews Grocery as a youth</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">War breaks out in Europe in the fall of 1939</span></div>
<ul>
<li style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 12px; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: normal;"></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Was there a feeling of concern about the war in Europe and possible U.S. involvement or was it viewed as a “war” over there</span></li>
</ul>
<div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Graduates from Lebanon High School in 1940</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Enrolled at Castle Heights Military Academy as a Post Graduate in fall of 1941 for a full school year ending in May 1942</span></div>
<ul>
<li style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 12px; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: normal;"></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Sensed the U.S. was going to be involved in the war and that was the reason to enroll at Castle Heights </span></li>
<li style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 12px; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: normal;"></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">During his tenure at Castle Heights U.S. declares war on Japan following Dec. 7, 1941 attack, Germany follows suit and declares war on the U.S.</span></li>
</ul>
<div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Enlists in the Army Air Corps in Nashville at the Custom House Building Dec. 8, 1942 (19yrs. Old) – Why did he choose the AAF? He said he had always had a desire to fly a plane and didn’t want to be in the infantry.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Basic Training - Centre College Danville, KY</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Primary Flight Training: Camden, ARK. – Nov. 1943 – Feb. 1944</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Basic Flying School (BT-13A): Walnut Ridge, ARK. – Feb. 1944 – March 1944</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Advance Training: Blytheville, ARK. – June 1944</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Transfer to Harlingen, TX (ANT-18, B-24D, B-24H) – July, 1944</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Transfer to Leemore, CA (B-24D, B-24H) – Aug. 1944</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Transfer to March Field, CA (Link Trainer, B-24D, B-24J) – Sept., 1944 – Dec. 1944</span></div>
<ul>
<li style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 12px; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: normal;"></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Crashed while on training mission at night, both engines failed on take-off at 500 ft. resulting in a crash that killed the navigator, Lt. R.K. Davey.</span></li>
<li style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 12px; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: normal;"></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Crew had to train with a new navigator, which resulted in their being delayed in deployment to Europe.</span></li>
</ul>
<div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">98</span><span style="font-size: 8px; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: normal;"><sup>th</sup></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"> Bomb Group Stationed in Lecce, Italy - Active Duty Dec. 1, 1944 to Oct. 2, 1945</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10px; min-height: 14px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">16 Missions:</span></div>
<ul>
<li style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 12px; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: normal;"></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">1</span><span style="font-size: 8px; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: normal;"><sup>st</sup></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"> Mission - Feb. 1, 1945 – Mossbierbaum, Austria (close to Vienna)</span></li>
<li style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 12px; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: normal;"></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">2</span><span style="font-size: 8px; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: normal;"><sup>nd</sup></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"> Mission – Feb. 13 – Vienna, Aus.</span></li>
<li style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 12px; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: normal;"></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">3</span><span style="font-size: 8px; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: normal;"><sup>rd</sup></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"> Mission – Feb. 15 – Vienna, Aus.</span></li>
<li style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 12px; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: normal;"></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">4</span><span style="font-size: 8px; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: normal;"><sup>th</sup></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"> Mission – Feb. 19 – Vienna, Aus.</span></li>
<li style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 12px; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: normal;"></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">5</span><span style="font-size: 8px; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: normal;"><sup>th</sup></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"> Mission – Feb. 20 – Fiume, Italy</span></li>
<li style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 12px; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: normal;"></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">6</span><span style="font-size: 8px; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: normal;"><sup>th</sup></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"> Mission – Feb. 23 – Verona, Italy</span></li>
<li style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 12px; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: normal;"></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">7</span><span style="font-size: 8px; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: normal;"><sup>th</sup></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"> Mission – March 1 – Moosbierbaum, Aus.</span></li>
<li style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 12px; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: normal;"></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">8</span><span style="font-size: 8px; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: normal;"><sup>th</sup></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"> Mission – March 4 – Zagreb, Yug.</span></li>
<li style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 12px; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: normal;"></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">9</span><span style="font-size: 8px; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: normal;"><sup>th</sup></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"> Mission – March 8 – Maribor, Yug.</span></li>
<li style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 12px; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: normal;"></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">10</span><span style="font-size: 8px; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: normal;"><sup>th</sup></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"> Mission – March 9 – Vienna, Aus.</span></li>
<li style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 12px; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: normal;"></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">11</span><span style="font-size: 8px; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: normal;"><sup>th</sup></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"> Mission – March 12 – Regensburg, Germany</span></li>
<li style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 12px; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: normal;"></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">12</span><span style="font-size: 8px; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: normal;"><sup>th </sup></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Mission – March 13 - Maribor, Yug.</span></li>
<li style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 12px; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: normal;"></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">13</span><span style="font-size: 8px; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: normal;"><sup>th</sup></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"> Mission – March 15 – Vienna, Aus.</span></li>
<li style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 12px; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: normal;"></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">14</span><span style="font-size: 8px; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: normal;"><sup>th</sup></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"> Mission – March 17 – St. Polten, Aus.</span></li>
<li style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 12px; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: normal;"></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">15</span><span style="font-size: 8px; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: normal;"><sup>th</sup></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"> Mission – March 22 – Vienna, Aus.</span></li>
<li style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 12px; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: normal;"></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">16</span><span style="font-size: 8px; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: normal;"><sup>th</sup></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"> Mission - March 24, 1945 – Neuenburg, Germany</span></li>
</ul>
<div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">May 8, 1945 V-E Day</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Returned to U.S. Hunter Field, GA (B-24G) – June – July, 1945</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Transferred to San Antonio, TX (Hondo Airfield, Hondo, TX)(TB-24J) – August, 1945</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">August 14, 1945 V-J Day</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Separation Center, Ft. McPherson, GA. – Sept. 1945</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Memphis, TN (T-6C, C-82) – June, 1948 – June 1949 (Reserves) </span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Transferred to Smyrna AFB (C-82A, T-26, T-13, C-45F) – Aug. 1949 – Jan. 1951 (Reserves)</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Had planned to stay on Active Duty except upon returning to Lebanon in 1945, he met a woman, Rosemarie Phelan, whom he married in March 1947.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Together Rosemarie and Hubert had 3 children (Rusty, Tom & Carol), later expanding to 3 grandchildren and 2 </span><span style="font-size: 12px; letter-spacing: 0px;">great grandchild.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Hubert returned to work in the family business, Eskews Grocery following the war.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">In 1965, Hubert purchased the Western Auto store in Lebanon, owned and operated this business until retirement in 1985.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Hubert enjoyed fishing and hunting, playing golf and even attempted tennis until he tore a ligament in his knee, so much for tennis!</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Hubert enjoyed attending many annual reunions of the 98</span><span style="font-size: 8px; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: normal;"><sup>th</sup></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"> Bomber group. He jointly attended many of these with the pilot of his plane, N.D. “Bud “Lassiter of El Paso, Texas. Hubert and Rosemarie, Bud and his wife Rena shared a close relationship over the years and I (Tom) enjoyed Bud’s Texas size tales while attending the reunions with Dad. Below is a 2005 reunion photo of Hubert (co-pilot) and Bud Lassiter (pilot), lifelong buddies!</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10px; min-height: 14px;">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN6e_8zgIBXqv1JgKC-Df8AZDb_fG1vYLPdh_7q_DypzsqsDXLMw6LDtVfZ7elsMwaXIhIH84ata3GU7T26IG8W1fFW5sNfgwf5ris45BXvGjOX68SRDzsSm7THfKZE0WmE5rKCvBqfd0/s1600/DSC00795.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN6e_8zgIBXqv1JgKC-Df8AZDb_fG1vYLPdh_7q_DypzsqsDXLMw6LDtVfZ7elsMwaXIhIH84ata3GU7T26IG8W1fFW5sNfgwf5ris45BXvGjOX68SRDzsSm7THfKZE0WmE5rKCvBqfd0/s320/DSC00795.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hubert Clemmons co-pilot and pilot Bud Lassiter</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div style="clear: left; float: left; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">
</div>
</div>
<div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">In March 1997, Rosemarie passed away unexpectedly. Two (2) years later Hubert married a widow, Maud Butler McClain that he knew from previous dinner and birthday parties held in Lebanon. Maud’s husband, Allen Ross McClain, a WWII army veteran, survivor of the Battle of the Bulge, passed away several years earlier. Hubert, Maud Butler and his children enjoyed attending the 98</span><span style="font-size: 8px; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: normal;"><sup>th</sup></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"> reunions with Dad all across the U.S.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10px;">
</div>
<div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10px; min-height: 14px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">In 2014, the B-24 Witchcraft flew into the Smyrna, TN Airport. It was a hot summer day and Dad and I enjoyed spending some time around the plane and speaking to its keepers.</span><br />
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><br /></span>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbQpFm38AOMNsS5XYf87D8ZwOd3CnkuPlJP3iVjMcaDRlstA4zBBzV7PdkighQtErSu4gCzzKq3m4RreNG-pFmwOSYuNGKwDaepbs9vyvwxomj4uT-9vxyfEXQ4h0vAxM6hj0kzSzhMxk/s1600/2014-08-03+14.29.53.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbQpFm38AOMNsS5XYf87D8ZwOd3CnkuPlJP3iVjMcaDRlstA4zBBzV7PdkighQtErSu4gCzzKq3m4RreNG-pFmwOSYuNGKwDaepbs9vyvwxomj4uT-9vxyfEXQ4h0vAxM6hj0kzSzhMxk/s320/2014-08-03+14.29.53.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Hubert had Parkinson’s disease for over 20 years. During the past year he developed difficulties in swallowing, which we came to find out was due to advanced Parkinsons. In late January of this year, he developed pneumonia and was admitted to the hospital. Come to realize he had an infection in his lungs and his blood oxygen was low. He was placed on a Bpap breathing device to help get more O2 in his system. When the Bpap device was removed his lung collapsed, he suffered a seizure and he had to be intubated (feeding & O2 tube inserted into his throat). After several days, due to his living will conditions, the tube was removed and he was on his own. Remarkably, he lasted for several days, much longer than the medical professionals estimated. One nurse, said he was a ”tough ole bird”. I called it steel resolve from a member of the greatest generation who fought a man’s war as a 21 yr. old boy.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Hubert passed away on February 10</span><span style="font-size: 8px; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: normal;"><sup>th</sup></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">, 2017. </span></div>
<b><i><br /></i></b>
<b><i><br /></i></b>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv2XPq01JPmqiAhEtgyXsbef5ckzEaouSdNTHfu86aS8lXVU3IoeGpPX2DjiapybU1jtr2zbqkAXTem_SI2wMLsJvtz-LPFHgLmm_JBFztUwYVF7SSsQxfxC-HG_L1p9GjelScDrvsgXQ/s1600/Clemmons_WWII_SM001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv2XPq01JPmqiAhEtgyXsbef5ckzEaouSdNTHfu86aS8lXVU3IoeGpPX2DjiapybU1jtr2zbqkAXTem_SI2wMLsJvtz-LPFHgLmm_JBFztUwYVF7SSsQxfxC-HG_L1p9GjelScDrvsgXQ/s320/Clemmons_WWII_SM001.jpg" width="207" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp9WJLjhLuKkwEk9XSVXijj-OtiAiaHFkulU_XREOB25SVQFURkWHKYvnzhvj22FLAk7BHn6qaCt6BC0GVgWmLVs9ETvC-NV07ASMdmpGtz68UTaou4CJ2jz_yWBy01aLHo9titmjkE0M/s1600/Clemmons_WWII_SM002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp9WJLjhLuKkwEk9XSVXijj-OtiAiaHFkulU_XREOB25SVQFURkWHKYvnzhvj22FLAk7BHn6qaCt6BC0GVgWmLVs9ETvC-NV07ASMdmpGtz68UTaou4CJ2jz_yWBy01aLHo9titmjkE0M/s320/Clemmons_WWII_SM002.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW29IDrgoAAZ6LIw29tY9NaSfkuz33OmBLAYIWRlwyckViPkBP6tX2e4UmqGFwJUsPMW5EmN03beAPwe1fRSrfbytNDGq_3mNu6Inn-v8qdrB837u3v3r1oKPlCfs6CIaAYS4la4_DeN0/s1600/Clemmons_WWII_SM003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW29IDrgoAAZ6LIw29tY9NaSfkuz33OmBLAYIWRlwyckViPkBP6tX2e4UmqGFwJUsPMW5EmN03beAPwe1fRSrfbytNDGq_3mNu6Inn-v8qdrB837u3v3r1oKPlCfs6CIaAYS4la4_DeN0/s320/Clemmons_WWII_SM003.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSSTZ3vwKhrgAcZDzDd_1x4Fej5IJJvvWEEYWaz7gm7BfE89WDqT98XmUr_z6W8qxapdI41RyAjr1XAx57ySDpKbJyufdv4vEmJajJ5y6YZ3lCB77gRXDtWMe-Kn0dtyiTtaUo3eXZ3xs/s1600/Clemmons_WWII_SM004.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSSTZ3vwKhrgAcZDzDd_1x4Fej5IJJvvWEEYWaz7gm7BfE89WDqT98XmUr_z6W8qxapdI41RyAjr1XAx57ySDpKbJyufdv4vEmJajJ5y6YZ3lCB77gRXDtWMe-Kn0dtyiTtaUo3eXZ3xs/s320/Clemmons_WWII_SM004.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwYXy5KFLyOTR_8knKGnB-5w_xXn7KrlnAdqbLSB87D-tFRCCheCaTm2-CJStUlt_SRvyqkFlxmQZBQpSmXEze0vZ2QPgnsAc_UqYOPLUzp6LIaXnHooekXjTOoxxnFQ267gfFOGEzKTw/s1600/Clemmons_WWII_SM005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwYXy5KFLyOTR_8knKGnB-5w_xXn7KrlnAdqbLSB87D-tFRCCheCaTm2-CJStUlt_SRvyqkFlxmQZBQpSmXEze0vZ2QPgnsAc_UqYOPLUzp6LIaXnHooekXjTOoxxnFQ267gfFOGEzKTw/s320/Clemmons_WWII_SM005.jpg" width="214" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4i687NWOHxwrTouBzoc2WOZnZs_dQXQpE_K1MseTr04M-Kzt7GvnPVO0NoO6TmAu1KpeN7Or0OYG_KubFJYSoxiJqH84S7mxJLA54vSnZEn9s9k-7WKSXb92mexhMqiJfluIiL1KjJ38/s1600/Clemmons_WWII_SM006.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4i687NWOHxwrTouBzoc2WOZnZs_dQXQpE_K1MseTr04M-Kzt7GvnPVO0NoO6TmAu1KpeN7Or0OYG_KubFJYSoxiJqH84S7mxJLA54vSnZEn9s9k-7WKSXb92mexhMqiJfluIiL1KjJ38/s320/Clemmons_WWII_SM006.jpg" width="207" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMnpzkAImCx6qa1HVROP6I2m_hsYvJHG2RKcPBAX3E1sD_QGe-dS95Hq8qCwCqfGaVTk7GEJXUbgDusMnD9a453FDa1NInmikwm89syzMquuKlUB70H7xpEZEFEgb4AGEtht8NiiLS9rI/s1600/Clemmons_WWII_SM007.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMnpzkAImCx6qa1HVROP6I2m_hsYvJHG2RKcPBAX3E1sD_QGe-dS95Hq8qCwCqfGaVTk7GEJXUbgDusMnD9a453FDa1NInmikwm89syzMquuKlUB70H7xpEZEFEgb4AGEtht8NiiLS9rI/s320/Clemmons_WWII_SM007.jpg" width="220" /></a></div>
<b><i></i></b><br />
<a name='more'></a><b><i><span id="goog_694208484"></span><span id="goog_694208485"></span><br /></i></b></div>
charlieboy chronicleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00948295416417329568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2570575635928398406.post-5831402008504706652016-03-14T22:07:00.000-04:002016-03-14T22:07:15.924-04:0071st Anniversary of the Green-Eyed Ikey's 34th Mission<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="color: #000033; font-family: trebuchet, 'trebuchet ms', arial, sans-serif; font-weight: bold;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i> </i>In the early morning hours on March 15th, 1945, seven B-24s sat idling on the runway of Lecce Air Field Italy awaiting the signal from the tower to begin their mission...to bomb the marshaling yard at the Schwechat oil refinery in Vienna, Austria. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">After successfully</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> completing</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> their mission </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">their B-24 Bomber suffered </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">heavy flak damage while over </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Yugoslavia. </span></div>
<div style="color: #000033; font-family: Trebuchet, 'Trebuchet MS', Arial, sans-serif; font-weight: bold;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> After being hit in their #2 and #4 engines the</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> crew </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">was forced to bail out, and with the help </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">of a small village and </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Marshall Tito's men,</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-weight: bold;"> the crew was able to walk back over the </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Alps and into Split, Yugoslavia where they</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> traveled by boat </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">across the Adriatic Sea </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">back to their base in Bari, Italy.</span></div>
<div style="color: #000033; font-family: trebuchet, 'trebuchet ms', arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="color: #000033; font-family: trebuchet, 'trebuchet ms', arial, sans-serif; font-weight: bold;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Today marks the 71st anniversary of this mission. Of the seven planes, four were lost. </span></div>
<div style="color: #000033; font-family: trebuchet, 'trebuchet ms', arial, sans-serif; font-weight: bold;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The Green-Eyed Ikey was the lead plane. This would be their 34th and final mission. There were eleven men aboard this B-24.</span></div>
<div style="color: #000033; font-family: trebuchet, 'trebuchet ms', arial, sans-serif; font-weight: bold;">
</div>
<div style="color: #000033;">
<div style="font-family: trebuchet, 'trebuchet ms', arial, sans-serif; font-weight: bold;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">After the war my father and his fellow crew</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> members </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">returned home to the States</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> where they married, raised </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">a family and</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> began a career. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">They were the lucky ones.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: trebuchet, 'trebuchet ms', arial, sans-serif; font-weight: bold;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Over 500,000 Army Air Corp men and </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">women</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> died </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">in air combat during WWII, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">and with them went their </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">untold stories</span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> of heroism and acts of valor. </span></div>
<div style="font-family: trebuchet, 'trebuchet ms', arial, sans-serif; font-weight: bold;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: bold;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Six years ago I began this blog to honor my father and the men who were aboard this B-24 and to tell their story. As a proud daughter of a WWII veteran, I am honored to remember their efforts. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> For it is in </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">remembering them that we continue </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">to honor their devotion and commitment </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">to the service</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">of their country.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: trebuchet, 'trebuchet ms', arial, sans-serif; font-weight: bold;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Trebuchet, 'Trebuchet MS', Arial, sans-serif;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b> </b> May their story always live on in our </span><span style="font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif;">hearts for many, many years to come...</span></div>
</div>
<div style="color: #000033; font-family: trebuchet, 'trebuchet ms', arial, sans-serif; font-weight: bold;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="color: #000033; font-family: Trebuchet, 'Trebuchet MS', Arial, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEKO93pr4eykRHcBhwcLrTP2hECca-8Da6MnSEwmE4HXEUN3GVq6GGSTdG9tYzZNAns73wssrGCAcwGtO6Zi7gvatxB-uBUPP1TBmzVdGUI9Z8PdCGnUPW9JYRSTQtYQ2XO38xaDFyHWs/s1600/CREW.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEKO93pr4eykRHcBhwcLrTP2hECca-8Da6MnSEwmE4HXEUN3GVq6GGSTdG9tYzZNAns73wssrGCAcwGtO6Zi7gvatxB-uBUPP1TBmzVdGUI9Z8PdCGnUPW9JYRSTQtYQ2XO38xaDFyHWs/s320/CREW.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
</div>
<div style="color: #000033; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Captain Charles H. Estes, Jr. (Pilot) - My father</span></div>
<div style="color: #000033; font-family: Trebuchet, 'Trebuchet MS', Arial, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Lt. Col. John Walter Congleton (Co-Pilot)</span></div>
<div style="color: #000033; font-family: Trebuchet, 'Trebuchet MS', Arial, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> 1st Lt. Bob Swain (Navigator)</span></div>
<div style="color: #000033; font-family: Trebuchet, 'Trebuchet MS', Arial, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Sgt. John Norris (Lower Ball Gunner)</span></div>
<div style="color: #000033; font-family: Trebuchet, 'Trebuchet MS', Arial, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Sgt. Raphael Gonyea (Turret Gunner and Radioman)</span></div>
<div style="color: #000033; font-family: Trebuchet, 'Trebuchet MS', Arial, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Don Brown (Nose Gunner)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Sgt. Red Cochran ( Waist Gunner)</span></div>
<div style="color: #000033; font-family: Trebuchet, 'Trebuchet MS', Arial, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Sgt. Walter Scott (Flight Engineer)</span></div>
<div style="color: #000033; font-family: Trebuchet, 'Trebuchet MS', Arial, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> 2nd Lt. James Mulligan (Air Discipline Officer)</span></div>
<div style="color: #000033; font-family: Trebuchet, 'Trebuchet MS', Arial, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Lt. Ernie Swanson ( Bombadier)</span></div>
<div style="color: #000033; font-family: Trebuchet, 'Trebuchet MS', Arial, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Lt. Joe Dobkin (2nd Navigator</span></div>
<div style="color: #000033; font-family: Trebuchet, 'Trebuchet MS', Arial, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="color: #000033; font-family: trebuchet, 'trebuchet ms', arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-style: italic;">Sgt. Frank Delois, flight engineer, a member of the crew was unable to fly</span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-style: italic;"> that day </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>due to illness and Sgt. Walter Scott took his place. </i></span></div>
<span style="background-color: #fdfdfc; color: #222222; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; white-space: nowrap;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: #fdfdfc; color: #222222; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; white-space: nowrap;">To the brave crew members of the B-24 Green-Eyed </span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fdfdfc; color: #222222; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; white-space: nowrap;">Ikey,</span><span style="background-color: #fdfdfc; color: #222222; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; white-space: nowrap;"> may I dedicate </span><span style="background-color: #fdfdfc; color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: 16px; white-space: nowrap;">this poem.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fdfdfc; color: #222222; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; white-space: nowrap;"><br /></span>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #fdfdfc; font-size: 16px; white-space: nowrap;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><i>High Flight</i></span></span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<i><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br style="font-size: 16px; white-space: nowrap;" /></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #fdfdfc; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: 16px; white-space: nowrap;"><i>"Oh, I have slipped the surly bonds of earth</i></span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #fdfdfc; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: 16px; white-space: nowrap;"><i>and danced the skies,</i></span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #fdfdfc; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: 16px; white-space: nowrap;"><i>on laughter- silvered wings;</i></span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br style="font-size: 16px; white-space: nowrap;" /></span></i></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #fdfdfc; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: 16px; white-space: nowrap;"><i>Sunward, I've climbed, and joined,</i></span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #fdfdfc; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: 16px; white-space: nowrap;"><i>the tumbling mirth, of sun- split clouds.</i></span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #fdfdfc; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: 16px; white-space: nowrap;"><i>Done a hundred things,</i></span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #fdfdfc; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: 16px; white-space: nowrap;"><i>you have not dreamed of, </i></span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #fdfdfc; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: 16px; white-space: nowrap;"><i>wheeled and soared,</i></span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #fdfdfc; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: 16px; white-space: nowrap;"><i>swung high in the sunlit silence.</i></span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #fdfdfc; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: 16px; white-space: nowrap;"><i>Hov'ring there,</i></span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #fdfdfc; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: 16px; white-space: nowrap;"><i>I've chased the shouting wind along, </i></span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #fdfdfc; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: 16px; white-space: nowrap;"><i>flung my eager craft,</i></span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #fdfdfc; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: 16px; white-space: nowrap;"><i>through the footless halls of air.</i></span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br style="font-size: 16px; white-space: nowrap;" /></span></i></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #fdfdfc; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: 16px; white-space: nowrap;"><i>Up, up the long, delirious, burning blue,</i></span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #fdfdfc; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: 16px; white-space: nowrap;"><i>I've topped the wind swept heights,</i></span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #fdfdfc; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: 16px; white-space: nowrap;"><i>with easy grace,</i></span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #fdfdfc; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: 16px; white-space: nowrap;"><i>where never lark or eagle flew.</i></span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br style="font-size: 16px; white-space: nowrap;" /></span></i></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #fdfdfc; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: 16px; white-space: nowrap;"><i>While,</i></span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #fdfdfc; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: 16px; white-space: nowrap;"><i>with silent, lifting mind,</i></span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #fdfdfc; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: 16px; white-space: nowrap;"><i>I've trod the high, untrespassed,</i></span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #fdfdfc; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: 16px; white-space: nowrap;"><i>sanctity of space,</i></span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #fdfdfc; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: 16px; white-space: nowrap;"><i>I put out my hand,</i></span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #fdfdfc; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: 16px; white-space: nowrap;"><i>and touched,</i></span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #fdfdfc; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: 16px; white-space: nowrap;"><i>the face of God."</i></span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"> <a href="http://www.highgallery.com/highflight.html" style="font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">Pilot Officer Gillespie Magee </a><span style="background-color: #fdfdfc; font-size: 16px; white-space: nowrap;">Jr. </span></span></i></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #fdfdfc; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: 16px; white-space: nowrap;"><i>No. 412 Squadron, RCAF</i></span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #fdfdfc; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: 16px; white-space: nowrap;"><i>Killed December 11, 1941</i></span></div>
</div>
</div>
charlieboy chronicleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00948295416417329568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2570575635928398406.post-91383628728767147542015-03-12T21:18:00.001-04:002015-03-15T08:03:02.637-04:0070th Anniversary of the 34th Mission of the Green-Eyed Ikey<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i> In the early morning hours on March 15th, 1945, seven B-24s sat idling on the runway of Lecce Air Field Italy awaiting the signal from the tower to begin their mission...to bomb the marshaling yard at the Schwechat oil refinery in Vienna, Austria. </i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i> Today marks the 70th anniversary of this mission. Of the seven planes, four were lost. </i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>The Green-Eyed Ikey was the lead plane. This was their 34th and final mission. There were eleven men aboard this particular </i></span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">B-24. </i></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i> </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i> Captain Charles H. Estes, Jr. (Pilot) - My father</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i> Lt. Col. John Walter Congleton (Co-Pilot)</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i> 1st Lt. Bob Swain (Navigator)</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i> Sgt. John Norris (Lower Ball Gunner)</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i> Sgt. Raphael Gonyea (Turret Gunner and Radioman)</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i> Don Brown (Nose Gunner)</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i> Sgt. Red Cochran ( Waist Gunner)</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i> Sgt. Walter Scott (Flight Engineer)</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i> 2nd Lt. James Mulligan (Air Discipline Officer)</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i> Lt. Ernie Swanson ( Bombadier)</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i> Lt. Joe Dobkin (2nd Navigator)</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i> Sgt. Frank Delois, flight engineer, a member of the crew was unable to fly </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i> that day </i></span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">due to illness and Sgt. Walter Scott took his place. </i><br />
<i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></i>
<i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></i>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi838BGZIQ8wEY6q_2bF_A0EOMB3Ot6HmNh8tZGwFTp5dXOl3kegOiigu4Ad1usCKzY-s04tdvSY33jaRUKPt9VEtuE5K2mWNa1DpGwbaJe2MTeDlHpl4TXyDBu4VRtrBlR1AvI0QZsu40/s1600/Crew.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi838BGZIQ8wEY6q_2bF_A0EOMB3Ot6HmNh8tZGwFTp5dXOl3kegOiigu4Ad1usCKzY-s04tdvSY33jaRUKPt9VEtuE5K2mWNa1DpGwbaJe2MTeDlHpl4TXyDBu4VRtrBlR1AvI0QZsu40/s1600/Crew.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
<i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></i></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i> </i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i> For those of you who have followed this blog since my first posting March 3, 2010, it detailed my father's personal accounts of his WWII experiences; in particular their</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>last mission and their safe return home to the states. </i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i> Since that time I had been searching for any remaining crew or their family members. The task seem daunting at times with just old addresses to go by. After five years I was able to make contact with family members of five of the crew.</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i> Steve Gonyea, Ray Gonyea- sons of Sgt. Gonyea</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i> Wendy Gonyea - daughter of Sgt. Gonyea</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i> Robin Swain - wife of 1st Lt. Robert Swain</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i> Sue Swain Vaterlaus and Cathy Swain Cakebread,</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i> daughters of 1st Lt. Robert Swain,</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i> Marion Congleton - wife of 1st Lt. John Congleton</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i> Kristen Stubbs - granddaughter of 1st. Lt. John Congleton</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i> Retired Col. Don Brown - son of Donald Brown</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i> Frank Delois - son of Sgt. Frank Delois</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i> Tony Delois - grandson of Sgt. Frank Delois</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i> Sherrie Delois and Jeanne Delois Stanich - Sgt. Frank Delois</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i> Greg Mulligan - son of 2nd Lt. James R. Mulligan</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i> It has been a joy meeting so many of the families of these great men. I will always cherish their friendship. I am honored to know them.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i> It has been my sincere hope that this blog will pay tribute to these fine men now</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>and for many years to come. It was their great sacrifice and call to service that allows </i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>each of us the freedoms we enjoy today. </i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i> </i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><b>* * *</b></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The following are pictures that family members provided me.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh9PCt8w4_d5Wf_hyG5435yGIAw-1F-3I7oLtz6QawiJz708uimBKIEdrwgNAr5R5u8po3F0xs2z2r5KexXdt1vhPJjrJJxfArRU4aywBAoQdv3S1zU5h9sEAPQzzlk-KR_H9hcN_VIvM/s1600/Gonyea.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh9PCt8w4_d5Wf_hyG5435yGIAw-1F-3I7oLtz6QawiJz708uimBKIEdrwgNAr5R5u8po3F0xs2z2r5KexXdt1vhPJjrJJxfArRU4aywBAoQdv3S1zU5h9sEAPQzzlk-KR_H9hcN_VIvM/s1600/Gonyea.jpg" height="320" width="179" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sgt. Raphael Gonyea</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0-NclH0l1HSxEf4pJw4fQNl2w49XNfCqDjnY7cidxLqpoHMoKgSbGrhgAHsgn_E63KyuW-b0g53dQiIZ5ZBgv6QwyG4vKFou96pmnmnQSMe1N_1X_1YIxDAjrY2vkSrqP11Fy_QDH_EI/s1600/Bob+Swain+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0-NclH0l1HSxEf4pJw4fQNl2w49XNfCqDjnY7cidxLqpoHMoKgSbGrhgAHsgn_E63KyuW-b0g53dQiIZ5ZBgv6QwyG4vKFou96pmnmnQSMe1N_1X_1YIxDAjrY2vkSrqP11Fy_QDH_EI/s1600/Bob+Swain+1.jpg" height="320" width="228" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1st Lt. Robert Swain</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj89wQgIKIYebnKU6xcgudWe46OxIHfkMGwkhQeX3I-6_cMcK3TH6eACv3l5tXQwLMBSuufplr5ROTxzc3_4dRgL4FGG8X32eT9VJ1m4u4AB44eeod1LsS2jEjCeqGkI6dX_Y-bIVefzag/s1600/Don+Brown.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj89wQgIKIYebnKU6xcgudWe46OxIHfkMGwkhQeX3I-6_cMcK3TH6eACv3l5tXQwLMBSuufplr5ROTxzc3_4dRgL4FGG8X32eT9VJ1m4u4AB44eeod1LsS2jEjCeqGkI6dX_Y-bIVefzag/s1600/Don+Brown.jpg" height="320" width="215" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Don Brown</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAOTiS94aw1ffsoWWoVwdgNmMFV3IrqRhCQAMTk71umMj9pcRcPIu4DlCEqQD9bG3xKXV4MyzeMPMgeGRiLEkiD_oAOgVX3pUNzWLvhBXEJlMvtluedpqmrOLixcW4U2GHbEYTXEWBAak/s1600/Frank+Delois.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAOTiS94aw1ffsoWWoVwdgNmMFV3IrqRhCQAMTk71umMj9pcRcPIu4DlCEqQD9bG3xKXV4MyzeMPMgeGRiLEkiD_oAOgVX3pUNzWLvhBXEJlMvtluedpqmrOLixcW4U2GHbEYTXEWBAak/s1600/Frank+Delois.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sgt. Frank Delois</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm5IOoLUkypPvFCUnENMNJNWcyGDBkA6HNJHjJenbOgE0K52oxsSRlPhrLiPfrf1YgzNLYCls_Kj4DU3elYCb0g0EK0Mgy_r-UO5NPR0RWOX2KItKuswn9HsXfXNy-wMKrAgcZI7MgYvU/s1600/John+in+plane.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm5IOoLUkypPvFCUnENMNJNWcyGDBkA6HNJHjJenbOgE0K52oxsSRlPhrLiPfrf1YgzNLYCls_Kj4DU3elYCb0g0EK0Mgy_r-UO5NPR0RWOX2KItKuswn9HsXfXNy-wMKrAgcZI7MgYvU/s1600/John+in+plane.jpg" height="238" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lt. Col. John Congleton</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp19_BjQ5vbPG50WhyfJqRSZQkFEswKOKSjz9_adfjg7GmjcAW6lc1PQTRwKNmFUTFYlpPQ1h9xhON55JlXlYzZ2EuYb-l4oyt_j_VAG-L7MsNR72m9VGhjk0cXzw7Xt1tY51Cv-yXvUw/s1600/Mulligan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp19_BjQ5vbPG50WhyfJqRSZQkFEswKOKSjz9_adfjg7GmjcAW6lc1PQTRwKNmFUTFYlpPQ1h9xhON55JlXlYzZ2EuYb-l4oyt_j_VAG-L7MsNR72m9VGhjk0cXzw7Xt1tY51Cv-yXvUw/s1600/Mulligan.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2nd Lt. James R. Mulligan</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYQBhZbRe6296NrsmH3xlgjruO80j0W6Ta7op9R09VRW2nMhD53LfFzHgU_XD0cGtyXiWbveqQpS0L2rMgV_gozmTXnwfk8pKuoIFSZ8EYVQP7f9peLolH8Frk6RiJicg3FO3rKall5RU/s1600/Papa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYQBhZbRe6296NrsmH3xlgjruO80j0W6Ta7op9R09VRW2nMhD53LfFzHgU_XD0cGtyXiWbveqQpS0L2rMgV_gozmTXnwfk8pKuoIFSZ8EYVQP7f9peLolH8Frk6RiJicg3FO3rKall5RU/s1600/Papa.jpg" height="268" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Captain Charles H. Estes, Jr.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHQnkjA0jJuLOcujVsC-DnGDb9xTRyc8VMruGHWo_0vQdGM37mvAyKPlLi-YDHqg_3lITFCcs-XU4Sya8NnwHp5AAea88fgdwYrvFbUpN2lJXxq8yvbOm6A2VKONOOLCHwfezaGZIs-5c/s1600/Papa1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHQnkjA0jJuLOcujVsC-DnGDb9xTRyc8VMruGHWo_0vQdGM37mvAyKPlLi-YDHqg_3lITFCcs-XU4Sya8NnwHp5AAea88fgdwYrvFbUpN2lJXxq8yvbOm6A2VKONOOLCHwfezaGZIs-5c/s1600/Papa1.jpg" height="320" width="228" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Charles H. Estes (Our Papa)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
</div>
charlieboy chronicleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00948295416417329568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2570575635928398406.post-79402158223472534172015-03-11T20:32:00.000-04:002015-03-11T21:07:00.268-04:00The Power of the Internet...A Son's Search Makes an Astonishing Discovery<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"> A few weeks ago I received this email from Greg Mulligan, the son of 2nd Lt. James R. Mulligan. He had been researching his dad's war experiences and had stumbled upon this blog. I was overjoyed! I had been searching for several years any family members from the crew of the 415th Bomb Squadron the Green-Eyed Ikey.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> Jim Mulligan was the 11th crew member and was assigned to this particular mission as an ADO</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">(Air Discipline Officer). His role and responsibility was to keep the formation intact. During the</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">mission he was the only one who could make radio contact with the other bombers. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> Greg provided me a bio and a CD. The CD was a taped recording by his nephew, Chris, for a school project. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"> The following is a verbatim transcription of the CD of Jim Mulligan as he</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">recalls some of the details of his WWII experiences. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"> <b>* * *</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b>
"<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Hi Chris, this is your Uncle Jim. I'm returning your tape which your grandmother delivered to me with your note asking about some of my experiences specifically during World War II.</i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i> To preface that, I was born in 1921; I'm now 75 years old. I was born and raised in the midwest as your grandmother and grandfather were. I started out as a young person while going to school working sometimes for a dollar a day or less and my lunch, and this prevailed through the depression years. My father had a very difficult time during these years because I'm the oldest of nine children.</i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i> I had six brothers and two sisters. Three of the boys right after me are dead today. All the rest are healthy. My folks are gone however. I found that life during those years is something that one does not forget in that prices were cheap, wages were cheaper and nonexistent. It was very difficult to get a job and when one did get a job it wasn't any great thing. It was a very menial task. Most people that had jobs were very fortunate. But I went to 13 different schools throughout high school and after high school I did not have the money to go to college and I was told that we would probably be in the war before long since I was in the national guard unit in my hometown.</i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i> As it turned out I went into federal service from the state national guard November 29th, 1940. I had been in the service for about a year when I took a discharge from the national guard unit and had gone into the federal service and was stationed down in Cape Claiborne, Louisiana. I reenlisted in the regular Army Air Corps. It was called the United States Army Air Corps during those years when it started. Today it is the separate branch of the service as you know referred to and known as the United States Air Force. I was still in Cape Claiborne waiting to be transferred to a regular Army Air Corps unit when Pearl Harbor happened December 7th. A couple of weeks later I ended up in St. Louis, Missouri.</i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i> You had asked about interesting things that happened along the way during my time in the national guard unit. I made a lot of friends. I had come off of a farm, small town, was not very sophisticated. I needed a lot of experience just to get along in life. But I can remember that before I went into the service in 1937, I was 16 years old and I bought a car, a 1924 Dodge for $25. The license per year was only $3. I never had insurance, I never bought a gallon of gasoline in the four years that I owned the car. I guess it was a little closer to three. I never changed the oil, and I never had a flat tire. Since I had a car I had lots for friends who didn't and they were always wanting to go some place. I had said, well, fine, I will go there but you have to buy the gas. And my stimulation was that they had to buy enough gas so that I could get there and get back with some left over. With this method in place, as I say, I never bought any gas...well, occasionally I may have bought a few gallons...but for almost the entire time. I sold that car in 1940 in October for $75. I which I had it today. I will never forget it. The first car a boy has is something quite memorable.</i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i> </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i> But back to 1940. I got inducted into the United States Army Corps in Jefferson Barracks in St. Louis, Missouri. We had ridden up there with a mans that had been transferred to the air corps also such as I was plus three other fellows. Five of us had rode up in his car. Two of those fellows was Bob Dau and Bob Auringer. Bob Auringer is from Charles City. It was through Bob that I met your Aunt Lois in 1941. We were stationed in St. Louis for about a year and we volunteered for a glider pilot program because we didn't want to stay in St. Louis doing clerical work. We worked in a classification center processing all of the new inductees into the service right after the war. I can remember we used to be able to buy a pas in St. Louis, we would ride the streetcar for a whole week any place as long as we liked for 50 cents. Terrific buy. We saw the whole city more than once. After having been there for about a year, we volunteered for the glider program as I said. As we went from St. Louis to Smyrna, Tennessee. From there we went to Rochester, Minnesota to start our flying. And we flew small airplanes, 65 horsepower Cubs, Aeroncas, Taylorcraft and Fairchild. We always tried to fly the Fairchild because it had 10 horsepower more; it was 75. </i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i> We went through that program latter part of '43 until about October5 when the glider program was closed because they were having too many casualties in the glider program. They were coming in when they would cut them loose from their tow plane and they were crashing and too many men were being killed. A glider pilot was expected to be the pilot while in the air and once you got on the ground you became a platoon sergeant. We were staff sergeant pilots.</i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i> </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i> When they closed the program I was offered the opportunity testing for aviation cadets. One had to have two years of college or pass a written exam. I had to opt for the written exam which I passed and went into the cadets. I trained in the cadets for almost a year and graduated as second lieutenant. Went to a lot of places, flew to a lot places, and had a lot of experiences. I never crashed an airplane, I never damaged one other than the one that I had bailed out of during the war. But I had things happen that were frightening and things that were fun, and some day we should sit down and talk about them if you would like. But when I left the glider program and went to the cadet system, I also met another friend whom I went through the cadet system with completely from beginning to end and we graduated together from Waco, Texas Laughlin Air Force Base. </i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i> After graduation I went to instructor school to become an instructor pilot and I was an instrument flying instructor, which I did for about five months. And at that time they were closing the school and I went to Basic 24 Transition which means you go to fly B-24s and learn how to fly them and all of the things about them. Later on we were assigned crews and I was in a crew and trained in Pueblo, Colorado.</i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i> In May of 1944 we said out of New Port News, Virginia to Africa. We landed in Algiers and were there for about two weeks stationed at an air base inland, started our flying with the 98th Bomb Group. At that time we were then transferred to Italy since we had captured Italy from the Germans and Italians and we were moving forward. I did not go over Anzio Beach Heads, however, I did go over Ploesti on the fourth raid. History books tell about Ploesti, it was a really turning point in the war in bombing. But we arrived in Italy and were stationed in a small town south of Bari, Italy down in the heel of Italy called Leece, L-E-E-C-E. It was an Italian air base which had been captured and we renovated it for the 98th Air Group. I flew 34 missions from that base over Yugoslavia, Greece, Romania, Italy, Germany, Southern France and Austria.</i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i> We lost a number of friends who were shot down but I fortunately always came back. I was stationed there when I went on a mission in March 15th, 1945 and we went to Vienna, Austria to bomb the marshaling yards. Marshalling yard is where they have their collection of railroad trains pending unloading or shipping back to various points. It's a big set up. It's really something looking at it from the air is very unusual to see. We don't see it from the ground. Prior to that two weeks before, I had been on a secret mission over Berlin. I had taken two people dressed as civilians and we flew at 25,000 feet, which is quite high in those years, and in a overcast to Berlin and dropped them off. They were going down to make contact with the German people with the underground and opposed to Hitler. And I can remember the girl coming up and she kissed me on the cheek and she said, "goodbye Jim, maybe we will see each other some day." I have never heard from them.</i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i> Back to the 15th of March. I was on the lead ship with a pilot named Charles Estes who was a the lead pilot. I was the air discipline officer on this mission. And we went over Vienna. We lost four airplanes out of our seven ship formation over the target, and we were hit quite badly and lost two engines by the time we were 100 miles south of Vienna. </i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i> We decided that the best thing to do since we were losing altitude so rapidly was to bail out which we did. We all got on the gourd safely except we got injured. When I came down I hit the edge of a stone roof building and it broke my shoulder and my left foot and cracked a vertebrae in my back. We were picked up by Tito's partisans and taken to a small town and given medical help and we were fed whatever they had which wasn't much. </i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i> After having been there about four days we started moving by various mode of transportation. We left the small town on a hay wagon pulled by a couple of mules. Later on we came to a small narrow gauged railroad which we rode for a short distance. We then had to go through the German line because we had come down behind their line when we bailed out. We went through that by sneaking through at night. The Germans were in retreat, the Russians were pursuing them, and we were bombing them. We used to watch daily when the airplanes would go over and you could pick out our own squadron to bomb again. </i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i> We went for another three or four days traveling and we ended up on evening at a place where we were supposed to get something to eat. It turns out it was an old yule, sheep that they had killed and they boiled it in a big drum which had been cut in half like a 55-foot gallon cut in half with a fire built under it and water. Being hungry I ate some of it. I got so sick that I can't stand the thought of eating lamb or mutton to this day. I can't even stand the smell. I think it's a shame because apparently people like lamb. I know your grandmother does.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i> A few days later we were picked up by some different partisans and were taken to the mountains when we came across a German patrol. It was at night and probably the only reason I'm alive today is that I kept my parachute as most of us did as a blanket, and I was rolled up in my parachute lying under a tree in the snow and they didn't see me. A number of the partisans were killed and our crew all survived and we went on from there. Two days later we came across a Russian patrol and they were going after the Germans pursuing them up throughout the valleys. They had come up through Sarajevo which is a way we came out. We went through all of that area where they have had all of this fighting and all of the bloodshed here in the last couple, three years.</i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i> It was there that we met Tito. We had dinner one evening with him and some of his people. It seemed that most of the people we met in Yugoslavia had someone who spoke English. They had worked in the steel mills in the United States during the '30s and made their money and went back to Yugoslavia to live. One gentleman showed me his car in the garage hidden under a woodpile. It was a 1937 Ford that had 4000 miles on it. It was just like new. A two-door 1937 Food. It had a 60 horse power engine in it. It was the smallest one of the V-8s that Ford ever built.</i></span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> We went to a lot of their homes and were invited to parties, to dances. It seemed as though they all wanted to do something for us. </i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></i>
<i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> After about two weeks we arrived in a place called Split, Yugoslavia on the coast of Yugoslavia on the northern end of the Adriatic Sea, after two days there where everyone had dysentery and felt terrible. We got on a small sailing boat and sailed down the coast of Yugoslavia to the Isle of Vis, V-I-S. There we went ashore and got a little better food and that evening we got on a small steamship and went across the Adriatic Sea to Bari, Italy. When I went overseas we went over on the Liberty Ship, and I got so sea sick that I wanted to die and I couldn't. But that was nothing compared to how sick I got on this small steamer going across the Adriatic Sea. That was absolutely horrible. And I wasn't the only one; it seemed like everyone on that ship both civilians and the ten military people that I was with were all the same.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></i>
<i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> When we got back to Bari, Italy we went to a hospital where they gave us a ---they clipped all of our hair off and took all of our clothes and threw them in an insinuator. Had us take three showers. In between each shower they would use a flip gun which is like a thing that you spray roses with with dust and dusted us for lice. We </i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>would scratch our hair and they'd run down our neck and wait until we got through scratching and go back up into our hair. They were pretty bad. There we had ourselves taken care of, and after a couple of weeks we were sent back to our unit. Your Aunt Lois was notified I was missing in action but it was two weeks after I was missing that she got the telegram. By that time I had arrived at an allied mission -- by allied I mean the United States, England, Britain, all the allies -- at a mission in Yugoslavia had a short wave radio and they radioed out we were alive and we were on our way out. I was never a capture, we were always evaders.</i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i> We came out of the hospital and went back to our units or to our single unit, our 415th Bomb Squadron of the 98th Bomb Group. It was discovered then that they were going to be transferred back to the United States to be trained in B-29s, and since we were not there when the decision was made to send us back, we were not on orders to come back, but rather we were transferred to a new unit. I was transferred to the 465 Bomb Group, the 780th Bomb Squadron in Foggia, Italy. Actually a small town outside of it. It's very difficult to find called Cerignola. The operations officer of that squadron was missing in action for about a week and the commanding officer of that squadron turned out to be a student o mine, a student officer --- in other words, an officer going through getting pilot training but as an officer not as a cast. He saw my name on the transfer into the group and picked me up and took me to the squadron and he said, you're the new operations officer. That on about the 3rd of May. We flew a mission every day from that time on until the 8th when Germany surrendered. After that happened we were then disbanding the unit and we were shipping everything home to the United States. Being operations officer I was one of the last people to leave the squadron and I was transferred to a unit in Bari, Italy which also was an operational unit scheduling pilots to fly back to the United States.</i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i> After being there until July, I finally worked it around to getting myself put on one of the orders so I then flew back from Italy to Africa to the Azores Islands and to Gander Field Newfoundland and into Hartford, Connecticut. When I was ready to take off for Gander Field from the Azores, I had trouble with an engine. So I went back into the park stand where you park airplanes and we changed the magneto on the thing. During that time I went to operations and advised them to tell Gander Field Newfoundland we were delayed in taking off about three-and-a-half hours. The flight from the Azores to Gander Field was just about the maximum we could fly in a B-24. We were own our way when an airplane was calling our numbers. It was a search and rescue. We were so long overdue getting to Gander Field that they thought we were in the drink and they were looking for us. I told them on the dado that if they look up at about 11:00 about 5,000 feet above them they would probably see me. His expression was, 'what the hell are you doing up there?' I said, 'this is where I'm supposed to be, not down there.' He laughed and said, 'yeah, I guess you're right.' He said, 'what's the deal?' I said, 'I wired Gander from the Azores that I was going to be about three-and-a-half hours taking off. That should have been recorded. We're not missing, we're on our way, everything is fine.' We landed in Gander Field in a snow storm. That wasn't pleasant but we stayed there for a day and the snow passed and they plowed the runway and we took off. </i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i> We landed in Hartford, Connecticut. We taxied up where they parked the airplanes and told us to take all of our gear out, but before any of that happened I was sitting in the seat looking out the window when a Red Cross canteen truck pulled up. And she didn't ask me what I would like, she just looked up at me and said, 'would you like a pint or would you like a quart?' I said 'I will take a quart.' And she was talking about milk. Everybody in the airplane just sat down where they were and drank a quart of mil and we ate cupcakes. It seems as though we couldn't get enough of milk, salads or desserts when we got back. Those were the things we missed. I went from there to the separation center for the airplanes and turned it in and turned in all the rest of our equipment, and were told if there was anything in any of the pile we could go and help ourselves which we did, we took a number of things and brought them home because all they were going to do was throw it in the junk.</i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i> I went from there to St. Louis again to Jefferson Barracks and just before I got there, I called your Aunt Lois and told her that I was there. She and I had gotten married when I was in Waco, Texas in November 1943 when I was in basic training flying PT-13s. Your grandmother Jean was a bridesmaid. We got married in Winfield, Kansas. We went back there about 26 years later and visited the church and looked around where we had gotten married.</i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i> You speak of values. We had a wedding and then we had a wedding dinner in which we had eleven people. We had a cake and we all had steak and the bill was only $25 including the tip. It's hard to believe the difference in the values one has today and what they are and were then.</i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i> I know this is rather sketchy. It's not maybe </i></span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">what you all want or need but to my recollection, it's about as close as I can come without branching off into a lot of details. I have been married to your Aunt Lois coming on 54 years and it has been very wonderful. And you know your cousins and your second cousins. I hope that this serves a purpose for what you need. I'm sure that if you do a good job on writing it up and smile at your teacher, she just might give you an A.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i> Bye to you and your folks and thank you for asking me. Bye-bye.</i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i> Second Lt. James R. Mulligan</i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i> </i><b>* * *</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b> </b>In closing, Greg wrote from his dad's bio that after leaving the service his dad returned to Charles City, IA where his wife was staying with her parents. He went to work for State Brand Creameries in Mason City, IA. He was offered a job of plant manager in Los Angeles, CA and in the summer of 1946 he and Lois moved to CA. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> Jim and Lois (Jung) had three children: Greg ('46), Jeff ('49) and Susan ('52). Their home was Alhambra, CA until 1955 when they moved to West Covina , CA. They lived there until their passing. Jim died September of 2000 and Lois in March of 2003. Jim formed his own company, Mulligan Sales, that was operated until 2010. For many years, the employees would give Jim and Lois a Christmas gift. One year they gave Jim a leather bomber jacket and a ride on the Collings Foundation B-24. He took great pride in what he had done and accomplished and thoroughly enjoyed that ride. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> Jim and Lois enjoyed traveling in their motor home and spending time in their cabin at Lake Arrowhead, CA. Jim spoke very fondly of the many men he knew from the Air Corps. Over the years Jim stayed in contact with several including Charlie Estes, Ernie Swanson, Leonard Rau, Bob Dau and Bob Auringer. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> <b>* * *</b></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> Greg, his son, concludes with his own personal thoughts...though many years have passed, it still boggles the mind to try to put in perspective what these amazing men accomplished. The hardships endured overseas and at home are incredible. The number of casualties is staggering, yet day after day they answered the call, got in their planes. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I am honored knowing the accomplishments of Jim Mulligan and all the other men of the Fifteen AF 98th BG, 415th Sqdn.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">......Greg Mulligan</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNZBgHolyHvTPyFHhFsZKIDHiV0CEEO_UTQTJ4-oErByw2xYdWn3nsPyiCpCyswR7pyuhZl6oVKi4CLMaWBvCACgaxZ3SU43BkKGoJkDWvfnqryKw_r-f88pUvnfH4ERASR8-tHuNCA9U/s1600/Mulligan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNZBgHolyHvTPyFHhFsZKIDHiV0CEEO_UTQTJ4-oErByw2xYdWn3nsPyiCpCyswR7pyuhZl6oVKi4CLMaWBvCACgaxZ3SU43BkKGoJkDWvfnqryKw_r-f88pUvnfH4ERASR8-tHuNCA9U/s1600/Mulligan.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2nd Lt. James R. Mulligan, Purple Heart, Air medal</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH3lFmaurbI-ZE8S7-IF6VbcDLnsGXF7eBlHXyjOUnDc53UUKzjNxZo5q3sBr1iFHN170iLcV3bnm56l8zSNOYuerWPlMMHo_3TyJvTkYw_Y9MWoyrCCxrehizBYNFM06fKXj63cVgjqw/s1600/mulliganpic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH3lFmaurbI-ZE8S7-IF6VbcDLnsGXF7eBlHXyjOUnDc53UUKzjNxZo5q3sBr1iFHN170iLcV3bnm56l8zSNOYuerWPlMMHo_3TyJvTkYw_Y9MWoyrCCxrehizBYNFM06fKXj63cVgjqw/s1600/mulliganpic.jpg" height="236" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Back row left to right: Ray Harper, Bill Williams, Paul Smagula, Earl Sasser, Paul Kaplan, Ed Yerzak<br />
Front row left to right: Mart Van Kink, Ed Deegan, James Mulligan</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9ZvV3zR1gEWfQx9kwgkWv9OgA8eNYZ5nnNuaiE9d8dn3rY5g1cyhS2-fDL_0HLNw9VREjdpb6xkWst9uZSbg4ykhDyuhGGe94NfJKvOtkl_jQTnGEbUcSdmPbBd69QjmuUV8M6zUIB94/s1600/Mulliganweddingpic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9ZvV3zR1gEWfQx9kwgkWv9OgA8eNYZ5nnNuaiE9d8dn3rY5g1cyhS2-fDL_0HLNw9VREjdpb6xkWst9uZSbg4ykhDyuhGGe94NfJKvOtkl_jQTnGEbUcSdmPbBd69QjmuUV8M6zUIB94/s1600/Mulliganweddingpic.jpg" height="320" width="208" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jim Mulligan and Lois Mulligan</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuKi0F0vEW0DWHKNrbw-untBMbasEQ4jG6gAvcpZ8GwWcTVXiYGbnlP4eqW9kv4kkgzxyUeJCZ8LCJZf8nMYiYlKSHgESC4prd18GoTx9RitSBIKCmRqNnf-nSZ0KAzY-krKfrjh_jd8s/s1600/gregmulliganpic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuKi0F0vEW0DWHKNrbw-untBMbasEQ4jG6gAvcpZ8GwWcTVXiYGbnlP4eqW9kv4kkgzxyUeJCZ8LCJZf8nMYiYlKSHgESC4prd18GoTx9RitSBIKCmRqNnf-nSZ0KAzY-krKfrjh_jd8s/s1600/gregmulliganpic.jpg" height="201" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Front row left to right: James Mulligan, Carl Sederquist, Ernie Swanson</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXX9scfNJ-_EWNZo8onWogw29v3ZB9iDeC85HvXj6gei9VzrnbJ9JkRGAJB7K4_8kARok_5ZtaduaEIEGfcEnJRW9qL_6norBHGVsYcb0YZ4d54urBw6v1oUqIN2PYdv5VtjniJxzZcBY/s1600/gregmulliganpic2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXX9scfNJ-_EWNZo8onWogw29v3ZB9iDeC85HvXj6gei9VzrnbJ9JkRGAJB7K4_8kARok_5ZtaduaEIEGfcEnJRW9qL_6norBHGVsYcb0YZ4d54urBw6v1oUqIN2PYdv5VtjniJxzZcBY/s1600/gregmulliganpic2.jpg" height="222" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">James Mulligan far left</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i> </i></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<br /></div>
</div>
charlieboy chronicleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00948295416417329568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2570575635928398406.post-10304755178139875382014-11-11T09:15:00.000-05:002014-11-11T09:26:28.688-05:00A Tribute to Ben...a letter from Charles to his brother Ben<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRClsqwUqcJJpis-ZoBBWcIbkN94NLcmerOcp9rK0shnc445s12rYemil-WlMvoAyM8bdrQF_Ne2RTHQYquBgZrIJYBaeIALM_Jb0HSTOVltsLkMw4qYPLsmKSChhlISrFjL9CqrCUk5g/s1600/calbenbee.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRClsqwUqcJJpis-ZoBBWcIbkN94NLcmerOcp9rK0shnc445s12rYemil-WlMvoAyM8bdrQF_Ne2RTHQYquBgZrIJYBaeIALM_Jb0HSTOVltsLkMw4qYPLsmKSChhlISrFjL9CqrCUk5g/s1600/calbenbee.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Bee, Ben, Calvert</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Recently, I returned home to my hometown of Yazoo City, Mississippi to say goodbye to my Uncle Ben. He was a kind and gentle soul and well loved by all that knew him. As did Papa, he answered the call of duty during WWII and proudly served</i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>the Marine Corp during the Pacific campaign. After the war</i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Ben, Papa and their dad...Papa T...worked the family business Motor Parts Company on Washington Street. He married his beloved Bev, raised their two children, Calvert and Bee, and as a family embraced small-town life. </i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>As I was greeted by Bee and Benton at their home, Bee gave me</i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>a letter written to Ben from my father while stationed in Maxwell, Alabama. It was a sweet letter giving Ben praise, encouragement and advice in what he would expect while in the service...I have attached it below..</i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>A life long parishioner of Trinity Episcopal Church, Ben served on the vestry, sang in the choir and was top chef at the spaghetti suppers on Friday nights. But his true passion was scouting. As a youth Ben was an Eagle Scout. He later served as the scout master for Troop 72 for many years. Several young men became Eagle Scouts while under his leadership, his son Bee, an Eagle Scout, his three grandchildren...Benton, Nathan and Josh are also Eagle Scouts. </i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Ben...was a builder of men. Through scouting he taught young boys how to become good men, community leaders, and good stewards of the land. He was bestowed with the Silver Beaver Award given to scout leaders who have made an impact on the lives of young scouts and who have, through hard work and self-sacrifice, devoted many years of service.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span>
<i style="font-size: x-large;">So as we mourn the loss of this beloved man...we celebrate his life and know that his life's teachings, his values will be passed on for many generations to come...I can think of no greater testament.</i><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Letter written to Ben from Charles July 12th from Maxwell Field, Alabama</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
(Click on letter to enlarge)</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG3l6Yk_ZOxiwpuIq_tpLhLp0DJVVNY9946D36M8ptvIJhuwsZCsGrPyw4HHfvY-dHN81kirQ_KYPugczMCCKCcXfppbNpANDFtoP5RSf5DXof4BuOSyRFrdAR2kduaSCPJLSKUSLH_vk/s1600/scan0120.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG3l6Yk_ZOxiwpuIq_tpLhLp0DJVVNY9946D36M8ptvIJhuwsZCsGrPyw4HHfvY-dHN81kirQ_KYPugczMCCKCcXfppbNpANDFtoP5RSf5DXof4BuOSyRFrdAR2kduaSCPJLSKUSLH_vk/s1600/scan0120.jpg" height="640" width="516" /></a></div>
<i style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></i>
<i style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></i>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjslaXJLYTpY6nJsTijWjmaSfVtDD9LA9Kw5hJfbJgaFbUhg-1Jr-aYet89LgK08YjpCbyEZ4UYIzhsfRglAyDw_I7Vc6bJKpvJXdjULwFpWI8bQDgP_mdLyRoF-d6nnt_c2l4GsLcfAH4/s1600/scan0121.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjslaXJLYTpY6nJsTijWjmaSfVtDD9LA9Kw5hJfbJgaFbUhg-1Jr-aYet89LgK08YjpCbyEZ4UYIzhsfRglAyDw_I7Vc6bJKpvJXdjULwFpWI8bQDgP_mdLyRoF-d6nnt_c2l4GsLcfAH4/s1600/scan0121.jpg" height="640" width="518" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmlbAwbrnJqX9dBhjpxP5QzAD9Vw6eTw9cOH25vJdzLg22FpY0Z7y8RMC24t57yU-Se88SsieDo8u7669G35G5mpBbawAUJKO3NHtJEIxxQ-XL7V9T0vDA3OTuQUSNUGMNUJGLsKY133k/s1600/BenPacific.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmlbAwbrnJqX9dBhjpxP5QzAD9Vw6eTw9cOH25vJdzLg22FpY0Z7y8RMC24t57yU-Se88SsieDo8u7669G35G5mpBbawAUJKO3NHtJEIxxQ-XL7V9T0vDA3OTuQUSNUGMNUJGLsKY133k/s1600/BenPacific.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Uncle Ben far right</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtss7wwcoPjhyphenhyphenOA3ZvXUP1h39goiNeXav7owmYoSNxy2NhbI8QrECBtobqsGzLbLMers6go2tCHmSsyk9fEfFQn6NjXQ94SiHqz81B3Od9f2eONN11u5hp5yvxO95ottcixl2D4PpzzoI/s1600/BenPapaMalcolm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtss7wwcoPjhyphenhyphenOA3ZvXUP1h39goiNeXav7owmYoSNxy2NhbI8QrECBtobqsGzLbLMers6go2tCHmSsyk9fEfFQn6NjXQ94SiHqz81B3Od9f2eONN11u5hp5yvxO95ottcixl2D4PpzzoI/s1600/BenPapaMalcolm.jpg" height="237" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Ben, Malcolm and Charles</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
</div>
charlieboy chronicleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00948295416417329568noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2570575635928398406.post-39255634942023869092014-03-15T14:03:00.001-04:002014-03-15T14:03:59.872-04:00A Mother's Letter ---Words of Comfort and Hope<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<em>March 15th, 2014 marks the 69th anniversary of the last mission for the crew of the 415th Bomb Squadron of the 98th Bomb Group.<br />
<br />
<em>For those of you who are new to this blog, this is my father's verbatim accounting of their last mission. It's also a personal story of one man's journey and his experiences of World War II. </em></em><em></em><br />
<em>Since the inception of this blog, some three years, I have detailed as best I could their amazing story. Having been shot down over what was then Yugoslavia, after a successful bombing campaign of the Schwechat oil refinery in Vienna, Austria, the crew were for</em><em>ced to bail out of their B-24 bomber just outside the small village of Prnjavor where the villagers quickly took them into their homes for shelter. With the help of rebel supporters of Marshall Tito's men, they provided escort for the crew through the rugged terrain back to the Adriatic Sea where they were able to take a boat back to their base in Bari, Italy. </em><br />
<em></em><br />
<em>Retired Col. Donald Brown, son of Donald A. Brown, the nose gunner from the crew of the 415th Bomb Squadron, had called me last year to tell me he had found several letters among his dad's personal effects. Among the letters was a telegram that his grandmother had received informing her that her son and the crew were safely back at the base after missing in action. The letters were from several of the crew members' mothers offering words of encouragement and hope. As I read their letters, I can only imagine how they must have felt. It is with great pride that I am able to share with you their story because in sharing it we continue to honor their devotion and great sacrifice for our country. </em><br />
<em></em><br />
(Click on page to enhance reading)<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP8iLCHNKqaQM884kVhhGCIj106Xo5RPRn2X1uotM5REQe4PCOSxU3yP52oYMZEAXP1uX7AjHlK0jWHbfHw84DnZh_2XMDXuc59lQdVo6odRS_1Pttxu-Hsir_OFGDzbPLP1WDbWPOHHU/s1600/scan0078.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP8iLCHNKqaQM884kVhhGCIj106Xo5RPRn2X1uotM5REQe4PCOSxU3yP52oYMZEAXP1uX7AjHlK0jWHbfHw84DnZh_2XMDXuc59lQdVo6odRS_1Pttxu-Hsir_OFGDzbPLP1WDbWPOHHU/s1600/scan0078.jpg" height="320" width="248" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4XjwWwIcBtVLV7gbt0nUdbxRzu8Z_qcVS_ZJ1_5wowi8QYUscQ7BdnpiU2rshktU52NtppjBWRsdLrXBAlswmuE13pw58TCHnCmH73cy2hb4v-eE4e7DKAr15gwE_JO93z9e-1zMAau0/s1600/scan0077.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4XjwWwIcBtVLV7gbt0nUdbxRzu8Z_qcVS_ZJ1_5wowi8QYUscQ7BdnpiU2rshktU52NtppjBWRsdLrXBAlswmuE13pw58TCHnCmH73cy2hb4v-eE4e7DKAr15gwE_JO93z9e-1zMAau0/s1600/scan0077.jpg" height="320" width="248" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHk7AnnPG10zel6E494yGLNG7ntuQ3HrKCGUMvYlLUoUybOed56nghmBu5DDmev1WKtff7r2VMc7HV-ddEkGGDDBdyo4LUqOzNCCcoZmgFRzOtHmCVW8-go_bmWIosi_4gdMaG2_SNCt0/s1600/scan0076.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHk7AnnPG10zel6E494yGLNG7ntuQ3HrKCGUMvYlLUoUybOed56nghmBu5DDmev1WKtff7r2VMc7HV-ddEkGGDDBdyo4LUqOzNCCcoZmgFRzOtHmCVW8-go_bmWIosi_4gdMaG2_SNCt0/s1600/scan0076.jpg" height="320" width="248" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQeUIFluOmHCsWzeMYZPQgm4vewpirugGMQdvkkla4SKbAyfLI_6cwBkiMvOYyDICPTW4HxAnPj490OuHvMoD0DlKJgdnRHmyldpfeLaxUgLLVzCZrx_Xkbsb2Mdn8CluGEUZkA8-JHZ0/s1600/scan0075.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQeUIFluOmHCsWzeMYZPQgm4vewpirugGMQdvkkla4SKbAyfLI_6cwBkiMvOYyDICPTW4HxAnPj490OuHvMoD0DlKJgdnRHmyldpfeLaxUgLLVzCZrx_Xkbsb2Mdn8CluGEUZkA8-JHZ0/s1600/scan0075.jpg" height="320" width="248" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2pEel0fnfhKHVSKSJKwgxm0cCp8SdJOLdhvl0QfHsUKpd68QDFxtpOPrVbDYV60HxU-TboOmbyar1CjyaXvNc9ELKNPAUbiS0UghEwWKb8DQ6mggc-yjKn11OafaUOwLnLjajAdJcrnk/s1600/scan0074.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2pEel0fnfhKHVSKSJKwgxm0cCp8SdJOLdhvl0QfHsUKpd68QDFxtpOPrVbDYV60HxU-TboOmbyar1CjyaXvNc9ELKNPAUbiS0UghEwWKb8DQ6mggc-yjKn11OafaUOwLnLjajAdJcrnk/s1600/scan0074.jpg" height="320" width="248" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkbNqmFgSCujhBSAU-0QnHvKoHaFBTuf8WDg3-zj0i-oqqP9Xpj9VIup9dh1s16TWNXR2c_pi82h7eclHADAse_ioSWZ77LCFGjBuJYyjZ3niTvsunRSHow_7vdKuJJ1P0wjzP_YrcJpU/s1600/scan0073.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkbNqmFgSCujhBSAU-0QnHvKoHaFBTuf8WDg3-zj0i-oqqP9Xpj9VIup9dh1s16TWNXR2c_pi82h7eclHADAse_ioSWZ77LCFGjBuJYyjZ3niTvsunRSHow_7vdKuJJ1P0wjzP_YrcJpU/s1600/scan0073.jpg" height="320" width="248" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH9E8aw5tPFOeSWs8I8Y27CYy4cCsJ9Qxt-ji-VRYnxQah6MRNeQN3ESPxSTj7n84rcURfxg6PO3smSyUBHKlNv2ByVLPwBDnOus0DIfxQYEbA8tRglaSyoP5TbtHZMxrKZzU7isVBj0U/s1600/scan0072.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH9E8aw5tPFOeSWs8I8Y27CYy4cCsJ9Qxt-ji-VRYnxQah6MRNeQN3ESPxSTj7n84rcURfxg6PO3smSyUBHKlNv2ByVLPwBDnOus0DIfxQYEbA8tRglaSyoP5TbtHZMxrKZzU7isVBj0U/s1600/scan0072.jpg" height="320" width="248" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-WdC6XSZDOLql0tvoLY3qzIDzRgyXM-1veLYZdL0Y9fK58wdYSv0AOiNCZ2thEIuVmZfe1bhgL2bu-us5xUUzEtpaejpg3kZ4PQ81fj2oHUi8eJqv068kL3Kq0dISVYSdV_UUXMYAQ5I/s1600/scan0079.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-WdC6XSZDOLql0tvoLY3qzIDzRgyXM-1veLYZdL0Y9fK58wdYSv0AOiNCZ2thEIuVmZfe1bhgL2bu-us5xUUzEtpaejpg3kZ4PQ81fj2oHUi8eJqv068kL3Kq0dISVYSdV_UUXMYAQ5I/s1600/scan0079.jpg" height="320" width="248" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB3qpy12QvHnTdZwUwbtqJGKi1zDiRjVh-r69dVZya-NETaP_UexyG9Dq6GEyMzlFRRWaGCI_FlAZKN52OWhiM6sW-pP4Mh7qNT50nsd0re-kvyGxiFtgu8bSXUTABtq242-6uTx7h370/s1600/scan0081.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB3qpy12QvHnTdZwUwbtqJGKi1zDiRjVh-r69dVZya-NETaP_UexyG9Dq6GEyMzlFRRWaGCI_FlAZKN52OWhiM6sW-pP4Mh7qNT50nsd0re-kvyGxiFtgu8bSXUTABtq242-6uTx7h370/s1600/scan0081.jpg" height="320" width="248" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
</div>
charlieboy chronicleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00948295416417329568noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2570575635928398406.post-83728691608775636132013-03-14T22:26:00.003-04:002013-03-14T23:05:25.150-04:00The 68th Anniversary of the last mission of the 415th Bomb Squadron of the 98th Bomb Group<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>Today marks the 68th Anniversary of the</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i> 415th </i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>Bomb Squadron </i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>of the 98th Bomb Group.</i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i> </i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i> Their mission: to bomb the Schwecht </i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>Oil </i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>Refinery in Vienna. After successfully</i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i> completing</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i> their mission </i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>their B-24 Bomber suffered</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i> heavy flak damage while over </i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>Yugoslavia. </i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i> After being hit in their #2 and #4 engines the</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i> crew </i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>was forced to bail out, and with the help</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i> of a small village and </i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>Marshall Tito's men,</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i> the crew was able to walk back over the</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>Alps and into Split, Yugoslavia where they</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i> traveled by boat </i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>across the Adriatic Sea</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i> back to their base in Bari, Italy.</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>After the war my father and his fellow crew</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i> members </i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>returned home to the States</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i> where they married, raised </i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>a family and</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i> began a career. </i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>They were the lucky ones.</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>Over 500,000 Army Air Corp men and</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i> women</i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i> died </i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>in air combat during WWII, </i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>and with them went their </i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>untold stories</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i> of heroism and acts of valor. </i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>For over two years I have tried to relive</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i> their story </i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>in this blog, and I will continue</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i> to do so for as long </i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>as I can. </i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i> For it is in</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i> remembering them that we continue</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>to honor their devotion and commitment</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i> to the service</i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i> </i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>of their country.</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i> May their story always live on in our</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>hearts for many, many years to come...</i></span></div>
</div>
charlieboy chronicleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00948295416417329568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2570575635928398406.post-30504557840527517222012-08-14T22:42:00.004-04:002012-08-14T22:43:35.592-04:00AUGUST 14, 1945...THE WAR HAS ENDED<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>This is a wonderful video that has been shared on many social networks but this one is</em></span><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">to a song...</span></em><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://vimeo.com/5645171">http://vimeo.com/5645171</a></div>
<br /></div>
charlieboy chronicleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00948295416417329568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2570575635928398406.post-89046974973185372272012-06-08T22:56:00.001-04:002012-06-08T22:56:51.594-04:00The Sweetest Lady....I Never Met<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em> A few months ago I called my friend, Marian Congleton. </em></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>For my readers </em></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>who will remember, Marian was</em></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>the wife of John Congleton, the co-pilot. </em></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>Marian was not feeling very well, nothing serious</em></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>she assured me, just </em></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>didn't feel like herself.</em></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>I promised her I'd call back in a week or two. </em></span><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Well, I never would make that call.</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Several weeks ago I received a </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">FaceBook message </span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">from Kristen, her granddaughter, sadly informing</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">me that Gammie had passed away at her home </span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">perhaps in the early </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">morning hours.</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">My heart went out to Kristen and her family, but</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">especially to Kristen who had been shouldering so</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">much of the family </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">responsibility since the death</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">of her dad just a few months ago. Her </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Gammie was</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">like a mother and a grandmother all rolled into one.</span></em><br />
<br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">As for me, I had just begun to know Marian. </span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">It had taken me almost a year </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">to find her whereabouts.</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">I knew she lived in Kentucky. With only </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">a few small</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">details though and a lot of cold calling I found a relative</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">that supplied me with her phone number.</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">I remember in our </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">first conversation she shared with me</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">how much she enjoyed </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">hearing from my father when</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">he would call, and how much </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">it meant to John</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">when he would call as his health declined.</span></em><br />
<br /><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Marian was part of that "Great Generation" that</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">endured the hardships of the Great Depression, </span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">a young bride in the midst of a world war. Her</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">legacy will be one of sacrifice, hard work, and</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">her unfaltering faith.</span></em><br />
<br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">It is those values that will be our foundation to</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">which we will build future generations. </span></em><br />
<br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Having her in my life for such a brief time will always</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">be special. </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;"> She was the sweetest lady....I never met. </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;"> </span></em><br />
<br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">In memory of Marian</span></em><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxcWeSJEjHOjDXwuITlgJZRpb0wuCaaiBSMRm6B7k_8oomTnwYx_eimXvaUj0EJIQ76d3FRUo5_BJ6s_pWx5utHCP1sRKY0TJlWpOlwngG0SpM3lrVtVTP0CEveJJjyln6byXEEhyphenhyphenuqdc/s1600/John+and+Marian.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxcWeSJEjHOjDXwuITlgJZRpb0wuCaaiBSMRm6B7k_8oomTnwYx_eimXvaUj0EJIQ76d3FRUo5_BJ6s_pWx5utHCP1sRKY0TJlWpOlwngG0SpM3lrVtVTP0CEveJJjyln6byXEEhyphenhyphenuqdc/s1600/John+and+Marian.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Marian and John Congleton</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1aaqGXpcHK-OFb2dkbqGxAvwDRzHqVr8A8A_CBvjVCYjSBWHyFyX5Z3nRO_-T8Q1CS0e_4xD2ojSWr8WKFMwKzZ4JJf6tAksEELIuKt6GfyeW_Hz4WHydBCEr3pllHPO9OrYRjdDS1bk/s1600/Marian+and+Kristen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1aaqGXpcHK-OFb2dkbqGxAvwDRzHqVr8A8A_CBvjVCYjSBWHyFyX5Z3nRO_-T8Q1CS0e_4xD2ojSWr8WKFMwKzZ4JJf6tAksEELIuKt6GfyeW_Hz4WHydBCEr3pllHPO9OrYRjdDS1bk/s1600/Marian+and+Kristen.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lee, Marian, Kristen</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8KPmOb1igyWVlATWOU-z67fJGP5K0vx2DV5VVCMMXQ_J9UpRFtI27JlZ7QL2LqkYK87gv5Edu4txHUUqpbmKWq894x-SqUlK5Kl-ml-l2qmU60zy8V8SUw9CB3RgbWl4xIGUApPgnMgI/s1600/Marian+with+grandbabies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8KPmOb1igyWVlATWOU-z67fJGP5K0vx2DV5VVCMMXQ_J9UpRFtI27JlZ7QL2LqkYK87gv5Edu4txHUUqpbmKWq894x-SqUlK5Kl-ml-l2qmU60zy8V8SUw9CB3RgbWl4xIGUApPgnMgI/s320/Marian+with+grandbabies.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Marian with her grandbabies<br />
<br />
<br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>charlieboy chronicleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00948295416417329568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2570575635928398406.post-72841157901803841812012-03-15T15:39:00.002-04:002012-03-15T22:18:18.979-04:00A Tribute to the Crew of the 415th Squadron of the 98th Bomb Group<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>March 15th, 2012 marks the sixty-seventh </em></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>anniversary </em></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>of the last mission of the 415th </em></span><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Squadron of the 98th Bomb Group. After</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">their successful bombing of the Schwechat</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Oil Refinery in Vienna, Austria, the crew</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">was forced to bail out over Yugoslavia </span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">after being hit in their #2 and #4 engines.</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">With the help of a small village and Marshal</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Tito's men, the crew walked back over the Alps</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">and onto Split, Yugoslavia where they traveled</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">by boat across the Adriatic Sea to Bari, Italy.</span></em><br />
<br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">It has been two years since I first posted my</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">father's war memoirs and it's been the most</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">rewarding experience of my life. I hope I have</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">honored these fine men in a way they would</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">be proud. Along this journey I have found</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">several of the crew's family members and</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">I've enjoyed getting to know them and so</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">privileged to be able to honor their fathers'</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">stories as well.</span></em><br />
<br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Sadly, this past December, the last of the</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">crew passed away, Sgt. Donald Brown,</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">nose turret gunner. </span></em><br />
<br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Each of these men are our hero's who</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">deserve our respect for their willingness</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">to serve their country and defend its </span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">freedoms.</span></em><br />
<br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">May we always continue to remember</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">and honor them. </span></em><br />
<br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">A few weeks ago I toured a B-24 Liberator</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">at the Keystone Heights Airfield hosted by </span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">the Collings Foundation. It was a thrill to</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">finally see a B-24 up close and to be able to</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">walk around and </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">imagine where the crew </span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">would have been </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">situated within the plane.</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Here are some </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">pictures from that day.</span></em><br />
<br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">This link is amazing! </span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">It is a virtual panoramic view</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">of the B-24 Witchcraft from</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">the Collings Foundation.</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;"><a href="http://www.i-ota.net/B-24Witchcraft/">www.i-ota.net/B-24Witchcraft/</a>#</span></em><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHsKWMNctWg1CBc757MVi5Nw2g8op85PDKyPPyJV3Z8ZqKk6Pyd8wA1i2rQj7NdeUPgRV3b5CzGazYYh33WrXJxZKUQ449CfEPJqUlmMd2BpsuNMNPEe8MDjNsts8KlNNurFqk3i5Rxo4/s1600/041.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="319" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHsKWMNctWg1CBc757MVi5Nw2g8op85PDKyPPyJV3Z8ZqKk6Pyd8wA1i2rQj7NdeUPgRV3b5CzGazYYh33WrXJxZKUQ449CfEPJqUlmMd2BpsuNMNPEe8MDjNsts8KlNNurFqk3i5Rxo4/s320/041.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong><em>I brought the crew along with me</em></strong></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEBTTgV42VI7yjwna4SaiMkp3pFftynK4iJc1Ey8NIj0cA-aB5MaljBAcKryBdznO3Yv3iK2zqwuVW_TL5WfrpS3Khj6PI05WvAxdMyn5oaadfcjEGb4WEY5AyOW7f34Mi30DX3-aESfM/s1600/026.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEBTTgV42VI7yjwna4SaiMkp3pFftynK4iJc1Ey8NIj0cA-aB5MaljBAcKryBdznO3Yv3iK2zqwuVW_TL5WfrpS3Khj6PI05WvAxdMyn5oaadfcjEGb4WEY5AyOW7f34Mi30DX3-aESfM/s320/026.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeSEYgxt1safp9k5Z5Z-tEjmWe6-D56oNurlbfGxdwz3GwhJHF_0_xPUmt6JfiKgBd_BdjlvhTaVr92SdLaiN4yxcLJtmt_ucqAGChztw6wcpYo5lW3gD4AvStxmUS6ZD-v1kdlBGK7qM/s1600/031.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeSEYgxt1safp9k5Z5Z-tEjmWe6-D56oNurlbfGxdwz3GwhJHF_0_xPUmt6JfiKgBd_BdjlvhTaVr92SdLaiN4yxcLJtmt_ucqAGChztw6wcpYo5lW3gD4AvStxmUS6ZD-v1kdlBGK7qM/s320/031.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLohVsNMphei29sWmdVKep-ibmvTYZ6f-QD98XgnaqBmvJ7gCPg-QOSUj0R8IkJggeChNnM5kyxJ7_Tz7LVr8n7zjlbzROCOcPWGzUplz9Xsb8XD2DogQCDw38D-P7jJQLOSDTScQ7KYw/s1600/043.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLohVsNMphei29sWmdVKep-ibmvTYZ6f-QD98XgnaqBmvJ7gCPg-QOSUj0R8IkJggeChNnM5kyxJ7_Tz7LVr8n7zjlbzROCOcPWGzUplz9Xsb8XD2DogQCDw38D-P7jJQLOSDTScQ7KYw/s320/043.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkU6VAF8M7Rk_Eut4tUfKrWpfeADsz8KosqsK7ampB9v92mTulmUb4ZJamNs8MRwca7TzxO1_hx5Dl-gH3erJTiMfYqFAAy3ha0JADl2Jvs2HhBpblGD-4hHaHi7JOnx2CUtVcUnhljio/s1600/050.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkU6VAF8M7Rk_Eut4tUfKrWpfeADsz8KosqsK7ampB9v92mTulmUb4ZJamNs8MRwca7TzxO1_hx5Dl-gH3erJTiMfYqFAAy3ha0JADl2Jvs2HhBpblGD-4hHaHi7JOnx2CUtVcUnhljio/s320/050.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzwCfY3PDwLUjvKyUgHVE3Pvrx2UdWhoC3C5KUyAdgvkn5li1GuPOOmRDiwJWTu-reKdMTF_t4Gct0sHvwbkQ2eqVtD50T045a6WfOJUL4-kVbA1lmZ5vmy30Rx_B_WFTjHyZfiSIvnmQ/s1600/049.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzwCfY3PDwLUjvKyUgHVE3Pvrx2UdWhoC3C5KUyAdgvkn5li1GuPOOmRDiwJWTu-reKdMTF_t4Gct0sHvwbkQ2eqVtD50T045a6WfOJUL4-kVbA1lmZ5vmy30Rx_B_WFTjHyZfiSIvnmQ/s320/049.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTZTSIo4SlhCQV-Qjot6vrqmzu6WRiN0g3hae9FWZZ2NibvUgQXbLpCu-1CrgVczKlsNnUlOOD8sFwPxQR4wg0PBMiv6Sz4jHGFSidfNR0sJWqnFimH9ewwj35Z96RYPZbcc6gfFyeDAs/s1600/052.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTZTSIo4SlhCQV-Qjot6vrqmzu6WRiN0g3hae9FWZZ2NibvUgQXbLpCu-1CrgVczKlsNnUlOOD8sFwPxQR4wg0PBMiv6Sz4jHGFSidfNR0sJWqnFimH9ewwj35Z96RYPZbcc6gfFyeDAs/s320/052.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1Ebt995JiUpuyJdk7jlka2dvXdWag45FdXbzAZkDotW9_LqH_8_QvHKRpPAhVfMaeFpowu5RHoUuV3snSTb3fICE2bo1BfAKEMIAHikj79ZuKQu-eogSlvcFQSIH7cJiho_IKTzcwGmM/s1600/054.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1Ebt995JiUpuyJdk7jlka2dvXdWag45FdXbzAZkDotW9_LqH_8_QvHKRpPAhVfMaeFpowu5RHoUuV3snSTb3fICE2bo1BfAKEMIAHikj79ZuKQu-eogSlvcFQSIH7cJiho_IKTzcwGmM/s320/054.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjocPbm2w_UKOMiwRd37_YRDJtx5c0KLrZFpnU_Pnjuspgel4uE0LkLl68vPVGO2qKqOAdzW3_bDmvdB3W_5cva5Wnhd6Eap5vtFxd3HUsCMXW5B2ggge5C43v43rv-kZWiVUJt9HZO56g/s1600/058.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjocPbm2w_UKOMiwRd37_YRDJtx5c0KLrZFpnU_Pnjuspgel4uE0LkLl68vPVGO2qKqOAdzW3_bDmvdB3W_5cva5Wnhd6Eap5vtFxd3HUsCMXW5B2ggge5C43v43rv-kZWiVUJt9HZO56g/s320/058.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;"> </span></em><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeKY8f6tbHj0bjk04qwoeEgZdqpRaOYwz-VfsNVAHG40lmBqqjIlAcDsSjP9ZVU0c-xpcgjqcMdLkRJL7FUDksVfz0xbqIX4cMCp6Mc2turW0RrgxJqIDiXl0fT4GGLxMJrEBOg8avvHA/s1600/Scan2_0002_0001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeKY8f6tbHj0bjk04qwoeEgZdqpRaOYwz-VfsNVAHG40lmBqqjIlAcDsSjP9ZVU0c-xpcgjqcMdLkRJL7FUDksVfz0xbqIX4cMCp6Mc2turW0RrgxJqIDiXl0fT4GGLxMJrEBOg8avvHA/s320/Scan2_0002_0001.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiosIZkeJXBJptTCEfxCLyaC0YN5oAbIowFyHay4nNyhlmx2cp13_TCVk971WchWiyeW6oGNCfVCIeidlJKMVP9CuT7RhU07K8jiEp34jP5AvCJIDtEEu43uS-3-qNIFCSjDZvDup8Z2rI/s1600/Dad++Geneseo+B24.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiosIZkeJXBJptTCEfxCLyaC0YN5oAbIowFyHay4nNyhlmx2cp13_TCVk971WchWiyeW6oGNCfVCIeidlJKMVP9CuT7RhU07K8jiEp34jP5AvCJIDtEEu43uS-3-qNIFCSjDZvDup8Z2rI/s320/Dad++Geneseo+B24.jpg" width="308" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong>Crew member Raphael Gonyea. Picture provided</strong></span><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: Georgia;">by Steve Gonyea, his son as they toured a B-24.</span></strong><br />
<br />
<strong><span style="font-family: Georgia;"></span></strong><br />
<br />
<strong><span style="font-family: Georgia;"></span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: Georgia;"></span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: Georgia;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGAPZBBZjLT_aAEVNTE0npvT4D7WG-oF4FHbWNyQewQgr8P_dX4y8o-NynwBrIv3A1G6bnpm9gHR9qkMmAYkbqCoDsKsu8OOqeAg3XSs4YWWaK1ykPVTRckcQLOkxK6HNi1m384C33YsU/s1600/Scan8_0008.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGAPZBBZjLT_aAEVNTE0npvT4D7WG-oF4FHbWNyQewQgr8P_dX4y8o-NynwBrIv3A1G6bnpm9gHR9qkMmAYkbqCoDsKsu8OOqeAg3XSs4YWWaK1ykPVTRckcQLOkxK6HNi1m384C33YsU/s320/Scan8_0008.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong>The crew of the 415th Bomb Squadron</strong></span><br />
<strong>of the 98th Bomb Group</strong><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong>(Bottom row from left to right) John Norris -</strong></span><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: Georgia;">lower ball gunner; Red Cockran - waist gunner;</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Harry Henry - tail gunner; Raphael Gonyea - top</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: Georgia;">turret gunner and radio man; Don Brown - nose</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: Georgia;">turret gunner.</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: Georgia;">(Top row from left to right) Charles Estes - Pilot;</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Frank Delois - Flight engineer and waist gunner;</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: Georgia;">John Congleton - copilot; Bob Swain - navigator.</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Not pictured: Jim Mulligan, Ernie Swanson and Joe Dobkin</span></strong></td></tr>
</tbody></table></span></strong></td></tr>
</tbody></table></div>charlieboy chronicleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00948295416417329568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2570575635928398406.post-56750848277520074002012-01-30T22:18:00.002-05:002012-01-31T21:57:45.988-05:00In Memory Of Donald A. Brown<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9ZFAOQ_gAMKEh6xDcBStZQdpTMYkl_u6NeI212qJaV0sZMJ5iua8vBN3zGHOuyPDTKUKhPnFunP1DW9L67TdzToq9enrPhMx7ekjpbyyeDZcQy-3Ht6b64DwcNn5TVkn6t2-13f-uUQ0/s1600/Don+Brown.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9ZFAOQ_gAMKEh6xDcBStZQdpTMYkl_u6NeI212qJaV0sZMJ5iua8vBN3zGHOuyPDTKUKhPnFunP1DW9L67TdzToq9enrPhMx7ekjpbyyeDZcQy-3Ht6b64DwcNn5TVkn6t2-13f-uUQ0/s320/Don+Brown.jpg" width="215" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Donald A. Brown, nose gunner<br />
415th Bomb Squadron<br />
98th Bomb Group</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE3GATWevZVZlfPbYGOdVN0e4uM5336AtYk5blZwcHBBSvR8NFsHB5-uWkg1ae2Byj154FbQ9Ri0UwctZn9RvNPGzE2iB1jDZB5n4I9vT9C_9fchNNogf2WGQ0K6IYzlAq5SyQ4u7QWWc/s1600/Scan8_0008.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE3GATWevZVZlfPbYGOdVN0e4uM5336AtYk5blZwcHBBSvR8NFsHB5-uWkg1ae2Byj154FbQ9Ri0UwctZn9RvNPGzE2iB1jDZB5n4I9vT9C_9fchNNogf2WGQ0K6IYzlAq5SyQ4u7QWWc/s320/Scan8_0008.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Donald A. Brown, kneeling far right </td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Today I received some very sad news. </span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Donald A. Brown, who served with my</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">father as the nose gunner and was a member</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">of the 415th Bomb Squadron of the</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">98th Bomb Group, died January 17th,</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">2012 in Colorado Springs, Colorado.</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">He was 88 years old. He was awarded</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">two air medals and our Nations Purple</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Heart. He was the last remaining</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">crew member. </span></em><br />
<br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">As many of you know, since the inception</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">of my Father's blog, I had been searching</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">for many, many months the family members </span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">of the crew. I was elated when I found Don.</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">I was looking forward to hearing all his</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">stories and sharing them on the blog. </span></em><br />
<br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">His son, Colonel (Ret) Don Brown, would</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">like to share his thoughts and some personal </span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">stories of his dad along with family photos, and</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">I hope to share those with you in the very near</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">future. Our thoughts and prayers go out to</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">their family. Don said his dad was a proud</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">American and loved his country deeply.</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">He will be missed...and a grateful country</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">mourns his loss.</span></em><br />
<br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I found this poem as a tribute to the crew </span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">of the 415th Bomb Squadron, 98th Bomb Group</span></em><br />
<br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;"> <u>High Flight</u></span></em><br />
<br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">"Oh, I have slipped the surly bonds of earth</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">and danced the skies on laughter-silvered </span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">wings; Sunward I've climbed, and joined the</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">tumbling mirth of sun-split clouds - and done</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">a hundred things you have not dreamed of - </span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">wheeled and soared and swung h</span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">igh in the</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">sunlit silence.</span></em><br />
<br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Hov'ring there I've chased the shouting wind</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">along, and flung my eager craft through the</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">footless halls of air.</span></em><br />
<br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Up, up the long delirious, burning blue, I've</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">topped the windswept heights with easy grace</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">where never lark, or even eagle flew - and,</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">while with silent lifting mind I've trod the</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">high untrespassed sanctity of space, put out</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">my hand and touched the face of God."</span></em><br />
<br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Pilot Officer Gillespie Magee</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">No. 412 Squadron, RCAF</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Killed December 11, 1941</span></em><br />
<br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;"> </span></em></div>charlieboy chronicleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00948295416417329568noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2570575635928398406.post-58059998893449373302011-12-24T13:54:00.000-05:002011-12-24T13:54:45.603-05:00A CHRISTMAS BABY<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">In the early morning hours of December 25th,</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">1922, the bells of St. Mary's Catholic Church</span></em><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><em>rang their bells throughout the sleepy</em><em> small</em></span><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">town of Yazoo City, Mississippi proclaiming</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">But perhaps for my grandparents, Charles and Anne</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Estes, the bells were also welcoming into the</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">world, their </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">new-born son, Charles Henry Estes,</span></em><br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Y_kTdl2HbvY/TvXfnfrHSqI/AAAAAAAAAlc/7ttwYTrR7mk/s1600/Peace+on+Earth+Etsy.com.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Y_kTdl2HbvY/TvXfnfrHSqI/AAAAAAAAAlc/7ttwYTrR7mk/s320/Peace+on+Earth+Etsy.com.jpg" width="255" /></a><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;"> just as </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">midnight mass at St. Mary's was ending.</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">He was...a Christmas Baby...a very special </span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">baby indeed. </span></em><br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i>To me, Christmas babies are like little</i></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i>Christmas angels given to us by God</i></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i>every year to deliver the message</i></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i>of 'Peace on Earth Good Will to Men', </i></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i>a message my Father delivered throughout</i></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i>his life. He had a kind and gentle soul</i></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i>and was a good friend to all that knew him.</i></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i>He placed little importance on expensive</i></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i>things, but rather concentrated on what</i></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i>mattered the most: being a good family man,</i></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i>a good friend, and a good steward to our Lord.</i></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i>It is these very qualities that he has </i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i>passed down</i></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i>to my brothers, my sister and myself, and in turn,</i></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i>for us to pass onto our families. </i></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i> </i></span><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Christmas has and will always be a very</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">special time of year for me. </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">The memories</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">of my parents, my brothers, </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Larry and Chuck,</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">and my </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">sister, Hope, </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">filled our home </span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">with much love, joy and </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">happiness </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">for many, </span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">many Christmases.</span></em><br />
<br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The Christmas presents I cherish</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">the most are the ones hidden in </span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">my heart...those childhood memories</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">of Christmases from long ago...</span></em><br />
<br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Happy Birthday Papa</span></em><br />
<br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Merry Christmas...Liz Bacher</span></em></div>charlieboy chronicleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00948295416417329568noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2570575635928398406.post-32345594179459387732011-10-22T23:04:00.001-04:002014-10-21T20:45:56.347-04:00A Life Well Lived<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">It has been fifteen years since my Father passed away. </span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">And I would like to remember him with a collection of</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">some of my favorite pictures. </span></em><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyqCqYl9jmxNRbBny9Fzwz1WGuirLPRx_vtiSqN7jRLIygXHNwsSLsoy8Jt72whX8paikEIOEQ7a1iuDaLLeq20WaS1HkV0OdUHdvA683Rwx8xLFjzGnf_xizlmg5S1GKVDsgcMCEEd0Y/s1600/Papa+and+Ben+small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyqCqYl9jmxNRbBny9Fzwz1WGuirLPRx_vtiSqN7jRLIygXHNwsSLsoy8Jt72whX8paikEIOEQ7a1iuDaLLeq20WaS1HkV0OdUHdvA683Rwx8xLFjzGnf_xizlmg5S1GKVDsgcMCEEd0Y/s320/Papa+and+Ben+small.jpg" height="320" width="224" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Papa with my Uncle Ben</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></em><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW-618nvtbSgTZ16bEWx-NbGfNA5nBAOyT5MkNFdVcmNaK6o5F5Afm3rGe8es990fn1_7H0HWdZ_5tQfqyItmomKmDilUde9wY5v8wwJo-rdBSlt943cGInXO93C3fxeM5eewc5jhkFtk/s1600/Scan2_1_0003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW-618nvtbSgTZ16bEWx-NbGfNA5nBAOyT5MkNFdVcmNaK6o5F5Afm3rGe8es990fn1_7H0HWdZ_5tQfqyItmomKmDilUde9wY5v8wwJo-rdBSlt943cGInXO93C3fxeM5eewc5jhkFtk/s320/Scan2_1_0003.jpg" height="255" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Papa with Nanny and Uncle Ben</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjIbxlpCqfqIQkzj1tyeyl3sddWxbyw0tHn1E6bmlGb9BPqy9DyiaNHwDfsJTpmDLbH4aexgvDs3fLzXso3PiwJr_liH4ptn8uVBpMcppO5ZXIw7t0bBT2c8TX0s2gO6oku2ohqx6w2Yo/s1600/Scan4_0006.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjIbxlpCqfqIQkzj1tyeyl3sddWxbyw0tHn1E6bmlGb9BPqy9DyiaNHwDfsJTpmDLbH4aexgvDs3fLzXso3PiwJr_liH4ptn8uVBpMcppO5ZXIw7t0bBT2c8TX0s2gO6oku2ohqx6w2Yo/s320/Scan4_0006.jpg" height="255" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Papa with his Derby car on Broad Street</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirKfkoNwDo2TyIu_S5dHNaojSZCRqHNI9x_v4-V_RDajIWiPOBkQdRuuEjc6zC0KzPEoBesvfTwv5aoBhB4g8u66CoaJhqUZXHSysv8JEiRdmB0qphOWOBkbdWb1Hdg___7le8CziZ-TY/s1600/Scan3_1_0005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirKfkoNwDo2TyIu_S5dHNaojSZCRqHNI9x_v4-V_RDajIWiPOBkQdRuuEjc6zC0KzPEoBesvfTwv5aoBhB4g8u66CoaJhqUZXHSysv8JEiRdmB0qphOWOBkbdWb1Hdg___7le8CziZ-TY/s320/Scan3_1_0005.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Papa with Papa T and an officer</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdIbcApjJ-hdVrCew4ntUhDhMISOiTOYX4yu1rvLV1V3sLj9keb3TsV_jEebUMAE-sPxnXjxFn1qzmBMi_MGKfITtQM7XJgbOtCMuxdPemzw3zdufQlnpw38VUa26Czba9eEFdIyC6qqA/s1600/Scan1_0001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdIbcApjJ-hdVrCew4ntUhDhMISOiTOYX4yu1rvLV1V3sLj9keb3TsV_jEebUMAE-sPxnXjxFn1qzmBMi_MGKfITtQM7XJgbOtCMuxdPemzw3zdufQlnpw38VUa26Czba9eEFdIyC6qqA/s320/Scan1_0001.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Papa with Bess, Uncle Ben and Nanny<br />
<br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKBIk4IuiQCDzK3gGwqtcwmKMWovGkPocoOBN62trItPLQTY9OJt_LMQxAfbsKfLYwqoHIeEU00ZzCCOFb6vWrfKNsQ1RI722tvz7Ejwh7iKedBP7W_dvXXZF88gUzscpjeDh58reVVLc/s1600/Scan3_1_0005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKBIk4IuiQCDzK3gGwqtcwmKMWovGkPocoOBN62trItPLQTY9OJt_LMQxAfbsKfLYwqoHIeEU00ZzCCOFb6vWrfKNsQ1RI722tvz7Ejwh7iKedBP7W_dvXXZF88gUzscpjeDh58reVVLc/s320/Scan3_1_0005.jpg" height="268" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lt. Charles H. Estes, Jr.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCUKpl3EYIH9rbBgRDrkrFU_YRX0Q9jKHyc7p1j4F8zhzUE0rR4Im1N8xV47GHH0helJKi_1C2xez4YoZVShfyQ1Tpql5HIayto4t_rzg1Xc_Z9Yxz4wsS1hP95ZoyIdhVonx6f0odAGI/s1600/Scan1_1_0006.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCUKpl3EYIH9rbBgRDrkrFU_YRX0Q9jKHyc7p1j4F8zhzUE0rR4Im1N8xV47GHH0helJKi_1C2xez4YoZVShfyQ1Tpql5HIayto4t_rzg1Xc_Z9Yxz4wsS1hP95ZoyIdhVonx6f0odAGI/s320/Scan1_1_0006.jpg" height="320" width="252" /></a></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigY1EpS2LyyOPz2TclvO9ERWKuwTDy_fL5F2vPBVXhSXciVB6vhNWHFbmF6IxSSm83_RMIJbRJQFtQs7-X984lKauSJ_S4aCHk2_4A2IT_dTwLJjJkzaZGLqMkHsLzCpwCRuBJnhJxjwk/s1600/wedding+II-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigY1EpS2LyyOPz2TclvO9ERWKuwTDy_fL5F2vPBVXhSXciVB6vhNWHFbmF6IxSSm83_RMIJbRJQFtQs7-X984lKauSJ_S4aCHk2_4A2IT_dTwLJjJkzaZGLqMkHsLzCpwCRuBJnhJxjwk/s320/wedding+II-1.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My Mom and Dad</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8fZLZJ8Dw0WGXF_MaXGnO8phOabotwF-gjROYiCferqRIMH36AUY-nUSlnPmpuYvc5NEnipZuAiuq7o15_ji1q7cWgCAgfUDrXnmZD2lC5y1J7mR4zyJixE8uMDl4USz49qQfwT7vSIM/s1600/004.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8fZLZJ8Dw0WGXF_MaXGnO8phOabotwF-gjROYiCferqRIMH36AUY-nUSlnPmpuYvc5NEnipZuAiuq7o15_ji1q7cWgCAgfUDrXnmZD2lC5y1J7mR4zyJixE8uMDl4USz49qQfwT7vSIM/s320/004.jpg" height="233" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chuck, Elizabeth, Papa, Mother<br />
Hope and Larry</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNlH-uRq-HYRHjarwLwZSXzkwUe6bwSPoJ-4loR73AelV4FPunqgmhSRM-j4AgBTN_lJ7Zzs7FprLrxKxcxZKm8hpIFUMWwVGTExT2_DNA6UdBgjEpB4P6jYSZ6098o2CZF087y9-cxLM/s1600/Scan7_1_0013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNlH-uRq-HYRHjarwLwZSXzkwUe6bwSPoJ-4loR73AelV4FPunqgmhSRM-j4AgBTN_lJ7Zzs7FprLrxKxcxZKm8hpIFUMWwVGTExT2_DNA6UdBgjEpB4P6jYSZ6098o2CZF087y9-cxLM/s320/Scan7_1_0013.jpg" height="320" width="256" /></a><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC_zyANp4kX_XQxmnCfN5FaVbWdCWKTQGDigRfGHTvaLk45Xvr46FM0nWuiASMUQQRaCezVN8ypY3eUd20OUFFLZ5DhHuGMFu00NdqEcmdt8XQYGPq041GU7MJ-8DedF0CWCbokFJLCpg/s1600/papawithbass+001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC_zyANp4kX_XQxmnCfN5FaVbWdCWKTQGDigRfGHTvaLk45Xvr46FM0nWuiASMUQQRaCezVN8ypY3eUd20OUFFLZ5DhHuGMFu00NdqEcmdt8XQYGPq041GU7MJ-8DedF0CWCbokFJLCpg/s320/papawithbass+001.jpg" height="251" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKnc_4RD3tbfe6X30nHtOLf-wINRG6R3x884ZaOSUZ5pmDN0jDAPHu0x8IKvDBOy6XKG9yZ1kOKsjPBi_FMsz29G7kOTovy4sqr_D1RnMecczXahbqcBPYCBsXP5bR5vjIXEA8bWPPn5k/s1600/Papa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKnc_4RD3tbfe6X30nHtOLf-wINRG6R3x884ZaOSUZ5pmDN0jDAPHu0x8IKvDBOy6XKG9yZ1kOKsjPBi_FMsz29G7kOTovy4sqr_D1RnMecczXahbqcBPYCBsXP5bR5vjIXEA8bWPPn5k/s320/Papa.jpg" height="320" width="228" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">In my Father's last dictation he reflected on the paths he</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">could have chosen, </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">and now some fifty years later,</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">it was the right path...and a life well lived.</span></em><br />
<br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">"I had signed a contract with a company to go to </span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">South America and fly C-47s over the Andes to mining</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">camps back in the sticks, so to speak; they had landing</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">fields there and I'm sure it would land a C-47 safely.</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">But I got home and my father was running Motor</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Parts Company all by himself, and the boy that had</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">worked there with him before the service, before the war,</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Otto Carter, he had been killed over in Australia on a mission.</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">He was a pilot -- not a pilot but he was a gunner on a bomber,</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">and this bomber was shot down and he was killed. </span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Well, anyway, my father needed my help and</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I realized that when I saw the situation as it was</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">when I got home, so I determined that I would stay</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">around Yazoo City, and do what I could to help him,</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">and so I canceled the contract that I had with these</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">people and let that fly over the mountain and forgot</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">about it forever. </span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">But, when you stop and look back at your life and</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">you see how things are now, and you try to compare</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">it to what they might have been, you don't know</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">where you would be had you taken a turn off in the</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">road and gone a different direction. </span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">So I'm sitting here at home and I'm talking to you</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Elizabeth. It's hard to argue with that I took any</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">wrong turns in my life. I seem to be ahead of the</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">dogs even though the dogs were pretty close at times,</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">but I'm still ahead of 'em. I'm 76 years old and my</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">health is not bad, and I'm very pleased to be able</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">to sit here and tell you about my experiences. </span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I hope -- this is about as far as I can go with any</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">war experiences that I had or anything that happened </span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">to me in my life. </span></em><br />
<br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">My father, when he retired, turned Motor Parts Company</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">over to Ben and myself and we ran it until my health</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">was such that I was not being a value to him, so I decided</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">to retire and I took the money that I got from the sale of</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Motor Part, my share of Motor Parts Company and tried</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">to invest it as wisely as I could so that I wouldn't throw</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">it away. If I had not used it and done something worthy</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">in a constructive way at the time that I got out, I'm sure</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">that it would be long gone now and not helped anybody. </span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">But I managed to do some fairly wise things.</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Your mother and I each have a burial policy and</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">we have health insurance aside from our Medicare, </span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">and we have extended care so that should we get to a</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">point where we need to go to a convalescent home</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">then it's taken care of, so I feel that I've done pretty</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">well with the money that was given to me for my share</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">in Motor Parts Company. </span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I still go down there to get my mail because my mail</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">still goes to box 169 and that's Motor Parts Company. </span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">It makes your mother a little mad at times to think about</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">me having to go down there to get my mail when</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">it could be sent out here, but I don't know what it</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">would take to change that, I'd have to write too many people.<br />
</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Anyway it's been a pleasure talking to you.</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I hope that you can make something from what I have</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">said to you, and if there anything in here that is not clear</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">let me know and I will be in touch with you and</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">straighten it out with you as closely as I can."</span></em><br />
<br />
<strong><em><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Charles H. Estes, Jr. (December 1922-October 1999) </span></em></strong></div>
charlieboy chronicleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00948295416417329568noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2570575635928398406.post-1681617717254596802011-10-04T16:49:00.000-04:002011-10-04T16:49:27.577-04:00The Charlie-Boy Chronicles: A WWII Pilot's Story: "He Was The Finest Boy I Ever Knew" ---A Tribute t...<a href="http://charlie-boychronicles.blogspot.com/2011/10/he-was-finest-boy-i-ever-knew-tribute.html?spref=bl">The Charlie-Boy Chronicles: A WWII Pilot's Story: "He Was The Finest Boy I Ever Knew" ---A Tribute t...</a>: LT. COL. JOHN W. CONGLETON It was in Lincoln, Nebraska at the Army Air Corp. Airfield that Papa first met the men assigned to his crew. ...charlieboy chronicleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00948295416417329568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2570575635928398406.post-40569209101206750052011-10-03T22:58:00.003-04:002011-10-06T10:06:22.197-04:00"He Was The Finest Boy I Ever Knew" ---A Tribute to Lt. Col. John Congleton<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhasuLUtrZhW06Ms3JbBliUdOgsKCoPhEtyL9U77TpYAZzlQ7BfNwUBZwA22m6f4q-_f8iYAIw57QvNZqieHkXZt4KByEd6kdoWqo7mVsE5N3ZfOWuszpA21bz2tk_rleHotHxqWtldkpw/s1600/John+in+plane.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhasuLUtrZhW06Ms3JbBliUdOgsKCoPhEtyL9U77TpYAZzlQ7BfNwUBZwA22m6f4q-_f8iYAIw57QvNZqieHkXZt4KByEd6kdoWqo7mVsE5N3ZfOWuszpA21bz2tk_rleHotHxqWtldkpw/s320/John+in+plane.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong>LT. COL. JOHN W. CONGLETON</strong></td></tr>
</tbody></table><em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">It was in Lincoln, Nebraska at the Army Air Corp. Airfield</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">that Papa first met the men assigned to his crew. John</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Congleton was to be his copilot. John was from Kentucky</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">and being the only Southerner on the crew, they became</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">great buddies. Papa said, "he was the finest boy I ever</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">knew." It was there at Lincoln that Papa met John's </span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">mother and </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">his fiancee, Marian. Through the years</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">after John had passed away, Papa stayed in touch</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">with Marian until my Father's death in '99. </span></em><br />
<br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">It was in March of 2010, when I first started</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">my father's blog, some ten years later, </span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">that I was able to pick up where</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">my father left off with phone calls to Marian. </span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">I enjoy very much the time we spend chatting</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">on the phone, our emails to each other and,</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">yes, even as Face Book friends. My how times</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">have changed. I truly think my </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">father</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">would be amused by all this! </span></em><br />
<br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Marian has been very kind to provide</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">me with some personal details </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">about John</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">and where he grew up and their life together.</span></em><br />
<br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Marian writes: </span></em><br />
<br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">"Lt. Col. John W. Congleton</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">was born in Sadieville, KY. on November</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">10th, 1922. His family moved to Hurricane,</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">West Va. and were there some several years.</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">They moved to Richmond, KY in the '30s</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">where in high school he was Valedictorian</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">of his graduating class of 1941. He attended</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Eastern Kentucky University where he was</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">in ROTC, joined the Army Air Corp in September</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">of 1942 and was called up for duty in January</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">of 1943. After training in Alabama, Texas,</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Oklahoma, he received his training for</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">the B24s in Boise, Idaho. He was stationed</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">in Bari, Italy. </span></em><br />
<br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">After being in the hospital with some of the</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">other crew members, they returned in the</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">summer of 1945. He stayed in the Reserves</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">and worked at his dad's lumber business.</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">He had weekends at Godman Field in </span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Louisville, KY. He was recalled in May of</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">1951 and we moved to Griffith AFB</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">in Rome, New York. From there we went</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">to Denver, CO where John was in intelligence</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">school and </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">was assigned to headquarters in Wayne,</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">MI. Then to Rhien-Main , AFB in Frankfurt,</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Germany. </span></em><br />
<br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">They then moved the whole wing to</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Druex, France for a year, and then returned</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">to Travis AFB in Fairfield, CA for six years,</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">and then to Anchorage, AK for three years.</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">We were there when the big earthquake hit.</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Then we moved to Dover AFB in Dover, DE</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">where John retired in 1970. </span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">In his career he flew B-29s, C-119s, C-124s,</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">C-5s and C141s. </span></em><br />
<br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">We really had a good life in the service and</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">met so many good people and kept a lot</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">of friends of whom are mostly gone now.</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">I have fond memories of the life with John</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">and the Air Force. It was an education in</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">itself."</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;"> </span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Marian Congleton</span></em><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnhnKlccFuUpxrH1QY-RhOdDk-1PrTojQ5KxmbWKdQ1dttC-49EEB_RU-LK9Vc7Th8SbmPru1bQHvQJsTU1Q456FWq4hJocpE2EZaNC9VVJ1j1uX7f_OsqO8BGOlnw3P6C-lSXi7rzX74/s1600/John+Italy+1945.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnhnKlccFuUpxrH1QY-RhOdDk-1PrTojQ5KxmbWKdQ1dttC-49EEB_RU-LK9Vc7Th8SbmPru1bQHvQJsTU1Q456FWq4hJocpE2EZaNC9VVJ1j1uX7f_OsqO8BGOlnw3P6C-lSXi7rzX74/s320/John+Italy+1945.JPG" width="281" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong>Lt. Col. John W. Congleton in Italy</strong></td></tr>
</tbody></table><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;"><strong> * * *</strong></span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">The following is a letter from John Congleton</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">written to my Father detailing his memories</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">of their last mission.</span></em><br />
<br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Lt. Col. John W. Congleton writes: </span></em><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>March 15th, 1945</em></span><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">"Combat briefing was conducted by Dr. Groves,</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">he was the Intelligence Officer for the 98th</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Bomb Group. Take off and form up into</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">formation was done without any problem.</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">The mission was the Schwacht Oil Refinery</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">15 miles southeast of Vienna. The target</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">was South East marshalling yards (railroad)</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">in Vienna. After a period of time we arrived </span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">at the I.P. </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;"> M</span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">ickey (Visual Navigator - please</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">see picture below) had </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">the target in his scope</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">and the </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">bombardier </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">said he could pick the</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">target up when </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">we were about half way </span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">down the bomb run. </span></em><br />
<br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">The f</span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">lak was intense and obscure due to haze.</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">The </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">bombardier was unable to bomb and</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">the Mickey </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">couldn't pick the target up. </span></em><br />
<br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">The decision was made by </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Bombardier</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">and Mickey </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">to take target of opportunity </span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">in southeast industrial </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">area of Vienna.</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">The bomb run was longer than </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">usual </span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">and we dropped the bombs. We corrected</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">about eight degrees </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">right and a burst of</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">flak knocked </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">the bombardier's </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">window out,</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">jamming the nose turret </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">and tearing </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">hell </span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">out of the rest of the nose. </span></em><br />
<br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">The radio </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">was out </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">and bombardier and</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Mickey were </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">no longer </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">in contact by interphone.</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Number 1 engine was feathered immediately </span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">following the rally due to oil pressure. We rallied</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">to our turning point and took up a heading of</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">170 degrees at which time we feathered number 4</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">engine due to a direct hit. The ship was without</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">radio, interphone and Mickey. The engineer was </span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">working feverishly in the bombay stopping gas </span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">leaks and trying to kept the ship as flyable as possible.</span></em><br />
<br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Due to holes in several fuel cells he was transferring</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">gas to the main tanks. The ship began losing altitude</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">at a rate of between 200 to 500 feet per minute. We</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">dropped ten degrees of flaps to try and maintain</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">altitude with some success. We dropped out of</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">formation </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">and the rest of the formation</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">flew off and left us.</span></em><br />
<br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Upon reaching Yugoslavia we decided that</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">we could not </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">hold altitude long enough to</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">reach home. We discussed this </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">problem</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">and decided that if we lost one more</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">engine we would </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">be in the Adriatic Sea.</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Also the fact of clearing the mountain</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">ranges between us and the Adriatic Sea.</span></em><br />
<br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">The pilot also gave </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">orders that every</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">possible item </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">in the ship be thrown </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">out.</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">The engineer and his little </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">pair of pliers</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">was like </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Bugs Bunny and his carrot. </span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Everyone cleared the nose </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">and went</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">to the waist in </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">the event of bailing out.</span></em><br />
<br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">The engineer was still busy clearing the ship.</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">We </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">were at 800 feet with about seven-tenths</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">cloud </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">coverage and 15 miles due east of Zagreb</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">and we </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">received about eight bursts of flak-near-hits.</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">We </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">flew a course of 140 degrees as it was evident</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">with </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">our altitude and the cloud coverage</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">over the Yugoslavia </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">mountains that it would</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">be impossible to get over </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">the mountains.</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">We decided that we would fly as</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">far as possible into partisan held </span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">territory before </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">bailing out. </span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">As we neared the foot hills, number 2</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">engine was fluctuating five inches of manifold</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">pressure necessitating bailing out in the very </span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">near future. </span></em><br />
<br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">We sighted a town which we hoped </span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">to be in friendly territory. As we flew over it the</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">pilot rang the bell for the men in the waist to bail</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">out. We did a 180 and as we flew reciprocal heading</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">the remainder of the crew bailed out. </span></em><br />
<br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">With the exception of a couple of sprained ankles</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">and </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">a few cuts and bruises, we landed in one piece.</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">As I was </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">gathering up my chute I heard a rifle</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">being cocked. I </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">turned around a saw a young</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">boy sitting on top of a fence </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">with a rifle.</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">I immediately turned around so the boy</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">could see the American Flag on my shoulder.</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">He then put </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">the rifle down and came over to</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">assist me with my chute. </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">The young boy then</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">indicated, by pointing, the way we </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">should</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">go to the village.</span></em><br />
<br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Upon arriving at the edge of the village the</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">lady that </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">lived in the first house we came</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">to on the main road into </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">the village,</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">came out with a decanter and small glass.</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">She </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">insisted that I have a drink of her wine,</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">which was called </span></em>'<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Rocky'. Rocky was made</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">by distilling pear juice. It was </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">very potent.</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">I was afraid to refuse their hospitality, or</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">hurt their feelings by refusing. Her neighbor,</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">upon seeing </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">her offering me a glass of wine,</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">immediately went into her </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">house and repeated</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">her action. I forgot how many there were.</span></em><br />
<br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">I was the second or third crew member to</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">reach the town hall. </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Charles was already there.</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">When I walked up your first words </span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">were, 'You're drunk', and I was.</span></em><br />
<br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">We all gathered in the town hall and</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">were greeted by the </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">commander of the partisans.</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">He only had one arm. After </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">being questioned</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">by the commander we were taken to the</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">houses where we were to spend the night and to be fed.</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">I was assigned to a home occupied by two elderly ladies.</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">They were very gracious and gave me a nice meal of the</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">food they had. I was fortunate to sleep in a feather bed.</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">In return for their hospitality, I gave them three or four</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">panels of my chute. The following morning when I awoke</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">and came down for breakfast I found they had made </span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">themselves two blouses and a scarf with the Air Force </span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">emblem embroidered on it, which I still have today.</span></em><br />
<br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">The next day the crew met at the town hall. We were</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">assigned a squad of armed partisans to escort us to</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">the seaport of Split. We were to board a ship to take</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">us across the Adriatic Sea back to Bari, Italy. They</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">contacted the American Ambassador at Split and</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">he arranged passage on a tramp steamer headed</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">for Bari, Italy.</span></em><br />
<br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">We departed the port at 9:00 p.m. Estes and I</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">had a stateroom, such as it was, and after about</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">one or two hours out we encountered a storm.</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">The storm got so rough that the captain of the</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">boat elected to return to Split. Since there were</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">no facilities on board to feed the passengers,</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">the American Ambassador gave us a case of</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Van Camps Pork & Beans (which I love to this</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">day). All the refugee passengers on board were</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">laying in the corridors seasick. The ships crew</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">had distributed one gallon cans up and down the</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">passageways for the people who were sick. I </span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">heard a noise outside the stateroom and got up</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">out of the bunk to see what the noise was. Upon</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">opening the door I saw a big dog with his buried</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">in the gallon can. As the ship rolled the can slid</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">backwards and forwards with the dog following</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">with his head buried in the can. I decided to return</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">to my bunk before I became sick.</span></em><br />
<br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">After arriving in Bari, we were taken to an Army</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">General hospital for our physical exams. We all had</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">lice and had to be deloused. It was discovered that I</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">had Hepatitis. I had to stay in the hospital for a period</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">of time which I don't remember how many of the crew</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">were infected. </span></em><br />
<br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">During the stay in the hospital the head nurse --- we</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">called her Molly Bird----asked if my name was 'Congleton'</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">and wanted to know if I was related to a G.B. Hinton. G.B.</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">was my mother's sister and the two of them, the nurses,</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">had graduated from nurses training together. From then</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">on I got a body massage every day whether I needed it</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">or not</span></em>.<br />
<br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">We departed the hospital and returned back to Lecce.</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> Upon </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">arriving in Lecce we found that the group we</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">were with had </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">left for the States.</span></em><br />
<br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">We found we could get an airplane at Chernolia</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">to ferry back </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">to the States. At this time I don't</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">remember whether the whole </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">crew was intact or not.</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">They had gotten a plane they had dragged </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">out of the</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">pea patch, war-weary, and we flew it to Morocco. </span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">There </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">the plane had to pass an overseas inspection. </span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">It did not pass because </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">the fuel tanks were rotten.</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">It was the regulation at the base that if</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">you had to wait seven days for parts you could</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">go home by ATC. </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">We waited and the new fuel</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">tanks arrived in plenty of time, but </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">they were the</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">wrong fuel tanks. We boarded a C-54 and landed</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">at Leguardia at 2:08 a.m. </span></em><br />
<br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">We walked into the terminal carrying</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">our baggage. The only thing open was a</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Red Cross booth with </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">free donuts and coffee.</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">I asked if they had any cold milk and they</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">said they did so I drank a full quart</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">of ice cold milk.</span></em><br />
<br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">So that is all I can remember of the day we</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">bailed out and the </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">days after that."</span></em><br />
<br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;"> </span></em> <em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Lt. Col. John W. Congleton, Co-Pilot</span></em><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVN7O2nAmbC4KafQaoR9kt3fwoYrZA1TAkAgGyqBd44b63MElg3u6oVUikc6USkXLNy9v0fXBG03uR1rlpbWM4P93uMDYtyx52Nrd8xdLBc6xKn3eoSfEhr_FjVVSv_132a3aEIzpuWd4/s1600/H2Xradar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVN7O2nAmbC4KafQaoR9kt3fwoYrZA1TAkAgGyqBd44b63MElg3u6oVUikc6USkXLNy9v0fXBG03uR1rlpbWM4P93uMDYtyx52Nrd8xdLBc6xKn3eoSfEhr_FjVVSv_132a3aEIzpuWd4/s320/H2Xradar.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong>The 'Mickey' was a radar navigational</strong><br />
<strong>system developed by the British and</strong><br />
<strong>improved by the Americans for</strong><br />
<strong>targeting through heavy cloud</strong><br />
<strong>coverage. </strong> </td></tr>
</tbody></table><em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong> * * *</strong></span></em><br />
<br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">My father, Captain Charles Estes recalls: </span></em><br />
<br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">"When the crew was reunited</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">in the town of Prijedor, Congleton had been</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">treated like a conquering hero with everyone</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">breaking out their best bottles of Rocky </span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">(a brandy-like drink made from pear juice)</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">as he walked into town. He arrived just after</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">I did and as he staggered up to me and made</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">some kind of remark like, 'well, old buddy,</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">we made it.' I began to wonder just how</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">much of "him" had made it. </span></em><br />
<br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">As the crew was divided up among families,</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Congleton once again had all the luck. He</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">was taken in by two ladies (he doesn't mention</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">their names). They took some of the chute</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">he had saved and the next morning presented</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">him with a scarf which he still has. </span></em><br />
<br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">I guess it </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">proves that being short and goodlooking</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">has </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">its advantages."</span></em><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilB_YCcGv5OfFc5Dh0W_pktF60-4S4q4S8juVVSXRCNDMtb1S0IRP9HpJC4WzLv9vBiC0PthX8uSjIe-ZOmU0nWLEjEI4iF4mmfDV7KWQk9hgP4ROKdH-uQH6V7Yn4oSQ_Vo-W3CjZva0/s1600/Scarf+made+from+Parachute.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilB_YCcGv5OfFc5Dh0W_pktF60-4S4q4S8juVVSXRCNDMtb1S0IRP9HpJC4WzLv9vBiC0PthX8uSjIe-ZOmU0nWLEjEI4iF4mmfDV7KWQk9hgP4ROKdH-uQH6V7Yn4oSQ_Vo-W3CjZva0/s320/Scarf+made+from+Parachute.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong>Scarf made by Yugoslavian</strong><br />
<strong>women in the town of Prijedor</strong><br />
<strong> and presented to John </strong></td></tr>
</tbody></table><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikacp41j9751tudZ1Z-OQb5ItHRA6EFxLpPdqRk1EGqdrXMCLtSaMBM4SiGLDifCdbmGuge2ezapobqG_iJS81MchysnwxnlLH9RCQQKZDTMlaXjZYMLBFjaTNyUbhp4k_7d0hJUlfNs0/s1600/Flag+and+metals.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikacp41j9751tudZ1Z-OQb5ItHRA6EFxLpPdqRk1EGqdrXMCLtSaMBM4SiGLDifCdbmGuge2ezapobqG_iJS81MchysnwxnlLH9RCQQKZDTMlaXjZYMLBFjaTNyUbhp4k_7d0hJUlfNs0/s320/Flag+and+metals.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong>Lt. Col. Congleton's war medals</strong><br />
<strong> and scarf made by Yugoslavian women</strong></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY3Zd4Eau4yVRtU5PDk2p30c5DpGyvlLCHlAuxU_FyKrMoTb_cKODIyX4aVn5OuGnWxMf8b1M6mrZd-kMJAX9RgGpF2rNNebmThc9bD3UbH2Nhk5Uijwvx40ZF1hmGH1kiSpTl4yG5Kbg/s1600/R1-5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY3Zd4Eau4yVRtU5PDk2p30c5DpGyvlLCHlAuxU_FyKrMoTb_cKODIyX4aVn5OuGnWxMf8b1M6mrZd-kMJAX9RgGpF2rNNebmThc9bD3UbH2Nhk5Uijwvx40ZF1hmGH1kiSpTl4yG5Kbg/s320/R1-5.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bob Swain and John Congleton </td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1WZjvrOPanHKqjXxaW4_7CW9S_w7QjM0Xf7iPNKInJbMhMno7mT2oR75sJEXCZlKMMTyfUtjetA08uSTj-sawDqzyOxmocWTi8aoFP-9gdLcIkz43ch96IlPc3tRcVQGph3eUIhBrfEI/s1600/Scan1_1_0002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1WZjvrOPanHKqjXxaW4_7CW9S_w7QjM0Xf7iPNKInJbMhMno7mT2oR75sJEXCZlKMMTyfUtjetA08uSTj-sawDqzyOxmocWTi8aoFP-9gdLcIkz43ch96IlPc3tRcVQGph3eUIhBrfEI/s320/Scan1_1_0002.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
Bob Swain, Charlie Estes<br />
and John (Little John) Congleton</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu1ETMQlwkH0CR14KKK0vCxspj1ZmPCsYCF2dOSvOki33WvlL4deN1OvVy4yVGjV5dbgAsPksBnxPWPOn2ly_oDryKMUgyY-8x6iDTtX108GhaGidNyk5mjwB3N8oZHgQ8Gf6Rk_Tqm-w/s1600/Scan2_1_0004.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu1ETMQlwkH0CR14KKK0vCxspj1ZmPCsYCF2dOSvOki33WvlL4deN1OvVy4yVGjV5dbgAsPksBnxPWPOn2ly_oDryKMUgyY-8x6iDTtX108GhaGidNyk5mjwB3N8oZHgQ8Gf6Rk_Tqm-w/s320/Scan2_1_0004.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">John casually resting on bombs </td></tr>
</tbody></table><em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">This is a letter written to</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Marian Congleton from </span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">my Father.</span></em><br />
<br />
(<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">CLICK ON TO ENLARGE<strong>)</strong></span></em><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFldAFVpy1XMxRU_S491m5uC-VZTc1o9cQbxMtQ4LV7BV2l1Q4UPLTuuH_TNhDRyMjYl6m98qb2jpmC7nnxWfNZkLUgYJHNM5y0ErhcHYlzdH41PEhafR6Wpokh7nE9xdMscTdC3uISzQ/s1600/Papa%2527s+letter+to+Marian1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFldAFVpy1XMxRU_S491m5uC-VZTc1o9cQbxMtQ4LV7BV2l1Q4UPLTuuH_TNhDRyMjYl6m98qb2jpmC7nnxWfNZkLUgYJHNM5y0ErhcHYlzdH41PEhafR6Wpokh7nE9xdMscTdC3uISzQ/s320/Papa%2527s+letter+to+Marian1.jpg" width="218" /></a><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjB6_SzVdFpyxhWw-eahXM3OoTH2UkuNYY52fud3mV1HITekbgcG2IuBlro4cnJXP2sz3Zil5lclhwvKi6VL73m0S8Syva_mGCX-ABlK5j8WGW9Z5Aab6Cs3GGjdFvcs2POAdBzqCZV7A/s1600/Papa%2527s+letter+to+Marian+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjB6_SzVdFpyxhWw-eahXM3OoTH2UkuNYY52fud3mV1HITekbgcG2IuBlro4cnJXP2sz3Zil5lclhwvKi6VL73m0S8Syva_mGCX-ABlK5j8WGW9Z5Aab6Cs3GGjdFvcs2POAdBzqCZV7A/s320/Papa%2527s+letter+to+Marian+2.jpg" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmQ2DTCAp6i0ieqt75l9s91Emmom48Dq9hz7waWWk_H8BbVaLVL-B-f0BoX15oqOWHEV9qXOJcHhrTXYsxHcDE7aiBVBzCtKWu_1gYXbvAUung8v0Pi-WB8SMDyg0YjsKpMEFjC7gMtBM/s1600/John+and+Marian.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmQ2DTCAp6i0ieqt75l9s91Emmom48Dq9hz7waWWk_H8BbVaLVL-B-f0BoX15oqOWHEV9qXOJcHhrTXYsxHcDE7aiBVBzCtKWu_1gYXbvAUung8v0Pi-WB8SMDyg0YjsKpMEFjC7gMtBM/s320/John+and+Marian.JPG" width="238" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong>Marian and John Congleton</strong><br />
</td></tr>
</tbody></table><em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I hope I have honored the memory</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">of Lt. Col. John Congleton in a manner</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">befitting a man who answered his country's</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">call to arms and continued to serve her</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">long after the war. It is a measure of</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">devotion for which we are all grateful;</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">it is because of such bravery we are able</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">to enjoy the freedoms we hold so dear.</span></em><br />
<br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Oliver Wendell Holmes wrote:</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">"At the grave of a hero we end, not</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">with sorrow at the enviable loss,</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">but with the contagion of his courage;</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">and with a kind of desperate joy we</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">go back to the fight." </span></em><br />
<br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">John Congleton was a very special</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">and dear friend of my Father's. Long</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">after the war they remained close, and</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">even after his death, my Father continued</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">to stay in touch with Marian, his wife.</span></em><br />
<br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">This posting has been especially personal</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">to me. I had been searching for Marian </span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">for many, many months while blogging my</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Father's war memoirs. I bet I called every</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Congleton in the state of Kentucky! But...</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">my hard work paid off</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">. She is a sweetheart</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">of a lady and I'm so very glad I found her and</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">consider her a dear friend. </span></em><br />
<br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">I </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">look forward </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">to a time when I will</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">finally meet </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">her. </span></em><br />
<br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Elizabeth Bacher </span></em></div>charlieboy chronicleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00948295416417329568noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2570575635928398406.post-63266607169994589542011-07-10T23:01:00.002-04:002011-07-10T23:07:52.020-04:00A Picture Far, Far from Home Made for one Important Letter Home<div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">While on a recent visit home </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">to </span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Yazoo City, while looking through some</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">old papers, I came across an old scrapbook</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">of pictures of Papa and crew members </span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">and old newspaper clippings from the</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">war that </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Papa had saved. One of the</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">paper clippings had come from </span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">'The Jackson Daily News'. It was </span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">a picture of several Belhaven College</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">girls, and one of the young ladies was</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Winkie Sample (Allen) from Belzoni,</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Mississippi. </span></em><br />
<br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Upon seeing this, I realized that this</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">was the very picture my dad had </span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">mentioned in his memoirs. He had</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">written to Winkie </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">while he was in</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">stationed in Italy. </span></em><br />
<br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Now, I had never met Winkie. Hope,</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">my sister said she had spoken with her</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">but it had been some several years.</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">But within a few short weeks I was</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">able to locate her, and oh, how I have</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">enjoyed </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">all our phone conversations.</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">I sent her a copy of the CDs I made </span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">of Papa's war </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">memoirs, and she </span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">tells me she has thoroughly enjoyed</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">listening to them. </span></em><br />
<br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">I recently asked Winkie to give me</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">her personal accounting of the story</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">of Papa writing to her after seeing</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">her picture in the paper. Several</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">days later I received her lovely and</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">thoughtful letter along with several</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">pictures I'd like to share. </span></em><br />
<br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">By Winkie Sample Allen:</span></em><br />
<br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">"The episode of Charles contacting</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">me at Belhaven College (in 1945)</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">after seeing a picture of me in the</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">old Jackson Daily News when he</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">was overseas in Italy, is a favorite</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">story I've loved to tell through the</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">years. </span></em><br />
<br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">My best friend in college that year </span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">was Alice Hutchison of Crystal Springs.</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">On seeing </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">my letter from Charles, she</span></em><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><em>commented that her brother, Fount</em></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><em>Hutchison, had the same APO mailing</em></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><em>address for his army base in Italy.</em></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><em>In writing her brother later, she told</em></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><em>him this. </em></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><em>Well, almost no time after this, my</em></span><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">mother called to tell me the sad news</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">that Charles was missing in action,</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">the plane he was piloting having gone</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">down with all his crew. Soon after</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">this Alice had a call from Fount</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">saying, 'tell Winkie we know that</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Charles is safe. He and his crew</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">parachuted from their damaged</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">plane and landed in friendly </span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">territory. We know he will be</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">ok.' </span></em><br />
<br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">I immediately called Annie and</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">"Big Charles" to tell them this news.</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">They were elated, as they had heard</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">nothing since the Missing in Action</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">message. Very soon they did hear</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">officially that Charles was safe.</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">(How I loved hearing 'the rest of</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">the story' from the two CD's you</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">sent me telling the whole exciting</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">details. As I told you, I listened</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">with my Atlas maps of Italy,</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Austria, Morocco and Yugoslavia</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">in front of me).</span></em><br />
<br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">The next ---and possible the highlight</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">of my freshman year at Belhaven---</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">I saw a car drive up to my dorm</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">a few days after my call to Annie.</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Here came Annie, Bess and Mary</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">with a huge platter of homemade</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">candies of all kinds for Alice and</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">me. What a happy day!"</span></em><br />
<br />
<strong> * * *</strong><br />
<br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I am looking forward to </span></em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>my next</em></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>visit home to Yazoo City and</em></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>reminiscing with Winkie, perhaps</em></span><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">over some of my homemade </span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">banana bread and sweet tea, </span></em><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>listening to all her wonderful</em></span><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">stories of our family. </span></em><br />
<br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Liz Bacher</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;"> </span></em><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDlx7A7dSDvtF3ctvddkQDjnX6diQLroRiN3hKQ6EWb1xaS9YBoimRZ3e2nAnr3W-GY_P5ORkE60U6aXjocOviJz7misK4pdbbAI2iM4ZwDXqQ_twHxAjEIaC_z-u30rKC5DjRhH9npXA/s1600/Belhaven.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDlx7A7dSDvtF3ctvddkQDjnX6diQLroRiN3hKQ6EWb1xaS9YBoimRZ3e2nAnr3W-GY_P5ORkE60U6aXjocOviJz7misK4pdbbAI2iM4ZwDXqQ_twHxAjEIaC_z-u30rKC5DjRhH9npXA/s320/Belhaven.jpg" width="316" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>This picture was from the Jackson Daily News.</em></span><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Winkie Sample Allen is on the second row far right.</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">This is the picture my dad saw while stationed in Italy and</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">upon seeing it wrote a letter to Winkie. </span></em> </td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1jWauJ5R_TkbzYmpLAgf8n3gLCCFAR_dpfgplBARrKzZp9dFP5uinZNME3Hmoyk-pvhsW-LzGfCInFH7vy2NxKlPrfCqq1IDgSDd8eHs4kRDv9gn8zbO0x96jGPeQLcPjCcZg1Sxqpb0/s1600/winkie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1jWauJ5R_TkbzYmpLAgf8n3gLCCFAR_dpfgplBARrKzZp9dFP5uinZNME3Hmoyk-pvhsW-LzGfCInFH7vy2NxKlPrfCqq1IDgSDd8eHs4kRDv9gn8zbO0x96jGPeQLcPjCcZg1Sxqpb0/s320/winkie.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>The picture on left is a picture of Winkie on the far right.</em></span><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">The picture to the right is Alice Hutchison (Now</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Ms. Jimmy Little from Crystal Springs, Ms. </span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;"> Alice </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">is the sister to Fount Hutchison who was </span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">stationed in Italy with Charles.</span></em></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;"> </span></em>charlieboy chronicleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00948295416417329568noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2570575635928398406.post-19112992534802421662011-06-11T19:06:00.018-04:002011-06-11T23:17:59.068-04:00A TRIBUTE TO BOB<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgevrktIlWd2eYl3no22E7aTnMHvIdi6Aq4ZJ-QYYTuRwm2W0tUnn9jid-Put4ev_SJNm9c5WcYHT3ZREhhhrN61l9eIvFcZF-QgSUcy5mvrrFAvbt0mOw-7jyWb488kLFpPjCw_s8Be6g/s1600/Bob+Swain+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgevrktIlWd2eYl3no22E7aTnMHvIdi6Aq4ZJ-QYYTuRwm2W0tUnn9jid-Put4ev_SJNm9c5WcYHT3ZREhhhrN61l9eIvFcZF-QgSUcy5mvrrFAvbt0mOw-7jyWb488kLFpPjCw_s8Be6g/s320/Bob+Swain+1.jpg" t8="true" width="228" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1st Lt. Robert E. Swain</td></tr>
</tbody></table> <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="justify"><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">1st Lt. Robert E. Swain served as </span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">a navigator </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">in the 415th Bomb</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Squadron of the 98th </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Bomb</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Group during WWII. He was </span></em></div><div align="justify"><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">stationed in Lecce, Italy. </span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">He flew </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">34 missions with</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">my dad and the </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">crew of their</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">B-24 Liberator. </span></em></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">May this tribute be a constant</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">reminder </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">to his family and</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">friends that he bravely </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">and </span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">honorably served his country well</span></em></div><div align="justify"><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">for which we are all deeply grateful.</span></em></div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div align="justify"><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">As for my dad...he and Bob remained</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">close </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">friends for many years after the war. </span></em></div><div align="justify"><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;"> </span></em> </div><div align="justify"><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;"> </span></em></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ8-IiKOsNfba0IpmVJ_mtIFhGi-ppe2SfoN4ndGSBVbbpsOtu3AFTzPAfpyPzTkf3Qvu8PmZ_lH5E2C3WmleKeJW-g2-hATtZjTOK0W9NO2YJOe7krePOoTqPan2UWmCnSCEDWmcVC88/s1600/Scan8_0008.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ8-IiKOsNfba0IpmVJ_mtIFhGi-ppe2SfoN4ndGSBVbbpsOtu3AFTzPAfpyPzTkf3Qvu8PmZ_lH5E2C3WmleKeJW-g2-hATtZjTOK0W9NO2YJOe7krePOoTqPan2UWmCnSCEDWmcVC88/s320/Scan8_0008.jpg" t8="true" width="256" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First Lt. Robert Swain<br />
415th Bomb Squadron<br />
98th Bomb Group</td></tr>
</tbody></table> <br />
<br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">1st Lt. Robert Swain </span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">from Willoughby, OH </span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">enlisted into the Army Aircorp</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">December of 1942 and served</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">as a navigator for the 415th </span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Bomb squadron of the 98th</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Bomb Group stationed in</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Lecce, Italy. He was </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">assigned</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">to his crew before they</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">left their Mountain Home, Idaho</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">base. My dad and Bob Swain</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">quickly developed a strong</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">friendship and remained</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">close friends after the war.</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">They attended several of the</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">98th Bomb Group reunions</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">together and also spent time</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">visiting each other in their </span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">homes. As Bob's health</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">declined, and they could </span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">no longer attend the reunions,</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">my dad and he still remained</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">in touch. My father thought</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">the world of Bob Swain and</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">had such great respect for him.</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">He was proud to have him as a</span></em><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">good friend for so many, many</span></em></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">years. </span></em> </div> <br />
<br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong><u>Bob's Memory of the Jump and Last Mission</u></strong></span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong><u>as written to Captain Charles H. Estes:</u></strong></span></em><br />
<strong><br />
<u></u></strong><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">"On March 15th at around 3:00 p.m.</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">we jumped </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">from our B-24. Bob had </span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">the responsibility of </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">not only navigation</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">but also to know where </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">the safe and </span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">danger areas were over the territory</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">where the flights would take them. </span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">On the </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">previous afternoon of the last</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">flight of </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">the crew, Bob attended a briefing</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">on the area </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">which they would be flying</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">over the next day.</span></em><br />
<br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">After the second engine was lost, they</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">jettisoned </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">as much guns, ammo and</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">other non-essentials t</span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">o gain elevation.</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Charles conferred with Bob </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">about their</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">location, whether it was enemy or</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">friendly, towns or isolated, etc. </span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">After there was </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">no correction in the</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">height after jettisoning </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">equipment, </span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Charlie made the decision to</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">bail out.</span></em><br />
<br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">At the time it was determined that</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">the crew </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">would have to bail out of</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">the B-24, Bob </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">remembers Charlie</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">asking him to go to </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">the bay area</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">and to make sure everyone </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">had </span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">jumped or were proceeding to jump.</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">He remembers standing there with John</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">"Little Man" Congleton in the bay area.</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">He was to jump before Congleton, but</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Congleton appeared to need some</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">persuasion and reassurance that he</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">and Charlie were right behind him.</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Bob said, "Go ahead John and jump</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">and I'll be right behind you." As John</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">was about to go out the door, his shoulder</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">strap on his pack caught a hook around</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">the door and Bob had to assist in getting</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">it unhooked. John jumped and Bob then</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">looked to see Charlie coming towards him</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">with a hand motioning him to jump also.</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">It was extremely noisy from the engine</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">and wind, and wasn't sure whether </span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Charlie was saying anything to him as</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">he approached, but with motioning to</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">jump, he did so.</span></em><br />
<br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Bob landed face down in a plowed field</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">with a badly sprained ankle. His welcoming</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">party was three men with their guns who were</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">right there when he landed. He showed the </span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">men the U.S. flag on his shoulder and his cap</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">which he had securely stowed in his jacket</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">prior to the jump. They spoke Yugoslavian</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">and had rifles pointed at him. They helped</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">him up and carried him to the hospital since</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">he couldn't walk. The nearest town was </span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Prnjavor about two miles away.</span></em><br />
<br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">They took him to a clinic where the doctor</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">spoke French and Russian and the nurse</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">spoke Italian and Yugoslavian. Bob could</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">speak pretty good Italian so they could</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">communicate pretty well. They were in</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">the clinic a couple of days or a little longer.</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">The nurse at the clinic changed his ankle</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">bandages several times during the period</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">they were there. The medical staff had asked</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">whether they had wanted their parachutes</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">and Bob said no and they took his parachute</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">which one of the three soldiers had carried </span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">during the two mile walk. All eleven in the</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">crew were at the clinic.</span></em><br />
<br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">He remembers Mihajlovic's men --</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Mihajlovic fought Tito and was</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">not really communist, but also not</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">really an alli -- interrogated them and</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">said they had to get going for the </span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">journey over the mountains. They</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">were put on a truck and taken into</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">the mountains. Sometimes</span></em> <em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">they</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">traveled by truck, sometimes they</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">walked and other times by cart.</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Their destination was Sarajevo,</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Yugoslavia. At times it was </span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">very cold. At some point in the</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">journey, they met up with an</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Italian officer who interrogated them</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">further about their mission. The</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Italian officer during the</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">interrogation asked for</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Charlie's side arm, but Bob</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">said Charlie was their leader,</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">and would not allow him to</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">give it up. Instead Bob offered</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">his gun which the Italian officer</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">accepted. Little did the officer </span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">know that Bob's gun had not</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">worked since Mountain Home,</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Idaho when he initially joined</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">the crew. He used it at the</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">firing range, but since he</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">never cleaned it, the firing</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">pin had rusted which made</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">it inoperable. " </span></em><br />
<br />
(Click on pictures to enlarge)<br />
<br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0-jRMPP24kO9i5Dr_1n3urccSryyw7e0ShPFrLMFPDSl44oPD6G9iHJtTS8cvFLse7blU1Zwst8EOg8BxUI3LkiWUqIukdNzKQQPLS7xNprBj37WEyqldDzczSd5vbZoIJWkU6Xbe98s/s1600/bob+swain+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0-jRMPP24kO9i5Dr_1n3urccSryyw7e0ShPFrLMFPDSl44oPD6G9iHJtTS8cvFLse7blU1Zwst8EOg8BxUI3LkiWUqIukdNzKQQPLS7xNprBj37WEyqldDzczSd5vbZoIJWkU6Xbe98s/s320/bob+swain+2.jpg" t8="true" width="228" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bob Swain outside their barracks in Lecce, Italy</td></tr>
</tbody></table> <br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"></div></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXtSqd-If_6c0OvDePC8rlyK401tNo9K6smegXQ7bfOkZmbuiHEp3Zn-BlClaEZKeGZDxKKomD7EG5tr3uzayQHokQ2MbCRwNz1f4Ej6fC6lwinmH_uwpwqQUnk14WYHIA9BcexkvzSg8/s1600/dad+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXtSqd-If_6c0OvDePC8rlyK401tNo9K6smegXQ7bfOkZmbuiHEp3Zn-BlClaEZKeGZDxKKomD7EG5tr3uzayQHokQ2MbCRwNz1f4Ej6fC6lwinmH_uwpwqQUnk14WYHIA9BcexkvzSg8/s320/dad+2.jpg" t8="true" width="232" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This colored picture is of my mother, Hope Estes,<br />
probably taken by Bob and Robin Swain on a visit<br />
to Yazoo City, MS.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"> <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVP8Cem88-l02IFcUPP8IvYStK7SnfLZGUCOobQkZjyS_TIVdebBt5MYr-TXyb2umtBLHH1EkAe753KVy55GSQmvlLvtnPeFTO9KKoeiC4x_NpcCrIIud8OXBLrUQg6R-9GNAqU3y7RAQ/s1600/dad.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVP8Cem88-l02IFcUPP8IvYStK7SnfLZGUCOobQkZjyS_TIVdebBt5MYr-TXyb2umtBLHH1EkAe753KVy55GSQmvlLvtnPeFTO9KKoeiC4x_NpcCrIIud8OXBLrUQg6R-9GNAqU3y7RAQ/s320/dad.jpg" t8="true" width="232" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I believe Bob Swain is fifth from the left bottom row</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt4p56gHrpqLBdVppdqQ8PhhPlj56tIn6c-V8xuJSO-twxQvsZjyoTjt3Mx-fEv-TtNtt9j8t6evlS_PxHGZYwBKiem79xV1v22wpyXeZfRcnjJ32gWJ_xnBxodlmpXFplgcmvX0PT264/s1600/bob+swain+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt4p56gHrpqLBdVppdqQ8PhhPlj56tIn6c-V8xuJSO-twxQvsZjyoTjt3Mx-fEv-TtNtt9j8t6evlS_PxHGZYwBKiem79xV1v22wpyXeZfRcnjJ32gWJ_xnBxodlmpXFplgcmvX0PT264/s320/bob+swain+4.jpg" t8="true" width="228" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bob Swain outside the barracks in Lecce, Italy </td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBtJjCi6yJ9PcNFkv7gjA7JaX35Ue2EjhqzcWyL9Xoj-DOL2q93lCn5mF6ESyuoUq8HJv4C9QDd4BQ3nh_qWeGjdtKUbkgHUtOaUYwXPtxsWXpiucP9fei1-LeYgTrJsYI5pZ0tYWl51o/s1600/Scan3_1_0006.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBtJjCi6yJ9PcNFkv7gjA7JaX35Ue2EjhqzcWyL9Xoj-DOL2q93lCn5mF6ESyuoUq8HJv4C9QDd4BQ3nh_qWeGjdtKUbkgHUtOaUYwXPtxsWXpiucP9fei1-LeYgTrJsYI5pZ0tYWl51o/s320/Scan3_1_0006.jpg" t8="true" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bob Swain enjoying some leisure time </td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjurvwjcup2SVl6knqhRaulNQIlVrgf131YwsvQEMLNyw3ipCgRSAMHXo5dozkJM4IqvhDlwmGKDe-NkRjDg0Lnqs0OW98UKpHj7gO4OHawVUij68HQErWugEHBAEQ1LAEc2CXC7eAjgCU/s1600/Scan1_1_0002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjurvwjcup2SVl6knqhRaulNQIlVrgf131YwsvQEMLNyw3ipCgRSAMHXo5dozkJM4IqvhDlwmGKDe-NkRjDg0Lnqs0OW98UKpHj7gO4OHawVUij68HQErWugEHBAEQ1LAEc2CXC7eAjgCU/s320/Scan1_1_0002.jpg" t8="true" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bob Swain (second from left) and Charlie Estes<br />
and John "little man" Congleton to Charlie's right</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_1WUW1gtuWkd7kTJ_rU359iIpfi9oMeOoXs1DB9k-5uNj0_X5B2Fn0T0MVgjb8c3ElVKYXh1nq5D_7O3UG-zDdhECex6D0x9Kz9l-fmjjcsdyKplvh8l5L9gb-X1sYiDlT4OigN_obA8/s1600/charlie+and+bob.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_1WUW1gtuWkd7kTJ_rU359iIpfi9oMeOoXs1DB9k-5uNj0_X5B2Fn0T0MVgjb8c3ElVKYXh1nq5D_7O3UG-zDdhECex6D0x9Kz9l-fmjjcsdyKplvh8l5L9gb-X1sYiDlT4OigN_obA8/s320/charlie+and+bob.jpg" t8="true" width="228" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Charlie Estes and Bob Swain<br />
This picture was taken at Charlie's house<br />
in Yazoo City, MS.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp0YctZ1fYSgBP2p6tOwkfFmGdwu-e0qoYnx-www-NZIIVbmKhBrZnMc4-LNKQ9zSueEST_sRx1c14mPgSZazaqvvx2Ek2cfRSkh07fPjO6Xpk_0iTrEVf7RNSpb1N_XOEMG-x9IR19L8/s1600/Scan1_1_0034.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp0YctZ1fYSgBP2p6tOwkfFmGdwu-e0qoYnx-www-NZIIVbmKhBrZnMc4-LNKQ9zSueEST_sRx1c14mPgSZazaqvvx2Ek2cfRSkh07fPjO6Xpk_0iTrEVf7RNSpb1N_XOEMG-x9IR19L8/s320/Scan1_1_0034.jpg" t8="true" width="255" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1QJjTlCKJFc6SbfVSgclnUSV4K6pQsv2yl1fN5o44KbX4d8DP5NFiNEELknVb556U19pLuc8f3emIXZVeVNMNOogIiH6WLApNhyphenhyphenVOX-2npo92l156XK310PhVnoqGUwkm_eF3Q-QdBtE/s1600/Scan2_0002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1QJjTlCKJFc6SbfVSgclnUSV4K6pQsv2yl1fN5o44KbX4d8DP5NFiNEELknVb556U19pLuc8f3emIXZVeVNMNOogIiH6WLApNhyphenhyphenVOX-2npo92l156XK310PhVnoqGUwkm_eF3Q-QdBtE/s320/Scan2_0002.jpg" t8="true" width="255" /></a> </div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">This is a thank you letter written by Bob Swain to Charlie's parents </div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">after his visit to Yazoo City, MS.</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: justify;"></div></div>charlieboy chronicleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00948295416417329568noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2570575635928398406.post-55272634792158006332011-05-30T15:06:00.001-04:002011-05-30T15:07:58.251-04:00Remembering Memorial Day 2011<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I'm always a little sentimental on Memorial Day.</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">It is a time </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">of reflection to honor and remember</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">all the men and women </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">who sacrificed so much</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">so that we may continue to enjoy the </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">freedoms</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">of our country. </span></em><br />
<br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">So as we all enjoy this day with</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">friends and family whether it's at the</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">beach or at a barbecue </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">or perhaps</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">shopping at the mall for the Memorial Day</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">sales, </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">let us pause and remember those brave</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">men and women and </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">give thanks to them...</span></em><br />
<br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">May God continue to bless our great nation.</span></em><br />
<br />
<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Liz Bacher</span></em><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlyJUQo1pvUnylIoiXAfZPUykjYCNUrpX0iWSuWJt-TkcKe5ZA4zU-RuB7EUElwXqwJjKRHoz86nFhwUZvOZB24B9Gfm4EoNNpG-cF4ZbqAGyRBpwyQTqrgYovpPEBsErlHjM6ZKfIJ58/s1600/Scan8_0008.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlyJUQo1pvUnylIoiXAfZPUykjYCNUrpX0iWSuWJt-TkcKe5ZA4zU-RuB7EUElwXqwJjKRHoz86nFhwUZvOZB24B9Gfm4EoNNpG-cF4ZbqAGyRBpwyQTqrgYovpPEBsErlHjM6ZKfIJ58/s320/Scan8_0008.jpg" t8="true" width="320" /></a></div><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;"> </span></em> </div>charlieboy chronicleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00948295416417329568noreply@blogger.com1