66 Years Ago Today...We Will Continue to Honor Them and Never Forget Them

THE CREW OF THE 415TH SQUADRON OF THE 98TH BOMB GROUP
Kneeling from left: Sgt. John Norris, Sgt. Red Cochran,
Sgt. Harry Henry, Sgt. Raphael Gonyea, Sgt. Don Brown.
Top Row:  Lt. Charles Estes, Sgt. Frank Delois,
John Congleton, Bob Swain.
(Not pictured -  Lt. Valliant, Lt. Jim Mulligan,
Lt. Swanson and Lt. Joe Dobkin. 

It's hard to imagine, but 66 years ago, March 15th, 1945,
on the "Ides of March",  my father and the crew of their
B-24 Bomber were shot down over Yugoslavia after
a successful bomb run on the Schwechat Oil Refinery
near Vienna, Austria, a story my father retold
many, many times, and we as family members
never grew tired of hearing.

I have tried to honor my father and the members of
his crew by sharing their story.  As the years
go by a lot of people will forget, but we won't.
We will continue to keep their memory alive
by remembering their heroism and sacrifice. 

So how do we continue to honor them and their
sacrifice? Perhaps Ronald Reagan said it best in
a speech he gave on the 40th anniversary of D-Day:

                                ***
"Let us make a vow to our dead. Let us
show them by our actions that we understand
what they died for. Let our actions say to
them the words for which General Matthew
Ridgeway listened: 'I will not fail thee nor
forsake thee.'

Strengthened by their courage, heartened
by their valor, and borne by their memory,
let us continue to stand for the ideals for
which they lived and died."

Ronald Reagan - June 6, 1984


God Bless.....Liz Bacher

One Year Ago Today

It is hard for me to imagine that one year ago
today I posted the first of many stories of my
father's war memoirs. 

I oftentimes felt that I was a time traveler
as if I were there alongside him as he trained
at the various military airfields, the 34
missions he and his crew flew, their perilous
bailout, their dramatic and dangerous escape
back to the Adriatic Sea, and their joyous
homecoming.  

It's been a remarkable journey and has truly
had a profound effect upon my life.

During the course of my weekly postings
I did a great deal of research.  Aided by
pictures, letters written home by my father,
and many, many of his military paperwork,
I was able to find many of his military airfields
where he trained.  Each bit of information
I was able to uncover would lead yet to
another piece of new information leading
me to what I consider my greatest discovery 
in this sort of "treasure hunt," if you will; and
that was the discovery of family members
of the crew.    

Although my father had maintained close
friendships with some of the crew and their
families, years after he passed away their
whereabouts were unknown to me.  
After months of searching, I was able
to find three of the crew's families:
the Gonyea's, Swain's and Congleton's,
and am very proud and honored to
know them; and in the weeks ahead
I will be posting their stories.

Elizabeth Bacher