A Mother's Letter ---Words of Comfort and Hope

March 15th, 2014 marks the 69th anniversary of the last mission for the crew of the 415th Bomb Squadron of the 98th Bomb Group.

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. 
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 forced 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.  

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. 

                                                 (Click on page to enhance reading)

 

 

The 68th Anniversary of the last mission of the 415th Bomb Squadron of the 98th Bomb Group

Today marks the 68th Anniversary of the

 415th Bomb Squadron of the 98th Bomb Group. 

 Their mission:  to bomb the Schwecht Oil 

Refinery in Vienna.  After successfully completing

 their mission their B-24 Bomber suffered

 heavy flak damage while over Yugoslavia. 

 After being hit in their #2 and #4 engines the

 crew was forced to bail out, and with the help

 of a small village and Marshall Tito's men,

 the crew was able to walk back over the

Alps and into Split, Yugoslavia where they

 traveled by boat across the Adriatic Sea

 back to their base in Bari, Italy.

After the war my father and his fellow crew

 members returned home to the States

 where they married, raised a family and

 began a career.   They were the lucky ones.

Over 500,000 Army Air Corp men and

 women  died in air combat during WWII, 

and with them went their untold stories

 of heroism and acts of valor.  

For over two years I have tried to relive

 their story in this blog, and I will continue

 to do so for as long as I can.   For it is in

 remembering them that we continue

to honor their devotion and commitment

 to the service of their country.

  May their story always live on in our

hearts for many, many years to come...

AUGUST 14, 1945...THE WAR HAS ENDED

This is a wonderful video that has been shared on many social networks but this one is
to a song...

http://vimeo.com/5645171

The Sweetest Lady....I Never Met

 A few months ago I called my friend, Marian Congleton. 
For my readers who will remember, Marian was
the wife of John Congleton, the co-pilot. 
Marian was not feeling very well, nothing serious
she assured me, just didn't feel like herself.
I promised her I'd call back in a week or two. 
Well, I never would make that call.
Several weeks ago I received a FaceBook message
from Kristen, her granddaughter, sadly informing
me that Gammie had passed away at her home
perhaps in the early morning hours.
My heart went out to Kristen and her family, but
especially to Kristen who had been shouldering so
much of the family responsibility since the death
of her dad just a few months ago.   Her Gammie was
like a mother and a grandmother all rolled into one.

As for me, I had just begun to know Marian. 
It had taken me almost a year to find her whereabouts.
I knew she lived in Kentucky.  With only a few small
details though and a lot of cold calling I found a relative
that supplied me with her phone number.
I remember in our first conversation she shared with me
how much she enjoyed hearing from my father when
he would call, and how much it meant to John
when he would call as his health declined.

Marian was part of that "Great Generation" that
endured the hardships of the Great Depression,
a young bride in the midst of a world war.  Her
legacy will be one of sacrifice, hard work, and
her unfaltering faith.

It is those values that will be our foundation to
which we will build future generations. 

Having her in my life for such a brief time will always
be special.    She was the sweetest lady....I never met.           

In memory of Marian

Marian and John Congleton

Lee, Marian, Kristen

Marian with her grandbabies

A Tribute to the Crew of the 415th Squadron of the 98th Bomb Group

March 15th, 2012 marks the sixty-seventh
anniversary of the last mission of the 415th
Squadron of the 98th Bomb Group.  After
their successful bombing of the Schwechat
Oil Refinery in Vienna, Austria, the crew
was forced to bail out over Yugoslavia
after being hit in their #2 and #4 engines.
With the help of a small village and Marshal
Tito's men, the crew walked back over the Alps
and onto Split, Yugoslavia where they traveled
by boat across the Adriatic Sea to Bari, Italy.

It has been two years since I first posted my
father's war memoirs and it's been the most
rewarding experience of my life.  I hope I have
honored these fine men in a way they would
be proud.  Along this journey I have found
several of the crew's family members and
I've enjoyed getting to know them and so
privileged to be able to honor their fathers'
stories as well.

Sadly, this past December, the last of the
crew passed away, Sgt. Donald Brown,
nose turret gunner. 

Each of these men are our hero's who
deserve our respect for their willingness
to serve their country and defend its
freedoms.

May we always continue to remember
and honor them.

A few weeks ago I toured a B-24 Liberator
at the Keystone Heights Airfield hosted by
the Collings Foundation.  It was a thrill to
finally see a B-24 up close and to be able to
walk around and imagine where the crew
would have been situated within the plane.
Here are some pictures from that day.

This link is amazing! 
It is a virtual panoramic view
of the B-24 Witchcraft from
the Collings Foundation.
www.i-ota.net/B-24Witchcraft/#

I brought the crew along with me

   

Crew member Raphael Gonyea.  Picture provided
by Steve Gonyea, his son as they toured a B-24.



The crew of the 415th Bomb Squadron
of the 98th Bomb Group
(Bottom row from left to right) John Norris -
lower ball gunner; Red Cockran - waist gunner;
Harry Henry - tail gunner; Raphael Gonyea - top
turret gunner and radio man; Don Brown - nose
turret gunner.
(Top row from left to right) Charles Estes - Pilot;
Frank Delois - Flight engineer and waist gunner;
John Congleton - copilot; Bob Swain - navigator.
Not pictured: Jim Mulligan, Ernie Swanson and Joe Dobkin

In Memory Of Donald A. Brown

Donald A. Brown, nose gunner
415th Bomb Squadron
98th Bomb Group

Donald A. Brown, kneeling far right  

Today I received some very sad news. 
Donald A. Brown, who served with my
father as the nose gunner and was a member
of the 415th Bomb Squadron of the
98th Bomb Group, died January 17th,
2012 in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
He was 88 years old.  He was awarded
two air medals and our Nations Purple
Heart.  He was the last remaining
crew member.  

As many of you know, since the inception
of my Father's blog, I had been searching
for many, many months the family members
of the crew.  I was elated when I found Don.
I was looking forward to hearing all his
stories and sharing them on the blog. 

His son, Colonel (Ret) Don Brown, would
like to share his thoughts and some personal
stories of his dad along with family photos, and
I hope to share those with you in the very near
future.  Our thoughts and prayers go out to
their family.  Don said his dad was a proud
American and loved his country deeply.
He will be missed...and a grateful country
mourns his loss.

I found this poem as a tribute to the crew
of the 415th Bomb Squadron, 98th Bomb Group

                         High Flight

"Oh, I have slipped the surly bonds of earth
and danced the skies on laughter-silvered
wings; Sunward I've climbed, and joined the
tumbling mirth of sun-split clouds - and done
a hundred things you have not dreamed of  - 
wheeled and soared and swung high in the
sunlit silence.

Hov'ring there I've chased the shouting wind
along, and flung my eager craft through the
footless halls of air.

Up, up the long delirious, burning blue, I've
topped the windswept heights with easy grace
where never lark, or even eagle flew - and,
while with silent lifting mind I've trod the
high untrespassed sanctity of space, put out
my hand and touched the face of God."

Pilot Officer Gillespie Magee
No. 412 Squadron, RCAF
Killed December 11, 1941

 

A CHRISTMAS BABY

In the early morning hours of December 25th,
1922, the bells of St. Mary's Catholic Church
rang their bells throughout the sleepy small
town of Yazoo City, Mississippi proclaiming
the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
But perhaps for my grandparents, Charles and Anne
Estes, the bells were also welcoming into the
world, their new-born son, Charles Henry Estes,
 just as midnight mass at St. Mary's was ending.
He was...a Christmas Baby...a very special
baby indeed. 

To me, Christmas babies are like little
Christmas angels given to us by God
every year to deliver the message
of  'Peace on Earth Good Will  to Men',  
a message my Father delivered throughout
his life.   He had a kind and gentle soul
and  was a good friend to all that knew him.
He placed little importance on expensive
things, but rather concentrated on what
mattered the most:  being a good family man,
a good friend, and a good steward to our Lord.
It is these very qualities that he has passed down
to my brothers, my sister and myself, and in turn,
for us to pass onto our families.     
  
Christmas has and will always be a very
special time of year for me.  The memories
of my parents, my brothers, Larry and Chuck,
and my sister, Hope, filled our home
with much love, joy and happiness  for many,
many Christmases.
  
The Christmas presents I cherish
the most are the ones hidden in
my heart...those childhood memories
of Christmases from long ago...

Happy Birthday Papa

Merry Christmas...Liz Bacher