CERIGNOLA CONNECTION15thaf.org/304th_BW/455th_BG/Newsletter/PDFs/Spring 2009.pdfPresident 455th BG Assoc. After reading the details describing our forthcoming Reunion in Indianapolis,

C E R I G N O L AC O N N E C T I O N455th Bomb Group Association Newsletter

Spring, 2009 Editor, Craig Ward, 813 Peterstow Drive, Euless, Texas 76039phone: (817) 540-1068 email: [email protected] website: www.awardphp.com

Message from the President

Looking Down the Road Ahead

By Rod Clarke, President 455th BG Assoc.

After reading the detailsdescribing our forthcomingReunion in Indianapolis, I getthe feeling that we’re in for agreat time again. However,unlike our 2008 Reunion inLouisville, we’ll have someserious business to consider.

First, let’s review somefacts that guide the way weoperate.

The 455th Bomb GroupAssociation, Inc. is incorporatedin the State of Iowa as a non-profit public benefit corporation.It is also organized as a tax-exempt entity organized underSection 501(c)(19) of the IRS

Code. Our purpose, quotingfrom the bylaws, is “toperpetuate the history of the455th Bomb Group; to honorthe members who werewounded, killed, POWs, ormissing in action; to educatefor posterity, both the public andthe airmen’s loved ones, of thegreat sacrifices made by theflight crews, operational staff,ground crews, medical andsupply personnel.”

The Association by-lawsrequire us to hold a BusinessMeeting every two years toconsider matters of interest tothe Members as well as electinga slate of officers and directors.The current officers anddirectors were elected at theprevious Bi-annual BusinessMeeting (San Antonio, 2007),and their terms of office willexpire on 31 October, 2009. Ofcourse, they can be re-elected ifthe members so choose.

The Members areindividuals who served in the455th Bomb Group, 15th AirForce, and who have paid thedues established by theAssociation. Only Membersmay hold office, and vote inmatters affecting theAssociation. Membership hasbeen extended to three non-

In This Edition

Pages 1-2 ... Message from the President

Pages 3-5 ... Dear Editor

Pages 6-7 ... Can You Help?

Page 8 ... Final Flights

Page 9 ... Indianapolis Reunion Schedule

Page 10 ... Reunion Tour Descriptions

Page 11 ... Reunion Hotel Reservation Form

Page 13 ... Reunion Activity Registration Form

Page 15 ... War Stories

Pages 16-19 ... The Bomb, and True Power

Pages 20-21 ... Email

Page 22 ... Crew names

Page 23 ... Complaint Dept.

Back page ... Message from Executive Director

WWII veterans who providespecial services to theAssociation.

At present, the number ofnon-veteran members is limitedto no more than 10 percent ofthe membership.

There is another class ofmembership called AssociateMembers, which consists of thewidows, spouses, sons anddaughters of 455th BGveterans, as well as anyone elseinterested in the goals of theAssociation. They have all theprivileges of membership,except voting or holding office,provided they pay their dues.

The ranks of ourMembers are growing smaller.Many of those who remain areunable to do all the things thatwe’d like to do. Our sisterorganization, the 454th, whoused the runway adjacent toours on San Giovani Airfield,chose to discontinue theirorganization in 2005 because ofthis fact. That option is open tous as well. Before we choosethat route, let’s consider somealternatives.

It takes a minimumnumber of attendees to supporta reunion such as we had at SanAntonio or Louisville. At somepoint, there are not going to beenough Members able toprovide that support. But thatdoesn’t mean we have to foldour tents. We could --

(a) amend the bylaws toallow Association business to betransacted by the Board ofDirectors using alternate formsof communication (e.g., letters,email, videoconferencing,conference calls).

(b) accept moreAssociate Members asMembers, staying within the 10percent IRS limit, thus allowingthem to serve as officers anddirectors.

(c) use the money left inthe treasury to support thecontinued publication of theCerignola Connection.

There are undoubtedlyother alternatives that couldapply, but you get the idea.

In any event, at theforthcoming reunion atIndianapolis, we are required toelect a President, VicePresident, Secretary, Treasurerand Executive Director. The lasttwo offices may be combined inany given two-year term, andhas been the case for sometime.

We also must elect tenDirectors. Not later than mid-August, I must appoint aNominating Committeeconsisting of at least fourMembers and a chairman. Theirjob will be to nominate a slate ofMembers to fill each of theOfficer and Director positions. Iwill need help in selecting themembers of the NominatingCommittee and I expect thatthey, in turn, will need help infulfilling their responsibilities.Complicating the task is the factthat the pool of Members hasshrunk since the last reunion.

For those reasons, I callupon you, the Members, tovolunteer to serve on theNominating Committee, or toserve in one of the officer ordirector positions. My emailaddress is [email protected]; mysnailmail address is

400 Madison Street, Apt 709,Alexandria, VA 22314.

Even if you find yourselfunable to serve in one of theopen positions, I’d like to hearfrom you about these issues.

* * *In October, 2008, Jim

Smith submitted his resignationas Secretary of the Association.After consulting with the othermembers of the Board ofDirectors, I appointed MarkMason to fill the unexpired termof Jim Smith.

Mark is one of the non-veteran members of theAssociation. Although Mark iswell qualifed to fulfill theresponsibilities of the office, hevolunteered to serve only if noneof the eligible veteran membersagreed to accept the position.

He will serve until 31October, 2009, by which time wewill have elected a new slate ofOfficers and Directors.

Roderick W ClarkePresident 455th Bomb Group Association

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Can You Help?

Dear Editor, Do you, or one of your

readers, happen to know whereAmendola Airfield is located?

It was a B-17 airfieldlocated somewhere in southernItaly. It doesn't appear on mycharts. Thanks!Capt.Alex KandelP.O.Box 146CH-4030 Basel AirportSwitzerlandEmail: [email protected]

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455TH BOMB GROUPASSOCIATION, INC.P.O. BOX 93095AUSTIN, TX. 78709-3095

PRESIDENTRoderick W. ClarkeCol. USAF (Ret.)

VICE PRESIDENTCarl LoiocanoT/Sgt. USAAF

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR /TREASURER Gregory Riggs Col. USAF (Ret.)P.O. Box 93095Austin, TX. 78709-3095

PAST PRESIDENTWilliam B. Gemmill, IILt. Col. USAF (Ret.)

SECRETARYMark MasonSon, S/Sgt. Robt. Mason (742)

DIRECTORSJohn F. DavisCol. USAF (Ret.)James D. Gould IIIMaj. USAF (Ret.)Ormond H. BuffingtonT/Sgt. USAAFTheodore V. TronoffCapt. USAAFC. Henry ParisS/Sgt. USAAFCarl A. BarrMajor USAF (Ret.)Elmo J. Henske1st Lt. USAAFCraig WardSon, Lt. J. T. Ward (740)Editor, Cerignola Connection

Dear Editor,I have seen some really great articles about the July 27,

1944 mission to Budapest, listing the planes and crews of the741st and 742nd squadrons. Interestingly, I could not find BillR. Adams' plane (42-78435, '32') among the 741st planes Ithought was flying on this mission. Since I have beenresearcing this mission for years, I would like to obtain somefurther data on the 740th and 743rd squadron planes and crewsparticipating this mission. Also, a formation plan (graphical)showing the position of each crew in the 455th BG formation.

So far, I have made several color profiles of the 455thplanes, and I would like to complete this research.

Could you please help me with squadron documents andphotos, operational plans, lists, etc. regarding this July 27,1944 mission?

Many thanks for your help in advance,Gabor Horvath (Canada) [email protected]

Dear Editor,I am trying to send an email to Jack Dekker (743). My uncle, Casmir Rogolski, was the radioman on Tepee

Time Gal (743). I believe that Jack is a surviving member of thatbomber crew.

I would appreciate it if you could help me get in contact withhim, and / or anyone who might have served with him.

Thanks for your help. Darel [email protected]

AVIATION HUMOR

The scientific theory I like best is that the rings of Saturn arecomposed entirely of lost airline baggage.

An old pilot is one who can remember when flying was dangerousand sex was safe.

Both optimists and pessimists contribute to the society. Theoptimist invents the airplane, the pessimist the parachute.

Airlines have really changed ... Now a flight attendant can get apilot pregnant.

If helicopters are so safe, how come there are no vintage/classichelicopter fly-ins?

Can You Help? Response

Editor’s Note:Dear Lloyd Croft,

I received this response fromMario Capocefalo of Cerignola, Italy.He was responding to your request(Fall, 2008 edition of the CC) forinformation on the crash in 1944 thatkilled your wife's grandfather.

Mario was a child / tent boyfrom the local town that hung aroundthe 455th BG base and did chores forthe airmen. In return for his chores,the airmen gave him food and taughthim English.

Mario witnessed the crash thatday. His description of the event isbelow. Please note that it may bedisturbing to read portions of hisrecollection. The crash must havebeen very horrific and violent, and theaftermath as described by Mario ishard to read.

God bless these heros thatpaid the ultimate price for our freedom.

Dear Editor,I just read the last

Cerignola Connection. Arequest for information fromLloyd Croft made me recall ahorrible incident 64 years ago.

April 16, 1944 ... Asusual, I arrived at the base at0715 local. The sky was clear,and all aircraft were gettingready for the mission on thehard stands.

First thing I did was greetthe James Cavanaugh & BillyRay crews. I helped them erecta new tent.

Not far from the 737thsquadron mess was a collapsedfarm building. It was easy forme to climb onto the highest walland watch the planes take off. Ialways tried to recognize theplanes of my friends.

Suddenly, one airborneB24 crashed only 200 yards

from my position. After 64years, that terrible incident is stillvery alive in my mind. I was just13 years old and unable tounderstand the great danger asI watched this hellish incidentunfold.

I remember very highflames and two booms with loudhissing and bomb fragmentsflying around.

The Good Lord took careof me. Not a single thing hit me.

I then heard the kitchensergeant screaming at me ...MARIO, GET YOUR G--DAMNED ASS DOWN FROMTHERE AND COME HERE!!

I noted some smokecoming from the tent of myEnglish teacher (Lt. AlfonsoRiccardi), bombardier of the BillSherman crew. I asked for helpfrom Billy Ray, and with anotherofficer, we extinguished the firewith canteen water.

Black spots on theground attracted my attention. Ican't write how I felt when Irealized that the black spotswere pieces of burned humanflesh. I took a large empty boxfrom the kitchen and collectedmost of the pieces. I washorrified to find a severed handwith a broken watch around it.

Exhausted, I deliveredthe full box to the Red Cross hut.

Regards,Mario CapocefaloCerignola, [email protected]

Editor’s Note:I received the following

correspondence from Mr. Croftafter he read the crashdescription from Mario:

Dear Editor,Mario’s email was

incredible! After receiving hisfirst email, I sent another emailto Mario in hopes of askingsome more questions. He hasbeen with family in Rome for afew months, but I received anemail from him today.

Over the past year, I havebeen in contact with RalphBrandstetter, who was involvedin the now inactive 454th BGAssociation. After receivingMario’s email, I contactedRalph. He remembers Mariowell, as well as several of thepeople Mario mentions inrecounting the crash hewitnessed.

He said Mario evenattended a past 454th reunion. Iwill correspond with Mario andask him some more questionsand try to jog his memory for anymore details. Thanks so muchfor your help. As I find more infoI will pass it along.

In particular, I am tryingto track down the serial numberof the aircraft. The crew hadbeen at Cerignola only a coupleof weeks before they werekilled, so it has proven to be achallenge. I know you canappreciate when someoneuncovers unknown details aboutfallen loved ones.

Lloyd [email protected]

Editor’s Note:Another quick story

about the B-24 explosion inApril, 1944:

My father, Lt. J. T. Wardwas a pilot with the 740thsquadron, and was based in

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Cerignola during most of 1944.He survived his 50 missions andcame home in late 1944.

As a child, I remember asmall chunk of metal (olivecolored, about 2 inches square,twisted and torn with sharpedges) that Dad always kept inplain sight on his dresser ... nextto his car keys and glasses. Aday never went by without himseeing it at least once.

I finally asked him whatthe chunk of twisted metal was.As I recall, he told me that hewitnessed a terrible crash of aB24 as it was taking off. Hesaid the aircraft was blown intosmall pieces, and one of thepieces landed near where Dadwas standing when it happened.Dad knew there was nothing hecould do for the crew, as the firewas too intense.

He picked up the piece ofmetal. It was so hot, it burnedhis fingers. After it cooled down,dad put the piece of metal in hispocket, and returned from thewar with it.

I remember Dad had atough time holding in hisemotions when he occasionallyspoke of this and other WWIIcombat events. I was tooyoung to understand theemotional scars that thesewarriors lived with after the war.As someone who never servedin combat, I know I will nevertotally understand.

I don’t know if thisincident with Dad was theincident referenced by Mr. Croft.I do know the events soundsimilar, and I wouldn't besurprised if it was the sameevent.

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Dad never said this to me, but I surmise that keeping thischunk of metal in plain sight all those years was his individual wayof honoring the memory of his heroic buddies who paid the ultimateprice for American freedom.

Can You Help?

Dear Editor,My wife's granddad was

a crew member in the 454th BG.He was killed in a crash on April15, 1944 that occurred near theairfield that was shared with the455th.

In the publication "Flightof the Vulgar Vultures", the743rd Squadron listed"Significant Events and Dates toRemember". One of the eventswas "Squadron ambulance crewperformed rescue efforts for thefirst time at a crash scene 15April 1944."

Though not part of thesame Group, I wonder if theywere responding to the crash ofmy wife's granddad’s aircraft.

Here is the question:Does the 455th Bomb Grouphave a roster that might havenames of who was part of thesquadron ambulance crewduring this time? Thank you for your help.Lloyd CroftEmail: [email protected]

Can You Help?

Dear Editor,Your e-mail address was

given to me by Reid at the 459thBG. My sisters and I are tryingto get as much info on ourfather, Israel Goldman (742),who flew out of Italy as a tailgunner on a B24 with the 455thBG.

Our objective is to locateany of his crew mates. We havehis separation papers andnames of his crew, along with aphoto in front of his plane.

We look forward to yourreply. Thank you. Don Mann Email: [email protected]

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Life isn't about how to survive the storm, but how

to dance in the rain."

DO YOU RECOGNIZE ANYONE IN THIS PICTURE ?IT WAS TAKEN IN EITHER 1944 OR 1945,

POSSIBLY IN CERIGNOLA, ITALY. 455th Bomb Group, 742nd Squadron, Crew 141.

Israel (Irv) Goldman's family is trying to locate and communicate with any of his crew or their

spouses. We can be reached at 818-347-0530,or email to [email protected]

Irv Goldman is bottom row, second from the right. Other possiblenames of these crewmembers are Don Johnson, Joe Meek, Vern

Russel, Harold Durant, Charles Deeler, & George Clayton.However, we do not know which name goes with which face.

Please call or email if you can help. Thank you!

Dear Editor,Other than the American Flag patch on the right shoulder

and the 15th AF patch on the left shoulder, were there patches forthe 455th Bomb Group and the 742nd squadron ? If so, can theybe purchased so that my dad’s original jacket can be refurbished?

The large round breast patch must have been hand painted.However, it is not recognizable. Is it possible to learn what specificthings were on that patch? So many questions, so few answers. Itwould be great to talk to any of the crew members or their spouses.Thank you in advance for any info you can send me.

Regards, Don [email protected]

Dear Editor,I discovered your

wonderful website(www.awardphp.com) andexcitedly called my father-in-law,James W. "Bill" Hunziker, to tellhim about it. (I am married to hisson, Kenny.)

Bill was a turret gunneron Miss I Hope’s second 100missions. His nickname was"Red" back then. He wouldenjoy hearing from others whoserved with him.

Bill came back to KnoxCity, Missouri in September,1945. He soon met the womanhe would marry at theneighborhood one-room schoolhouse's annual pie supper.Everyone had been telling himhe needed to meet the prettynew teacher, Willa O'Neal. Hewent to check her out, boughther a pie, and the rest is history!They married and had 2children; 9 grandchildren andlots of great-grandchildren.

Bill farmed for a livinguntil retiring 12 years ago. Heraised corn, soybeans, wheat,hay, cattle and hogs.

He lost his beloved Willatwo years ago, but Bill himself isin great health. His mother livedto be 107, and we're hoping hewill, too. He enjoys working inhis yard, reading, watchingmovies and FOX News, visitingand baking pies to give toothers. Willa loved to bake andshe taught him how to bake piesbefore she died.

He has some photos ofhis squadron, aircraft,Cerignola, Isle of Capri, etc. thatI want to scan and send to youfor your newsletter.

Meanwhile, if any onewould like to contact Bill, hisaddress is:Bill Hunziker502 S. Shumate St.Edina, MO 63537Phone # 660-397-3135E-mail: [email protected]

Thank you!Lois HunzikerKnox City, MO

Can You HELP?Dear Editor,

I enjoy the CerignolaConnection.

My dad, Edward Keefner(743) was a B-24 navigator. Iam wondering if there is anyway to connect with anyonefrom the Van Doren family.There were lots of pictures ofthem at the last reunion and Ibelieve Charles Van Doren wasthe nose gunner in the sameplane as my dad .

I keep some historicalpictures available athttp://www.keefner.com/susan/There is a nice picture of the theentire crew there as well:http://www.keefner.com/susan/archives/dad_HelbigResize2.html

Thank you for anyassistance in advance, andthank you for the CerignolaConnection newsletter.

Craig KeefnerEmail: [email protected]

Can You HELP?Dear Editor,

My father, RandallVanSkiver, served on the groundcrew (probably a mechanic) ofthe 454th BG. I have read someissues of your group'snewsletter and wondered ifthere was an equivalent for the454th?

I have not beensuccessful in finding one. Hedied in 1959 at the age of 35,and I have been trying to piecetogether his service experiencethrough veteran memoirs, etc.

I have enjoyed seeing thepictures from your group as theyalso represent what my fatherwould have seen.

I have a picture of him inprobably the enlisted men's"pub." Was there one for eachgroup or just one for the wholefield? He may have bartendedthere.

Any assistance regardingmy father or the 454th would begreatly appreciated. I have alsoattached a good likeness of himwhen he was in Italy (below).Diane VanSkiver Gagel5837 Red Leaf Lane Monclova, OH 43542Email: [email protected]

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War does not determine who is Right ...

War determines who is Left

Final Flights

John Martsching (741) took hisfinal flight on August 25, 2008.

Family Note: I am JohnMartsching's nephew, RichardMartsching. I was reading your fallissue and wanted to advise that Johnpassed away last August. I surelyenjoyed many of the stories he toldabout the 455th. God Bless the455th BG veterans one and all.

Walter Shostack passed awayin early February, 2009. Editor’s Note: Mr. Shostack wanted tohave his ashes scattered off the coastof Connecticut (his home state).His widow, Shirley, called the CoastGuard. Unfortunately, they no longerperform that service.

Mr. Shostacks son-in-lawcame up with the idea of flying in theCollings Foundation B-24 toaccomplish this. Shirley’s family can'tthink of a greater tribute to Walter thanto have a B-24 doing his last mission.

Shirley’s email address is: [email protected]

Joe Dumesnil (1st Lt., 743)took his final flight on November26, 2008 in Louisville, KY.

I know he would haveliked to have attended the 2008reunion, but he was not wellenough to participate.

I honor him, and all ofyou, as the greatest generation.

Regards,Craig Dumesnil (Son)

Carl Rudolph (741)Dear Editor,

I'm the son of the lateJohn I. (Jim) Merritt, Jr., a 455thBG veteran who died in 2003.I've kept in touch with most ofhis crew over the years. I wantto report the death, in March2008, of his navigator, G. Carl Rudolph, of Point

Pleasant Beach, N.J. Here is a brief obit for

"Final Flights," based in part onone that appeared in the Asbury Park (N.J.) Press of March 22,2008:

G. Carl Rudolph, abombardier with the 741stSquadron of the 455th BombGroup and a crew member of aB-24 named the Liberty Belle,died March 19, 2008, in PointPleasant Beach, N.J. He alsohad a home in Naples, Fla.Before retiring in 1986, he livedin Cedar Grove, N.J.

Carl spent 37 years as anengineer at the Penwalt Corp.,in Newark, N.J. He is survivedby his wife, Eleanor; two sons,Bruce and David of Carlsbad,Calif., and Palmer, Alaska; fivegrandchildren; and a great- grandson.

The Liberty Belle wasshot down Oct. 7, 1944, overVienna. The crew-membersbailed out over occupiedCroatia. They were rescued byPartisans, and rejoined theircommand seven weeks later.Other crewmen were Jim Merritt(pilot), Don Maes (copilot), KeithMartin (bombardier), NicholasCorbo (engineer), RobertWheeler (radioman), andgunners Arnold Dupree, ElliottCunningham, Harry Carver, andArt Johnson.

Their story was told in"Goodbye, Liberty Belle: A Son's Search for His Father's War"(Cooper Square Press, 2002),by son J.I. Merritt.

William A. (Bill) Arnold (743)passed away Sept. 9, 2008 atthe age of 88.

He served in the USArmy Air Corps as a B-24 pilot,having completed 50 combatmissions in the MediterraneanTheater.

He was born & raised inElmira, NY. He was a devoted &loving husband, father, uncle &grandfather. Bill lost his wife just40 days before his death. He is survived by 5 children and4 grandsons. In civilian life, hewas a Mechanical Engineer forIBM, where he receivednumerous awards and patents.

On a mission to Steyr,Austria, he and his crewsurvived a direct hit to TurboCulosis and lost 2 engines.Theywere able to miraculously returnthe plane back to base at SanGiovanni.

His group received aPresidential Citation, and Billreceived the DistinguishedFlying Cross "for extraordinaryachievement in aerial flight aspilot of a B-24 type aircraft" as aresult of this mission. Billreceived the Air Medal plus 4Oak Leaf Clusters, and a Medalof Valor.

Bill kept in touch with hiscrew over the years, attendingmany reunions. In 2003, herode on the Collings FoundationB-24 in Lancaster PA with hisson, daughter, and grandson. Itwas quite a thrill for him.

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10

A Brief War Story

In the spring of 1944, Iwas a Navigator on a B-24 on abombing mission to Turin, Italyto bomb a complex of Fiatplants.

During the bomb run, welost two engines out of our four,the left outboard (No. 1) and theright inboard (No. 3). The pilotsstruggled to keep the plane inthe air.

I immediately plotted acourse to Corsica, the nearestfriendly base with adequaterunways, and announced to thepilot via intercom the selection,its advantages and the compassheading.

The crew, mostlybachelors, listening, asked ifthere were any girls available onCorsica. I had to admit that Ithought most would be spokenfor with squadrons of B-25s, B-26s, and fighters already usingthe airfields of Corsica.

The pilot, also a bachelor,asked for an alternative fieldmore likely to have availablefemales. I knew that Naples hadrecently been taken by theAllies. There was a fighter fieldjust below Naples calledCapodochino, a grass field,probably too short for a B-24 to land.

While the crew men werethrowing out everything notnailed down and putting onparachutes, they took a voteand Naples was agreed upon. Itwas touch and go with gasrunning low and the tworemaining engines laboring,

I plotted a coursealongside the Italian coast down

to Naples. When we got close,we learned the field was beingused by Tuskegee airmen in P-47s.

We declared anemergency, and they gave uspriority to land. With the use ofparachutes out the waistwindows, the pilot was able toland the B-24 on that short grassfield even without brakes. Theright inboard engine (No. 3) wasthe source of hydraulics, but thatengine was dead.

This shows weAmericans appreciate ourdemocratic way of life, and ourright to exercise a vote, evenwhen disaster looms, and evenin the Army Air Force.

By the way, there wereplenty of females in Naples forthe several days we awaitedrepairs. A skeleton crew flewthe plane back to base. Gettingout of that grass field is a storyin itself!

Best Regards,Seymour GaynesCol JA AUS (Ret) 9055 SW 73rd Ct. Apt. 1506Miami, Fl. 33156-2956(305) 670-2254

Another War Story

On June 26, 1944, the743rd squadron took off withnine aircraft to join the 455th ona mission to bomb the OilRefinery at Moosbierbaum,Austria.

I was the Ball TurretGunner on B-24 number4252184 (Minne HaCha). Wewere under heavy fighter attack as we approached the targetarea.

Our plane was struck bya bomb just outside the number4 engine. It tore a big hole in theleading edge of the wing, justshort of the main spar.

We continued the bombrun and dropped our bombs.However, we could not keep upwith the formation. We thenwere under heavy fighter attack.

Pilot George Keahy putthe plane in a dive to get insome cloud cover. We survivedthe fighter attack, but we had along way back to Cerignola.

We were an hour and ahalf late getting back to ourhome field.

Regards,Jim Thiel, Ball Turret GunnerEmail: [email protected]

,

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Can You Help ?Dear Editor,

Thanks for making yournewsletters and unit historyavailable on the internet.

www.awardphp.comI was researching

someone from the 742nd BSand it has helped alot. In your455 BG unit history book(p. 236), there is a crew photothat I was interested in getting.

The pilot is HaroldGorecki. I was interested inframing it. Do you know anyonewho might have an originalphoto of this crew? I will coverany costs involved in getting acopy of the original photo.

Also, in the photo, it hasthe plane number 602. Arethere more numbers connectedto this?

Thanks!Brad WeaverEmail: [email protected]

War Stories of a Bomband True Power

by Leland Burns

Editor’s Note: I went to high schoolwith the author of this story. Leland isan Air Force veteran. He shares myadmiration and appreciation of WWIIveterans.

He is also the author of “JUMPinto the Valley of the Shadow”, whichchronicles his father’s experiences inthe 82nd Airborne Division.

Leland’s father, Duane Burns,fought behind enemy lines in the 1944D-Day landings, and also saw action inOperation Market Garden and theBattle of the Bulge. I highlyrecommend the book. I got my copyonline at Amazon.com.

Please contact your editor ifyou need assistance in acquiring acopy of the book, or email Leland [email protected].

Once I read a small self-published book titled My Story,Every Soldier Has a Story,written by Walter HoraceBarrett. I knew him as Horace;a World War II paratrooper whoserved in the same regiment asmy father.

I thought his book titlewas near perfect, due to thewell-established fact that formersoldiers always have a story totell.

My military service wasgiven in the United States AirForce as an aircraft crew-chief. Ispent more time in Germanythan any other assignment.

With three years inmaintaining military jets andearning a third stripe, I finallyhad the right to have an aircraftassigned to me. She was an F-4Phantom named “Proud Mary”,tail number 7575.

The airbase, named

Spangdahlem, or as most of usAmericans called it, "Spang”was an active nuclear alert pad.

It was my understandingat the time that the U. S. AirForce in Europe, commandedby Alexander Haig, conductedone full base nuclear alert everyyear in Europe. During my stayin Germany between 1977 and1979, the event rotated toSpangdahlem.

A few days before thiswar game started, our basesecurity became intense. Withone day to go, a C-5 Galaxy, thearmed forces’ largest aircraft,landed, parked at the far end ofthe flight-line, and becamequickly surrounded by securityguards like ants to a picnic.

"There are a whole lot ofNukes on that big bird," saidSergeant Ryder, a veteran ofViet Nam. He wasn't kidding.

The idea was to load upthe entire base with nuclearbombs that would be ready totake-off and fly into the USSRwith only 15 minutes’ notice.Aircrews and crew chiefs wouldbe kept in a common day-roomwhile awaiting the Claxton.

I remember that I wasseated next to 1st Lt. Gary Scottwhen the alarm sounded. Garyhad attended the same highschool as I, although he was fiveyears ahead of me. I actuallyknew him through my olderbrother. It was just by chancethat we were at the same base.

Lieutenant Scott was aWeapons Safety Officer; a.k.a.“back-seater”. At the claxton,crew-chiefs and crew membersjumped and ran for the planes.We would fire up the jet engines

and report ready to roll. ThePhantoms, of course, neverwould take off with thosepowerful bombs on-board, butthat was the plan in case of all-out nuclear holocaust.

This is how the USAwould show the communistnations that we were notstanding down and we couldstrike at a moment’s notice.

This, however, is jumpingahead of the actually story.

We had three squadronsof fighter jets at Spang, but onlyenough bombs for slightly morethan two-thirds of the planeshad been delivered. Proud Marywas scheduled to get a bomb.

Airman First Class ChrisMassey, my assistant, and Imade sure the shelter was cleanand the plane was ready. Then,we hoped the rain was over aswe watched a parade ofvehicles arrived.

The munitions crew hada tug towing the nuke behindand a metro-style box van thatcarried most of the loading crew.Another van dropped off one ortwo security guards. A pickupfollowed with a militaryinspector, a high ranking non-commissioned officer, who wasthere to make sure we passedthe event. The man wasdressed like I once did while in aregional drum and bugle corps.Heavy starched creases in hisshirt and pants, and blousedbritches to show off his superpolished boots.

There was a time limit forthe loading, so our bomb crewswere stressed to get it right, bythe book, and within theschedule.

16

Chris started up theauxiliary power unit. We bothleft the shelter after that to stayout of the way. This was anervous but exciting time.

I could hardly believewhat my eyes were telling me.Traditional in shape, the nuclearbomb was solid white, but verydull in color. I had no idea whatit weighed, but it was slightlylonger than the little Fiat sedan Idrove. The air crew showed upjust as the activity got startedand I met the pilot and his WSO.

We agreed that later,when the Claxton rang, wewould run from the day room tothis shelter. Some teams withtheir jet in a shelter further awaywould ride in another of the boxy"Metro" vans.

Munitions sent one maninto the cockpit as othersmanned the trailer with ahydraulic lift. The rankingmember had technical orders inhis hand to serve as their check-list. Reading the concern ontheir faces was easy. I didn'tknow how many bombs theywould have to load, but thiswasn't their first, nor would it betheir last.

First, they prepped theplane at the belly's centerline.The trailer was brought to aposition underneath the planeand then the great white beastwas raised slowly.

"We have green lights"came a voice from the cockpit."The weapon is good."

Munitions tightenedeverything down with a torquewrench and then the teamleader invited the inspectorunder ship to view a hand-held

ohm meter. With the final panel

buttoned up, the loading teamleft. They were off to retrieveanother "weapon", so as to do itagain on the next assigned air-frame.

There was no definedduty for Chris and me. Nor forthe aircrew, but one of us, eitherthe pilot or I had to accept theloading with an entry in themaintenance log.

Afterwards, Chris and thepilots left for the day room. Iremained briefly with security.

"I'm going in to have alast look around." I announcedto the guard.

He hesitated only asecond, then nodded hisapproval. In a way, this wasnow his plane. Security wasn'tgoing to let any one in but aircrew and crew chiefs during thealert or munitions when theevent ended.

I walked in from the sideand went around the wing. I shutdown the aux power thenproceeded to the tail section.Nothing was amiss.

To exit, I ducked my headand skirted under the plane nextto the great bomb. At reachingthe aft end, I extended my armand ran the fingers of my righthand down the length of thegreat white nuclear bomb.

I had already acceptedthe fact that I would be loadeddown with cold chills and goosebumps. I thought briefly if thischance in life would change mylife. Towards the end of the longstroke, I had a brief passingthought about static electricity,what effect I might be having,

and then as I came out fromunder the plane, I realized therewas a chance the guard wouldbe yelling at me for touching themost powerful thing mankindhad ever developed.

From under thecenterline, I arose. The guardseemed not to notice or care;his attention was directedoutward. I looked down at myhand. I felt - nothing.

I didn't feel a thing. There was just the

slightest bit of oxidized powderon my fingers' end that I wasaware of, but emotionally, on acellular level, my nerves felt noapprehension. With puzzledwonder, I sort of shook the handunder my glare.

Was I that cold? Maybe my nerves were

already heightened as much aspossible from the loading.Bidding my guard farewell, Iwalked to the day room,questioning myself with eachstep.

This second storyoccurs months later. The fouryears of my enlistment were up,and I was now serving anextension of duty. Time had mythree Senior Airman stripes turninto Sergeant NCO stripes, and Iwas within days of having todecide if I would sign on foranother tour of duty or not.

I wasn't prone to sign onto any more service, although Iwas desirous to stay in Europeand attend school. If I followedthat course I would be out of themilitary in six to eight weeks. Itmay have already been too lateto "re-up."

Over the stretch of my

17

two year assignment inGermany, the Spangdahlemairbase had lost three aircraft.

One flew right into theside of a hill for reasons thecommon airman never learned.Both aircrew members werelost.

Another jet with crew wason a mission to link up with aBritish counterpart and conductsome sort of NATO exercise. Asthe two aircraft came together,the Brit' asked our crew whatwas wrong with their plane.

"There's nothing wrong,"they answered. "What are youtalking about?"

The English pilotexplained. "Well, you're trailingan extreme amount of smoke." Then before our pilot and WSOcould start reviewing the gaugesfor a problem they experienceda double engine flame-out. Bothejected safely.

In the third case, thePhantom jet just started shakinguncontrollable and wouldn'trespond properly to flight controlinputs. The WSO ejected. Thepilot, perhaps falsely believinghe could bring it around, wentdown with the plane.

I don't know who had thejob of collecting all the sortedpieces when an accidenthappened, but it wasn't anyoneoff the flight line. The remains ofthese planes, however, werestored under lock and key in a60' by 120' shelter within mysection.

These days were duringthe Carter administration, andbudgets to the military werecoming under close scrutiny.There was a strong push to

keep the planes in the air so thatmission hours would be up. Weheard that flight hours related tohow much money we would getfor pens and paper.

That, of course, didn'tmake any sense, but we thoughtit to be true because the otherrumor we heard was that thegenerals had borrowed ourmaintenance money in order tobuy their precious pens andpaper.

Thus was born theproblem of trying to fly missionsin order to buy parts to fix ourjets. The Air Force had put itselfin a "cart before the horse"scenario.

Out of this backwardthinking, one of the jobcontrollers who helpedcoordinate our maintenanceefforts developed a brainstorm.

There were threecrashed jets locked away, andsurely we could pull off all thegood pieces and place thoseinto our surplus thereby saving afew dollars. I'm still surprisedsuch a thought found all the rightapprovals, but one afternoon theline sergeant was told to drop offhis two most experienced crewchiefs at the shelter where thewreckage was kept.

I was pleased to becounted on, but in fact therewere only two NCOs on thetruck.

Staff Sergeant DennisHarbin and I got out of themaintenance van. Harbin had atrainee with him. The youngairman hadn't been with usmuch more than a week. I don'tthink he had even earned hisfirst stripe.

Someone from jobcontrol met us at the shelter,opened it, and made us promiseto lock it back when we weredone. Our line chief said he'dcheck on us in about a halfhours' time.

We entered a pitch blackshelter and had to hit the lightswitches. The shelter used gascharged lights that were slowpowering up. You could seethem light up right away but theywere dim and took a minute ortwo to reach full brightness. Itwas much like a slow "fade-infrom black" at the movies.

As the overhead lightsfound their strength, the sheltergrew equally in eeriness. Allthree of us were taken aback atthe sight unfolding before us.Other than the camouflage painton the exterior there wasn'tanything in the shelter thatreminded us of Phantoms.Nothing was larger than anoffice desk.

The larger pieces hadrolled and turned over so manytimes I couldn't tell from whereon the aircraft it had come from.Every piece was twisted; it wasall pure carnage.

In retrospect, I know thatthe combat veteran hasprobably seen worse damagecaused by artillery, but none ofus were expecting this and itreally chilled our backbone.

Harbin broke our silence."Well, I'll go this way and one ofyou can go that way and we'llsee whatever is in here." Thenhe stepped off to the right.

I nudged the fresh recruitto the left and I found myself sortof wandering around the middle.

18

There was no clear paththrough the destruction; it wassometimes hard to find concreteto walk on. Occasionally, I triedto over turn a larger piece inorder to see what I thoughtwould be the inside but therewas many sharp edges to dealwith.

"Sergeant Burns," Thetrainee called. "Would you comehere, please?"

His voice brought analarm to my already uneasyfeeling. First, no one ever calledme Sergeant Burns, but moreimportant his tone made methink he had found a snakehiding among the wreckage.

I had to climb over a lumpof metal to reach him. Before Icould ask "what was what", hequietly babbled out his ownquestion while pointing to theground.

"Is that what I think it is?"The young soldier had

too much respect to touchanything and held his ground. Irealized right away what he waspointing at and I squatted downbeside it.

With my left hand, Ireached over and picked up apalm-size piece from an aircrewmember's helmet.

"Is that blood?" the youngman asked.

"I don't know." But Ifigured him to be right, and as Istarted to stand I lightly rubbedthe smear with my right fingershalf expecting them to rub off.The coloring remained, and Ididn't make it to my feet.

Instead, I became weakat the knees as a shock wavelike cold electricity ran up my

right arm to flood the core of mynervous system.

I can't remember if Icaught myself, or if the traineehad a hand in helping to steadyme. I couldn't shake off thefeeling that had caught meunprepared, but I did find myequilibrium and managed tobring myself upright.

"I would say that's blood."I repeated. I held the piece ofhelmet a few seconds longerthen gently retuned it withrespect.

"What's the way out ofhere?" I asked. Suddenly, I hadno desire to touch anything andI only wanted to step ondesignated floor space. I wanteda path back to the door. Thisplace was sacred. Disturbinganything at all seemed wrong.

Upon reaching the door, Icaught Harbin's attention and hereturned.

I told Dennis, "I've seenenough." "Spooks getting toyou?" He tried making a joke,but he was closer to the truththan he realized. I could seeright through him. He was readyto leave himself.

Dennis manned themultiple light switches indicatingfor us to step out. I was happyto do so. I longed for the sunshine. I thought that whateverhad touched me might washaway in full daylight, but it didn't.

The feeling stayedaround and haunted me forseveral days. Outside we weremostly quiet. We hadn't spentmore than 15 minutes inside theshelter. It pleased me to getback in the van.

Harbin explained to the

line sergeant that the shelterwas worthless for salvagingparts. I concurred, and that wasthe truth. I didn't believe therewas anything in there thatwouldn't take many days and acrow bar to retrieve. It was awaste of man-hours to try andwork in there.

Then later, to nobody inparticular I shared, "I guess youdon't have to be at war to die foryour country."

It dawned on me a fewdays later how these twopreceding military events wereconnected. Although the wild,chilling shock I took in theshelter had diminished, I wasstill thinking about it some. Ithought about how briefly I hadtouched the DNA of anotherman. It was just a quick once-over with a couple of fingers thathad brought on that odd feeling.My mind tried to dismiss it assomething normal, but I couldn'tfind anything to dismiss it to.

I mean, hadn't thosesame fingers only 4 or 5 monthsearlier rubbed the entire lengthof a nuclear bomb and feltnothing.

Over time the contrast inpower sank in. The nuclearweapon I stroked for severalseconds was made by man; aprime example of mankind'sability to create a destructiveforce.

But the briefer contactwith blood was with somethingcreated by God. It nearly sentme to my knees. Just a smallstain from hardly more than adrop's worth of blood was vastlymore powerful than megatons ofexplosive nuclear force.

19

455th BG E-mail Roster

Harry W. Anderson (740)San Antonio,[email protected]

Carl A. Barr (743)[email protected]

Dave Bathie (assoc. 740) [email protected]

1st. Lt. Thomas A. 'Tom' Bell840 Kimberly Ct.Lander, WY [email protected]

Gene V. Benson (740)Livingston, [email protected]

Jack Blum (741) [email protected]

Earl BodenhornWaterford, [email protected]

Winfield S. Bowers, Jr. (741) Mount Dora, FL. [email protected]

Thomas [email protected]

Marlin L. (Bud) Brown (742)Lake Placid, [email protected]

Ormond H. Buffington 300 Rena DriveSpringville, Alabama [email protected]

Robert Caldwell (741)Prescott Valley, [email protected]

Calvin [email protected]

Saul L. Cayne (742) [email protected]

Rod Clarke (743)Alexandria, [email protected]

Howard Cooper (740)[email protected]

Robert (Bob) Collette, [email protected]

Albert E. [email protected]

Bill & Joyce [email protected] <or>[email protected]

Janet & Russell [email protected]

Norman CrumSon of Cpt. George Crum (742)[email protected]

James P. Daly (740) [email protected]

John [email protected]

Jack Dekker (743) [email protected]

Theodore Deppe (741)Bloomington, [email protected]

George Defenbaugh1900 N. Beard St.Shawnee, OK [email protected]

John Devito (assoc.)[email protected]

Paul H. Ditchett (742) [email protected]

William Dixon (741)[email protected]

William G. [email protected]

William M. Doyle (742)Jupiter, FL [email protected]

Robert Emick (741) [email protected]

Sy Gaynes (743)585 Live Oak LaneWeston, FL. [email protected]

William B. Gemmill (740) [email protected]

William C. Graves (742)Jacksonville, [email protected]

Lt. Col. R. J. Haney (743)[email protected]

Frances [email protected]

L. Harvey Hewit (743) Haverford, [email protected]

Robert [email protected]

Richard H.Hollrock (740)107 Heather WayHampden, Me 04444 [email protected]

20

455th BG Email Roster (cont.)

Frank [email protected].

Thomas L. Kablach (742) [email protected]

Joe Kiernan (741)16 Barbara Ln Titusville NJ [email protected]

Erling Kindem (742)[email protected]

Viliam [email protected]

George L. Liddle (742) [email protected]

John L. Larma (740) [email protected]

Don Martens 2738 West Point Rd.Green Bay, WI [email protected]

Frank [email protected]

Dave Matheson (742) [email protected]

Mike McFadden (Assoc. 743)Son-in-Law of Austin [email protected]

Jim MerrittSon of Lt. Jim Merritt (741)51 N. Main St.Pennington, NJ [email protected]

Stephen E. Miller (742)[email protected]

James H. Moreland (743)[email protected]

C.E. McMullen (741) [email protected]

Vic Murray (743) [email protected]

Robert E. Newberg (743) 2729 82nd PL #233Urbandale, IA [email protected]

Charles Oltarzewski (740)[email protected]

Christine PainterDaughter of the late Col.Charles W. Painter, Jr. (741)[email protected].

Peter Payant (743) [email protected]

Jack Phelps (740) [email protected]

Reid Byron Peck9724 E. Javelina Ave.Mesa, AZ [email protected].

Roland J Pepin327 Al Harvey RoadStonington, CT 06378 [email protected]

Wesley Powell (740) [email protected]

Charles H. Rosenberg (741)[email protected].

Sid Schoengold (740) [email protected]

Gus R. Seefluth (742) [email protected]

Walter Shostack (741)[email protected]

Sgt. John E. [email protected]

Edward G. Spencer (740) [email protected]

Jim Smith (741)[email protected]

Charles E. Stark (740) [email protected]

Ted Stiner (Assoc. 742)[email protected]

Angelo Synodis (741)[email protected]

James [email protected]@yahoo.com

Ted Tronoff (742)[email protected]

(Dr.) Stanley Vogelfang (741) [email protected]

John R. Worster (742). [email protected]

Craig Ward Editor, Cerignola ConnectionSon of Lt. J. T. Ward (740) [email protected]

Carl J. [email protected]

Leland L. Young (743)Allison Park, (Pittsburgh), [email protected]

Paul A. Young (741)[email protected]

21

22

Dear Editor,This is in reference to my contacting you back in January, 2009 regarding identities of

crew members in that great photo and article which appeared in your Fall 2008 issue of theCerignola Connection, page 21.

I might be able to identify some of the crewmembers in this picture, especially me!So here goes:

William H. Solley, who lived in Alabama…PILOTDavid Ansel, (that’s me), lives in NYC...PILOT (Own my own Advertising Agency)Barney E. Tarshes, lived in L.A., Calif.,.NAVIGATOR Frank Kiernan, lives in Charlottsville, Va…NAVIGATOR (Attorney)

The rest of the crew I regretfully cannot identify except for …William F. Flynn, our tail gunner (far left, front row). Bill Flynn was an FBI agent.

(He’s mentioned in an obituary in your Spring, 2000 issue.)

Thanks for offering to Identify our crew members in that photo. It’s been a long roadsince then. I’m happy that I have my health and faculties. The world goes on.

Best Regards,David Ansel (742)

23

Editor’s Note: 1st Lt. Irv Rubin (455th BG, 743rd, below, left) is shaking

hands with Tuskegee Airman Hiram Mann (referenced in articlebelow) at a Veteran’s Day event in Titusville, Fl. The twoveterans, both 87 years young, live near each other in Florida.

Mr. Rubin told Mr. Mann that he had “waited 65 years tothank him and his Tuskegee Airmen colleagues for flying fighterescort on my missions.”

Complaint Department

Luke AFB is west of Phoenix, and israpidly being surrounded by civilization thatcomplains about the noise from the base andits planes, forgetting that it was there longbefore they were. An individual who livessomewhere near Luke AFB wrote the localpaper complaining about a group of F-16sthat disturbed her day at the mall.

When that individual read theresponse from a Luke AFB officer, it musthave stung quite a bit.The complaint:

Last Wednesday, at precisely 9:11A.M, a formation of F-16 jets made a lowpass over Arrowhead Mall, continuing westover Bell Road at approximately 500 feet.What good fortune! Do the Tom Cruise-wannabes feel we need this wake-up call? The response from Luke AFB:

Regarding “A wake-up call from Luke'sjets”. On June 15, at precisely 9:12 a.m., aperfectly-timed fly-by of four F-16s from the63rd Fighter Squadron at Luke AFB flew overthe grave of Capt. Jeremy Fresques. Capt.Fresques was an Air Force officer who waspreviously stationed at Luke AFB and waskilled in Iraq on May 30, Memorial Day.

At 9 a. m. on June 15, his family andfriends gathered at Sunland Memorial Park inSun City to mourn the loss of a husband, sonand friend. Based on the letter writer'srecount of the fly-by, and because of the jetnoise, I'm sure you didn't hear the 21-gunsalute, the playing of taps, or my words to thewidow and parents of Capt. Fresques as Igave them their son's flag on behalf of thePresident of the United States and all thoseveterans and servicemen and women whounderstand the sacrifices they have endured.

On June 15, what the letter writerwitnessed was four officers lining up to paytheir ultimate respects. Luke AFB will forwardyour thanks to the widow and parents ofCapt. Fresques. It was in their honor that mypilots flew the most honorable formation oftheir lives.

455th Bomb Group Assoc., Inc.P.O. Box 93095Austin, TX 78709-3095

ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

A MESSAGE FROM 455TH BG ASSOC. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR GREG RIGGS

As this edition of the newsletter goes to print, we have 345 WWII veterans still on our active mailing list.As we approach the upcoming reunion in October, we need to keep in mind that we are also approaching ourbiannual membership meeting which will include many important decisions for the organization.

Our most important order of business will be whether or not to continue having reunions. Included inthat topic will be a decision, if we decide to have more reunions, of whether or not to continue our experimentof annual reunions, or return to our traditional biannual reunions.

If we decide not to have more reunions, we must then decide whether or not to continue as anAssociation. Perhaps the major benefit of continuing even without reunions would be the publishing of ournewsletter, the Cerignola Connection. I’m sure every member in the Association would agree Craig does anoutstanding job as editor. I always look forward to getting my copy.

If we continue to operate without reunions, then several changes must be made to our Bylaws inOctober. We must establish alternate ways to elect officers and directors if we do not meet at least biannually.We may want to consider longer terms. We may want to empower the Board of Directors to make decisionsthat are now made by the membership. We may want to admit more non-WWII veterans to full Membershipstatus to allow them to serve as officers and directors. Please re-read President Rod Clarke’s messagecarefully. He has done an excellent job of presenting the situation and laying out some of our options.

Next, I would like your help on nominating sites for future reunions (being optimistic that there will bemore). Here are the criteria we currently use for selecting reunion locations:

(1) Local laws and union agreements permit us to serve our own alcohol and snacks in the hospitalityroom (this eliminates many otherwise desirable locations)

(2) It is in the central U.S. (loosely defined) to permit reasonable car travel from any location in thecontinental U.S.

(3) It is near enough to a major airport to allow easy access by those who fly.(4) It is in a location where temperatures will still be moderate in October.(5) It is not at high altitude where reduced oxygen would present a problem.(6) It is a city in which Armed Forces Reunions, Inc., already has established business contacts—we

are no longer a large enough organization for them to go beyond their established sphere of influence. If you would like to attend our next reunion (based on your present health), and you have a preferred

location that would meet the first five criteria listed, please send me that information. You may mail it to thereturn address on the newsletter, or you may email it to [email protected]. We can use any feedback Ireceive before the end of September, for use in Indianapolis in October, when discussing the next reunion.

October in Indianapolis promises to be an important time for the 455th Bomb Group Association.Please plan to be there. You will enjoy the fellowship, and you can help chart our future.

Greg Riggs, Executive Director, 455th Bomb Group Association

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