Home : World War II : United States Army Air Forces :448th Bomb GroupFlying Back On A Time CapsuleOur air crew, whose names follow, met one another for the first time in August, 1944 in Omaha, Nebraska: Forrest F. Anderson, pilot, Gallantin, TN.; Arthur R. Seat, Jr., copilot, Virgiline, VA; Frank W. Leonard, navigator, Meridan, ID; Jerome Brown, bombardier, Chicago, IL; Harry T. Hutchinson, engineer, Dayton, OH; Ben S. Daniel, radio, gunner, Chicago IL; Charles E. Schmucker, gunner, Denver, CO; John W. Wideman, gunner, Woodstock, IL; Elberon G. Andrews, gunner, Cortland, OH; Douglas J. Fowler, gunner, Atlanta, GA. Like any military group formation, our crew was made up of persons from all walks of life. We learned very quickly that the main purpose, the objective and bottom line, was that the group conduct itself in a team effort by executing its duties and responsibilities in a cohesive military manner. We were assigned to three months of intensive combat crew training exercises at Casper, Wyoming. These consisted of continued ground school training in our respective responsibilities with related emergency procedures, of flying at different periods within the day, of formation flying, as well as bombing and aerial gunnery exercises. This was the crucial time period to determine if our combat alertness and our ability to act and react under all possible combat situations met the requirements. We got to know one another, officers and enlisted men, during this intense period, as to our personalities, strengths and weaknesses. As I recall we were a group of happy "characters," enjoying our camaraderie. Our pilot, 2nd Lt. Forrest F. Anderson, was our leader and we respected him highly as an individual, an officer, and an expert flyer. In flying the great B-24, he had the perfect record of making each landing on the first attempt. We graduated from combat air crew training at Casper, Wyoming in the fall of 1944, and were immediately ordered to Topeka, Kansas to pick up our B-24M Liberator. It was a strange feeling when we arrived at Topeka and saw the beautiful new B-24s lined up, and wondered which one would be assigned to us. In due time we were assigned to serial number 44-50718. I often wonder where it is today? During this time the song "Rum 'n Coke," made famous by the Andrews Sisters, was very popular; and without hesitation we named our new B-24 after the song. We had our crew photograph taken with the inscription "Rum 'n Coke" on both sides of the aircraft, and mailed it to the Andrews Sisters for their autograph. Either we had the wrong address, or our photograph got lost in the shuffle, or ... who knows why we did not get it back. After a week of flying the "Rum 'n Coke" to become familiar with this aircraft, we were ordered to Grenier Field, New Hampshire for an overseas assignment. I remember the comfortable and confident feeling each time I heard the four Pratt & Whitney engines start, taxi, and take off into the "Wild Blue Yonder." During the morning we took off for Grenier Field, before takeoff, we borrowed a Jeep to carry a load on the plane, consisting of enough barracks mattresses for the crew to rest for the eventual long journey to the Eighth Air Force in England. As the radio operator, l purposely selected special radio programs with the popular music of the time so the crew could listen and relax on the flight between Topeka, Kansas and Grenier Field, New Hampshire, which took about three hours. They appreciated the selections. As we flew from Kansas to New Hampshire, crossing part of this great country of ours, we enjoyed the scenery and commented on its majestic beauty. Landing at Grenier Field was a thrill, and a first for most of us. It was a short layover, for the following morning we were briefed for our flight to Goose Bay, Labrador. Whoever heard of Goose Bay, Labrador? As we lined up for takeoff that morning, our pilot, Lt. Anderson, reminded us we were leaving the United States. I don't recall what prevailed - excitement, thrill and/or fright? That afternoon we landed at Goose Bay, Labrador after flying over parts of beautiful Canada. At Goose Bay we were briefed and shown a film on what we could expect to see on approaching our next stop at Bluie West #1, Greenland. The various fjords were pointed out as checkpoints on our approach to the landing field at Bluie West #1. We stayed at Bluie West #1 for several days because of bad weather conditions and prepared for our next flight to Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland. (Who would guess in future years it would be the meeting place for President Reagan and Mr. Gorbachev.) During our stay at Bluie West #1, we were captivated by the beautiful Northern Lights in the evening. What a beautiful and unforgettable sight, and to think the other half of the earth was in full daylight. After our short stay at Bluie West #1, we took off for Reykjavik, crossing the cold North Atlantic Ocean, and landed there within a few hours. We were restricted to the air base since we were subject to an immediate call. After a day, we were briefed for our final destination - Valley Wales. Between Iceland and Valley, Wales, we realized that we were finally in a combat zone. We arrived at Valley, Wales, and were very disappointed when we had to give up the "Rum'n Coke" for a plane modified for combat missions. Our crew immediately took a train to Blackpool, England for an assignment to a bomb group. Regretfully, there we had to bid farewell to F/O Jerome Brown, our bombardier, who was reassigned to another group, since the Eighth Air Force was converting navigators to "togglers" (bomb load was released by a navigator after observing the lead bombardier trigger the action). So our navigator, Lt. Frank Leonard, had a dual role on our missions, primarily as navigator and as "toggler" during the bomb run over the target. At Blackpool we were assigned to the 20th Combat Wing, 448th Bombardment Group (Heavy), 713th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), which was located at Seething Airfield. Two bomb crews of enlisted men occupied each small barracks. Our crew replaced a bomber crew which had been shot down over Magdeburg, Germany. It was a strange feeling walking into the barracks as a replacement crew to meet the crew whose friends had been shot down. We got to know each other and became close friends over a period of time. During this period we flew on practice missions over the English countryside and as weather observers over the North Sea. Our first bombing mission was to be over Brunswick, Germany.The frightening thrill was checking our 50 caliber machine guns the night before the mission, arising early the following morning, having breakfast, listening intently to our briefing, attending our respective religious services, picking up our flight gear, getting in a truck and riding out to our assigned B-24J. No enemy over the target that day, but a lot of flak from below. We had made our first run! Our second bombing mission ended in a comedy of errors. The assigned target was an ordnance depot in Bayreuth, Germany. Because of adverse weather conditions over England, each plane took off and flew independently south of England, passing over the White Cliffs of Dover. At this point, I realized that my radio transmitter and receiver were not operating effectively. At the same time, our navigator, Lt. Leonard, indicated his radar equipment was inoperative. But we continued on with a left turn to form with our squadron, group and combat wing over France. Above France, after getting into an attack formation, we turned north toward Germany. However, the bad weather over England had entered the air space over continental Europe, forcing our bombing units to disperse and abort the mission. On our way back to England without our radio and radar equipment operating effectively, we decided to land at the 361st Fighter Group (P-51 s) in Mons, Belgium near the French border. We were served lunch, while our radio and radar equipment were repaired by the ground crew specialists. We extended our thanks for the hospitality shown by the fighter group personnel, and took off for our home base in England. I identified our aircraft over the English Channel with the Main Control Radio Contact of the Eighth Air Force, and received permission to continue to our base at Seething Airfield. We dropped our bomb load over the English Channel to avoid any possible explosion on landing. After landing, we were directed to taxi to a stall (parking space) about a half a mile from the control lower. At the same time, other planes from our group were returning from a similar fate. We waited for over an hour for a truck to pick us and our flying gear up. This is when the day's comedy of errors almost ended in a tragedy. We were all frustrated for lack of attention from the control tower to send someone to get us back to the debriefing room. For some unknown reason, I returned to our plane, got the Very (flare) pistol, and shot it in the air to get the tower's attention. As the colored flare descended, it began drifting in the direction of the gasoline trucks that were refueling our parked planes. I quickly blew the whistle, which all combat flying crews wear on the collar of their flight jackets to keep the crew together in the event of a bail-out over a body of water. The high pitch alerted the crew, and it was every man for himself, fleeing in every direction, including the refueling crew. l froze, unable to move while I watched this pending explosion, but "Thank God" the descending flare overshot the refueling truck and three planes in their respective stalls by twenty yards. For me, it was a long ride back to our debriefing room. Later, Lt. Anderson calmly read off the "riot act" to our navigator and myself for the day's events. (We should have checked our radio and radar equipment before takeoff that morning.) It was only our second combat mission attempt, but we matured in a hurry! Our future missions involved much flak and encounters with ME-109s (propeller driven) and ME-262s (jet propulsion driven). At times, during slack periods just for laughs, we recalled our second mission and how we almost caused a careless disaster. We flew our group's final combat mission on April 25, 1945, attacking the marshaling yards in Salzburg, Austria. That mission was over eight hours, includiug five hours of oxygen usage. It was a succcssful mission. The war ended in Europe within the final two weeks of our final combat mission. Thereafter it was a countdown of when we would return home, despite rumors that we would be flying, directly to the contlict in the Pacific Theater. It did not happen. During the next few months, the planes were serviced to return home. In the meantime, we flew ground personnel at low level over continental Europe to observe the devastation that took place over the years. A frightening sight for all of us. Finally, the day arrived for us to return home. Our first stop was the Azores in the mid-Atlantic Ocean, and then on to Bangor, Maine. An additional ten ground personnel returned with each air crew. It was a new experience for all of us. We landed on United States soil in June 1945 and were given a thirty-day furlough. We regrouped in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, where I first attended radio school. While there, in August 1945, the war with Japan ended. We were then reassigned to different air bases before being discharged. God bless us, everyone.
| ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
| Links & Recommended Sites | Oneliners, Stories, etc. |
| Questions? Anything Not Work? Not Look Right? My Policy Is To Blame The Computer. |
| About The Military And Wars | Link To Us | Site Navigation | Site Map |