Around the Museum Winter 2004-2005 Enhanced “Buck” Dunn Display The Hewitt “Buck” Dunn plaque has been relocated from the remote corner of the museum to the entrance lobby and the display expanded. “Buck” flew an 8th Air Force record of 104 missions. All of his missions are tabulated along side the plaque, with his picture [...]
Liberty Belle To Fly Again Don Brook’s 390th B-17 Report By Robert Ginn I was just as thrilled as anyone else when Don Brooks told assembled volunteers, staff and Foundation Board members that there would be another B-17 flying soon–and in 390th Bomb Group livery. So when I found out that the restoration was being [...]
Winter 2003-2004 Squadron Signs Refurbished The Museum has our four squadron insignias mounted in our outside entry way. Weather has taken a heavy toll on their condition requiring refurbishment. John Day, our Tuesday volunteer/docent, shown here, has repainted the first of the four. John was a ball turret gunner with the 100th Group, our 13th [...]
Our Dorothy Moller Honored – Twice Honorary Doctorate Few of her friends know of this honor, but in May, 1997, highly regarded Hillsdale College, conferred upon Dorothy Moller the degree of Doctor of Humanitarian Service. Dorothy has supported this college and served on their Board of Trustees for many years. Hillsdale College, located in Michigan, [...]
“Food Drop” Display Redesigned. The “Food Drop” display, funded by the 390th Veterans Association” has been redesigned to make it more attractive, less obtrusive and moveable. The redesign was completed during the Christmas season. The display tells the story of the aid given to the starving people of Holland at the end of the WWII. [...]
WHERE ARE THEY NOW? From 1939-45, United States aircraft factories built 12,731 of the Boeing designed B-17 aircraft of various model designations. They flew in several theaters of operation but primarily in Europe. Even though they were outnumbered eventually by the ubiquitous B-24, of which some 18,000 were built, the B-17 is generally regarded as [...]
Michael Ruta Story As published in The Star Ledger of Newark, New Jersey, May 19, 2003 WILLIAM GORDON STAR-LEDGER STAFF By most accounts, Michael Ruta was eccentric in his final years, difficult to get along with, estranged from his siblings, a lifelong bachelor living alone in an unkempt apartment in Palisades Park, where he died [...]
Crews Assigned Number 30 and Their Fate By Andy Anzanos The 390th flight crews were assigned crew numbers one to 99 when they became operational as combat crews. Fate has it that if you were assigned number 30, chances were that you would become a “first” or meet unusual fate. Consider the following: The very [...]
THE STARS AND STRIPS Thursday, April 26 1945 By Andy Rooney Stars and Stripes Staff Writer With U.S. 1ST ARMY, Apr. 25 — If Blumberg has been worried about Phyllis Marie, he can stop. She’s down at a German airfield at Altenburg just south of Leipzig, sitting there with eight black crosses painted big as [...]
21 Jan 45 Mission to Mannheim, Germany By Helynn Schufieiowski Daughter of S/Sgt Gerald Hoefert 338th Squadron, 95th Bomb Group I would like to make contact with anyone who was in any of the 390th Bomb Group B-17s that flew through the “B” Squadron of the 95th Bomb Group’s formation on the 21 Jan 45 [...]
The Eighth Air Force At Night? Researched and written by: Robert Darcangelo Museum Volunteer At 2146 hr. on 22 APR 44 the 390th control officer Lt. Buckman noted that the last aircraft had returned from the mission to Hamm Germany. Two B-17s were missing. A/C 2107041 had landed at Manston with one engine out and [...]
WARTIME By Purvis Christian The toughest experience of my life was when I was shot down during World War II, and held as a POW by the Germans for 11 months and 17 days. I was a waist gunner on a B-17, headed for Liege Belgium, on 11 May 1944. We had strayed 20 miles [...]
Piggyback Hero by Ralph Kinney Bennett Capt. Glenn Rojohn, of the 8th Air Force 100th Bomb Group, was flying his B-17G Flying Fortress bomber on a raid over Hamburg. His formation had braved heavy flak to drop their bombs, then turned 180 degrees to head out over the North Sea. They had finally turned northwest, [...]
Air Force Football Game Contributes $1,225,000 for Memorial to World War II Army Air Corps Personnel LONDON. ENGLAND – Every hour on the hour, chimes ring out from Saint Clement Dane Church, paying homage to 16,000 U.S. Army Air Corps personnel who were killed in World War II defending America while stationed in Great Britain. [...]
Magdeburg – A Fatal Mission A continuation from the last issue of the Bulletin of the Edward Stoy story of his traumatic bail out where only three survived. The following is his story of his subsequent POW experience. Editor We were each given a thick piece of black bread with some kind of jelly [...]
Ball Turret Bill Excerpts from publication on Web Site by Glen Daly, San Diego Aviation – the story of one of our 390th veterans, Bill Ellett. The Web Site story can be found under Yahoo as “Ball Turret Bill” Among the 10 members of the crew was his best friend, Harold MacGregor, the radio operator. [...]
Magdeburg – A Fatal Mission The following story of Edward Stoy’s bail out and survival is an excerpt from his complete story written in 1950. His story is very interesting and informative but too long to consider publishing in one issue. We will try and excerpt for our readers his POW experience in the next [...]
The “Dolly” Story On December 1, 1943, a brand new B-17 arrived at Framlingham. One of the crewmembers aboard was a 25 year old from Monessen, Pa. His name was Herman Alesiani, the son of Sicilian immigrants. Herman was working as an assistant in a grocery store and as a bricklayer when the United States [...]
The Ball (Belly) Turret Gunner by Harold (Diz) Kronenberg Because of necessity, a ball-turret gunner could not be very large. There just wasn’t enough room in the turret for a man of much size. The ball turret was cramped and hung like a bubble on the underside-belly of the airplane. The occupant had to be [...]
Plow Boy by Dwayne “Ben” Bennett I was born near Lovilla, Iowa, Sept 23, 1919. I spent the next 21 years of my life on the farm, and a great deal of that time was spent behind a team of Missouri mules. I learned a lot about them and they learned a lot about me. [...]
Skippy by Andy Anzanos One of the most famous pictures of the air war was a photo of a 390th Bomb Group formation. The photo became nationally known on magazine covers and bond drives during the war years. This photo also served as the source for the museum’s 26 foot wide mural painting by Rudy [...]
THE RUSSIANS ARE COMING! By John S. Warner This event started back in August of 2003 with an E-mail to our Museum from the Mighty Eighth Museum in Savannah, Georgia. It stated they had been contacted by a Russian Video Company which desired to do oral histories with any 8th AF member who landed at [...]
LEGEND OF HEWITT “BUCK” DUNN By Dewayne Bennett He was born in Newport News, Virginia in 1921 and was a star athlete at Bethany College. He enlisted in the US Army Air Corp, became a gunner and was ultimately assigned to the 390th Bomb Group. He started flying combat missions January 29,1944. He did not [...]
Behind the Battle Line On the 20th of January 1945, we were on our third mission, the target being Heilbronn, Gr. marshalling yards. We were briefed on a relatively easy mission as far as the flak was concerned. On approaching the target, the flak became very intense. Apparently the antiaircraft guns had moved in since [...]
More on “ NEEDLE IN THE HAYSTACK” SQUARE J BULLETIN (Fall Edition) I am Howard L. Johnson, I was the radio operator on Square J 225. It was one of those seldom sunny days in Framlingham. All of the enlisted men in our Crew #75, Sgt.Tommy Walsh (TG) ,Jimmy Whitling (WG), S\Sgt.Donald (“Stompie”) Detwiler (BTG), [...]
Lucky By Duane “Ben” Bennett He was a coal black and mangy old dog. He had one eye (his left one I believe) out, one ear had been chewed off, he hopped wounded on three legs, and his tail had been broken. He had been castrated, and we called him “Lucky.” He was aloof, kept [...]
Downed Airman and The Maquis by Mike Ruta Gunner, 568th Squadron I was shot down on 8 June 1944. Our assigned target was the German airport at Tours, France. The weather was very foul. After takeoff we could not see our wing tips at 50 feet. We had to climb to over 30,000 feet to [...]
High Profile Prisonors of War The Story of John G Winant, Jr. By Dewayne Bennett John G. Winant, Jr. was a student at Princeton University when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. He would have graduated in 1945. His dad, who had flown in the Eighth Observation Squadron in WW 1, was a high official in [...]
“A NEEDLE IN THE HAYSTACK”— FOR SURE!! The missing aircraft report says, “following a 30 mm cannon hit to #4 engine from a single ME 262 approaching from 7 o’clock, the plane remained on fire, under good control, 8 chutes were counted and the plane entered the clouds”. This was the wind-up of my 19th [...]
“I’LL BE AROUND” (B-17G SN 42-31892) As recounted by Ellis McClintick Navigator, 570th Sq. In late May 1944 when Captain Roger Sterr and his crew completed their combat tour (a measly 30 missions), their airplane “I’ll Be Around” was assigned to the Leroy Holmberg crew. (For those who weren’t in the 570th. B-17G #892 was [...]
FREEDOM OF SPEECH I think everyone on this planet needs to read this. This was sent by a 78-yr. old former nun. The thoughts are pure and simple and we all understand the point… GOD BLESS AMERICA!! There are a few things that those who have recently come to our country, and apparently some native [...]