On 25 May 1943, Army Air Base Headquarters, Kearney,
Nebraska issued Special Order #103 directing movement of the Flight
Echelon of the 100th Bombardment Group (H) to Bangor, Maine and thence to
England. After seven months of organization, combat training (to use the
term somewhat loosely) and some just plain rusting away, we finally were
going to war.Also, but certainly unsuspected
by any member of the Group, the 100th was now launched on its flight into
history as the "Bloody Hundredth" one of the most famed Air Force units of
World War II. The purpose of these few pages is not to expound on the
great combat records established by the 100th. That has been adequately
accomplished in other places. Rather, our intent is to demonstrate the
price, in human terms, of these proud records.
Further, our consideration here
is with only those air crew personnel who flew overseas with the Group the "Original" 100th. In no way do
we wish to suggest that somehow the "original" members of the 100th
deserve to be set apart from those who followed. These later crews flew to
the same targets, faced the same fears, bailed out in the same skies, and
died the same deaths. They had the same share of heroes and the same share
of goats.It is known that at least 450
replacement crews served with the 100th during the 22 months of its
operational status. But it is beyond the scope of this modest effort to
trace the fate of these some fourthousand men.
The movement overseas was made by
forty aircraft. Five planes were flown by the Group and Squadron
commanders and carried an assortment of maintenance and other ground
personnel plus a few unassigned combat crew members. The remaining thirty
five planes were manned by their regular crews.In early June the Group settled
into its new home at Thorpe Abbots (Station #139) and on 25 June the 100th
flew its first combat mission.. This resulted in the loss of three crews
of the 349th squadron. By 14 October, exactly 109 days after this
initiation into aerial warfare, 27 of these original 35 crews had been
lost. No complete crew of ten finished a tour of twentyfive missions
although parts of eight crews did so.
What follows is a brief summary
of these crews and their fate. These men were my friends and comrades in
arms. I will be forever proud to have known them and to have shared a
great experience with them. It is to these men that this small booklet is
respectfully dedicated.Explanatory Notes
| KIA |
Killed in action |
| KIC |
Killed in crash
(not caused by enemy action). |
| SWA |
Severe wound in
action (Wound sufficient to cause removal from flying status). |
| WIA |
Minor wound in
action (Probably many such wounds were incurred but no complete records of
such are extant). |
| IIC |
Injured in crash |
| POW |
Prisoner of War
(Usually for the duration of the war although some with severe injuries
were returned in exchanges). |
| EVADEES (EVA) |
Men who bailed out
over enemy territory, or crashed landed, but evaded capture and returned
to Allied control. Usually with help of the French undergound. |
| NTERNEES (INT) |
Men who crash
landed in, or bailed out over, neutral countries usually Switzerland or
Sweden. |
| M.A.C.R. |
Missing Air Crew
Report. Such a report was made for every aircraft and crew missing in
action. Copies of these reports are on file in the National Archives,
Washington, D.C. These reports with accompanying papers and documents are
of utmost value to the researcher or historian. |
| Crew Positions: |
It should be
understood that considerable swapping of positions occurred among crew
members. We have designated positions as they appear in S.O. #103. Thus,
we may show someone as a Tailgunner although he may have traded positions
with a Waistgunner, etc. during the operational tour. |
SCORE CARD FOR THE ORIGINAL AIR
ECHELON OF THE 100th:
| Killed in action |
77 |
| Severely wounded |
7 |
| Killed in crash |
7 |
| Injured in crash |
3 |
| Prisoners of war |
148 |
| Internees |
17 |
| Evadees |
17 |
| Completed Tour |
57 |
| Transferred |
4 |
| Grounded |
3 |
| Appointed Aviation
Cadet |
2 |
| No Record found |
19 |
| Total |
361 |
For those interested in
percentages, it may be noted that the first seven of the above categories
total 276. Thus, 77% of the original 100th Bomb Group became
casualties ofwar. All but a very few of these occurred in less than four
months of combat time.This may be one reason why
someone once said, "If the guy tells you he flew with the 100th, be nice
to him. He deserves it!"
HEADQUARTERS AIRCRAFT
Crew # A1 -- Aircraft #4258544
| Col |
Howard M. Turner |
Pilot |
-- |
-- |
Transferred to
Wing June 1943 |
| 1st Lt |
Roland T. Knight |
Pilot |
KIA |
15 March 1944 |
Brunswick |
| 1st Lt |
Qmar Gonzales |
Navigator |
POW |
5 November 1943 |
Gelsenkirchen |
| 1st Lt |
Harry H. Tomlin |
Bombardier |
-- |
-- |
-- |
| Capt |
Robert D. McLain |
Group S4 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
| M/Sgt |
John H. Poppe |
Flight Chief |
-- |
-- |
-- |
| T/Sgt |
Charles F. Wright |
Radio |
-- |
-- |
-- |
| S/Sgt |
Thomas A. Madel |
Radio |
-- |
-- |
-- |
| 2nd Lt |
Stanley J. Miller |
Bomb Sight Maint. |
-- |
-- |
-- |
| M/Sgt |
Edwin S. Seidel |
Flight Chief |
-- |
-- |
-- |
Crew # A2 Aircraft #425861"Stud Duck"
| Major |
William W. Veal |
Pilot |
-- |
-- |
Transferred to
Wing Autumn 1943 |
| Capt |
Albert C. Persons |
Pilot |
CPT |
-- |
-- |
| M/Sgt |
Ralph Richards |
Line Chief |
-- |
-- |
-- |
| M/Sgt |
Elwood E. Park |
Flight Chief |
-- |
-- |
-- |
| T/Sgt |
Que E. Booth |
Armament |
-- |
-- |
-- |
| T/Sgt |
Elmer Most |
Bomb Sight Maint. |
-- |
-- |
-- |
| 1st Lt |
Alfred A. Fahlstedt |
Bombardier |
CPT |
-- |
-- |
| M/Sgt |
Marvin Williams |
Group S3 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
| Cpl |
John J. Kovacs |
Radio |
KIA |
6 March 1944 |
Berlin |
| -- |
-- |
ATC Navigator |
-- |
-- |
-- |
Crew # A3 -- Aircraft #4229738
| Major |
Gale W. Cleven |
Pilot |
POW |
8 October 1943 |
Bremen |
| Capt |
Richard A. Carey |
Pilot |
POW |
25 July 1943 |
Warnemunde/Kiel |
| M/Sgt |
Louis A. Hays |
Parachute Rigger |
-- |
-- |
-- |
| M/Sgt |
Harry H. McMillion |
Line Chief |
-- |
-- |
-- |
| M/Sgt |
Albert S. Strain |
Flight Chief |
-- |
-- |
-- |
| M/Sgt |
William M. Jackson |
Radio |
-- |
-- |
-- |
| T/Sgt |
Lawrence Bowa |
Bomb Sight Maint. |
-- |
-- |
-- |
| Major |
Laurence S. Jennings |
Group Surgeon |
-- |
-- |
-- |
| 2nd Lt |
Robert V. Kaiser |
CoPilot |
-- |
-- |
-- |
Next
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