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President's Corner Published in the October 2007 Ragged Irregular The passing of the president’s job from Ed Gates to me is exciting to say the least. Ed has done more then his share of work for the 91st BGMA. The well planned reunions in Tacoma and Colorado Springs are two examples of his accomplishments. For those that don’t know me, my name is Jim Shepherd and my wife is Suzi Shepherd, daughter of Wayne “Tex” Frye, 323rd. We have been associate members from 1992 and last year, we became Full Life Members. We maintain the web page for the 91st, www.91stbombgroup.com and have attended all the reunions since 1992. In addition, we have established a memorial at the Planes of Fame Museum in Chino California and held several Rally Rounds there. In the next two years, I intend to: · Have some historic items of the 91st transferred to the Air Force Museum Dayton, and have them placed in such a way that future research can be conducted there.· Have each officer of the group supplied with a backup person to assist them.+Steve Perri will receive assistance from Gary Hall in mailing the R.I. each quarter. +Jake Howland, Historian will receive assistance from Ray McIlwain, son of James McIlwain 401st, in reviewing and scanning the old boxes of records of the 91st. If anyone else is interested in helping, please contact Jake. +Asay Johnson will have backup help from Jody Kelly, daughter of Bob Dickson, 322nd. + Request that Ed Gates and 1st VP Mick Hanou, Full Life Member, be our Liaison to the Tower Museum and other interested parties in England and Europe. Ed has been very involved the past 4 years with this group and Mick has many contacts over there. We will be looking for someone to assume the responsibilities of the PX. I will write an outline of the duties of the PX manager and send it to those interested in taking on this task. This job is open to Full and Associate members. We had several suggestions on where to hold the next reunion, but the bi-laws state that it must be held in the west. We are currently looking at southern or central California. We have been invited to have a Rally Round at Minot AFB in North Dakota next July and/or a Rally Round at the planes of Fame Museum in Chino California in May. The 91st Space Wing based at Minot, is the existing extension of the 91st Bomb Group. They are interested in being more connected and carrying on the tradition of the 91st BG. Those interested in either of the 2 above activities, please let me know. Need someone to type stories from the veteran members so they can be placed on the web page. Last but not least, we are amazed at the number of small separate memorials in England and Europe. A visitor to the reunion was Tony Goddard from Wincanton Town England. There is a memorial there for “Old Faithful” and I believe we should recognize their support by listing them under memorial on the web page. I am requesting that Bob Friedman collect photos and information on each one. Your new President, Jim Shepherd Ps. the web page is under “Reconstruction” and should be back up to speed by October 15th.
_________________________________________________________________________________________ President's Corner Published in the July 2007 Ragged Irregular We are moving forward with the planning for the 2008 Reunion for the 91st BGMA. The location will be in Southern California and very likely, around Disneyland. This could be the perfect time to bring your kids or grandkids to the reunion because our schedule is for the end of June 2007. As the planning progresses, we have many options for interesting, fun events; The Nixon Library, The Huntington library, a major league baseball game with the California Angeles, lunch at the Plane of Fame Air Museum (where the 91st has a display), of course Disneyland and a trip along the California Coast. John “Jake” Howland has been working diligently on the old boxes of 91st Historic items and has developed CD’s with information about the 91st Bomb Group. The following is a list of the items covered: CD of Squadron Daily reports of the 322nd, 323rd, 324th and 401st Squadrons of the 91st. CD of Eighty five stories written by the veterans, relating to the 91st Bomb Group. CD Listing Casualties of the 91st Bomb Group. CD Memoirs of a Pathfinder Navigator. CD 114 pictures honoring fallen fliers, Opijnen, The Netherlands. DVD Flying the Atlantic 1943 and D-Day Attack by the 8th Air Force. DVD OBOE Describes World War II Blind Bombing Technique. DVD Omaha Beach in Retrospect. DVD Memorial Day Opijnen Holland dedicating unique monument to fallen fliers (in Dutch). The following is a list of some of the museums receiving the above items: Mighty 8th Museum Wright Patterson Museum Air Force Academy, Librarian Museum of Flight, Seattle Loan Star Flight Museum Planes of Fame Air Museum Tower Museum (being delivered by Mick Hanou) Base Library, McChord AFB If you would like to contact Jake, his e-mail address is 191 Parker St, Carthage, TX 75633 or his e-mail address, John Howland, howland5@sbcglobal.net THE BIG EVENT THIS YEAR is at Minot Air Force Base in Minot North Dakota. From 5 - 10 September 2007, The 91st SRWA is having their reunion and includes the 91st Space Wing and the 91st Bomb Group Memorial Association. The Air Force “THUNDERBIRDS” and a host of other shows and demonstrations will be there for us to enjoy. There will be a display for the 91st BGMA. For an application or other information, please contact me or call me at 714-970-5540 Regards, Jim Shepherd
________________________________________________________________ President's Corner Published in the April 2007 Ragged Irregular For those whom have access to computers, the web page is on its way to being fixed. You never know the importance of something until it’s broken. I was always interested in the stories offered by the veterans that are on the web page. We even tell some of the stories to friends or acquaintances of what it really was like in England and Europe from 1942 to 1945. Some of the stories are humorous and some are very sad. My favorites are “The Million Dollar Seat” by Edwin Ehret and the “Unauthorized D-Day Mission” by Jim McPartlin. Edwin writes how he had a million dollar seat to see the invasion, and Jim Tells how he was ordered to fly a general over the invasion and almost lost his seat. John “Jake” Howland our “Historian” is really doing a terrific job. He is working with Lonna McKinley at National Museum of the United States Air Force, Wright-Paterson AFB and they have accepted his historic offerings. They are on CD’s and offer the following information: 85 veteran stories from the web “Stories from the 91st”. The Daily Reports for the 4 Squadrons Casualties Report (which is on the web page) We must be careful not to send memorabilia to the National Museum of the United States Air Force, Wright-Paterson AFB. Jake should clear anything you might want to offer because he and Ed Gates is our liaison with the museum. If we send too many items, they might just be stored away and never seen. However, some items might be directed to the Planes of Fame Museum because we do have a memorial there and their plans include a research center. My wife Suzi & I are making sure the memorial is well done and we are working on getting a display case, just for the 91st items. The 91st Strategic Reconnaissance Wing Association is holding a Rally Round at Minot AFB in North Dakota from September 5 to 10, 2007. The 91st BGMA has been invited because we are the 1st Generation of the 91st. The 91st Space Wing (third generation) will have a “Northern Neighbors Day” that includes the “Air Force Thunderbirds”. If you wish for more information, call or write me and I will mail the application to you. Jim Shepherd 20670 Via Augusto Yorba Linda, Ca. 92887 714-970-5540 e-mail address:
________________________________________________________________ President's Corner Published in the January 2007 Ragged Irregular Now it's 2007, 60 years after the Army Air Corp became the United States Air Force and 65 years after the 91st Bomb Group was formed and later based at Bassingbourn. The interest that continues to be generated via the web page and the 91st Ring, is amazing. Jake Howland has started reviewing the content of the records that have been in the possession of the past Historians and purchased a scanner to provide copies for those interested now and in the future. He is attempting to make contact with the museum at Wright Patterson. He is asking if they are capable of receiving and storing the archive of the 91st, that include Mike Banta's Ringmaster archives. We will keep you advised of the decision. The web page problem has not been corrected. I will hire a professional to find the problem and correct. My son & I are at a loss. As Jake Howland says about the web page, "It is a very important link with the world and must be fixed. The 91st Space Wing will be having their Reunion September 5 to 10, 2007. They have requested the 91st BGMA have a Rally Round at Minot, ND on those dates. The USAF Thunderbirds will perform and September 8. Anyone interested in attending, please let me know. They would like to link-up with the veterans of the 91st to show the pride of past, current and future members of the 91st, whether it's the 91st BG, or the 91st Space Wing. It's a chance to show the airman of today, why they should continue the proud name of the 91st. I have requested information on all memorials for the 91st, in addition to the ones on the web page. There are many gravesites in England and in Europe that receive personal care, but we do not list them or give personal credit to the dedicated people that care for these grave side or markers. Please contact Bob Friedman or me, with the information. We are looking to have the 2008 Reunion in June as this will allow some members to bring their school age children to the reunion. Jim Shepherd ________________________________________________________________ President's Corner Published in the October 2006 Ragged Irregular The passing of the president’s job from Ed Gates to me is exciting to say the least. Ed has done more then his share of work for the 91st BGMA. The well planned reunions in Tacoma and Colorado Springs are two examples of his accomplishments. For those that don’t know me, my name is Jim Shepherd and my wife is Suzi Shepherd, daughter of Wayne “Tex” Frye, 323rd. We have been associate members from 1992 and last year, we became Full Life Members. We maintain the web page for the 91st, www.91stbombgroup.com and have attended all the reunions since 1992. In addition, we have established a memorial at the Planes of Fame Museum in Chino California and held several Rally Rounds there. In the next two years, I intend to: Have some historic items of the 91st transferred to the Air Force Museum Dayton, and have them placed in such a way that future research can be conducted there. · Have each officer of the group supplied with a backup person to assist them.+Steve Perri will receive assistance from Gary Hall in mailing the R.I. each quarter. +Jake Howland, Historian will receive assistance from Ray McIlwain, son of James McIlwain 401st, in reviewing and scanning the old boxes of records of the 91st. If anyone else is interested in helping, please contact Jake. +Asay Johnson will have backup help from Jody Kelly, daughter of Bob Dickson, 322nd. + Request that Ed Gates and 1st VP Mick Hanou, Full Life Member, be our Liaison to the Tower Museum and other interested parties in England and Europe. Ed has been very involved the past 4 years with this group and Mick has many contacts over there. We will be looking for someone to assume the responsibilities of the PX. I will write an outline of the duties of the PX manager and send it to those interested in taking on this task. This job is open to Full and Associate members. We had several suggestions on where to hold the next reunion, but the bi-laws state that it must be held in the west. We are currently looking at southern or central California. We have been invited to have a Rally Round at Minot AFB in North Dakota next July and/or a Rally Round at the planes of Fame Museum in Chino California in May. The 91st Space Wing based at Minot, is the existing extension of the 91st Bomb Group. They are interested in being more connected and carrying on the tradition of the 91st BG. Those interested in either of the 2 above activities, please let me know. Need someone to type stories from the veteran members so they can be placed on the web page. Last but not least, we are amazed at the number of small separate memorials in England and Europe. A visitor to the reunion was Tony Goddard from Wincanton Town England. There is a memorial there for “Old Faithful” and I believe we should recognize their support by listing them under memorial on the web page. I am requesting that Bob Friedman collect photos and information on each one. Your new President, Jim Shepherd Ps. the web page is under “Reconstruction” and should be back up by year end. ________________________________________________________________ President's Corner Published in the July 2006 Ragged Irregular I write with a bitter-sweet feeling on this, my last opportunity to share my views with you as your President, it has been an honor to be of service to you. On the return trip from Europe, I savored the sweetness of being able to report to you how well regarded we are in many, many quarters and planned to start writing this over the past weekend. News of Earl Pate's death put other thoughts in ;the forefront. Earl and I exchanged three recent communications including two during my three week absence in Europe.
We shared immense respect for the 91st Bomb Group and the service that all
of you provided 60 plus years ago to our fellowmen. Those of us who survive
have lost a good friend and a stalwart supporter of the 91st BGMA. As many of
you know from personal contact, Earl always went the extra mile to help anyone
with matters relating to service in the 91st BG or support of the BGMA. God
speed, good friend.
I'll briefly mention some of the items your officers covered in our
quarterly Conference Call on 6 May 06. We are working towards establishing a
location for the archives of the 91st Bomb Group; I have written to Gen.
Metcalf at the National USAF Museum at WPAFB suggesting they would be the
logical choice because of the presence of our B-17's Shoo, Shoo, Shoo Baby
and - now - the Memphis Belle, and because of their exceptional
capability (and assured funding) to provide for scholarly research and to
manage archives. Other matters included our improved contacts with the 303rd
BGMA and the 91st Space Wing at
Minot with whom I will be visiting 6-8
July. Planning for the Colorado Springs Reunion seems to be going well; now
you need to identify the events in which you would be interested so we can
firm up transportation services. Make room reservations directly with the
Sheraton. Let's make this another great Reunion.
In the rest of this Page, let me share with you some impressions of the high regard in which we are held in the areas I visited in Europe. I am well aware that the courtesies that were extended to me were not because of who I am, but rather in honor of you; I thanked our many gracious hosts in your behalf. The prestige of the 91st Bomb Group is alive and vibrant. I was especially reminded that those who pay their respects are not of my age group. but of generation or two later. I usually wore my (Tacoma reunion) cap emblazoned with our emblem, reference to our arrival at Bassingbourn and that glorious B-17 stitched on the side. The trip did cost the BGMA a few wreaths and over $500 of caps, patches, pins, etc. from the PX given to my hosts. Fortunately, I had enough frequent flyer miles to cover most of the trip which permitted me to make a stop-over in Paris from where I drove out to the west coast of France. Figuring I would need a bit of rest after the flight I planned a two-hour drive down to Provins after landing at Paris. I expected to buy a bare-root Rose of Provins which is sold only by the Knights Templar store (forget Da Vinci Code Stuff) supposedly from stock brought back from Palestine in the 12th Century; that rose is on the coat of arms of the House of Lancaster. My grand plan was to give it to the Royston Town Council for the Memorial Garden in honor of our brotherhood with the Lancaster crews. Imagine my surprise when I learned they had only potted plants - a bit of a transport challenge. The rose is so sweet that they make candy and honey form the petals, so I settled for a pot of honey. It was easier to transport on a 2-day nostalgic trip along the Loire Valley to La Baule near St. Nazaire, the train ride back to Paris and on Subsequent flights. As I wrote in April, Alain Charles was my host in western France. We visited memorials at sites of downed B-17's including the 323rd Panhandle Dogie and the Memorial to WW1 and 11 American servicemen in St. Nazaire. We spent an afternoon with Michel Lugez who led the Committee which raised the equivalent of over $500,000 to restore the Memorial which had been destroyed by the Germans in 1941. Michel, who had witnessed the crash of the 303re BG's Snap, Crackle, Pop, then spent over 20 years of his life cataloguing data on crash sites in France of 777 Eight Air Force B-17"s plus over 300 other aircraft including personal interviews with eye-witnesses, crew identities and pictures in loose-leaf notebooks. Alain, his successor as President of the Association, is striving to put it all in the web in French and English; the technical part is basically completed and about half of the aircraft are entered, but translation and entry costs are high and I will seek help form other sources like the Museum at WPAFB, The 8th AF Historical Society and some of the BGMA's. Alain spent more than two days escorting me around the "Love Coast". (The Cote d'Amour is a play on words adopted in 1911 after southern France called themselves the Cote d'Azur). We visited the St. Nazaire sub-pens which cost many 91st lives. What particularly impressed me was the honor that the citizens of the area have paid to us since we killed more than 100 French men, woman and children in our efforts to destroy the sub-pens. You might want to remember that the next time someone makes a snide remark about France of some self-appointed authority decries "collateral damage". Surprise!! People do value freedom. My next stop in your behalf after France was at Bassingbourn where I was (to my surprise) the guest of the Army Training Regiment for four days. (I remembered more about the bike rides I took to Letchworth and beyond - perhaps to "get away" - then about the Base). The Base is now redecorating some rooms in honor of the 91st thanks to the inspiration of former base commander Lt. Col. Nick Richardson supported by our old faithful friend Vince Hemmings: Nick was kind enough to come up from London (where he is assigned to Ministry of Defense) to say "Hello". I met with Maj. Hamish MacPherson, the President of the Mess Council (PMC), and his predecessor, Maj. Louise Mallin, who was the initial project officer, and presented some photos contributed by Joe Harlick, videos from Jake Howland, some patches and pins from our PX, a couple of lithographs and other items: in July Mick Hanou will take a copy of "Curly" Havelaar's fine history of the 91st to them for the Mess library. There are numerous memorabilia about the 91st decoration Mess walls particularly in the Bar. Even in the VIP suite there is a picture of Nine-O-Nine to which I contributed some explanatory info about the exemplary efforts of MSgt Rollin Davis and his crew. Our trusty Editor of The Ragged Irregular - Steve Perri in case you had forgotten - still graces the wall of the bar next to some fellow named Clark Gable. I was asked to speak to the officers and ladies abut "Combat and Leadership" and showed some flak and 20 mm shells that Rudy Steele had given to me. I pointed out that in the bar they have a picture of Rudy in review before Gen. Eisenhower in front of Yankee Doodle. The Prop Memorial looks great after the refurbishing arranged by David Crow last year. The old Nissan hut is still being used as a Chapel and I attended on Sunday. Major Hamish MacPherson (he's of Scotch ancestry, did you guess?), my host as the PMC, provided a well-organized, cordial and generous reception to me as your representative. Lt. Col. Nigel Smith who had just taken over command two months before my arrival made me extremely welcome; hopefully we established a rapport which will enable our future Presidents of the BGMA to stay in contact. A visit to Duxford Air Museum which I had asked Vince Hemmings to arrange in hopes I could mention the hopes of the 91st BGMA that the Bassingbourn Tower could be supported grew into much more. Some (as yet unknown to me) person arranged for a local flying club to provide an aircraft in which a volunteer RAF pilot flew men from Bassingbourn with a few turns around the area to Duxford. TV coverage started at the Tower and continued at Duxford sitting in the Sally B, the only airworthy B-17 in the UK; it provided an opportunity to encourage attendance at the Tower museum while talking about your contributions to victory in WW11. Because it was a Bank Holiday weekend I did not have much chance to discuss cooperation with the Duxford Air Museum, but I did have a thoroughly enjoyable tour in the company of Air Commodore Peter Thorn (a contemporary of ours) and Duxford Associate Keith Boswell. The Bassingbourn Tower museum is open but attendance is limited for various reasons. I had a frank discussion with EAAS Chairman Ray Jude, Vice-Chair Chris Murphy and Secretary Mike Killaspy. Your Board will be discussing in our next Conference Call on August 12th how we might help and I will be reporting at the Colorado Springs Reunion. More on that in later issue of The Ragged Irregular. Exhibits are attractive and in good condition, the radiation problem has been solved and the Museum has been designated as an historical preserved site. While Ray says they have only six active members of EAAS, there is hope. Chris Murphy was especially helpful; he met me in a base staff car at London airport for the drive to Bassingbourn, toured Bassingbourn and our monuments, and at Royston showed a film that he has produced on Bassingbourn and two nearby bases. Chris hopes to attend our Reunion and I have asked him to bring the film with him. (We'll find an hour to show it for it is very well done; if you had not planned to attend, this may push you to make the effort). Vince Hemmings had arranged a visit with the Royston Town Council with interviews by the local media. The newly elected Mayor, Lin Berry, honored the 91st BG in her first public ceremony. Paul Limm had provided a lovely floral display for Celia Walpole, the retiring Clerk of the Royston Council, who has rendered many services for us over the years. I presented her with a 91st pin and that pot of honey from the Rose of Province - "sweets for the sweet". We must have done good because I noted a bit of moisture in her eyes; the Royston fog hangs around, you know. I was joined by fellow 91sters Chris Goodwin and John Bunch in laying our wreath at the memorial marker in the Garden. Laying the wreath at Madingley Cemetery on Memorial Day was a Moving Experience. Lt. Col. Nigel Smith and his wife, Laura, invited me to join them on the trip over since he was also laying one of the 141 wreaths. Vince had obtained seats for us directly in front of the spot at which we were to lay the wreath at the Wall of the Missing close to the names of three of our former comrades; I did not have very far to hobble and Chris Goodwin again participated. Memorial services included some excellent thoughts by the U.S. Ambassador and a military Chaplain, a missing-man formation and flyovers of a Spitfire, C-47 and the Sally B. At her request, I had the opportunity to have a delightful chat with Mrs. Ellinore Sallingboe (in case you wondered where "Sally B" came from), the owner of the B-17, and presented her with a 91st patch and a 324th pin since the right side nose art on her aircraft is still that of the Memphis Belle from the movie making. )AI shared with her that not everybody is lucky enough to be in the 323rd). My last stop in your behalf was in Innsbruck, Austria, to thank Dr. Jakob Mayer for his research for a memorial that was dedicated last year to Lt. Henry Supchak's crew from the 323rd that avoided a village when crashing Priority Gal nearby on 31 Jul 44. The village of Neustift had long honored the crew and a local mountain guide and hotel owner, Mr. Haas, had many items including some damaged parts from the B-17 in a "hut" where he had been staying with his grandmother when Priority Gal crashed nearby. He was 10 years old at the time and still has scars on his leg from debris and vivid memories of the burning wreckage on the mountain stream. The Memorial erected by him last year was reported on the "Ring". Oh yes, that "hut" in which he lived during the summer to watch the cows and goats which were pastured at higher altitude, is now a lovely rest stop on a mountain hiking trail with a couple of suites and rooms and a dining room in which he served us a huge buffet. He offered us rooms for the night at $30 when we were paying over $100 at Garmisch; there was a lot of "eating your heart out" going on and my son called his wife that night in hopes they could visit later. The next day a friend of Jakob's, the Austrian consul in Philadelphia, told us that the Stubai Valley province (where Neustift is) was the only one in Austria to vote overwhelmingly against annexation by Hitler in the 1930's. Then there were those incidents brought on by seeing my cap. The lady in Paris who insisted that I go ahead of her in line for a cab. Two Brits at London/Stansted airport who asked about the B-17 and chatted about ;what we did for them; they were on holiday to visit a former prison camp in Germany. A US Soldier we on the bus in Stuttgart insisted that my grandson, Steven, call him if I needed anything. An Air Force Colonel Rick Modell, son of 323rd member Bob Modell said - sigh him up as a member after we chatted at Stuttgart. Young people who want to remember! It inspires me to continue a vibrant 91st BGMA as the best "living memorial" around. To you of the next generations, Mick Hanou has specifically asked you to contact him if you would like to help at the Hospitality Room of in any other way at the Colorado Springs Reunion. The old crews are going home; we need new ones to continue the missions. There are so very many people to thank - especially Vince Hemmings, who honored your service and made my trip a delight. Thank you for the opportunity to represent the 91st BGMA. See you in Colorado Springs. Your President Ed Gates ________________________________________________________________ Published in the April 2006 Ragged Irregular
Preparations for Reunion '06 in Colorado
Springs are moving along with finalization of the Events Brochure that you
will see as an insert. We will try to offer a wider range of types of events
and prices in hopes of appealing to our growing participation of younger
members. What a great time to bring some grandchildren who may be in Home
Schooling or an Advanced Study program in public or private schools; it should
be easy to justify the time on history, geography, geology or just
"interviewing" WW II vets.
Your officers
had our quarterly Conference Call in February with the participation of our
officer nominees and advisors. We discussed the move of the Memphis Belle to
the AF Museum at WPAFB, Ohio, and the implications it has for the history of
the 91st BG. Joe Harlick reported on the By-Laws and officer candidates (as
reported elsewhere in the RI). We discussed the importance of the PX to
the BGMA and the critical need for expeditious handling of orders to preserve
the good name of the 91st BGMA and insure furthering of our heritage as well
as a service to our members. We reviewed the recent information from the East
Anglia Aviation Society, my e-mail exchanges with their new Chairman, Ray
Jude, and the able assistance of Steve Pena, the Tower Museum curator, and
questions regarding future funding for the Museum. Ace reported that we have
271 Life Members, 113 Life Associate Members and 502 Full and Associate
Members of whom 210 were paid-up for 2006 at that time. (His
"reach-out" letter brought in more than 100 more dues since then.)
With well over 600 Life and paid-up Members, competent officers, satisfactory
bank balances and a joy for life, we can look ahead to quite a few
years of an active BGMA. We are reaching out to younger folks who would
like to support our tradition among our descendents, AFROTC's, readers of the
website and those who have been helped by the "Ring." A vibrant 91st
BGMA is the best "living memorial" we can leave for the service of
the 91st Bomb Group.
We are following
with great interest the renovation of the Memphis Belle at the AF
Museum at WPAFB. Unfortunately many of the instruments and other items were
stolen before it left Memphis, but Earl Pate is working on trying to locate
some of the items by a newspaper appeal and Tennessee National Guard
assistance. I have written to Charles Metcalf, Maj. Gen, USAF (ret), Museum
Director, to assure him of the desire of the 91st BGMA to participate in its
eventual display as the centerpiece of their WW II program. We have also
offered to make the Museum the repository for the 91st BGMA archives. I have
encouraged the Museum to take the opportunity to highlight the joint
contribution of the 91st, 303rd, 305th and 306th as the "Four
Horsemen" who first arrived to form the 8th Air Force; we have been
supported by the 303rd, so far.
On a personal
note, I will be going to Europe in the latter half of May. I'll take the
opportunity to stay at Bassingbourn Barracks and talk with the Command about
our contribution to decoration of a couple of rooms honoring the 91st in the
Mess; they have also invited me to chat with the sub-alterns about our WWII
experiences (since I can not remember much about my own, I'll try not to be
too inaccurate about yours). With Vince Hemmings' able assistance I'll meet
with the Town Council of Royston to express our appreciation for their
memorial to us and lay the Memorial Day wreath at Madingley Cemetery. I have
offered to meet with Ray Jude and any of the officers of the EAAS that he
wishes to visit the Tower Museum and discuss their financial needs; so far, he
has not fixed a time. I will also visit with Alain Charles and Michel Lugez at
La Baule, France, near St. Nazaire, who have led the French
Association which has been active for many years in memorializing sites of
downed B-17's; the Association made a huge gift to the Mighty Eighth Museum in
Savannah in honor of "The Four Horsemen" for our bombings of the
sub-pens (which did not destroy the pens, but did disrupt the German
U-boat attacks on shipping supporting the landings in North Africa). My
gracious USAF son, Eric, who is stationed in Stuttgart, will also drive me to
Innsbruck to thank Jakob Mayer for the memorial that was dedicated last year
to Lt. Henry Supchak's crew from the 323rd that avoided a village when
crashing nearby on 31 Jul 44.
Be sure to read with care the Reunion
Brochure so beautifully done by Steve and Nancy Perri. (As the
"planner" I dutifully take the blame for any errors in scheduling
and/or for taxing your abilities to figure out what you want to and can do.)
Pick and choose, but do try to attend ! The Hospitality Room will be managed
by Mick Hanou.
Hope you all spent meaningful holidays.
God bless, Pres. Ed
Published in the January 2006 Ragged Irregular
Hope all of you wonderful 91sters and
friends had some delightful holidays and are now preparing for a glorious
2006. We look towards moving our Association into the era when more
responsibility will be assumed by our dedicated younger members. Please read
the proposed changes to the By-Laws and participate in the voting for our new
set of officers during this year.
Plans are developing
nicely for Reunion 2006 in Colorado Springs on Wed. 13 Sep thru Sat. 16 Sep
06. Looks like we will receive excellent support from the local Visitors'
Bureau as we did for Reunion 2002 in Tacoma. Please check the details
elsewhere in The Ragged Irregular and start planning your visit. I hope
to see many of you at the "Not-so-gala Reception" on Wednesday
from 5 to 7+ since the price is right - free; Mick Hanou will be our
Hospitality Room manager.
Your officers
participated in our quarterly Conference Call on 12 November. We are still
planning for closer contact with the 91st Space Wing at Minot AFB, North
Dakota and I will probably be visiting their "open house" in August;
any interest in a Rally Round? Earl Pate reported on the progress at WPAFB in
restoration of The Memphis Belle and his efforts to get the Memphis
media to appeal for return of any of the parts that may have been removed. We
reviewed the final draft of proposed changes to the By-Laws. We discussed some
serious problems that occurred in the PX complicated by all the hurricane
warnings and hits and, as you may have seen on the web site (or elsewhere in
this RI), have had to cancel orders placed prior to 1 Oct 05; please be
patient with the attempt to reconstruct orders and get shipments out. Note
that arrangements have been made to offer the 2006 calendars directly
from the publisher.
Since the Conference
Call we have had some interesting contacts with some of the organizations
which support the 91st BGMA. Vince Hemmings continues to donate generously of
his time and abilities in England and recently sent an update on the Priory
Gardens and Museum at Royston as many of you noted on "The Ring."
The EAAS (East Anglia Aviation Society) recently held an election to - among
other things - choose a successor to Ray Jude who has been the able interim
President after the untimely death of Peter Roberts; they are still working to
overcome the problems of radium contamination at the Tower Museum. Jake
Howland recently donated to the Tower Museum some of his CD's for sale to help
them raise funds. We continue to explore possibilities that the restoration of
the Memphis Belle at the Museum at WPAFB may afford. The Museum may
be interested in being a permanent repository of the 91st BGMA historical
records; I have the details on the Museum's policy.
This would in no way conflict with our
cooperation with Chino in California nor the 91st Space Wing at Minot AFB, ND,
to develop display of unit history. I have encouraged the Museum to use the
display of the Belle as an opportunity to highlight the significance
of the Four Horsemen - 91st, 303rd, 305th and 306th - as the beginning of the
Eighth Air Force and have been supported by the 303rd in a letter to the
Director.
Include your officers
in your prayers. We need it. God bless you one and all.
Pres. Ed
Published in the October 2005 Ragged Irregular
Happy Halloween, everybody. (That seems
appropriate since I find I don't need masks any longer to scare the
celebrants.) Life does go on, in spite of the dire events along the Gulf
Coast. Our prayers and help from many of you went out to those who suffered
losses. We can be really proud of the contributions of our Air Force and the
other services to the solution of problems that have, literally, engulfed
our fellow citizens. Jake Howland writes that the D-Day Museum was
vandalized and notes that it is a pertinent reminder of the need to find a
formal repository for valued documents of the 91st.
As noted elsewhere in this issue, we
are in contact with M/Gen. Metcalf, the director of the Air Force Museum at
Wright-Patterson AFB, regarding display of The Memphis Belle. Earl
Pate is our point of contact for on-going "participation" in
development of the display - if we can have an input.
We have also resumed the dialogue with
the 91st Space Wing at Minot AFB regarding possibility of developing a Unit
history display. I recently suggested to Col. Adams, 91st SW Commanding
Officer, that we might like to have a Rally Round in August 2006 in
conjunction with their Northern Neighbors Day air show. I have also invited
him to be our guest at our Reunion 2006 in Colorado Springs. Jim Bard,
Secretary of the 91st Strategic Recon Wing Memorial Group, has been
energetic in continuing to encourage this idea; many of you met Jim and his
wife at Reunion 2004 in Alexandria, Va. We have established contact
with the new 91st Space Wing Base Historian whose first day on the job was 6
Sep 05, thanks to a recent visit Jim made to Minot. The B-52 Memorial
Association will be meeting at Minot in 2006, too. We have asked that the
91st Space Wing develop a plan and tell us what they would like in the way
of contributions from our members; maybe we could deliver "the
payload" if we have a Rally Round there.
Your Board had a quarterly Conference
Call on 13 Aug 05. We reviewed the proposed changes to the By-Laws which
will be disseminated soon for your vote. Joe Harlick, our Chairman of the
Nominations Committee, has received nominations for all offices, but
would be happy to hear from any of you who would like to step up. Joe will
be announcing the candidates in the April Ragged Irregular. Our
finances continue strong under the loving care of Secretary/Treasurer Ace
Johnson. We added another $160 contribution to the Memorial Maintenance Fund
for one of the signed lithographs, "The Ruhr Valley Raiders," plus
a donation by the purchaser who saw my cap with the B-17 on it, made the
mistake of talking to me, checked our website and we all gained something. Our
Historian, Jake Howland, reported on contacts with the folks in Europe who
so generously represent us at Memorial services. We also discussed word from
Mr. Jakob Mayer of a new memorial which has been erected near Innsbruck to
the crew of a 323rd aircraft, "Priority Gal," where the crew
avoided the town in a crash landing; more on that later but unfortunately
the communication arrived just a week after the passing of the last crew
member, co-pilot John Karlac.
We concluded with some discussion of
Reunion 2006 in Colorado Springs. I will be meeting with Sam Newton in
Colorado Springs later this month on a tour of facilities. Ace has done a
lot of "leg work" - should we say "finger work" on the
phone and e-mail with the Chamber and Hotels interested in hosting us. Your
Board decided to plan for the last half of September 2006 to avoid Labor Day
weekend and get better rates. For those of you worried about the
temperature, so far in September this year the highs have been 15 degrees
warmer in Colorado Springs and the lows 5-10 degrees above those in Tacoma.
So get your knit hats out, buy your oxygen bottle (8000' in the Springs and
14,000 on Pike's Peak) and get ready for another great Reunion. We will have
details for you in the January R.I.
Keep 'em flying, Ed Gates
____________________________________________________________________________ Published in the July 2005 Ragged Irregular
Your officers had our quarterly
Conference Call on 14 May and helped me celebrate nearly three months of
exceptional recovery of my wife, Joan, from her auto accident. We
deeply appreciate your prayers, calls and letters - some from friends we
did not know in England. We are busily "sniffing the roses" that
we may have been in danger of missing in doing all those oh-so-important
things that seem to consume our lives. Holding hands is still good stuff.
In our Conference Call I reviewed a
video of work being done on the "Memphis Belle" last fall by the
local Committee that was sent to us by one of our members. Earl Pate is
still following the situation to express our concern that "our"
airplane is safeguarded for future generations. We also discussed a call
received from a reporter in England, Peter Almond, who was writing about
the grounding of the B-17 "Sally B" which flew out of Duxford
for Memorial Day celebrations in the past, as well as other events; it has
been grounded because of very expensive insurance required for private
aircraft by a recent European Union ruling. The French owners of a flyable
B-17 are ignoring the ruling - but then they subsequently expressed their
less than enthusiasm for the EU Constitution and their own beloved
President Chirac.
Our finances continue solid even
though the "Folded Wings" tells a story of missing participants
in the future. We finally received the bill for the lengthy restoration
and detail work on the Prop Memorial which will reduce our separate
Memorial Maintenance Fund to about $4000, so if you know anyone who would
like to display a lithograph of the "Ruhr Valley Raiders" I
still have a couple of the signed ones with the brochures for $140 or the
unsigned ones for $90 including S&H. We just had our High School
Graduations here in Tacoma and one of our schools had 5 recipients
of scholarships to military service schools - Air Force Academy, Academy
prep School, West Point (USMA), Naval Academy and Coast Guard. Their ROTC
program deserves a present of a copy of the lithograph, so I'll
"buy" one and we will benefit with the proceeds going to our
Memorial Maintenance Fund. How about you trying for a similar "double
duty" gift?
We discussed the proposed By-Laws
revisions that address officers' responsibilities as we look to the future
of the organization. Joe Harlick, our Nominations and By-Laws chairman,
will be encouraging you to maintain your interest and participation in the
months ahead. Hope the next generation of 91st BGMA are thinking of how
they will make things even better. Along that line, as if they didn't
contribute enough already with the web site, Jim and Suzi Shepherd
sponsored another great Rally Round at Chino; I had hoped to attend, but
Joan's not quite ready for me to run off for a weekend as she transitions
from the wheelchair to a walker. What was your excuse?
We try to always look at the future
while honoring the past. Jake Howland brought us up to date on the
Memorial Day plans in England and on the Continent and you will see
reports elsewhere of the wonderful efforts of our friends abroad on our
behalf. Vince Hemmings noted that they had one of the worst rain storms he
had seen in England on Memorial Day but that the line waiting to enter the
Cemetery was some two miles long in spite of the weather; three cheers for
such dedicated friends. Bet you did not read that in the media!
As for the future, Ace Johnson and I
- with noble assistance from Sam Newton - are moving forward on plans for
the 2006 reunion in Colorado Springs. There is an Academy football game
scheduled for 2 Sep (Labor Day weekend), so we are tentatively planning
the Reunion for Wed, 30 Aug through Sat, 2 Sep.
Keep the engines running, Ed
P.S. - At a subsequent conference call,
your Board decided to change the date of the 2006 Reunion.
The conflict with Labor Day plans seemed to outweigh the desire to see a USAF
Academy football game with an unknown opponent. Also, a consideration was that
the "season" for Colorado Springs runs through mid-month. We decided
to reschedule our Reunion for Wed, 20 Sep through Sat, 23
Sep 2006 (or possibly the prior week if we can get the same
prices for hotel, transportation and events). Apparently that will also
make more hotels interested in working with us. We'll keep you up to date. Ace
and I plan to visit the area this September to check on possible events, tours
and hotels,
____________________________________________________________________________ Published in the April 2005 Ragged Irregular
Your officers had our quarterly
Conference Call on 12 Feb (we remember Lincoln's Birthday, even if our country
seems to have lumped all them Presidents in together).
Thanks to Jim Bard's report from the 91st
Recon Memorial Association I was able to report that the new Commander at the
91st Space Wing at Minot is Col. Dan Adams; I will try to see if he is
interested in re-starting the on-going relationship with his
"grandpa" units. T/Sgt Larry Schomaker is still Historian of their
unit (apparently) and April Kozma remains Chief of Protocol. B/G (now) Mark
Owen has moved on - we know not where as I write. We'll keep pestering them. I
finally got a letter off to the American Battles Monuments about
honoring one of our ground crewmembers in England thanks to the valiant
efforts of Vince Hemmings and Paul Limm.
The status of the location of the Memphis
Belle is still in limbo (and we have our own feelings about which would
be heaven). Earl Pate has talked to the "Committee" in Memphis and
will be our action officer; he hopes to visit the appropriate authorities at
Wright Patterson Museum soon to assess their intentions. We surely do not want
to see this important part of our history deteriorate any more and the
aircraft does legally "belong" to the Air Force.
As always, Ace gave his detailed report
of our finances which are doing fine. The bill for the completion of the
cleaning and retouching of the metal work on the Prop Memorial - which was
completed earlier - will be paid from our Memorial Maintenance Fund. That Fund
is separate and has grown to over $5000; we will be adding proceeds from
a couple of more sales of the "Ruhr Valley Raiders" lithographs
soon. I have more copies if you want to make a gift of one to a local school (AFROTC
maybe) or library.
Even though our finances are doing very
nicely, we are looking at other ways to save money. We discussed the
possibility of sending The Ragged Irregular by e-mail to those of you
who would be willing to receive it in that form which would save us
significantly; Past President Bob Friedman will be working with Steve Perri to
see if it is feasible to develop such a list. Steve and Ace have also done the
paper work to try to get Post Office authority to mail as a non-profit
organization to those who want a hard copy. Nothing is easy, but we are
trying. E-mail to Europe would be especially time-saving and money-saving.
We talked about Membership and Money and
agreed the former are most desirable even though it also helps the latter. I
see a number of young service people at Ft. Lewis and McChord AFB who express
an interest; I always encourage them to look at our wonderful website and sign
up as a member. It is a double benefit if they are in the service because they
help our qualifying numbers with IRS as a military non-profit organization.
Ace reported that as of 12 Feb 61% of our Full Members had paid their dues and
66% of Associates; his follow-up "reach-out" letter in the past has
added about 75% of the "lost souls." In line with our hope to
serve you, First VP Marv Goldberg who doubles as PX Officer is going to offer
some discounts on our 91st goodies including the calendars. Send friends to
our website for bargains.
Finally, we talked a good deal about the
portions of the to-be-proposed By-Laws revisions which deal with
your officers' duties. As we have said over the past year we will be
proposing to make the BGMA less autocratic and more responsive to a strong
Board - your elected officers. Our Chairman of Nominations Joe Harlick will be
out soon beating the bushes for candidates for 2006 and we certainly hope some
of our younger members will be candidates, at least for Second Vice President.
Some of you might want to consider being back-up for Editor of The Ragged
Irregular or Secretary-Treasurer, or Manager of the PX.
If I had any doubts I was reminded
forcibly of how fast our future can change on 17 Feb. My wife of 48 years,
Joan, was involved in an auto accident leaving her with a broken hip, knee
and leg and fractures to her sternum and numerous ribs. She planned very
nicely to be the least bother possible by having the accident while turning
into the Madigan Army Hospital entrance; she is such an accommodating lady.
The wonderful staff at Madigan have taken care of her well and she survived
the hip replacement very well on 23 Feb; they believe the other fractures
will heal in 6-8 weeks though she will be an invalid for that period while the
leg and knee heal. Many of you have much worse problems and less chance of
getting out to feed the ducks this summer, so this is a note of joyful
appreciation, not cause for sympathy for us. Love you all - even if some of
you did vote for that Navy guy who was a candidate. Keep smiling,
ED
_____________________________________________________________________________
Published in the January 2005 Ragged Irregular On
13 Nov 04 your Board held its first Conference Call since the Reunion in On
to the more mundane business of your BGMA in our Conference Call. We reviewed
the "quiet period" at the 91st Space Wing since the departure of Gen.
Mark Owens and agreed to explore more contacts in the New Year when the new
base commander has had a chance to settle into his priorities. I contacted the
American Battle Monuments on identifying one of our own who Vince Hemmings noted
as not being recorded as a member of the 91st when he did his wonderful job of
photographing inscriptions. I reviewed for the Board a recent letter that I sent
to Peter Roberts, Chairman of the East Anglia Aviation Society, regarding our
reunion and our appreciation of their continuing efforts to preserve the Tower
Museum and the artifacts that it enshrines relative to the 91st Bomb Group. Earl
Pate has followed up on communication I had with the Ace
Johnson reported that we are in sound financial condition after a profitable Steve
reported that plans to apply for a non-profit mailing permit are proceeding and
we hope to have approval soon which would cut our costs by half. Since that is
our largest recurring expense, it would help solidify our long term finances. We
are waiting until we have it before we mail out the proposed changes to the
By-Laws. If
you approve, the proposed By-Laws will restructure the BGMA into a Board-managed
organization with the President as the Chief Operating Officer. They will
provide for emergency replacement if I get too cranky or go off the deep end
more than normal; at our age it seems prudent to plan for such an event. Also,
hopefully our Associate Members will be encouraged to be candidates for
office in the near future. Since the PX is now our biggest money raiser some
more formal rules will be proposed in the By Laws for the future. Please
consider them when you receive them in April. If you have any comments on the
draft copy that was available at the Business Meeting at Reunion 2004, please
let me or any of our officers know. Jake
Howland, our new Historian, stressed the desire to have your input to the
Library of Congress project on memoirs of WW II. He can supply you with the
"kit" prepared by the Library. It is a labor of love. It is a reminder
of the monumental effort that "Bud" Evers made in our behalf to get
the basic information of our 91st history in order when we were younger and - at
least some of you - had slightly more accurate memories. Finally,
we discussed Reunion 2006 in We
did all that in under an hour on the phone. We are improving. 'Nuf said. Ed Gates, your Pres. _____________________________________________________________________________ Published in the October 2004 Ragged Irregular
Our quarterly Conference Call of your
officers on 28 Aug 04 covered some updates on our continuing efforts to
develop closer relations with Minot AFB (home of the 91st Space Wing) and the
91st Strategic Recon Memorial Assn, contacts with American Battle Monuments
Commission and the refurbishing of the signs on the Prop Memorial at
Bassingbourn arranged by David Crow of "The Friends of the 91st."
Most of our attention turned to preparations for Reunion 2004 which is covered
so admirably herein and below.
Unlike at the Reunion in Tacoma, I did
remember to thank most of our members who were so helpful at this one. I did
neglect to thank Len Contreras for taking our group photos at the WW II
memorial. The Hospitality Room was such an asset to our fun and games, I do
hope I honored our "barkeeps" - Joe & Jenny Harlick, Ace
Johnson, Earl Pate and Herb (and son) Engender with Mick Hanou and myself
helping where needed. Many of our other members pitched in as we always have.
Even though I tossed kudos at the Banquet, special mention has to go to Nancy
Perri and Judy Williams who monitored Registration and Betty Goldberg who
arranged the lovely banquet decorations. Our unsung hero, Jim (and Suzi)
Shepherd, helped in many ways including many months of keeping the world
advised on the web site which now has over 250,000 hits. Wow!
Our business meeting started and ended on
time and provided an "open mike" for the last hour. Ace Johnson gave
his excellent reports on our finances (noted elsewhere). We received a report
from Vince Hemmings on his complete compilation of photos of all the
91st names on the Wall of the Missing at Cambridge and the finishing of
refurbishing of the Prop Memorial. We discussed and made available copies of
draft changes to the By-Laws to make us a Board-managed organization with the
President as chief executive officer rather than a rather autocratic
organization. If you approve the changes when they are published in the
January Ragged Irregular, we will also have a better chance of bringing
our associate members into leadership positions and perpetuating the 91st BGMA
beyond our dimming years. After the business meeting we were privileged to
meet with Hilary "Bud" Evers, our Historian Emeritus who provided
the basic research on which we all depend for our historical accuracy; we have
such a great tradition that we do not need to claim credit for things that are
not correct. Jake Howland and I are intent on being as accurate as possible
for posterity.
The banquet on Sunday night was attended
by over 200 who enjoyed great food, decor and fellowship. Tony Goddard from
Wincanton, England, told of his city's continuing memorial to the crew members
of "Old Faithful" who spared the city but gave their lives. James
Bard of the 91st Strategic Recon. Memorial Assn. shared his views on how we
hope to develop our mutual heritage. Vince Hemmings delivered greetings from
Royston and others in England and mentioned how diligently the East Anglia
Aviation Society is working to carry on the Tower Museum and other activities
in our behalf. I had the pleasure of presenting my personal Certificates of
Appreciation (Jake Howland's handiwork) to "Bud" Evers, Paul Limm,
Vince Hemmings and our retiring 2nd VP and former editor of The Ragged
Irregular, Phil Mack. Our keynote speaker, M/Gen Ron Bath, from the office
of the Secretary of the Air Force, gave us a terrific view of the
"Future of the USAF" and then was kind enough to join us in the
Hospitality Room afterwards.
What's next? We decided on Colorado
Springs for 2006, probably September. Ace Johnson and I will make
arrangements with Sam Newton already working on securing tickets to an Air
Force Academy football game and Jim Fletcher helping. Nancy Perri and
Judy Williams have agreed to head-up Registration, Betty Goldberg is thinking
up decorations for the banquet and Mick Hanou will be in charge of arranging
coverage for the Hospitality Room. Mike Crossman of the Airmen's Preservation
Society - who had a great display in our Hospitality area - is planning on
attending and James Bard will see if the 91st Strategic Recon is interested in
making it a joint affair. Our keynote speaker, M/Gen. Ron Bath, was either so
impressed with our dedication or recognized we needed help that he volunteered
to assist us with arrangements at the Academy and NORAD.
Start planning now for Reunion 2006.
So much for the "Corner"
staying a corner. Sorry, Steve and Nancy.
Your Pres. Ed Gates
_____________________________________________________________________________
Published
in
the April 2004 Ragged Irregular As we head into summer and glorious weather in the Great Northwest. I hope to spend less time on duty and more on play- including the gardening that I have talked about doing for the past six months. Our house looks out on a marsh next Tule (Native American for "reed") Lake. We have been blessed with daily visits of more than a dozen of those gorgeous Wood Ducks (shy though they are) in addition to our regular contingent of Mallards, red-wing blackbirds, blue jays, Rufous-sided towhees, juncos, chickadees, sparrows, etc. Even a few early hummingbirds have appeared occasionally. So much for the peace that helps to balance election campaign attacks and terrorist news. In our 91st BGMA world, your Board helps our quarterly Conference Call on 14 Feb. Since I "forgot" that it was Valentine’s Day. Some of our board members chose "peace in our time at home" over participating and my wife forgave me-sort of- by now. In spite of my poor planning, we had six participants, including four of our elected officers. Marv Goldberg was good enough to participate from his vacationing spot in Chicago. He updated us on the PX which is now working smoothly and generating significant income for your BGMA- more than replacing the slowly declining income form dues. He has supplied us with an inventory of items and plans to update it periodically. We discussed ongoing matters, Ace gave his normal excellent Treasure’s report in spite of recent events in his life; take a look at his extensive report elsewhere in The Ragged Irregular and let him know one day how much you appreciate all he does for us. I advised the Board of Jake Howland’s progress in confirming our Roll of Honor as developed by Bud Evers work on which Curly Havelaar based his data and I copied in Turner’s book. Jake believes he has few discrepancies. We discussed the Chino Air show, scheduled for 15-16 May which Jim & Suzi Shepherd are going to sponsor as a Rally Round. I plan to stay a couple of days and talk with management about future 91st participation. Look for details elsewhere in the Ragged Irregular and do plan to attend! Thanks to input from Ace and Paul Limm, we have a good feel for the possible impact of our overseas memorials by the recent act of Congress; which says the American Battle Monuments may solve any problems we might have had in maintaining the Prop memorial and other Bassingbourn area memorials, I have written to them to explore the matter. In a related matter, we now have over $4,150 in the Memorial Maintenance Fund with receipt of the royalty check from Turner Pubs for Memoirs of the 91st Bomb Group. We still have copies of the litho of the "Ruhr Valley Raiders" at $85 for the unsigned version or $135 for the autographed one with brochure; proceeds to go to the Memorial Maintenance Fund. They make a great gift to your local library, school, and ROTC or service organization; call me or check your copy of the April or July Ragged Irregulars. Peter Roberts advises us that the Tower Museum is reopened- though it is on a limited schedule (as always) during the winter. We deeply appreciate their efforts through these recent trying events and look forward to many rewarding visits in the future. Thanks to Paul Limm’s contact with David Crow, we have a nice article about the new Commander of Bassingbourn Barracks to whom I will be writing soon. We discussed contact with the 91st Space Wing at Minot AFB, ND, and receipt of a history of the 91st from our days to the present which Mike Banta added to the "Ring". We dutifully await word from Col. Owens about how he wants to proceed- though somewhat impatiently. The Base historian has been most helpful. I have corrected the estimate of our combat casualties to "over 800" from a lower figure which he had. The Reunion 2004 plans are moving along on schedule and information on it will be found on The Front Page of this issue. Finally, we discussed By Laws revisions to make the BGMA more Board responsive and less an autocratic President’s show. We propose to also regularize broader officer participation. We will publicize them in the July or October Ragged Irregular for vote in November so that you can discuss them with me or any of the other officers at the Reunion, Copies will be available at the Reunion. Elsewhere in the RI, there is an item from the Nomination Committee Chairman, Joe Harlick, encouraging you to consider volunteering to serve as an officer. The more the merrier and it’s good name recognition for two years hence. Ed. _____________________________________________________________________________ Published
in
the January 2004 Ragged Irregular It is 14 Dec 03 as I
write this and it is indeed a memorable date (almost) for a number of reasons.
First, this was the day 100 years ago when the Wright Brothers (almost) made
their first flight. Older brother Wilbur was at the controls in Kitty Hawk, NC,
as the result of a coin toss. But the "airplane" reared when he
applied full throttle, fell back and busted a couple of things. Wilbur rushed
back to Dayton, OH, fabricated new parts and returned in time for Orville to
catch the winds just right three days later. Second, we woke this morning to the
good news that Saddam Hussein had been captured in a "spider hole"
near Tikrit (even though it was only almost on the 14th. Third, 80 years ago
today a little boy was born in Kansas City, KS, and named Edward; OK, so nobody
but me and a few of my kids consider that very memorable. Until I think of
something, let's review the past 3 months in the life of the 91st. Your Board held our
quarterly Conference Call on 8 Nov 03 with only Phil Mack unable to participate.
We applauded the gradual increase of the Memorial Maintenance Fund to
over $3190; all sales of the litho "Ruhr Valley Raiders" done for the
Tacoma Reunion go into that fund as do appropriate gifts to the Fund. We also
applauded Marv Goldberg's up-to-date handling of the PX; it is adding to our
resources. By the way, we only have a dozen copies of the Memoirs of the 91st
Bomb Group and a couple of dozen of the calendars left; neither are likely
to e available for reprint. Turner has notified us that they sold 344 of the
books for which we will receive a royalty for the Maintenance Fund. Following up on our
discussions at the last two Conference Calls, Jake Howland feels that he is
getting closer to a definitive resolution of many of the discrepancies in our
records for our "Honor Roll" of deaths. We all owe a huge debt of
gratitude to Bud Evers who did all of the basic research in the mid-1980's.
"Curly" Havelaar's book, The Ragged Irregulars of Bassingbourn, which
gave us the only real history of the 91st, relied heavily on Bud's work. I
contributed no original research for the Memoirs of the 91st
BG but did try to correlate the discrepancies from Bud's earlier data, some
changes in Curly's book and the data Jake was reporting from the graveyard
memorials. Until we have Jake's final figures, it seems best to use 886 total KIA/MIA and other deaths; since there were nearly 100 in the latter category, we
hope people will be careful to correctly state that there were about 800
"combat-related" deaths. Hopefully, by next year, Jake will have an
even more accurate figure for us. Some urgency for these
accurate numbers was increased by the recent contacts from the Base Commander at
Minot AFB, ND, who has expressed a strong interest in our history since his is
the successor organization. The contact came about thru the excellent work
of Mike Banta's "Ring." We cannot say enough about the credit that is
brought to the 91st by the contributions to The Ragged Irregular
(thanks, Steve), Jim Sheppard's web site and Banta's "Ring." They are
wonderfully complimentary and give us great coverage. While we do not plan
to open our own museum - and hope that our dedicated volunteers in England can
get The Tower Museum open in the spring - we are exploring possibilities of
putting some of our pool of historical materials in a research facility
open to the public. A recent note that Steve Perri ran about providing copies of
The Ragged Irregular brought requests from the 8th Air Force. Jim
Sheppard has provided us with a list of the increasing collection of items of
the 91st in the Chino (CA) Museum and we hope to meet with them next year on
future cooperation. I have asked Ace, Jake
Howland and Paul Limm to work with me to prepare a policy paper for future
contacts with the overseas memorials. All of them are
knowledgeable on various aspects and Jake has been tremendously helpful in
coordinating our Memorial Day and other participations abroad. We need to
regularize a way that it can be carried on in the future. We will incorporate it
in some proposed changes to the By Laws that we will be putting out in April. I have asked Joe
Harlick to lead our Nominations Committee. He will be publicizing that in the
April issue. As for the Reunion
2004 plans, I will be mailing data on 5 hotels in the Crystal City/Arlington
Virginia area, to W. W. Hill who will be our Reunion Chairman. He will
personally look at them, make his recommendations and then I will sign the
contract (hopefully by mid-Jan). The cost will be about $98/day including tax;
most have free parking; we plan to only block 80 rooms because we have a penalty
clause at all of them if we fail to fill 90% or so of our block. So start making
your plans. Finally, what really
made the 14th of December such a memorable day - and not almost - was that
Joan and I had lunch today with Joe and Jenny Harlick who drove over from Ocean
Shores. At our age what can be more memorable than good fellowship with good
friends? To all of you, on behalf of your Board, we hope you had a very Merry
Christmas, Happy Holidays and are enjoying a Happy New Year. _____________________________________________________________________________ Published
in
the October 2003 Ragged Irregular
As I write this on 7 Sep 03 I can't help
remembering that just a year and a week ago just after midnight Jack Paxson
and I were pushing a baggage cart full of booze and other items from the
Hospitality Room through the parking lot of the La Quinta. We were too tired
to make sense so we were just laughing about how it would look in the Tacoma
papers if a couple of senior citizens ran into somebody's car. But
as many of you were kind enough to say, we did have a fun reunion in Tacoma
thanks to a lot of you who pitched in. As I read Steve Perri's great article
in the July Ragged Irregular about the backgrounds of a typical
ground crew, I was reminded that we are of a generation which came from deep
"depression" to believing we could do anything.
We are just a bit slower about our
accomplishments, now. That seems an appropriate lead-in to a report from your
Board's most recent Conference Call on 23 Aug. Marv has conquered the PX
backlog and assures us that he will have a 7-10 day turnaround for any orders
in the future. If any of you younger folks are looking for a way to help, you
might want to consider volunteering for PX duty at the next Reunion. Let me
know. While on the theme of monumental jobs, Jake Howland discussed with us
his efforts to confirm accuracy in our records of our Honor Roll of deaths
during combat; I discovered some discrepancies in working with the Turner book
in spite of the wonderful work of Bud Evers and Curly Havelaar in the
past. Jake now has 910 confirmed and accurate, but we believe there were as
many as 997. Jake, Gordy Alton and others are working to make it a perfect
record.
Ace Johnson reported that we have over
$29,000 in the Treasury but are gradually drawing down as our membership dues
shrink. We also have nearly $2200 in the Memorial Maintenance Fund which we
will eventually convert to a Trust Fund.
The Prop Memorial at Bassingbourn is in
great shape thanks to the efforts of Vince Hemmings, David Crowe and the
British Army. I have asked Peter Roberts, Chairman of the East Anglia Aviation
Society, to keep us apprised of the status of the Tower Museum -
perhaps elsewhere in The Ragged Irregular if he can get something to
Steve Perri in time. We owe all of these friends a real vote of thanks for
their untiring efforts to honor our heritage. I sent an e-mail to Peter,
today, again expressing our appreciation as I had back in June. I'm sure any
of these gentlemen would like to hear some kind words from any of you.
Plans for the 2004 Reunion are taking
shape. We will have detailed articles about the hotel and available tours in
the January Ragged Irregular.
Other upcoming events we discussed
included the 8th Air Force Reunion in Colorado Springs later in October and
the meeting of the Arizona Wing of the Confederate Air Force on 8-9 Nov at
Falcon Field in Mesa, AZ. For any details on either, please contact Ace
Johnson, our trusty Secretary/Treasurer.
Jim and Suzi Shepherd - our valiant
guardians of the Web Site - have become our first members to exercise their
rights to apply for "Full Member" status. Your Board has approved.
Under the provisions of Art. III, Sec. 2 of our By-Laws an Associate Member in
good standing may "become Full Members upon written request followed by
three consecutive years as an Associate Member." Your Board interprets
that to mean if they have been Associate Members for three consecutive years.
So far, that and a dollar will buy a cup of coffee (except Starbucks) but not
much else. However, it might encourage you to read carefully some proposed
changes to the By-Laws coming up next year.
With your good graces and a prayer or two
we will make it into 2004. Ed Gates
_____________________________________________________________________________
Published
in
the July 2003 Ragged Irregular I
hope you are enjoying the summer as much as we are here in the Great Northwest.
We had our heat wave- two record setting days over 90O . Now it’s
back to 75 to 55 range; even on the two record setters, the evening temperatures
dropped back to the 50’s. I can feel your sympathy for us. Your
Board “got together” in a Conference Call on 10 May ’03. We had not
received enough information from the two reunion planners to choose between them
or to select a hotel. We
did decide to schedule the 2004 Reunion to Washington DC for Thursday the 30th
of September through Sunday 3 October 2004 with the banquet on Sunday which both
of them claim will get us reduced rates. We will probably have the Membership
meeting on Saturday morning along with the Ladies’ Tour. We have bids coming
in from the Arlington Alexandria area with rates in the $95 area and probably
free parking. All of the bids will be from facilities that assure of us a
sizable Hospitality Room in which we ca run our own open bar as we did in
Tacoma. We will try to assure nearby subway facilities and/or free shuttle and,
of course, reduced meal charges. After we sign the contract we will turn the
Reunion management over to W.W. Hill. Hope we have a great turnout. A you
noticed if you keep up on such things, Washington DC, had another unpleasant
Memorial Day weekend this year which is why the Board opted for September and
less crowds. The
Board discussed the problems of the Tower to move as rapidly as possible to
restore normal working hours. Patience is not an easy virtue for some of us
older folks, but everybody is doing his or her best. We have expressed our
sincere appreciation for their efforts. As
for the Prop Memorial, Paul Limm has kept us advised through his contacts
including David Crow, and we received some fine photos form Vince Hemmings, both
of the “Friends of the 91st.” They arranged for stonemason work
this spring, raised a new flag and painted Gen. Wray’s bench. The Base
refurbished the flagpole and all appears to be in good shape. We owe Jake
Howland a big thank you for his splendid note to the British people printed
elsewhere in The Ragged Irregular. The
PX situation has been cleared as Mary Goldberg’s health improved. All items
were to have been shipped by June 11th and Mary assures us that he
will provide a 7-10 day turnaround on any future orders. If you have an order
that still has not been filled by the time you read this, please contact Mary
immediately. If there are any problems with checks that are outdated, we hope
you will be considerate in working with Ace to straighten out any accounting;
Ace does not need any more of a load! The
Board decided to proceed with publishing an updated Directory so if you have any
address changes, please let Ace know ASAP. Probably the new Directory will be
prepared in time for Reunion 2004 sometime after the new year. As fir the
Memorial Maintenance Fund it is deposited and growing. And the 91st
BGMA is comfortably solvent and looking forward to the rest of 2003 with faith,
hope and charity. _____________________________________________________________________________ Published in the April 2003 Ragged Irregular I am writing this on 16 March 03, just one day before the deadline set for Iraq to show complete compliance with the many UN- resolutions. It is a difficult time, made more so by the fact that one of my sons is already in the theater as perhaps some of your children are. I am acutely aware of similarity to the period 67 years ago this month when a belligerent, but outgunned at the time, Germany marched into the Rhineland. France, Britain and others procrastinated. Americans, barely coming off the bottom of the depression, merely spoke of it as “Europe’s War.” One can only wonder what would have happened if the threat had been faced then; perhaps like your Grandmother, mine said, “A stitch in time saves nine.” I took the opportunity on 4 March to write the American Memorial Committee in Sainte Nazaire, France to mention the similarity and lament the strain that it is putting on Franco-American relations; I told them I could not speak for other members of the 91st BGMA with regard to the current situation. However, I felt I could assure them that we of the 91st deeply appreciate the honor they have shown to the 1942 sacrifices of our fellow-crewmen by their gifts ($10,000) a few years ago to the Mighty Eighth Museum in the name of the 91st, 303rd, 305th and 306th BG. I have also suggested to the other three members of “The Four Horsemen” of the 8th Air Force that they might want to assure those who continue to honor us of our gratitude. In your Board’s Conference call on 8 Feb 03, we reviewed progress on establishing a separate account for the “Memorial Maintenance Fund” which would include the Prop Memorial at Bassingbourn. Into this will go the proceeds from sale of the Bailey Art Lithographs “The Ruhr Valley Raiders” and specified donations that you may make. As of this writing we have received $550.00 form the former and over $1,000 from the latter. Our Treasurer will continue to maintain a separate line item of “Memorials” in the regular accounting into which will go the one dollar from dues and corporate matching contributions that may be prohibited from use outside the US; from this we fund floral displays at various cemeteries which Jake Howland so efficiently coordinates. “Ace” Johnson was finally able to get a clarification from IRS saying we could use a separate “Memorial Maintenance Fund” to pay maintenance expenses abroad if the trust was set up in the US with appropriate termination provisions. The Board will be responsible for managing the account and contacts with cooperating entities abroad. I have advised the East Anglia Aviation Society, the Friends of the 91st (who will be completing minor renovations this spring) and others. Through our long-time friend Vince Hemmings we have heard that the Cambridgeshire government may be interested in working with us; that would be a blessing as many of our friends across the pond, just like us, are aging just a wee bit. Having received no viable proposals for Reunion 2004 for an east coast site, after reviewing various possibilities, your Board decided to maintain the practice of alternating Reunion location among east, central and west and chose Washington, DC for the summer of 2004. The WWII Memorial is scheduled for opening the last week of May 2004 with all the attendant hoopla and crowds. Having run a colonial fold festival 40 miles from DC from 1971 to 85 on Memorial Day weekend I am quite aware that we encountered 13 years in which it rained out of the 15; temperatures and humidity are far from the pleasantries that we gave you in Tacoma in 2002. Late September or early October would be cooler, drier and less costly or congested, so for those of you who contemplate attending your preference can be expressed to any of your Board members. The Board plans to hire Armed Forces Reunions, Inc. to run the Reunion (do the heavy lifting) with our own W. W. Hill as Reunion Chairman to coordinate with them (and take any blame) so your Board members can stand around and smile. Nancy Perri and Judy Williams have volunteered to oversee the Registration process (which Armed Forces Reunions will man), so you can see that if you want to help you had better hurry up and contact: W. W. Hill at 703-256-9165, e-mail Wwarhill@aol.com. Especially you younger folks act now and avoid the rush! Put May or September 2004 on your schedule. We would love to see a lot of active Associate members in Washington. For those of you who may have ordered Reunion 2002 memorial wine glasses or copies of the group photos (by squadron, Merseburg participants or POW), I think I finally have all of them sent out. If you ordered some and have not received them, please let me know; you have been very patient with me. We still have a few left, but I suggest you call me before sending money. As for the PX, Marv Goldberg is finally back to as good a health as most of us can expect these days; he told me last week that he is striving to assure a one-week maximum turn around on all orders (if the item is in stock). It is a time-consuming job that takes a lot of house space, spouse forbearance and tedious effort, but Marv believes it is worth his effort to make the items available to you; hope you will be as nice to thank him as many of you have done who ordered Reunion 2002 items from me. Marv will soon be stocking the Turner Publications’ Memoirs of the 91st Bomb Group book at $55.00 plus $3.00 shipping. Enough for now. Keep our service men and woman in your prayers and add one for your officers.
Ruhr Valley Raiders
By Robert Bailey This
is the artist’s representation of four famous B-17 “Flying Fortress” of
the 91st BG (H) under attack by Messerschmitt Bf 109’s. Featured
are the 323rd Squadron’s Nine-o-Nine
(tail #231909 lettered OR-R) and Outhouse
Mouse (tail#231636 lettered OR-N) off the right wing, The
Wild Hare of the 324th Sq. (tail #231515 lettered DF-G when it
was shot down on 26 Nov 44 and DF-M earlier) to Mouse’s right and General
“Ike: of the 401st Sq. trailing (tail #297061 lettered LL-B)
They replaced some of the 27 B-17’s lost by the Group on missions to placed
like Oschersleben (5 downed on 11 Jan), Frankfurt (3 on 4 Feb), Achmer (4 on 21
Feb), Oschersleben (5 on 22 Feb) and Berlin (6 lost on 6 Mar). Formations never
had more than 20 aircraft, then. All
four were “gained” by the 91st BG in the first 76 days of 1944.
The ground crew of Nine-O-Nine headed
by MSGT Rollin L. Davis and including Sgt. E. M. Yezdiner set an 8th
Air Force record by keeping her flying for 124 consecutive missions without an
abort due to maintenance. They also crewed
Outhouse Mouse which had completed 139 missions by the end of the war, one
less than Nine-O-Nine. Gen.
Eisenhower’s namesake was “christened” by him on 11 April 44 and also
survived the War in spite of a harrowing loss of propeller off number three
engine, which barely missed his likeness when it sliced into the fuselage. Five
of my 35 missions were flown in Nine-O-Nine
and one in Outhouse Mouse thank you
MSgt Davis and crew! All
four aircraft’s could have flown the same mission between 16 March and 26 Nov.
44. In fact, Jack O’Neil’s crew with “Tex” Frye as navigator did fly General
“Ike” in the 323rd Sq.’s high element on “loan” from
the 401st on the 2 Nov 44 mission to Merseburg. I flew
Nine-O-Nine on Kirkham’s crew in the low element on that mission and
109’s (and FW-290’s) hit us, but neither the
Mouse nor the 324th sq. was flying. Between 30 Aug and 26 Nov 44
the 91st BG flew 36 missions of which I flew on 22 of them; both
Nine-O-Nine and Outhouse Mouse flew
on 14 of my 22 and they were joined by The
Wild Hare (DF-M) on 30 Sep and by General
“Ike” on 7 and 17 Oct (and also 6 Feb 45). Though all four were never
airborne on the same one of my missions it is quite possible they could have
been between 16 Mar and 30 Aug. The Wild
Hare was in the Depot for repairs from 15 Oct to 22 Nov and- re-lettered
DF-G by then- was sot down on its first or second mission after being returned
to the Squadron. We
are appreciative of Mr. Robert Bailey’s honor to us and recognition of the 91st
as the first to attack the Ruhr Valley. Unfortunately, other groups were
separated from the 91st by clouds on the mission to Hamm on 4 March
43. With only 18 flying Fortress’s led by 22-year old Maj. Paul Fishburn,
commander of the 322nd Sq., the 91st BG completed its 2nd
mission (22 must have been the lucky number that day) with on-target bombing of
the key railroad yard. The Group was awarded the first of two Distinguished Unit
Citations for their achievement while claiming 16 German aircraft, but four of
the 91st crews were shot down. The
91st, 303rd, 305th and 306th Bomb
Groups- the first of those that later became the 8th Air
Force-arrived in England in October 1942 and entered combat the next month. A
401st Sq. bombardier. “Curly” Havelaar, writes in his fine
history of the 91st BG, The Ragged Irregulars of Bassingbourn
that of 38 officers and 47 enlisted men in the original 91st crews,
32% completed 25 missions and another 15% survived wounds or reassignment to go
home, plus nearly half of the 41% who were shot down became POW’s (Prisoners
of War); thus over two-thirds “survived the war”. My own “estimate” of
some 5200 flight crew members coming through the 91st BG during the
War would suggest that about 20% were killed in action with another 18% POW’s.
The roughest missions were flown by those who lost their lives, either in 1942
or the last mission of WWII. We just did the best we could for God and Country.
Ed Gates, President We
are equally concerned that the record is as accurate as possible. Unfortunately,
there is a reference on the inside left page of the brochure in red that “only
12% of original crews survived the war” which overstates our losses. It may
have been true for crews arriving in a small window in the April-October 1943
period, but even that seems unlikely to have ever resulted in 88% loss rate. The
from 16 April 43 to mid-March 2944 was the period of heaviest percentage losses
fir the 91st BG. Every one of the seven months from April through
October 1943 was among the 11 months for the 8th AF highest
percentage losses. Proving that “those who were there” are not always right,
I checked the National Archives II for the first time in 3 months after I
provided my biographic info for this brochure; to my chagrin I discovered I only
flew in Outhouse Mouse once (though we
did have our crew photo taken in front of it), but in Nine-O-Nine
five times including being a wingman in the low element on 2 Nov 44, but not
leading it. At
least a dozen survivors of the Hamm mission on 4 March 43- the original “Ruhr
Raiders”-are still members of the 91st BG Memorial Association
including Steve Perri who signed this lithograph. Three
of the 15 veterans whose biographies appear on the brochure, for various
reasons, were not able to sign the lithographs. They are McCoy, Cripps and
Chryst.
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