Remembrances of 1942/43

By Grif Mumford

It was 1975 when the 20 Charter members of our Association, headed by Art Frankel, represented the 95th Bomb Group (H) at the 8th Air Force Historical Society Reunion in Miami, Florida.  Soon we would become the 95th Bomb Group (H) Association with a membership of almost 1500 and hold our own annual Reunions apart from those of the 8th Air Force Historical Society.

Our 1993 Wichita Reunion, attended by over 200 of our Association members, marked the beginning of a three-year memorialization of the participation of the 95th Bomb Group 50 years ago in the greatest air power victory the world has ever known.

We pay honor to and grieve the loss of our comrades who gave their lives that others might live in peace.  We pray that their sacrifice will be long remembered by a grateful nation.

At the same time, we who survived take pride and rejoice in the knowledge that the 95th Bomb Group served with honor and distinction and delight in knowing that we have left our footprints in the sands of time.

VINI.  VIDI.  VICI.  WE CAME.  WE SAW.  WE CONQUERED. 

In 1942/43 we came together little knowing that we were to become the most distinguished Heavy Bomb Group in the 8th Air Force – perhaps in all the world and perhaps for all time.  Our three Presidential Unit Citations are unequaled.  In 1944 we saw our duty, accepted the challenge and pursued the task which had been laid upon us.  In 1945 we conquered – victory over Germany. 

We, along with 10-million others like us, cared enough for the future that, without hesitation, we put our lives on the line to keep America and the Free World free.  We came together as members of the 95th Bomb Group in the fall of 1942 at Geiger Field in Spokane, Washington – strangers from all parts of the United States from all walks of life and all ages. We learned to pronounce strange family names and we learned the language of America by listening to the idioms and accents from such as New England, New York, the South and the Mid-West.  Loyalties and friendships were soon established among this diverse group of individuals.  There was new and strange work to be done by air crews and ground support personnel alike and it was important that each learn respect and appreciation of all who were a part of the team.

Flying was our mission.  Training under simulated combat conditions was our objective.  That the 95th was assigned to training bases where weather conditions precluded our achieving this objective was to deny both air crews and ground support personnel a full training schedule prior to departing for England.

Ephrata, Washington:  In retrospect one wonders whether a Gestapo agent hadn’t infiltrated the Air Corps Training Base Selection Committee, for if ever there was a jumping off place to nowhere in 1942, Ephrata was it.  The engineers who constructed that God-forsaken base did a real half-ass job – probably because they couldn’t wait to get out of there.  The facilities ere rustic in the extreme and served only one purpose – to test the ability of the 95th to train under hardship conditions.

The facilities at Geiger (in Spokane, Washington) were a vast improvement, but not the weather for it was marginal to bad 90% of the time.  So bad that on 17 December 1942 the 95th was ordered to move to Rapid City, South Dakota in order to complete our training.  That was like going from cold water into the freeze.  We who hailed from the South never did acclimate to that frigid South Dakota winter weather – nor did our aircraft as those that could not be hangered at night couldn’t be started early the next morning.

Perhaps the fondest memories of Rapid City, for those of us whose wives also made the move, much to the consternation of Colonel Kessler, was having the pleasure of our loved ones for a last brief time before going off to war.  They, then as now, gave meaning to our responsibilities with their loyalty and devotion.  It was a joyous Christmas in 1942 – our last for some time, and for others, the last ever. 

Two crews were lost on training missions while in Rapid City – E.E. Woodward and crew plowed into the side of a mountain in Colorado in a blinding snowstorm.  Ollie Walker and crew crashed for reasons undetermined prior to our departure for England.

Again, due to adverse weather, our flight training was minimal at Rapid City, with crew training average about 100 hours.  Little formation flying was accomplished and none of that at altitude.  No Squadron or Group bombing missions were flown and no air to air gunnery missions.  But we did fly two X-country navigation missions – one at altitude.

And so in March 1943, in our questionable combat readiness state, and after outfitting stops in Kearney, Nebraska and Gulfport, Mississippi, the flight crews staged through Palm Beach, Florida en route to England via the South Atlantic. Meanwhile our grand support personnel were doing the luxury ship cruise via the North Atlantic, dodging U-boats all the way.

Germany, here we come, ready or not.

1943:  That was the year that challenged every fiber of our physical and emotional well-being – flight crews and ground support alike.  Those were the days when everyone was learning on the job under combat conditions new tactics in the air and new procedure on the ground.  The longer summer days brought longer missions of deeper penetrations and daily maximum efforts were becoming the norm.  When battle damage to aircraft or crew losses left us with insufficient resources to form a complete combat group we would, at that time, form composite groups with either the 94th or the 96th Bomb Groups.  Later it would be the 100th or 390th Bomb Groups.

There we were, young men with awesome responsibilities, ill prepared for the realities of war, with front row seats to the making of history, watching friends in battle damaged B-17s struggling to survive and all the time shooting in faceless German fighter pilots as they flew through our formation shooting at us.  We very rapidly aged beyond our years – boys became men overnight.

Reflections on events of 1943 dredge up so many memories – stateside training, leaving our loved ones, moving to England and assignment at three different bases, long nights, cold and rainy day, new sights and sounds, personal challenges, anxiety, alerts, fear, stand downs, relief, empty beds, heavy drinking, weekly rations, spam, Brussels Sprouts, powdered milk and powdered eggs, mail from home, movies, citations, medals…the list is as long as there are memories and there are reunions to bring us together.

1943 was a year that ran the gamut of emotions.  Sorrow on the one hand for lost comrades and elation on the other hand that comes with a sense of accomplishment – knowing that all our efforts were making a difference.  We missed our loved ones at home and were concerned about their well-being.  We were concerned that they were concerned about us yet taking great comfort in knowing that they cared about us.

During 1943 the 95th Combat Group flew 66 combat missions.  Missions planned but not flown were for the most part cancelled by higher headquarters because of bad weather over the target.  Later on, with our developing radar bombing capabilities, weather over the target was not a deterrent.  Despite our heavy losses in 1943, and in particular the 13 June 1943 mission to Kiel, the 95th Bomb Group never turned back from a mission because of enemy action.

Teamwork was an absolute essential to the success of our missions.  The professionalism of our ground support organizations, their hard work, devotion to duty, and their prayers for the safe return of the combat crews was a source of comfort and encouragement to the combat crews.  The slogan of our ground support organizations – THE DIFFICULT WE DO IMMEDIATELY – THE IMPOSSIBLE TAKES A LITTLE LONGER – was demonstrated daily.  

Individuals are the usual recipients of awards for valor and for service with the preponderance awarded to combat crews during wartime.  But it goes without saying that the three Presidential Unit Citations awarded the 95th Bomb Group are in recognition of a team effort by everyone in our Group.  It is a decoration that all can wear with pride.

Statistics tell a story devoid of emotions but that is true only if the reader has not been involved in the making of the statistic.  Who among us cannot help but agonize and sorrow over the loss of comrades in 1943?  Of the 381 flight personnel who departed Rapid City in March 1943 only 44 survived to complete a twenty-five mission tour of duty.  Of those 44 there were 12 who continued to fly combat missions and 2 of these were still flying missions over the continent until VE Day.

During the period from 13 May 1943 to 31 December 1943 the 95th Bomb Group statistics read as follows:

            Flew 66 combat missions (1,164 sorties)

            Shot down 54 enemy fighter aircraft

            Suffered battle damage to 261 aircraft

            Had 56 personnel wounded in air combat

            Had 291 personnel killed in air combat & ground accidents

            Had 291 personnel taken as prisoners of war

            Had 34 personnel evade capture after bailing out

Long before the end of 1943 the 95th Bomb Group had proven that it was a well-disciplined and highly professional combat organization and that it was manned with flight and ground support personnel who had the courage and determination to fulfill our responsibilities.  We had THE RIGHT STUFF.

Lest we forget 1943 was the year in which the 95th Bomb Group flew the first two combat missions for which we received two of our Presidential Unit Citations:  August 17, 1943 to Regensburg, and 10 October 1943 to Munster.

Credits:

            Leonard Herman (suggested this remembrance and contributed to the text)

            Frank Coleman (suggested the slogan, VINI, VIDI, VICI)

            Ellis Scripture (major contributions to the text)

            Other Association members (suggestions and encouragement)