398th Diaries

List of Known 398th Diaries

1. Captain Alan A. Arlin, Pilot, 601st
2. Lt. William H. Baker, Navigator, 600th
3. Lt. Robert J. Beckley, Navigator, 600th/601st
4. T/Sgt. Ben Core, Radio Operator/Top Turret Gunner, 601st
5. Lt. Robert H. Dee, Jr., Co-Pilot, 601st
6. Lt. E. Dalton Ebbeson, Bombardier/Navigator, 603rd
7. T/Sgt. George W. Forsyth, Engineer, TT Gunner, 602nd
8. T/Sgt. Armand Fugge, Engineer/ Top Turret Gunner, 600th
9. S/Sgt. Kenneth A. Green, Gunner, 603rd
10. S/Sgt. James L. Holloway, Tail Gunner, 601st
11. S/Sgt. Chilton Jorgenson, Ball Gunner, 601st
12. S/Sgt. Frank M. Mackey, Ball Turret Gunner, 600th
13. 2nd Lt. Charles J. Mellis, Jr., Co-Pilot, 603rd Squadron
14. T/Sgt. Elliot Novek, Radio Operator, 602nd
15. Lt. Paul W. Smith, Navigator, 602nd
16. S/Sgt. John C. Veenschoten, Radio Operator/Gunner, 603rd
17. Lt. Robert E. Weidig, Co-Pilot, 603rd
18. T/Sgt. Ralph F. Will, Engineer, 600th
19. Lt. Mark Woods, Navigator, 600th

Notes

1. If you have a diary or know of one not on our list, we would appreciated hearing about it. If you have one and could type it up in electronic text and also donate a paper copy of the original for our archives we would be pleased. Our 398th president, Wally Blackwell will be happy to hear from you.
2. The targets shown for individual days of the diaries are the official 398th targets for that day. However, because of cloud cover, mechanical difficulties, and other situations individual planes or squadrons may have chosen alternate targets of opportunity. Sometimes but not always the diaries mention alternate targets.
3. It is traditional for crew members to reference themselves as part of a pilot's crew. However, for various reasons, such as make-up missions for when they were sick or requests by operations officers that they fill in a vacancy, individuals may have flown a number of missions with other crews. Sometimes but not always the diaries mention if the author flew with another crew. Official Load Lists for a particular mission generally can be found in the 398th BG Historical Microfilm which can be obtained from the Maxwell AF Base in Alabama or the Statistical History of the 398th Bomb Group CD available for purchase from the 398th PX.
4. Historians should recognize that in the transcription process, some spelling and punctuation have been fixed, including offical spelling of the target names. Occasionally the diary's target or date is off from the official mission list; and after careful investigation these have been fixed in the electronic text. In addition, some material not related to 398th activities, inaccuracies, casual comments, opinions, strong language, and unverified statements were not transcribed, although at times some editing took place to preserve the author's description in a more general way. Of course, no transcription is perfect and there may be occasional transcription errors. For future historians, each diary index includes a history of the location of the original if known and copies made along the way.
5. If you see areas of the diaries needing correction, such as mispelled words, incorrect targets, etc., please contact the webmaster, Dave.