Histories

398th Veterans' WWII Personal Histories

This page is an index to our 398th Veterans' WWII Personal Histories. Contributions have been written by veterans, spouses, children, grandchildren, and friends. The stories are collected here to help preserve 398th history. If you have a personal history available or are thinking about one, please contact Dave, our Personal History Coordinator.

Introduction

  1. Introduction and FAQs

Army Air Cadet Training

  1. A Brief Visit Home by Jack Olson, a story about Jack's cadet training and the day he buzzed the family farm in a B-24. Note the story is a downloadable pdf file. Jack Olsen is the creator of the 398th's famous Clearing and Colder painting.

398th

  1. Wally Blackwell, 398th Pilot - 601st Squadron Video Interview Transcripton - Some 398th BGMA History
  2. My 398th B.G. Military Career - Clerk - 398th Group Headquarters by Robert Cronk
  3. Reflection of Greatness by Don Gaddo
  4. Phoenix Reunion 2007 - Farewell Banquet Speech by Malcolm ‘Ozzie’ Osborn
  5. Honoring the 398th Men at Margraten by Wally Blackwell and Sebastiaan Voskuil
  6. Caring for T/Sgt. Bill Wilkens Grave - Margraten Cemetery, The Netherlands by Wally Blackwell and Jean-Paul Wyers

600th Squadron

  1. Description of 6 May 1944 Mission to Sottevast by Keith Anderson, Pilot
  2. Hansard Prop Blade Presentation - May 21, 2005 by Wally Blackwell and Sandra Averhart
  3. "We Fly at Dawn" by John Contento, Tail Gunner
  4. "I Never Asked Him" Article about Donald G. Evans, Jr, Tailgunner with the McAfee Crew. By Donald G. Evans, III - New February 2019!
  5. Phil Jones WWII Recollections by Philip H. Jones, Tail Gunner
  6. A Visit With George Cuda by Malcolm "Ozzie" Osborn
  7. Excerpts from Pappy's War: A B-17 Gunner's World War II Memoir by John "Pappy" Paris, Engineer and Top Turret Gunner
  8. The Ken Elwood Crew - A Bombardier Remembers…. by George E. Schatz
  9. B-17 "Tomahawk Warrior" – A Tribute to the Charles J. Searl & Crew by Ronald M. Setter
  10. Excerpts from "HELL FROM HEAVEN" by Leonard Streitfeld, Bombardier
  11. Excerpts from "The Youngest Crew" by Paul Wagner, Pilot
  12. Liberation Flight by Ralph F. Will, Flight Engineer
  13. The Tallest Gunner in the Air Force by Ralph F. Will, Flight Engineer
  14. 1980 Nolan Crew Reunion by Paula Will Moyer
  15. Part Owner of a B-17 by John Woodgate and Wally Blackwell
  16. Caring for T/Sgt. Bill Wilkens Grave - Margraten Cemetery, The Netherlands by Wally Blackwell and Jean-Paul Wyers

601st Squadron

  1. A Remembrance of George E Abbott, Togglier 601 Squadron by Wally Blackwell
  2. Blackwell's Thirty-Four Man Crew by Wally Blackwell, Pilot
  3. My Friend Jack Bohn - Tail Gunner by Wally Blackwell, Pilot
  4. The Day We Saw The Colored Flak by Wally Blackwell, Pilot and Jack Bohn, Tail Gunner
  5. The Amazing Story of Miss X - Introduction by Wally Blackwell, Pilot
  6. Wally Blackwell, 398th Pilot - 601st Squadron Video Interview Transcripton - Some 398th BGMA History
  7. Identifying 398th B-17s by Wally Blackwell, Pilot
  8. 398th Combat Formations - Definition and Structure by Wally Blackwell, Pilot
  9. T/Sgt. Frederick Chester Bradley, Jr. Engineer / Top Turret Gunner Howard F. Traeder Crew by Lee Anne Bradley
  10. Brief introduction and Chapter 6 from the book "C-Lager: Stalag Luft IV & the 86 Day Hunger March" by David Dorfmeier
  11. 8th Air Force Air Operations Technologies by Willis Frazier, Operations Officer
  12. The B-17’s Automatic Flight Control Equipment (A.F.C.E.) by Willis Frazier, Operations Officer
  13. Tribute to W.B. Peirce by John Gunner
  14. A True Long Shot by Ralph Hall, Tail Gunner
  15. How Our Radio Operator Received a DFC by Ralph Hall, Tail Gunner
  16. Parachutes Are Not Only For Jumping by Ralph Hall, Tail Gunner
  17. Roll Call of the McCarty Crew - 1943 to 2005 by Ralph Hall, Tail Gunner
  18. Jamaica High School Time Capsule Warren John Weis - later Warren John Wade - Time capsule web page created by Dennis Jensen
  19. Tense Moments During Guard Duty by James J. LaDue, Draftsman and Asst. Operations Officer
  20. A Son's Remembrance Letter: Wilbur A. Rohrbach, B-17 Crew Chief by James A. Rohrbach
  21. Mission to Eger and Schweinfurt by Robert Taylor, Co-Pilot
  22. RDX Raid and POW Experiences by Robert Taylor, Co-Pilot
  23. Three "Fortresses" Destroyed by Howard Traeder, Pilot
  24. Bluie West One (BW-1) by Howard Traeder, Pilot
  25. Hal Weekley, Pilot records his memories for Timeless Voices - EAA Timeless Voices Hal Weekly was a pilot in the 398th's 601st Squadron.

602nd Squadron

  1. A Tribute to S/Sgt William Logan, Togglier, Enlisted, Bombardier, 602nd Squadron, A Special Story from 398th Archives by Joseph D. (Dave) Bancroft, Tail Gunner, 603rd Squadron
  2. Walter E. Boland: My Personal History by Walter E. Boland, Waist Gunner
  3. My 398th Career by Bob Bowen, Pilot, 602nd Squadron
  4. A Night to Remember by Tom Dougherty, Gunner
  5. The Forgotten Man by Tom Dougherty, Gunner
  6. The Extra Mission by Joe K. Mansell, Engineer/Gunner
  7. The Kentucky Colonel by Joe K. Mansell, Engineer/Gunner
  8. Alles ist kaputt! The end of Hitler's war - Interview with Harry Mazer 398th, 602nd Squadron, Waist Gunner by Patrick Timothy Mullikin
  9. A Great Day with John Driscoll's Family by Malcolm "Ozzie" Osborn
  10. Wartime Experiences - June 6, 1944 D-Day by Paul Roderick, Pilot
  11. The Last Mission by Geronimo Terres, Jr. Waist Gunner
  12. Thirty Four to Go by Ernest H. Walthall, First Officer

603rd Squadron

  1. A Tribute to S/Sgt William Logan, Togglier, Enlisted, Bombardier, 602nd Squadron, A Special Story from 398th Archives by Joseph D. (Dave) Bancroft, Tail Gunner, 603rd Squadron
  2. Aluminum Overcast Flight at Long Beach by Linda Brown
  3. A Tribute to Joe Alwood, Pilot 603rd Squadron, 398th Bomb Group by Lew Burke from the Co-Pilot’s seat, 603rd Squadron
  4. Why I Should have been Awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross by Lew Burke, Co-Pilo, 603rd Squadron
  5. Bebe - Boeing B-17 # 43-37982 N7-K by Dallas Ebest, Ground Crew, 603rd Squadron
  6. Cambridge Connections by Gail Fisher - August 13, 2000
  7. Veterans Gather to Remember Nuthampstead by Gail Fisher - August 13, 2000
  8. Old Glory Flies at WW II airbase by Gail Fisher - June 12, 2004
  9. Dad piloted a B-17 for Grateful Nation by Gail Fisher - November 10, 2006
  10. Excerpts from "World War II Osyssey" by Bill Frankhouser, Navigator, 603rd Squadron
  11. What Does an American Veteran Mean to Me? by Derek Frankhouser
  12. Recollections of Thomas L. Guice, Jr. for April 8, 1945 by Thomas L. Guice, Jr. Pilot, 603rd Squadron
  13. Oral History Memoir of Thomas L. Guice, Jr. Pilot, 603rd Squadron conducted by the Confederate Air Force Flying Museum (downloadable pdf)
  14. The Sixth Mission by Jim Haas, Bombardier, 603rd Squadron
  15. Lt. Edward C. Jordan - The War Years - Pilot, 603rd Squadron by Dave Jordan
  16. A Flight Never to be Forgotten by Newell (Newt) Moy, Pilot, 603rd Squadron
  17. The Longest Mission by Malcolm ‘Ozzie’ Osborn
  18. Captain Victor E. Stoll's Military History by Bob and Doug Williams (pdf download file)
  19. World War II Experience by Lloyd M. Sundheim, Navigator, 603rd Squadron - New March 2019!
  20. Crossing The Atlantic by Phil Swan, Co-Pilot, 603rd Squadron
  21. S/Sgt. Ray Vicha's 398th Missions - Gunner by Jeff Vicha
  22. In Memory of Leland Watson - 603rd Line Chief by Jane Watson
  23. Recollections of the Mission to Merseburg 21 November 1944 by Bob Welty, Co-Pilot, 603rd Squadron
  24. Lt. Bob Welty - Letters, Interviews, and Photos
  25. Russ Currier Recollections of 21 November 1944 by Scott Welty
  26. 12 Days a German Prisoner by Vonnerlin Wernecke, Navigator, 603rd Squadron

Additional 398th Units

  1. Remembering the Newman Crash of 26 July 1944 by Bill Ahern, Fire Fighter, 2015th
  2. Edward J. Wenning - Radar Mechanic - 853rd Navigation Unit by Carl J. Wenning