The 458th Bomb Group (H) entered combat with the 8th Air Force early in 1944. Based at Horsham St. Faith in England, the combat crews participated in the decisive Campaigns Big Week, Big B, D-Day and the assault on Germanys oil industry waged by the USAAF up to VE-Day. The group also tested the operational use of Azon radio-controlled bombs. The 458th flew a total of 240 missions, during which over 13,000 tons of ordnance was dropped, and was achieved at the cost of sixty-five crews MIA or involved in operational accidents. This is their complete history.
This is a true story that follows Captain Edouard J. Jacques, a WWII Bombardier and Distinguished Flying Cross recipient, and his crew from childhood through thirty bombing missions over Germany with the 755th Squadron, 458 Bomb Group of the 8th Air Force from 1944 through 1945. It’s a remembrance of ordinary men doing extraordinary feats in their quest to defeat the seemingly invincible Third Reich. Included in their stories are those they left behind — their wives, girlfriends, and family. Their stories mirror that of thousands of young Americans who served on the B-24 heavy bombers in WWII and have not had their history documented. These are the stories of young men from Rhode Island, Utah, South Carolina, Texas, Kentucky, New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Neumarkt, Germany. Their backgrounds are as diverse as the places from which they came. Through interviews, their stories are told, and it is apparent that while not similar in background or culture, they were similar in their strength of character and love of country. Those who are no longer with us had their stories told by those interviewed. Those aviators who survived the war were the fortunate ones who returned home to their families, wives, girlfriends, and to a grateful nation. The history of the battle for Europe, 1944-1945, is told in detail.
Norwich in the Second World War is the story of the city and its people, both civilian and military, from the construction of the first air raid shelters in 1938 through to VE Day in 1945 and the return of Far Eastern prisoners of war in 1946. Featuring first-hand accounts of what happened when enemy bombers raided the city, notably during the notorious Baedeker Blitz of 1942, rare photographs and documents make this book a must for anyone who knows and loves the city of Norwich.
United States Army Air Corps Lieutenant Eugene T. Winn wrote home to his father regularly, from before his enlistment in May 1942 until his discharge in September 1945. This correspondence is the core of the book. Documents and photographs give a definitive sense of place and immediacy to the story. And in the telling, the reader can learn much of war and its lasting effects on persons, family, community.It is a compelling story laced with suspense and drama. Lt. Winn did not want to be in the Army, and like many young men of his day saw aviation as preferable. The airplane was going to revolutionize war making. Eugene wanted to be part of that revolution. And so he was, in a four-engine bomber, a B-24 "Liberator," stationed in Bugay, England. In early June 1944, Winn's wife was notified that her husband was "missing in action." Frantic attempts to find out what had happened on 25 May 1944 had to wait the liberation of Paris for answers. No fairy tale this, still a happy ending, but with scars and lessons for a lifetime. The story indeed is compelling, more compelling than any fairy tale might ever be.
The B-24 Liberator was built in greater numbers than any other US warplane, yet its combat crews live, even today, in the shadow of the less plentiful, but better-known, B-17. Accounts of the 'Mighty Eighth' in Europe, and indeed many of the books and films that emerged from the greatest air campaign in history, often overlook the B-24, even though it was in action for as long as the Flying Fortress, and participated in just as many perilous daylight bombing missions.
Fifty-five years have passed since Al and Van fell in love as wartime sweethearts. He returned to the States and she returned to her home in Cardiff, Wales, where they both met other loves and married. They lost touch and now both of their spouses have passed away. Will these two lovers meet again? Al Enlow shares his wartime expereinces and his memories of his wartime sweetheart, Van, in Reminiscence. You will laugh and cry over this nostalgic remembrance of days gone by.
