Forsan et haec olim meminisse juvabit -- Virgil
(Perhaps some day it will bring pleasure to remember even these things)
Note: All ranks mentioned are those last held by the individual.
The 463rd Bombardment Squadron (VH) was activated on 10 August 1944, at
Dalhart, Texas, which is an unfortunate spot for any outfit to come into being.
Dalhart is located in the tip of the Texas panhandle, seventy-five miles from
Amarillo, which is the only town within reach and isn't much of a town at that.
Ably and inspiringly command throughout most of its career by Col. F.J.
Schuck, known as `Uncle Joe`, the squadron proceeded through the various phases
of its training and finally overseas, where it became part of the Eighth Air
Force on Okinawa. Its History can best be presented by dividing it into sections
covering the happenings at the four stations occupied by the 463rd at different
times in its career. Throughout most of it the orderly room was presided over by
Major Thomas C. Scott, Executive Officer, Captain Charles Dreier, Adjutant, and
M/Sgt. John Anderson, who was acting First Sergeant. As will be seen later, each
of these `gears` had a long string of successors. The original Operations
Officer was Major C.S. Dresser. Those were the `wheels`--the `valve caps` of the
outfit we will be covering in due course.
Section 1 - Dalhart
The period spent at Dalhart, following activation, was devoted largely to
organizational matters, to the inevitable paper work attendant upon such an
event, to the gradual influx of personnel of all sizes and types, and to the
planning and starting of the training program, which lasted the better part of a
year. The incoming personnel were primarily key men in the various categories
and members of that later became known as the ground echelon, since the aircrews
did not join the squadron until Feb 1, 1945. In October a cadre spent four weeks
at AAFTAC, Orlando, Florida, where they went through a brief but intensive
course of training in various phases of B-29 operation, After their return to
Texas, many of the officers and men were sent to specialized schools, and the
organization finally began to take shape. As soon as they were assigned to the
squadron at Dalhart, all the maintenance men were moved to Pratt, Kansas, while
all clerks, mess personnel and transportation men remained at Dalhart. This
period culminated in a week's bivouac in the mountains near Raton, New Mexico.
Here the squadron got its first taste of field life, little realizing how much
more of it was to follow.
Section 2 - Pratt
The training program really became serious early in December, when almost all
of the ground echelon moved to Pratt, Kansas. There the 463rd was to spend more
than six months, in which it was transformed from a group of individuals into a
full-fledged, fully trained combat squadron. For the first two months, the 463rd
maintenance men replaced those of the 52nd squadron of the 29th Bomb Group,
since theirs had gone overseas, and worked entirely with that group as long as
their air echelon remained at Pratt. This was a period of many difficult-ties ,
caused by severity of weather , working with a strange group and the initial
friction that was bound to develop with the base personnel , who seemed imbued
with the idea that all groups were at Pratt for the use and convenience of the
base-rather then vice versa. Despite such troubles, the squadron took hold
rapidly kept the planes of the 29th in the air and started to make a name for
itself that eventually led to its being the pride and envy of the whole 346th
Bomb Group.
In addition to the seemingly endless work, the men soon found out that they
were within reach of a town known as Wichita, where extra curricular activities
could be carried on with the greatest of ease, and this boosted an already high
morale. At this period Wichita was a center of aircraft production and of man
less women, As a result, it became somewhat of a soldiers paradise, to put it
mildly, and such institutions as the Playmor , the Blue Moon, the Allis, Lassen
and Broadway will be long remembered with pangs of pleasure by the Squadron. At
every opportunity visits were made to `the city` and these culminated in some
trouble, much pleasure, a few weddings and a lot of broken hearts in Wichita.
In addition to Wichita, such manshy town as Greensburg, St. John, Kingman and
Medicine Lodge (better known as` Dog patch`) received their share of nocturnal
and weekend visits, but they all played second fiddle to Wichita. Pratt itself,
which didn't like the Army, although the latter provided it with a sizeable gold
mine, was a clean, neat Kansas town with a rather limited feminine population
that showed a reasonable enthusiasm for the men at the field.
With the departure of the air echelon of the 29th and the arrival of the
combat crews of the 463rd on Feb 1, 1945, the Squadron really got down to
business and the period of intensive flying training got underway. Some of the
crews had already had considerable experience with the b-29 - others had non-but
all soon found out it was a real aircraft, somewhat temperamental at times, but
one well worth of their unremitting respect and care. That it received both its
best exemplified by the fact that there were no accidents of any kind during the
squadron's entire period of training.
During the winter months, which were rough in Pratt, much of the maintenance
was outdoors, which was the hardest kind of work for the ground crews, but the
maintenance was such that there were always planes ready to fly. As the weather
improved maintenance became still better, until in the spring a point was
reached where a complete flight could fly at one time, which was invaluable in
formation flying training, of which so much was done in the final phase. The
463rd set the first record in the maximum number of hours flown in a week, its
maintenance led the other two Squadrons, and its crews flew successfully through
all kinds of weather (including hailstorms) despite the predictions of base
weather, which was almost invariably 100% wrong. In training missions
accomplished, AAF minimum standards completed and in total hours in the air, the
463rd, led all the rest. Needless to say, morale was high.
The squadron was fortunate in having among its varied personnel a large number
of unusually experienced airplane commanders. Many of them had years of
experience as four engine pilots, so they literally took to the big iron birds
like ducks to water and the big birds, in turn behaved admirably for them,
despite the fact that the training planes used at Pratt were, for the most part,
a sad group of aircraft. As the crews progressed with their end of the training
program, the other sections of the squadron were gaining experience and skill in
handling the jobs they would do later in the theater.
Supply, a very necessary and most important part of any outfit, was more than
ably handled by Captain Kluge and his right hand, a venerable Irishman by the
name of Sharkey, who was a Staff Sergeant. Overseas, Lt. Rankin and S/Sgt. Chest
succeeded this pair.
Mess, which ranks second only to mail from home, was outstanding from the
start, and soon became the best at Pratt. It held the ` Honor Plaque` awarded in
weekly competition with all other mess on the field, time after time, and was
soon known as the best mess on the field. Responsible for this happy situation
were Lt. Lewis, S/Sgt. Owings and their formidable array of cooks and bakers,
all of whom were good. Overseas, Sgt. Savas, better known as Troy, fast acquired
a reputation as one who was skilled enough to make even spam and C rations
Taste good, and later Sgt. Medrano did as well when he took over. Later mess
officers were Lt. Fisher, Airheart and Powell.
Engineering, another most important part of the squadron, since it had the
responsibility of keeping the aircraft in top shape at all times, came under the
direction of Capt. Kensinger, Lt. Hinnant, and the line chiefs, M/Sgts.
Howard,Kidd,Gates, and Enslen. These men had a far from easy job, and how well
they accomplished it is best attested by the number of hours the 463rd had in
the air during all phases of training. Lts. Bauer, Grover and Hedstrom joined
the squadron as engineering officers overseas.
Ordinance, under the guidance of Lt. Friedman and T/Sgt. Cowden trained a
large number of men in the backbreaking duties of bomb leading and other
Ordnance functions, and were consistently on the ball throughout the training
period.
Armament, closely allied to Ordnance, kept the firepower of the planes in
excellent shape and ready to function at all times. This section was headed up
by Capt. Sandstrom , Lt. Heath and M/Sgt. Fields. Overseas, Capt. Sandstrom
became Group Armament Officer
Radar, came under the wing of Lt. Smith, who was responsible for all the
maintenance on this complicated equipment, and Lt. Sussman, who was the Squadron
RCM Officer. Overseas, Lt. Brandt was the Squadron Radar Officer , and when he
stepped up to Group Radar Officer , he was succeeded by Lt. Bertrand.
The health of the outfit was kept in good shape under the watchful eye of
Capt. Malmberg and his staff while in Pratt, and of Capt. Graber, who later
became Group Flight Surgeon, overseas.
The Operational staff, while considerably smaller in personnel then the
sections mentioned so far, had large jobs cut out for it at the start of the
training program, for its responsibility was to provide for the air crews the
training in their respective specialties that would lead to successful combat
missions and the safe return of the crews from them. Major Dresser and his right
hand, S/Sgt Etzkorn , kept this group well under control, zealously filling the
endless squares on his progress charts as the training proceeded, and often
howled to high heaven when for some reason, such as that perpetual headache,
weather there were no squares to fill.
Throughout the period spent at Pratt the Squadron Navigator was Captain Don
Carner, who had all the answers to the questions that only a navigator can
ask.His promotion to Group Navigator just prior to the crews departure from
Pratt was a compliment to him and the squadron. He was succeeded, in order, by
Capts. Barth, Splawn, and Lt. Wilkening.
Staff Bombardier at Pratt was Capt. Bill Bird , who had flown a full tour of
missions with the Eighth Air Force in the ETO, and had come back with a chestful
of fruit salad as a result. His experience was of great value to the bombardiers
in their training. However, finding it possible to get out of the Army when the
point system was announced, he did so, and was succeeded by Capt. Schlesman and
Capt. Fellows.
Communications, another vital part of the training setup was, while the
squadron was at Pratt, under the direction of Capt. Wallace and his sizeable
section headed up by T/Sgt. Weiss. After Capt. Wallace was screened out at the
POE , his plac was taken by Lt. Ash.
Personal Equipment was handled by Lt. Ricci and his section, and overseas he
was followed by Lt. Caswell and Hatch. While in Pratt, Lt. Ricci set a new high,
when he rolled his car over and broke his C.O.`s jaw, which necessitated
muzzling the `old man` for seven weeks
Intelligence, which had the job of telling the crews where they were going
and finding out what they had done when they got back, was headed up by Captain
Eldridge, who was more than ably assisted by Lt. Castle , S/ Sgt. Touchard,and
the other very able men in the section.
The training of the gunners was ably handled by Capt. Fred Coil who later on,
overseas, became the Group Executive Officer.
Early in April the squadron was divided into two echelons, air and ground,
and on April fifth the ground echelon set out on the first of its unfortunate
series of bivouacs. After marching them miles in a pouring rain and Kansas mud
at its best, and pitching camp in the downpour, the bivouac was called off in
the evening. A second attempt was made on April 13, when camp was pitched early,
the men went through the infiltration course, and signally distinguished
themselves in the night problem by capturing all the invading engineers. Then at
midnight the `gears` decided to call the whole thing off again, and after
waiting for over an hour in another downpour, the men were trucked back to the
base.
Period III -- Borinquen Field
Towards the middle of April, Uncle Sam decided the winter in Kansas's wheat
fields had been pretty rough, so he decreed the all the crews and a large part
of the balance of the squadron proceed south for training on over water flights
in a semi-tropical climate. Accordingly, on April 18 the first of a parade of
b-17`s and b-29`s left Pratt for Borinquen Field , Puerto Rico, the b-29`s
making the trip in one hop and the 17`s in two. This chapter in the life of the
squadron was most enjoyable in every way. The field was good and equipped with
all kinds of comforts and facilities and - weather was wonderful- and a large
amount of training was accomplished under conditions approximating those in the
area for which we thought we were headed.
Here again extra curricular activities played a large part in the life of the
squadron. Land missions were run to Aguadilla, the home of the tireless
shoeshine boys and Margarita, nightlife after a fashion, and Old Crow at $32.00
a case. Glowing accounts were returned by members of Lt. Wallaces crew of night
life in the sugar cane fields near Mayaguez and of interruptions to it by the
police.
San Juan, where you could buy anything, and where that gal in the nightclub
could wriggle in six directions at once, drew its share of visitors too, and ATC
cooperated by running daily planes to and from there. After this life of
pleasure, during which considerable flying was accomplished, it was no great
treat to return to Pratt.
Section II - Pratt (continued)
Shortly after the return to Pratt the air echelon had its bivouac in an area
just off the field, but reached only after a march of some seven miles. The
weather, however was excellent which helped considerably.
From that point on, the training of flight crews became even more intensive
and was centered largely around formation flying, long-range navigation, and
instrument bombing missions. There was one unhappy stretch when the squadron
flew six consecutive days-but it's a real tribute to maintenance that they
could. This went on for week after week, and as a result the crews were
thoroughly trained and ready to leave Pratt for the staging field, Herrington,
early in August. From there they took off for Mather Field Calif. , which was
their takeoff point for the long flight across the Pacific. A most important
member of the squadron throughout most of the period at Pratt was `Put Put` , a
small lady dog of somewhat uncertain ancestry , and mascot of Lt. Allen`s crew.
In her time with the squadron Put Put acquired many friends and a total of over
190 hours of b-29 time, all of which she enjoyed. It was a real loss to the
squadron when the officials at Mather forbade her going overseas with her crew.
Earl in June three crews, those of Lts. Dickinson, Frey, and Reeves received
orders to take off for the theater where they were to fly with the Twentieth
Air
Force , to absorb experience which they could pass on to their fellow crews
later on. They took off with mingled emotions, but all were proud they had been
chosen and they soon piled up an enviable combat record. They were the only
crews in the squadron to see combat.
Shortly after that the ground echelon was alerted and the rumors as to take
off date and destination flew thick and fast. When the time actually became
short the ground echelon threw a party that will be long remembered. It started
with 175 cases of beer and ended with the Group C.O. - who had been blowing a
trumpet all evening- getting the band out of the guardhouse, and the 463rd being
the proud if temporary possessors of the cannon which normally reposed in front
of base HQ. Durring all of the alert period the ground echelon spent its time in
hikes, drilling, lectures and other means of getting in final shape for their
impending movement overseas.
At 13:00 on June 29, preceded by the base band and led by Lt. Col. Schuck ,
the `paddle feet` marched to the train that was waiting for them, after four
days on it , during which it covered much of western America, the outfit arrived
at Ft. Lawton Seattle, where it spent three more days. There the men made their
first acquaintance with the redoubtable and ubiquitous Kilroy, who they were to
find out later , had been every place in the Pacific at some time before them.
At 17:00 on July 7, the 463rd went aboard the good ship U.S.S. Crenshaw (APA
176), which looked hardly large enough to brave the rigors of the Pacific, and
that night, as it made its way through the choppy waters of Puget Sound, there
were those who had their doubts as to its ability to get the troops there. But
those fears soon faded as day after day passed on the placid Pacific, which
lived up to its name. On July 14 the Crenshaw entered Honolulu harbor, where it
remained for three days. On the 16th , everyone went ashore for a beer party and
a swim at Waikiki beach, which helped to relieve the cramped feeling that
follows a week aboard ship.
After leaving Honolulu on the 17th, still without escort, it was seven days
before land was sighted again. During those hot lazy days there was ample time
for sunning , letter writing , listening to the band , movies, shows created
spontaneously by Cpl. Morganstein and PFC Duggan, and a growing feeling of
resentment at the Navy`s endless `Chicken`. The first sight of Eniwetok atoll in
the Marshalls on July 24 came as a relief, but that turned out to be a sorry
spot and all were glad to leave the following day. This time a six-ship convoy
was formed, which provided a feeling of security, as those were definitely enemy
waters. The convoy zigged and zagged through the wave less seas for five more
days until the atoll of Ulithi, at the western end of the Carolines, was sighted
on the morning of the 29th, and mooring was made there that day. Ulithi turned
out to be a very hot spot, and as the ship was forced to spend ten days there
awaiting a convoy everyone had all they wanted of it. There was one break-when
the squadron went ashore for a day on Mog Mog Iskland, which was famed for a
recreation center and the home of real, cold stateside beer. After that stay the
takeoff on Aug 8, for what everyone knew was the last lap, came as a definite
relief.
The last leg of the trip the Crenshaw made was in a sizable convoy, which made
a striking sight as it proceeded to the northwest. Soon after getting underway
it was officially announced that the destination was to be Ie Shima, a tiny
island lying just to the west of Okinawa. This news raised many questions as to
what sort of place Ie Shima would be, but all were glad to learn their
destination after months of waiting and guessing. On the morning of August 12
the southern tip of Okinawa was sighted, and after skirting the Keramas, a group
of beautiful islands lying to the west, the Crenshaw proceeded up Okinawa`s west
coast to Ie Shima. It was here that the 463rd saw its first signs of war, for
the air was full of planes heading to and from the string of American air bases
on Okinawa. After reaching Ie early in the afternoon the ship came to anchor and
a party went ashore to learn the next move. After two hours they returned,
somewhat crestfallen, to report that we had never been heard of and were
definitely not expected on Ie Shima ! So the Crenshaw turned around and headed
thirty miles down the shore to Hagushi anchorage. That night, while the ship lay
at anchor, the Japs made one of their last air raids of the war, and the 463rd
felt its first sympathy for the Navy when it went under decks for a two hour
alert, while a smoke screen spread over the bay and all hands were at battle
stations. Fortunately, the strike was made at Buckner Bay at the other side of
the island, so no damage was done to the 463rd.
The following day, August 13, after 37 days on the Crenshaw saw the start
of the unloading process, which got the men ashore early in the afternoon. After
a short wait they were picked up by trucks and taken to what was to be their new
home adjoining Kadena Field. This new home was at that time a recently bulldozed
area and a few tents. In a few days, however, everyone was under good tent
cover, sleeping on cots, and reasonably comfortable and well fed. The news of
the end of the war finally became official after days of suspense. While it ment
the 463rd would never see combat, which was a blow to its pride, it was welcomed
with the realization that it would save many lives.
In another week the squadron was assigned to its own area, which again was
simply a flat tract, cleared and leveled. Then came the job of laying out the
area, erecting tents, setting up a mess hall, orderly room, and all the other
necessities.
In a short time the squadron was well set up and began to experience the joys of
outdoor eating, outdoor sanitary facilities, and sleeping under mosquito
netting. At first water was scarce, but in a short time Sgt. Widmer had
established a regular water run, and the sight of his tank truck pulling into
the area was always a welcome one. One soon became acquainted with the afternoon
showers and the red clay mud which followed in their wake.
The weather was hot but not uncomfortable and always cooled off at night,
which helped the sleeping - although most of the outfit was sufficiently tired
to make insomnia a minor problem. Mail, a most important morale factor, came
through fast and was distributed quickly by S/Sgt. Grande, who soon built
himself a combined home and post office that became a most popular spot.
At this time the squadron made its first acquaintance with the Okinawan tombs,
which seemed to be everywhere, and with Okinawan coral which was everywhere.
`Rumor time with Finkelstein` was a part of each day's program, and the souvenir
hunters - Sgts. Larry and Simanek in particular - soon discovered there were
still a few armed Japs left on the island.
The crews had started their trek across the Pacific early in August, moving by
way of Honolulu, Kwajelein and Tinian, where most of them were at this time,
since Kadena was crowded with c-54`s that took the first occupation forces to
Japan. Rumor hath it that on one night before he left Pratt, Capt. Case again
distinguished himself by almost leading a live elephant - not the pink one -
back to the base from a roadside carnival in Pratt. Be that as it may, on August
18
Lt.Col. Schuck arrived at Okinawa with the first of the crews, which was that of
Lt. Smarkola. From then on different crews arrived at intervals of a few days.
As a rule they did not remain, as they were ferrying ships to and from the
Marianas, but starting at the end of August, each crew as it arrived left some
of its members on Okinawa. The crews, having heard of the shortages of
everything at Kadena, usually arrived with bomb bays full of all kinds of
building and miscellaneous materials - including two jeeps, which were brought
by Capt. Garrison and Lt. Christensen`s crews.
Thus the squadron grew in size and its area likewise grew, until by the
middle of September there were over fifty tents standing. The orderly room was
well established and running smoothly under the watchful eyes of T/Sgt. Thompson
and S/Sgt. Wolfe, and things seemed well under control. But on Sunday, Sept 16,
the first typhoon struck. It seemed like a full-fledged storm and was, but aside
from keeping everyone up all night, splattering all their belongings with mud,
and soaking them to the skin it did relatively little damage. Only eight tents
were knocked down, and no one was hurt or homeless. It was obvious, however,
that the highly publicized typhoons were serious affairs and that a loosely
anchored tent would not last long under the relentless pounding of such a storm.
Immediately after that work was started on a permanent kitchen building which
was eventually adjoined by a permanent mess hall - the later grew and grew until
it became one of the best and most attractive on the island, with colorful
murals - done by a Jap PW - that made it the envy of its neighbors. Construction
on other buildings proceeded as more and more of the crews arrived to stay, and
by the end of September the officers had moved into an area of their own `up the
hill`, where they completed a small village of shacks.
The enlisted men had already built, and were operating the first enlisted
men's club in the group. It eventually survived two typhoons, expanded
considerably and became famous as one of the few sources of unrationed beer on
the island. The President of the club when the 463rd landed was M/Sgt Fields,
who was later succeeded by T/Sgt Jackson. Both men did a bang-up job in building
and operating an attractive and serviceable club for which all of the materials
and equipment had to be `scrounged`.
Then on October ninth the second and last typhoon struck - and did a very
thorough job. It flattened all but one of the more than fifty tents in the
squadron area, and five in the officers. The lone survivor was Sgt. Mazar, and
the fact that it remained upright spoke well of the strength of its occupants.
Everyone in the outfit was soaked and there were few who did not loose a good
portion of their clothes and other belongings. What they had left was so wet as
to be useless. Despite the damage and the debris lying everywhere, the squadron
was fortunate in that no one was hurt. The housing problem became acute, and was
solved only by doubling up in the few tents that could still be used - as new
ones were not available.
After this storm it was clear that no tents could take another blow like this
one. So the squadron started out to scrounge and did a remarkable job. Some were
fancy some were not so fancy but all of them were comfortable and more than
adequate. Some boasted such stateside comforts as built in showers and indirect
lighting. One that housed a crew of short men - with one exception - had doors
about five foot 6 inches high-which made life a bit difficult for S/Sgt Larsen
who stood well over six feet. Sgt. Boehm, the squadron carpenter, worked
endlessly and did a real job of building. S/Sgt. Collins was another that fast
made a reputation as a builder, and was soon preempted by the Group as a Quonset
specialist. The change in the appearance of the squadron area was marked
It now looked far more like a small town then the tent city that had proceeded
It. What's more, it was far more typhoon proof and comfortable fo all concerned,
in spite of its somewhat irregular and unmilitary appearance. During all of this
period, the squadron had an ever growing supply of electricity, which was due
largely to the hard and endless work of Sgt. Weuve, who seemed to be continually
stringing new wires and installing more fixtures.
The three `advance` crews, which had left Pratt early in June rejoined the
squadron in October after establishing a record in combat of which the entire
squadron could justly be proud. All three had flown a series of the toughest
kind of missions from the Marianas bases. Lt. Dickenson`s crew, which flew North
Field ,Guam,with the 457th Squadron of the 330th Bomb Group, accomplished the
following 10 missions:
Date
Target
17 July
Chichi Jima
24 July
Tau
27 July
Omuta
29 July
Ogaki
2 August
Mito
6 August
Nishinomiya
8 August
Tokyo
15 August
Kumagayo
30 August
Osaka (PW Mission)
2 September
Tokyo (Display of
Strength)
All members of the crew were awarded the Air Medal, a battle
star for the Air Offensive against Japan, and a Presidential Citation.
Lt. Reeve`s crew, which flew from the same field with the 30th Squadron of
the 19th Bomb Group, flew the following missions:
Date
Target
24 July
Tsu
26 July
Omuta
27 July
Handa
29 July
Ogaki
5 August
Kobe
8 August
Tokyo
14 August
Isesaki
2 September
Tokyo (Display of
Strength)
All members of this crew were awarded the Air Medal and a Battle Star for the
aerial Offensive against Japan.
Lt. Frey`s crew also flew from North Field with the 62nd Squadron of the 39th
Bomb Group. They flew the following missions:
Date
Target
17 July
?????? Jima
24 July
Handa
27 July
Omuta
29 July
Ogaki
5 August
Kobe
8 August
Tokyo
11 August
Sendai
15 August
Isesaki
30 August
Yonezawa (PW Mission)
2 September
Tokyo(Display of
Strength)
All members of this crew were awarded the Air Medal, a Battle Star for the air
offensive against Japan, and a Presidential Citation. Lt. Schreck, bombardier of
this crew was credited with dropping the last bomb of the war from a b-29 over
Japan. This occurred on the last raid over Isesaki on 15 August.
In addition to the return to the squadron of these three crews three more
were assigned to it from the 382nd Bomb Group, which, except for its advance
crews , did not reach Okinawa. These crews had lived with the 463rd for some
time before they were formally assigned. They were the crews of Major Kelly,
Captain Garretson and Lt. Cara.
After a period of a month or more that was devoted largely to reconstruction,
in which the squadron learned that what the Army hasn't, the Navy and Seabees
have, life more or less settled down to a routine of normal operation, although
little flying was accomplished. As time went on , however, flying time increased
, and before long a regular series of training missions were being flown over
the adjacent territory. Many of the squadron also took, and thoroughly enjoyed a
round robin trip over all of the major cities of Japan, which was run on a
weekly basis.
In October the trickle down of homeward bound men started, and from then on it
rapidly became an ever-growing flow. The first group of `high pointers` left on
October 19 . Two of those leaving early, T/Sgt Horning and Sgt. Shallow
achieved lasting fame by literally thumbing their way back to the States. When
Lt. Col. Schuck was appointed Deputy Group Commander on November 20 , Major
Dresser took command of the squadron after having been Group Operations Officer.
He was succeeded as Squadron Operations Officer by Cpt. Case, Fisher and
Garretson and Lts. Cook and Wallace. Captain Kluge became Squadron Adjutant on
November 3 and later became Executive Officer, being succeeded as Adjutant by
Lt. Neeme.
In December the first replacements arrived and the flow of homeward bound men
continued, until it seemed that many of the old familiar faces had disappeared.
The Air Echelon, which had been kicked around the states for many months.
Arrived in sadly depleted form early in the month, but brought only two
officers, Capt. Dreier and Lt. Grover, and 12 of the men - the great majority
Have been screened out at the P.O.E. Capt. Dreier was immediately made group
Adjutant, so was lost to the squadron. First Sgt. Alderson had gone home in
November and his successor, M/Sgt Gates left in December. At that time S/Sgt.
Crim became acting First Sergeant.
By the end of December flying had increased considerably and all of the men on
the line were busy with the maintenance of the many b-29`s on the field, while
the balance of the squadron went ahead with the many duties involved in its
normal operation. Construction continued in the area, and by the first of the
New Year the outfit was enjoying enclosed hot showers, which were constructed
through the unremitting efforts of T/Sgt. Hendrix, S/Sgt. Zaranka and S/Sgt
Charlie Smith.
All through this period the Group and the Wing had drawn heavily on the
personnel of the squadron when they had jobs to be done. Some idea of what this
amounted to may be gathered from the following:
1. Captain Stewart was selected as personal aide to Maj. General Partridge, C.G.
of the Eighth Air Force.
2. Captains Case, Titsworth,and Garretson became group operations officer in
that order after Major Dresser relinquished the job in December.
3. Lt. Brandt became group radar officer and was succeeded by Lt. Bertrand, who
had previously been squadron radar officer.
4. S/Sgt. Thore organized the entire refueling setup for the 316th Wing at
Kadena Field - and in his spare time found and put in running order several old
Jap Trucks
5. The wing test crew was made up entirely of 463rd men, with Lt. Cook as
airplane commander.
6. S/Sgt Kalita, of the communications section, had charge of the ground station
at Kadena
7. Lt. Moore ran the PX - and the motor pool , which was a large one , was full
of 463rd men, with Lt. Buresh as the head man.
8. In addition to those listed many members of the Squadron held down
responsible jobs at Wing Headquarters.
Still another honor came to the squadron on January 29 when the Soldiers
Medal was awarded to S/Sgt. Lloyd Letholt , for heroism in saving the life of
Sgt. Olds , a fellow mechanic in November when a b-29 had burned on the ground
at the field, the award was made by Col Carroll Group C.O, in the squadron mess
hall, before the assembled squadron.
The month of February was marked primarily by the arrival of more replacements
and the continued departure of more of the old timers. During this month the
squadron housing entered its third phase, when a start was made on the
construction of Quonset huts which it was planned would eventually be erected in
sufficient numbers to house the entire squadron. The center of the area
blossomed into great activity with the appearance of an asphalt basketball court
and three volley ball courts, all lighted for night play, and erected largely
through the efforts of S/Sgt. Gray and Engelskirchen.
On the 27 of February Captain Fisher left for temporary duty in the States
and Captain Earl L. Hehn took command of the Squadron.
Flight Roster
Eighth Airforce
316th Bombardment Wing
346th Bombardment Group
463rd Squadron
Commanders Lt. Col. F.J. Schuck "Uncle Joe"
Replaced by Maj. Cornelius S. Dresser
Crew 3-11
B-29 "Slim 2" D.S. 39th BG 62nd BS
James Frey
Wayne Andrews
Mervyn Robinson
William Schreck
Herbert Very
Nicholas Livingston
Wigo Brandt
James Andrews
Andrew Harnaha
Charles Grey
William Hathaway
Jullan Rubin
James Harkins
Gordon Caswell, Replacement
Don Shirey, Replacement
Crew 3-5
B-29 "Willful Witch" D.S. 19th BG 30 BS
Roy Reeves
Charles Faust
Montgomery
Clarence Stout
Ralph Howe
James Cain
Stanley Dick
Edmund Papel
Paul Jenkins
Jack Karn
Anthony Zaranka
Crew 3-19 Flew Combat
B-29 "Miss Take" D.S. 330 BG 457th BS
John Dickenson
Earl Edge
Paul Hill
John Gormely
Bruce Abrams
Charles Vetter
Percival Hanson
Edwin Sloan
Loren Keen
Nathan Fein
James Harkins
Crew 3-3 Proposed b-29 name The Raven `5 of a kind`
1st of the group to land at Okinawa
S/# 44-84046
Joseph Smarkola
Shasta Bryant
Andrew Airheart
Clayton Hudson
Robert Colling
Arnold Anderson
Carrol Hendricks
Joseph Lewis
Frank Sturgis
Mitchel Tumilewicz
Tom Wallace #44- 96293
Garth Hatch
Herrington
Robert Hall
Frank McNelly
Crew 3-17
Lewis Courson
Gerard Plante
George Pierce, removed from crew
Thomas Doyle
Arthur Kahnert
Dante Costa
Quentin Gaskin
Ira Cologrove
Robert Clement, removed from crew
Byron Cope
Jack Burch
Charles Miller
James Wharton, replacement
Albert Simmons, replacement
Lionel Booth
Rest of crew unknown
B-29 SN 44-84052 Formed Alamogordo From 382nd Group McCook, Nebraska
Milton Campbell, ac
Wilber Behling
George Gemeinhardt, radio
Ray Huff, cp
Joe Liberty, radar
Carl Jacobs, nav
Jack Trautman, fe
Jim Greenlee, sg
Mike Bender, sg
Warren Seekamp
Bob Clement, tg
Edmond Schmidt
John Lindgren
Rest of crew unknown
Surplus Crew From 382nd Bomb Group
Donald Kelly, AC
Glenn Rippel CP
John Eberle
Harry Mitchell
Robert Adel
Jack Crooke , Central Fire Control/Flight Engineer
Jack Lane, Right Gunner
Isaac Mayfield, Tail Gunner
Donald Scott, Radio Operator
Victor Bohne, Bombardier
Robert Malone
Roy Warren, Copilot (replacement)
B-29 SN 44-84060 crew 3-4
Flew Weather and Recon For A-Bomb
Charles D Pell ac
Lawrence Krall
John Larson
Art Unger
Bernard O`Leske nav
Rick W. Johnson bomb
William Light
Paul Nordstrom rad
John Reuter
Arthur Girdis
Patrick Schauer
John Minesei
Patrick Hendrickson
Fred Coil
Robert Kensinger
Capt. Dreier
Rest of crew unknown
B-29 "Too Late" SN 44-84040
Eskelle Garrison
Thomas Levine
Harold Parker
William Hunter
John Duncan
Michael Mascar
Howard Staley
Norman Strebel
Leonard Staley
Frank Sturgis
Richard Steinke
John Conlon
Donald Carner
Charles Horning
John Pilikian
Robert Warden
Curtis Johnson
William Fuller
--------------------------------------------
B-29 Crew stayed stateside
Thomas Brown
Sheldon Glasson
Lawrence Hale
Conrad Bloom
John Sizemore
Leonard Farmer
William Jopling
Jay Gapes
James Clark
Marvin Stephens
Adrian Chandler
--------------------------------------------
Surplus Crew From the 382nd Bomb Group
William Cara
Alvin Staff
Harry Follett
Albert Mongold
John Broadway
Roy Warren
Samuel Toplansky
Charles Smith
Wallace Hubbard
Bernard Aldworth
Robert English
William Stewart
Floyd Rodine
Richard Randall
Mahlon Kilgore
Arnold Niedens
Frank Brooks
George Van Zevern
William Light
Frederick Laveway
Rudolph Lebel
John Livelsberger
Paul Duca Replacment Bomb.
B-29 "Cwazy Wabbitt"
D.S. Flew Combat
Raymond Hannah
John Hannon
David Rich
Ner Rankin
Edward Dunn
John Jackson
Woodrow First
Jack James
Paul Jenkins
Howard Jerome
Leonard Jacobson
B-29 "Pot Limit" SN 44-84062
Took Jeep To Okinawa in B-29
Robert Christenson
Vernon L. Dalbey
Woodrow First
Jack Such
McHoy Choy
Edmond Coulon
Samuel Spencer
Robert Alexander
Dennis Foster
Nick Sveda
Richard Studley
Alex Rodriguez
Ground Support
Joseph Dalera
Edward Zinski
Crew 3-18
B-29 "Island Happy"
John Allen
James Lewis
George Wilkening
Daniel Travsky
John Pilikian
Robert Arden
Robert Libby
Julius l Wolfson
Richard Swimm
Hubert Stevenson
Richard Studley
Jack Such
B-29 "The lady in waiting" SN 44-84068
Crew 3-7
Surplus Crew From 331st BG 356th BS McCook Neb
James Titsworth
Rex Moore
Richard Morgan
Charles Hambly
Herbert Kauffman
Carl Ojala
David Kellam
Harry Eastus
John Newby
Owen Maloney
Leon Mieczkowski
Crew 3-6
Gordon Caswell, AC
Orley Ferris, P
Robert Miles, N
Laddie Bartholomew,B
Donald Acrey, R
Claude Tucker,FE
David Alexander, Radio
Don Shirey, CFC
Edmund Berek, G
Roger Floyd, G
David Pierce, TG
B-29 SN 44-84048
Lowell Fisher, ac
Lewis Owen, radio
Peter Davey
Cecil Tolleson
Roy Splawn
Fred Gibson
Robert Strasburg
John Ryan
Thurston Hughes
Martin Kelly
Robert Kolb
Charles Gibson
Robert Clapp
Crew 3-13 B-29 SN 44-27319 Sentimental Journey
Norman Cook
Richard Morgan
Boykin Hammond
Andrew Mellow
Alvin Bertrand
Thomas Toro
Charles Frick
Daniel Adorno
Donald Gerarde
Sheldon Smith
Jesse Enslen
Peter Mariluch
B-29 SN 44-84038
Marshall Case `punjab`
Miles Moore
David Rich
Harry Fowler
Richard Randall
Alfred Barrett fe
Lawernce Lamberty
Allen Liles
William Thomas
Jack Creason
Henry Scalla g
Charles Reeves cc
Robert Bruton
Surplus Crew From 382nd Bomb Group Crew #3-12
Walter Garretson
Charles Davis
Alexander Gerbore
Frank Di Marco
Lester Buresh
James Powell
William Shimmin
Harvey Engelskirchen
James Ramsey
Howard Harris
John Conlon
Claybaker S/# 44-84058
Note: Source Glenn (from Yahoo B-29 Broup)