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28 December 1943 SUMMARY OF THE SQUADRON HISTORY FOR THE MONTH OF DECEMBER Under the supervision of Major Leigh Lott and his staff of Group S-2, lectures in Safeguarding Military Information were given to the members of the Squadron during the first two evenings of the month. Half of the Squadron attended the lectures the first night and the other half the second night. Training films on Camouflage and Safeguarding Military Information were shown. The lectures and training films lasted about three and a half hours each night. Each Squadron S-2 Officer was included in the program by giving a short talk. Pamphlets on mail regulations and etc, for overseas, were distributed to the men after each lecture. The Combat Crews of this Squadron were very busy all month participating in Group missions. They were briefed before take-offs by group and interrogated by the Intelligence Officers after landing. Early in the month the members of the organization waited news from crew #25 flying in ship #463. They were lost on a routine night mission. Planes searched for days and emergency bail out crews were formed to aid the men if the lost ship was found. After tireless days of searching, the ship was given up as lost. The crew consisted of: 2nd Lt. Turvey, 2nd Lt. Fish, 2nd Lt. Hester, 2nd Lt. Cronin, S/Sgt. Bursey, and S/Sgt. Wandtke. The Squadron appeared in the Group Reviews and Inspections every Friday during the month. All officers and enlisted men available showed up for the Inspections and made a good showing for the organization. The Squadron party was held in Jadron Hall, about three miles from camp. A buffet supper and drinks of all kinds were served to the officers and men and all their lady friends. Music was supplied by two bands that played until 1:00 AM. Several members of the Hammer Field WAC detachment showed up to act as dancing partners for the men. Col. Glantzberg, Group Commander, and Major Applegate, Squadron Commander, gave brief talks. A wonderful time was had by all. During the month the Squadron Photo section took pictures of all the Combat Crews and the Squadron Staff Officers. A copy of each picture was given to each crew member. Several copies were sent to Group and several copies were kept to be mounted in the Squadron Photo Album. Later in the month we lost another ship. All the crew bailed out to safety. 1st Lt. Norman Smith, pilot, suffered from a broken leg, made while landing in his parachute. 2nd Lt. Kurtzberg, Navigator, suffered minor injuries. A couple of days after the crash, Captain William Bock flew down to Blythe California and brought them back to our organization. Lt. Smith was placed in the Base Hospital and will not be able to go overseas with this organization. The night before Christmas found the cooks working hard preparing for Christmas dinner. Christmas day found a wonderful dinner prepared for the men; turkey and all the trimmings. Most of the men thought of the folks back home, but didn’t seem to mind being away from them, knowing they were here for a worthy cause. The end of the month found all of the Departments in the Squadron, packing, waterproofing, and crating all their equipment for overseas shipment. As we close the Squadron History for this month and for the year of 1943, we find both the ground and air crews eager to get overseas and help get this mess over with so we all can go home with our families for Christmas of 1944.
28 December 1943 EXTRACTS FROM THE SQUADRON HISTORY FOR THE MONTH OF DECEMBER December 1. The members of the Squadron attended lectures on Safeguarding Military Information at the Base Gym. 2nd Lt. Robert Owen, 2nd Lt. Jack D. Dennis and four enlisted men were assigned from Headquarters, 461st Bomb Group. There were the following promotions among the enlisted men: fifty Sgt’s. promoted to S/Sgt.; thirty-five Corporals promoted to Sgt.; fifty-three Pfc’s promoted to Corporal. 1st Lt. Tallant was appointed to act on the Board for recommending Non-Commissioned Officers of the first two grades, in addition to his other assigned duties. December 2. The second half of the Squadron attended the lectures on Safeguarding Military Information this evening. 2nd Lt. Chas. F. Basye and eleven enlisted men joined the organization from Headquarters, 461st Bomb Group. December 3. One enlisted man was assigned from Headquarters, 461st Bomb Group. Two enlisted men went to SASC Technical School, McCellen Field, California on Detached Service. December 4. Two enlisted men were assigned and joined from Headquarters, 461st Bomb Group. December 5. Crew #25 was missing today in ship #463 with the following crew members: Lt. Turvey, Lt. Hester, Lt. Fish, Lt. Cronin, S/Sgt Wandtke, and S/Sgt. Bursey. One enlisted man returned from Detached Service at Photo Interpretation School, San Francisco, California. One enlisted man returned from furlough. One enlisted man was returned to duty from confinement in the guardhouse. December 6. Today the search continued for ship #463. Lt. W. F. Foster, 2nd Lt. Kahn, Sgt. Farrell, Sgt. Daniels, Sgt. Carson, Sgt. Wilgel, and Sgt. Alexander formed an emergency bail out crew to rescue the men if the ship was found. They returned late in the afternoon after not finding the ship. 1st Lt. Jack Cody was assigned as Tech Supply Officer in addition to his other duties. One enlisted man was transferred to 766th Squadron. Two enlisted men assigned from Headquarters, 461st Bomb Group. Two enlisted men were reduced to the grade of private. December 7. Today on the second anniversary of the sneak attack upon Pearl Harbor by the Japs, found the members of the Squadron still waiting for some news on 2nd Lt. Turvey and his crew. Six enlisted men were transferred to the 15th BOTW, Gowen Field, Idaho. Lt. Maxson was designated as Squadron Parachute Officer in addition to his other duties. One enlisted man was assigned from the 767th Squadron. December 8. Three Corporals were reduced to the grade of Pvt. Three privates were promoted to private first class. 2nd Lt. Lanigan returned from Detached Service at Tonopah, Nevada. 1st Lt. Tallant, 1st Lt. Nixon, 1st Lt. Mixon, and 2nd Lt. Specht were appointed Flight Commanders. The search for crew #25 continued today. December 9. Major Robert Applegate assumed the duties of temporary Squadron Commander relieving Capt. Bock who assumed the temporary duties as Operations Officer. December 10. Today three enlisted men were transferred to the 765th Bomb Squadron. Six enlisted men were assigned from Headquarters, 461st Bomb Group. December 11. No change in the Squadron history. December 12. One enlisted man was transferred to the 766th Bomb Squadron. 2nd Lt. James T. Bennett and 2nd Lt. Robert B. Hearn assigned and joined from Headquarters, 461st Bomb Group. December 13. Major Robert E. Applegate was assigned as Squadron Commander from Headquarters, 461st Bomb Group. 1st Lt. Bock was assigned as Operations Officer. Lt. W. Smith was made assistant Operations Officer. 2nd Lt. Lanigan went to the Naval Air Station at Alemeda, California on Temporary Duty. One enlisted man returned from ten-day furlough. December 14. 2nd Lt. Albert E. Bartlett was assigned from the 764th Bombardment Squadron. 2nd Lt. Glomiel Fulks was assigned from Headquarters, 461st Bomb Group. December 15. 2nd Lt. Campo returned from Temporary Duty at Randolf Field, Texas. 2nd Lt. Harry S. Towne was assigned to this Squadron from Headquarters, 461st Bombardment Group. Twenty-eight enlisted men were promoted today as follows: Seven T/Sgt’s to M/Sgt.; four S/Sgt’s to T/Sgt.; ten Sgt’s to S/Sgt.; two Cpl’s to Sgt., four Pfc’s to Cpl. December 16. 1st Lt. Sullivan, 2nd Lt. Hume, 2nd Lt. Stewart, 2nd Lt. Bennett, 2nd Lt. Highdahl, and Lt. Danky were appointed Summary Courts Officers. 2nd Lt. Lanigan returned from Temporary Duty at the Naval Air Station, Alemeda, California. |
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