450TH BOMBARDENT GROUP (H)  NARRATIVE  NOVEMBER 1944

RETROSPECT:

A year ago this month the 450th began preparations to move from its base in Alamogordo, New Mexico to the staging areas. We had passed successfully the POM Inspection, packed our equipment, and held a final formation in full field array at the parade grounds. We were going overseas! The was a trilling note to it despite the fact that to many it would be a one-way trip. We took off - - Kansas, Florida, The West Indies, South America, Africa - - halfway around the world, led the Air Echelon to Manduria in Southern Italy. As we look back I retrospect at the end of November 1944, we see only "Shorty" Carr, the Bombardier, and "Brownie" Brown, the Navigator, of the original Air Echelon that left Alamogordo. Some have been transferred, some are in POW Camps, others have finished their tour of duty in Italy, and others are finished…and so the 450th flies on!

XV AIR FORCE ANNIVERSARY:

We ushered in the month of November by celebrating the First Anniversary of the XV Air Force. From early morning we applied spit and polish to our gear and tried to make the area presentable for the ceremonies presided by Brig. Gen. Hugo P. rush, Commanding General of the 47th Wing. The weather was clear, the parade grounds dry, so we passed in review as soon as the last medal had been pinned on the recipients' inflated chests. The Colonel accompanied the General to our modest "Voice of the Cottontails" from whence the General addressed for the first time his entire command without the necessity of a long tour.

ACTIVITIES:

Not content with the variegated building program now in progress, two other ambitious projects go t under way this month. After shuffling and reshuffling plans for a hospital on the base, the Flight Surgeon and the Colonel decided on a Tufi, fire-proof structure consisting of two wings joined by a corridor. This "Air Base Group Aid Station," hospital to the layman, will contain 36 beds, X-Ray Room, and will house all the squadron aid stations in addition to store rooms and waiting rooms. The stone masons are turning a gauntlet against the rainy weather, but progress during the month indicates that Benedetto and Maestro in charge will win out.

Major Jackson, the Engineering Officer, worried last month for fear that the rumors of a new theater would come to pass, and now he worries for fear the structural steel girder of his theater under construction fail and come down upon the theater goers. Anyway, the weather was getting too cold and rainy for outdoor showings, so a new theater it was! A few truckloads of Italian steel and British tin will give the 450th a weather-proof structure ala Radio City.

The weather has also impelled tenants to winterize. Leaky roofs are being patched, doors are being fitted, and heating units installed. Last year we were content with an ordinary stove made from tin cans or drums, but today fanciful hot air furnaces are in season. The old bromide about "necessity being the Mother of Invention" is hardly a hackneyed expression around camp amongst those who have been abroad scratching for themselves. The lowly tin can has been relegated to something more worthy than the trash pile. And whoever thought that an ordinary valve could be so desirable!

Jeeps are handy little vehicles, but the Winter rains….that gave many an idea. First a makeshift canvas cover was considered adequate, but American standards are not static. Next came the wooden top, finally a complete "Body by Fisher" assembly was super-imposed upon the unsuspecting Jeep; but the Station Wagon ala Pontiac stylized by Major Huber of the 722nd was the crowning feat. He claims that the extra compartment in the back can house two people; thought it's hard to imagine why two people would want to get into the back of a Jeep. The Radar boys on the other hand, followed the mysterious design of their trade and turned out a deep sea monster worthy of Rube Goldberg. Lt. Vetters claims that it is Radar controlled.

The P.R.O. Sergeants too decided that weather was keeping them form working, so in order to be nearer their work (?) they decided to move on this side of the track and build a Casa next to Public Relations. "Now watch our smoke!" one of them ejaculated. (We are watching).

The officers bowed to Dame Fashion and decided that they too could wear a new jacket if they had a tailor, but the Sartorias in the vicinity also had designs. The supply-and-demand-wise craftsmen upped the price to $25.00 apiece declaring in their inimitable aberrations that such a sum would hardly pay for a Kilo of Farina. This was Troppo Molto for the gentlemen of the 450th, so with a brother officer as interpreter and procurer they took a lantern and went in search of a man who could transform two pair of PX pants into a graceful jacket. They found such a man, hurled him in, Singer Machine and all, and installed him in an empty room where he cut and sewed during the entire month. Even the Sartorial Proclivities of such band-box enthusiasts as brand new Major Dawkins have been satisfied by our new tailor; and all to the tune of $10.00. So now everything is MOLTO BUONO, and the line forms to the right.

Another activity for the month was the blood-letting we got at the hands of the second blood transfusion unit manned by English Medics. Blood was needed at the 5th Army Front so we lay down and gave type O. There were no turnips in the Group for in two days they had their quota and more. In return, each donor was treated to an ice cold bottle of English Ale. Bloody decent of 'em, eh wot?

"Education," that Army byword, got a new impetus during the month when the second set of classes got under way. Those finishing the First Semester took their exams and enrolled anew to get themselves more book learnin'. Anything from Analytic Calculus to Human Behavior is on the menu for those who seek self-improvement.

CHANGE OF COMMAND:

Colonel Robert R. Gideon, the "Fearless Red" of the 450th finished a tour of duty in Italy and headed homeward on his fifty-first "mission". He had eluded the enemy fighters in Germany and escaped the flak of Ploesti, but he did not get  past Lt. Vetters, who threw him for a loss in a friendly football game that put the Colonel's arm in a sling. Commiserating American civilians took in his bandaged arm and beribboned breast at one glance and admired the "wounded hero" returning from the war. His explanations were taken as so much modesty on the part of the blushing Colonel. Lt. Colonel Jacoby, former Deputy Group C.O., became the helmsman upon Col. Gideon's departure, ably filling the shoes of his former schoolmate of West Point. Lt. Col. McWhorter, the plain spoken Westerner from the Indian Country became Deputy Group C.O., a post for which "Mac" seems to have ample qualifications. Major Donovan, Erstwhile Mayor of Bedford, traded his old desk for one more becoming the office he now occupies as Group Executive. He left his former post, with all worries pertaining thereunto to youthful "Johnny" H. Wells who answers to the call of "Captain Wells." 

SOCIALLY SPEAKING: 

The 722nd Squadron gave their outgoing Commander a send off with a big pow-wow when he was made Deputy Group C.O. Another good reason for the celebration was that Colonel "Mac" had finished a tour of fifty missions, albeit the fact that the flak guns of Ploesti have him a memento in the region of the GLUTIUS MAXIMUS. His unbounded exhilaration did not prevent him from cutting the big cake prepared for him by the squadron cooks.

The officers of the 723rd Squadron under the enthusiastic guidance of Captain Vincent Taylor decided to build an Officer's Club. Not just another club, but something distinctive. By Thanksgiving they had put in the last frosted window and supplied their bar with the indispensable supplies that raise the temperature in a house warming. Their Open House soon became a full house attended by all the officers and a few Naval personnel. Their modernistic rounded corners and cantilever effects gave the illusion of a modern nightclub.

With memories of a Thanksgiving back home, the 450th did not wish this season to be a ny less on an occasion even if it was to be celebrated overseas where there is little cause for thanksgiving among the natives. Enlisted men and officers held their "at homes" for their friends who dropped in for coke-tails before "going out" for a turkey dinner. And a real turnkey dinner it was! Some of the squadrons began feeding early in the afternoon, thus making it possible for some to accept other invitations that would net them a second try at the bird. Group Headquarters waited until evening for their fashionable repast. As the Society Editor of the Manduria "Corriere Di La Sere" would say: "A good time was had by all, and the host wore a stunning green ensemble trimmed with the cutest silver leaves!"

MORALE:

The "Voice of the Cottontails" kept us informed on election returns. Although most of the men had exercised their right of suffrage, there was very little interest voiced in the electionl. We never heard what the Republicans said to the Democrats.

The football season in America was diligently followed by the fans overseas through the facilities of the "The Voice!" Transcriptions of the big games were rebroadcast to audiences just as eager to see their favorites win. The Army-Notre Dame game had all the Irish backing their distinguished alumnus, Major Donovan, could give his Alma Mater in the camp of the Cottontails. Captain "Robby" Robinson insisted that the backing be less ephemeral than scholastic patriotism, where upon the pragmatic Captain insisted on a bit of cabbage after the game.

Nothing strikes a more familiar note of home than a package marked "Do not open until Christmas." Fully a month before Xmas the packages began arriving in great numbers, but we suspect that the multicolored warnings were not heeded. Herman, the Group Postman, suggested cautiously that some of the packaged contents might be perishable.

Most of us took a look just to be sure. One harbinger of the happy season that was certainly far from being perishable was a can of Spam. The recipient philosophically remarked that he might take it on his trip to Rome. "I may get hungry for meat," he added.

Pets are considered pests at home sometimes, but out here anything with fur or feathers can find a home in an officer's or G.I.'s tent. Some have parrots from the Tropics, Songbirds, and even monkeys may be fond around the camp. And if it's a dong you want, name the size, color and breed and you can find it anytime. In fact, Sgt. Campbell of Supply tells us that canines are OEL equipment, but Sgt. Pedrick of S-1 claims we are over T.O.

OPERATIONS:

During the month of November we bombed everything from road bridges to airdromes and oil refineries, and covered a wide territory from Northern Italy to Munich, Germany. The crews went out on twenty missions for a total of 375 effective and 91 ineffective sorties. On 4 missions weather presented them from dropping their bombs; there were two small missions expressly for PFF Synchronous Bombing, on 6 occasions the weather did not permit visual bombing so they used PFFF; and the remaining 8 were visual attacks out of which only 6 could be scored. The results for the month were highly salutary with a percentage of 69.9 average, enough to convince the enemy that the 450th is still in the "Bombing Business," as Colonel Reuben Kyle of the Wing would say.

STRENGTH:

The Group started the month with strength of 2374 and increased to 2380 by the end of the month despite the 10 MIA's reported. There were no KIA's thus far this month.

HONORS:

The Colonel decided that what the Group needed was a good face-lifting. He wasn't kidding, and just to prove that he was serious he threw two dry-run inspections preparatory to the highly competitive Wing Inspection. Every exposed stick of wood had to be covered with paint or white-wash, and elbow grease took precedence over everything else. On the day of the inspection, offices were dusted in fifteen minute intervals, and in some offices a carpet was rolled to the door as the inspection party approached. As soon as the inspection had been won we went back to bombing the Nazis.

No longer will the boys of the 722nd listen to the stern stentorious strainings of their heavyweight First Sergeant Kuhn. Those who hoped to raise a hand when they saw him will do so now, and with a snap, for hefty six footer is now 2nd Lt. Kuhn, Sir! He received a Field Commission and carries his "diaper pins" well as a Headquarters Officer.

AWARDS AND DECORATIONS:

Lack of fighter opposition has made combat less strenuous and has given the crews less opportunity for "Gallantry in Action," or for "Extraordinary Achievement in Aerial Flight."  Consequently the awards and decorations have taken a nose dive. But the flak has been thick enough to walk on, according to those who have added the Purple Heart to their trophies. A hero may be one who dies for his country, but the boys of the 450th contend that a hero is one who makes others die for his country. Anyway, here's the way we stand for November:

Silver Star                  1

D.F.C.                         20

Soldier's Medal         2

Bronze Star                1

Air Medals                 181

Bronze Clusters         307

Silver Clusters           3

Purple Hearts            22

P.S. Don't let that word "Bronze" lead you to believe that the Bronze Star is easy pickings. It takes a damn good man in this Air Force to get one!