The Jesse Wofford B-17 Crew
by S/Sgt Joe R. Urice 351st Squadron – 100th BG – 8th AF Related Page: Jesse Wofford Crew Page CREW ASSEMBLY Air Force personnel were coming in to reassignment centers from all areas. In my case, I had received a delay in route leave after completing gunnery school (class 44-27) at Las Vegas, NV on 18JULY44 and […]
England Russia Italy Shuttle Mission
by Harry H. Crosby Harry Crosby, 100th Group Navigation, tells what happened when a conscientious and romantic young flyer wanted to round out his tour of missions. He paid a high price as told in this story, for his promotions to Major. At one point in the air war, the high command decided that rotating […]
Varian History
Missions and Memories of a WWII Bomb Group Introduction by Harry H. Crosby Late in 1945 I was talking to a young pilot who had just been assigned to the 100th Bomb Group. Although he was supremely, even brashly, confident about himself and his crew, he was worried. Yes he was afraid. He said that […]
“Red” Bowman
by Two Friends Marvin Bowman, Group Intelligence Office, probably was better known than most Commanding Officers. His briefing and interrogation of crews brought him close to them and he was widely known and admired by ground personnel. He remained a 100th Grouper until the end of his life, rarely missing a Group gathering. Marvin (“Red”) […]
Butch Rovegno
by John Herlihy Every bomb group has its characters and some of them become legendary. One such was Butch Rovegno, an almost professional southern, Butch had a warm personality and a rich sense of humor. As each new Group Commander arrived, Rovegno staged and energetic public relations campaign for his line crews. That he gained […]
Now We Are History
That the 100th is so much a part of history that we have become a “project” for an English schoolboy is both flattering and unsettling. This is a letter Bill Carleton, 351st Engineering Officer, received from Gary Lines. His thoughtful and reminiscent reply, spanning as it does, the years we were at Thorpe Abbotts. Dear […]
A Collection of 100th Letters
assembled by Paul West Charlie DavisMany of you remember Charlie Davis of Group Operations, one of those quiet, warm sergeants, without whom most departments could not have functioned, or certainly not have functioned well. He was well enough to attend the reunion in Washington in 1969 where he and his wife, Marge, helped and inexperienced […]
The Sad Sack Shack
by Edward Cimokowski The American airmen never learned that the English pub was not a saloon, but a family gathering place. In an effort to improve Anglo-American relations, the neighboring pubs were placed off-limits and a giant sized saloon called The Sad Sack Shack was opened on the base. A canteen cup and a six-penny […]
“Mo,” The Donkey and Other Stories
by John A. Miller John, who has been out of touch with the Group since the War, writes that he’s stuck at home because of “my damned arthritis” and trouble with his heart. He says,” I’m just overflowing with things to say and to ask my old Bomb Group. It was the greatest thing in […]
Thorpe Abbotts Revisited
By Horace Varian Many 100th Groupers have visited the old base at Thorpe Abbotts. Only a few have written about it, always nostalgically and often with a note of disappointment because they could not orient themselves. Horace Varian made a return trip in 1972, and perhaps because he was there for the whole period of […]