COMMENTS & NOTES
MEMO 1:
CREW
2nd Lt STANLEY T. MAJOR P CPT 29/7/44 MERSEBURG
2nd Lt Thornton Bline CP EVADEE 25/6/44 MAQUIS SUPPLY DROP
2nd Lt Stanley B.Green NAV POW 25/6/44 MAQUIS SUPPLY DROP
2nd Lt William A.Lichtenstein BOM POW 25/6/44 MAQUIS SUPPLY DROP
T/Sgt Laverne H.Deatrich ROG EVADEE 25/6/44 MAQUIS SUPPLY DROP
T/Sgt James E.Marion TTE KIA 25/6/44 MAQUIS SUPPLY DROP
S/Sgt Malcolm K.Eckley LWG EVADEE 25/6/44 MAQUIS SUPPLY DROP
Sgt Harold F. Carter RWG NOC
S/Sgt Warren G.Moore TG POW 25/6/44 MAQUIS SUPPLY DROP
Sgt John F.Nelson BTG POW 25/6/44 MAQUIS SUPPLY DROP (fill in from 390th BG)
418th Sqdn. CREW ABOVE JOINED 100TH ON 7/4/44 except for Sgt Nelson.
On June 25, 1944 2nd Lt Kenneth Houghton was pilot of this crew. Lt.Houghton had arrived at the 100 BG on 9/3/44 as CP on the Andrew Gorski crew and became pilot of Lt Major's crew on 14 June 44 after Lt Major was assigned to Squadron Operations. The rest of the above crew (except for Sgt.John Nelson) had all reached the 100th Gp on 7/4/44 as members of the Stanley T.Major crew. Sgt. Nelson was assigned to the 390th Bomb Gp and no doubt was a last minute replacement for this one mission. On 25 June 44 this crew was flying A/C #42 97859 "Any Gum Chum" .
Missions of co-pilot Lt Thornton Bline sn# O-815813
1. 25/4/44 DIJON, FR.
2. 26/4/44 BRUNSWICK, GER.
3. 29/4/44 BERLIN, GER.
4. 11/5/44 LIEGE, BEL.
5. 19/5/44 BERLIN, GER.
6. 25/5/44 BRUSSELS, BEL.
7. 28/5/44 MAGDEBURG, GER.
8. 30/5/44 TROYES, FR.
9. 31/5/44 OSNABRUCK, GER.
10. 2/6/44 PARIS, FR.
11. 4/6/44 BOULOGNE, FR.
12. 5/6/44 BOULOGNE, FR.
13. 6/6/44 FALAISE, FR D-DAY
14. 7/6/44 NANTES, FR.
15. 8/6/44 TOURS, FR.
16. 14/6/44 LeCULOT, FR.- Lt. Houghton becomes Pilot for this Crew
17. 15/6/44 WILSTER, GER.-Lt. Houghton-pilot
18. 18/6/44 BRUNSBUTTELKOOG, GER. Lt Houghton- pilot
19. 24/6/44 ROUEN, FR. Lt Houghton- pilot
20. 25/6/44 MAQUIS SUPPLY DROP Lt Houghton-Pilot
A/C#42 97859 "ANY GUM CHUM" LD-T
MACR #6542,Micro fiche #2368
SEE ALSO CARDS OF S.T.MAJOR AND A.J.GORSKI.
ANDREW GORSKI CREW
1st Lt Andrew J.Gorski P NOC (LWA) flak in leg on 21/6/44 Basdorf (Berlin)
2nd Lt Kenneth L.Houghton CP POW 25/6/44 as pilot of S.T.Major crew. South of France (Supply Drop)
2nd Lt Ray E.Miller NAV CPT
2nd Lt Burton S.Fox BOM CPT
S/Sgt George Jones TTE NOC
Sgt Albert M.Caldwell ROG CPT 3/1/45 Fulda
Sgt Joseph J.Parrilla BTG NOC
S/Sgt Oscar A.Compton WG NOC
Sgt John Rybak WG NOC
Sgt Daniel M.Gargile TG NOC
418th Sqdn. This crew,as above,Joined the 100th Group on 9/3/44.
Letter from Ray Miller (April 1984) We had not been a part of the group very long until Andy Gorski was
moved into squadron ops. Burt Fox had been a bombardier lnstructor and had gone through phase training
twice. He was a natural for lead crew and insisted that I be his navigator as we were a "team". Gorski did
not go to Pathfinders but did get some Command pilot time (he got a flak wound in the leg while doing so).
Burt & I teamed up with Austin Dunlap and completed our tour as , PFF crew. Kenneth Houghton got a crew of
his own (that of Lt Stanley Major) and was shot down but walked out. It was in June 1944 and he has a good story
about Gen.Patton and his staff. I do not know the fate of the enlisted men of our original crew.
MEMO 2:
Malcolm K. (Mack) Eckley December 27, 1921-November 8, 2017
Malcolm K. Eckley (Mack), age 95, formerly of Bellefonte, passed away peacefully on November 8, 2017, at John C Lincoln Hospital in Phoenix, AZ, with family members by his side. He was born on December 27, 1921, at home in Valley View, and attended the one room schoolhouse a mile from his home. He graduated from Bellefonte High School in 1940. Mack was preceded in death by his wife of 66 years, Elizabeth Saylor Eckley (Betty) in April, 2013. They were the best parents anyone could have had! Also preceding his death were his parents, Ethel King Eckley and Paul N. Eckley of Valley View, and his four siblings, Peg Blair, Julia Marshall, Leroy Eckley and Wayne Eckley. He is survived by his four daughters, Linda Sampsel, Anthem, Arizona, Patricia DeVier (Jim), Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, Sandra Helsom (Scott), Phoenix, Arizona, and Sharon Hobbs (Jeff), Bar Harbor, Maine. In addition he is survived by six grandchildren, James Sampsel and Eric Sampsel, California, Shaun Helsom and Sarah Gortarez, Arizona, Jefferson Hobbs, Massachusetts, and Crystal Hobbs, Maine. Great-grandchildren include Andrew Sampsel, Matthew Sampsel, Heather Smith, Emmy Hobbs, Lydia Helsom and Juliet Gortarez. There are also four great-great-grand-children, Boone Merchant, Anna Merchant, Violet Garcia and Maddox Garcia. Mack was a member of VFW Post 1600 in Bellefonte. During WWII he was an Army Air Corps gunner on the B-17 Aircraft. After his plane was shot down over France on June 25, 1944, he was missing in action for three months in enemy territory until his rescue in August. Mack was employed in the Department of Photographic Services at Penn State University from 1949 to 1982. He had a photo studio in his home in Bellefonte which also included a darkroom in the basement. He took wedding, baby, school and family pictures. After their retirements, Mack and Betty moved to Phoenix, AZ. Private funeral services will be held in Phoenix. A full military service is being planned for next summer in Bellefonte. Both Mack's and Betty's ashes will then be interned at Meyer Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to: VFW Post 1600, 123 S. Spring Street, Bellefonte, PA 16823.
