Personnel

LT COL CHANNING  BURTON (C.B.) EMBERSON   O-406725

487TH BOMB GROUP OPERATIONS OFFICER (Feb 16 1944-May 6, 1944)   

351st BOMB SQUADRON CO (June 14, 1944 to Dec 28, 1944)



DATE TYPE TARGET MISSION # REMARKS

                                                                  Logbook Entries Certified Correct by Stanley E. Stuber, Capt. USAAF (date unknown)

5/1/1944   B-17G Belgium  1 Bombing - Combat

5/19/1944 B-17G Berlin, Germany  2 Bombing - Combat (Good)

5/20/1944 B-17G Brussels, Belgium  3 Bombing - Combat

5/25/1944 B-17G Brussels, Belgium  4 Bombing - Combat

5/30/1944 B-17G Troyes, France  5 Combat (Very Good)

5/31/1944 B-17G Osnabruck, Germany  6 Combat (Fair)

6/2/1944   B-17G Paris, France  7 Combat (Very Good)

6/4/1944   B-17G Bologne, France  8 Combat (Excellent)

6/6/1944   B-17G France  9 Combat - D-Day

6/19/1944 B-17G Ecluse, France  10 Combat (Very Good)

6/24/1944 B-17G Rouen, France  11 Combat

7/11/1944 B-17G Munich, Germany  12 Combat - PFF  

7/18/1944 B-17G Kiel, Germany  13 Combat

7/21/1944 B-17G Ludwigshaven, Germany  14 Combat

7/28/1944 B-17G Merseberg, Germany  15 Combat

8/4/1944   B-17G Hamburg, Germany  16 Combat (Good)

8/11/1944 B-17G Villa Coublay, France  17 Combat (Excellent)

8/15/1944 B-17G Venlo, Holland  18 Combat (Very Good)

8/24/1944 B-17G Ruhland, Germany  19 Combat (Excellent)

8/27/1944 B-17G Berlin, Germany  20 Combat

9/5/1944   B-17G Stuttgart, Germany  21 Combat (Very Good)

9/10/1944 B-17G Nurenberg, Germany  22 Combat (Good)

9/15/1944 B-17G England England - Recall from Warsaw

9/18/1944 B-17G Warsaw Russia 23 Combat - Supplies to Polish Partisans

9/19/1944 B-17G Russia Szolnok, Hungary 24 Combat - Shuttle to Italy

9/28/1944 B-17G Merseberg, Germany  25 Combat

10/5/1944 B-17G Germany  26 Combat

10/12/1944 B-17G Bremen, Germany  27 Combat (Good)

10/22/1944 B-17G Munster, Germany  28 Combat (Good)

11/6/1944   B-17G Neumunster, Germany  29 Combat (Fair)

11/26/1944 B-17G Hamm, Germany  30 Combat - Got Shot Down

12/2/1944   B-17G Western Germany  31 Combat

12/25/1944 B-17G Kaiserlautern, Germany  32 Combat (Excellent)



1/1/1945 B-17G England   Training

1/2/1945 B-17G England   Training

1/4/1945 C-54 Scotland LG, USA  Great Britain - USA

4/26/1945 C-45 Gulfport Gulfport  Training

4/28/1945 AT-11 Gulfport Gulfport  Training

4/29/1945 AT-11 Gulfport Gulfport  Training

4/30/1945 AT-11 Gulfport Gulfport  Training

5/7/1945 AT-11 Gulfport Gulfport  Training

5/19/1945 B-17G Gulfport Maxwell  

5/21/1945 AT-11 Gulfport Maxwell  

5/22/1945 AT-6 Tenn CG  

5/25/1945 AT-6 CG Nashville  



On 26/11/44 thls PFF crew was as follows on a mission to Hamm



    Lt.Col Channing Emberson      Air Commander

   Capt James Seamans          Pilot

  1st Lt Clyde W.Lollis            CP (FORMATION OFFICER IN TAIL)

   Capt George L.Rhoades        Lead NAV

   Capt William R.Brice            Lead BOM

 1st Lt Seymour Passen         Command NAV

 1st Lt Earl Frye                      Radar

 T/Sgt Paul A.Ross                TTE

 T/Sgt Herbert A.Grand         ROG

 S/Sgt Homer Goodman         RWG (original BTG on Seamans crew)

 S/Sgt Edward J.Tatro           LWG (original TG on Seamans crew)



Lt Col Emberson Time line:



Enlisted from 21 June 1940 - 14 Mar 1941 Inclusive

Commissioned 15 March 1941 - 11 Oct 1945 Inclusive



His first Army Air Corps logbook entry is on: 9/20/40, for primary flying school at Lindbergh Field in San Diego. Basic flying training commenced on 12/23/40 at Randolph Field in Texas, and his Advanced Flying School time commenced on 3/14/41 at Kelly Field, Texas. He qualified and flew B-24s, (D, E and H) B-25s (A, B, C, D), B-26s (C). He did mostly anti-sub patrol, starting in *. On 5/8/42,in a B-25A, he sank two Nazi subs, sank or damaged a Nazi sub on 6/7/42 (B-25B), flew antisub patrol with/for the Queen Mary on 10/17/42…. Temp promotion dated 5 Feb 1943 (his 24th birthday) from 1st Lt to Capt…. Special orders dated 18 Feb 1944, looks like reassignment from the 359th Base Hq & AB Sq, Alamogordo, NM, assigned 487th BG (H) effective on 16 Feb 1944..   Captain Emberson was promoted to Group Operations Officer on Feb 16, 1944( Lt Col Beirne Lay Jr took command of 487th BG on Feb 27). Temp promotion dated 13 March 1944 from Captain to Major... He arrived on base in  England on 4/22/44 (arriving in a B-24H) assigned to 487th Bomb Group at Lavenham... Lt Col Lay replaced him as Operations Officer on May 6th. (A misjudgement on the part of Lay who in April 1945, admitted as much in a personal letter to Lt Col Emberson)  The group had not even flown one mission yet.  His place was taken by a Major Pomeroy and eventually by Captain Ernest Kiessling from the 100th BG on May 22nd 1944. 



Special Ordered dated 14 June 1944:  "MAJ CHANNING B EMBERSON, 0406725, is reld fr dy in & asgmt to Hq 100th Bomb Gp, reasgd to 351st Bomb Sq, & aptd CO thereof."  By order of Lt. Col Jeffrey

A credit/debit slip dated 12 July 1944 for a bicycle, bell, pump and tool kit. 

Handwritten recreation of promotion from Major to Lt. Col. ordered by Lt General Doolittle (looking for the original)

 



Medals and Commendations:

 

A commendation for the 351st dated 03 Jan 1945 for outstanding performance from 31 July to 2 Nov 1944, when the squadron participated in 52 consecutive missions without the loss of a single crew or aircraft signed by Brig Gen N.B. Harbold.

Award - DFC dated 4 Nov 1944- for heavy bombardment over Germany for period ending 22 Oct 1944 (Munster was the last mission before this date) with TWO oak leaf clusters

Awarded Air Medal for flying more than 350 hrs in the Army Air Corp.  

An extract dated 20 July 1944: Awards & Decorations - Oak Leaf Cluster, for wear with the Air Medal previously awarded. (heavy bombardment over Continental Europe)

Extract dated 24 July 1944 - Oak Leaf Cluster for Air Medal prev. awarded

Extract dated 25 Aug 1944 - Oak Leaf Cluster for Air Medal prev. awarded

Extract dated 29 sept 1944 - Oak Leaf Cluster for Air Medal prev. awarded

American Defense Medal

American Theater Medal with one Battle Star (Battle of Atlantic)

ETO Ribbon with 4 Battle Stars (Air Offensive Europe, Normandy, Northern France, Battle of Germany) 



 



 





> Submitter's Name: Cory Emberson

> Submitter's Email: coryemberson@earthlink.net

> Submitter's Relationship: Child

> =========================

> Veteran's Name: Channing Burton (C.B.) Emberson

> Death Date: 09 June 1993

> Veteran's Unit: 351st

> Veteran's Position: Pilot

> =========================

> Family Contact Information: Mrs. Helen Emberson (wife)

> 1840 Tice Creek Boulevard #2426

> Walnut Creek, CA 94595 

> OR

> Cory Emberson (daughter)

> 20511 Skywest Drive

> Hayward, CA 94541

> 

> Comments: After leaving the AAC, Lt. Col. Emberson flew with 

> United Airlines for 33 years, retiring in February 1979 in 

> the left seat of a DC-10. An avid naturalist, he is survived 

> by his wife of 37 years, Helen, and his daughters Cory and 

> Melissa. He was a fine man and is missed every day.





best regards,

Cory Emberson

Lightspeed Editing

20511 Skywest Drive

Hayward, CA 94541

510.599.4409



Subj: RE: Lt Col Emberson (Excel file with missions attached)  

Date: 12/1/2004 10:23:56 PM Pacific Standard Time 

From: coryemberson@earthlink.net 

To: MPFaley@aol.com 

Sent from the Internet (Details)