Personnel

CREW



LT ARMAND MUNOZ                            P FEH 

LT WILBUR W. KREAMER                    CP FEH   (flew as CP on Lt Robert Ellis Crew after V-E Day)

F/O FRANCIS J. POPOLI                     NAV FEH

SGT SALVATORE T. DiBARTOLE    NG/TOG FEH TAPS:  31 DEC 1985

CPL SAMUEL SCHNEIDER                  ROG FEH TAPS:  22 JUL 1986

CPL GEORGE G. HOLDEN                  TTE FEH TAPS:  13 AUG 1984

CPL ROBERT M. SHUCK                     BTG FEH TAPS:  05 MAY 1981

CPL FRANK N. ACCORDINO                 WG FEH

CPL JOHN T. FORD, JR.                       TG FEH



351ST SQDN.. CREW, AS ABOVE, JOINED THE 100TH ON 21 JAN 1945

Crew Flew #42-97126  The LatesT Rumor on most of their missions



Missions of Lt Munoz  (from Capt William Carleton's mission report book Dec 44-May 45…mpf)





#         DATE                     TARGET                                           A/C# & NAME



1.       06/02/45                 BOHLEN                                          297126   THE LATEST RUMOR

2.       09/02/45                 BOHLEN                                          297126   THE LATEST RUMOR

          15/02/45                 COTTBUS  (ABORT, OXY LEAK)         297126    THE LATEST RUMOR   

3.       17/02/45                 FRANKFURT/GIESSEN                        297126   THE LATEST RUMOR

4.       19/02/45                 OSNABRUCK/MUNSTER S.T.               297126   THE LATEST RUMOR

5.       21/02/45                 NURNBURG                                      297126   THE LATEST RUMOR

          25/02/45                MUNICH  (ABORT, RW PROP)             297126    THE LATEST RUMOR

6.       04/03/45                ULM                                                338861    SWEET NANCY II

7.       07/03/45                SIEGEN S.T.                                     297126    THE LATEST RUMOR

8.       11/03/45                HAMBURG                                        338963     EP-E

9.       12/03/45                SWINEMUNDE                                   297126   THE LATEST RUMOR

10.     15/03/45                WITTENBURG                                   297126   THE LATEST RUMOR

11.     18/03/45                BERLIN                                             297126   THE LATEST RUMOR

12.     21/03/45                RUHLAND/PLAUEN                             297126   THE LATEST RUMOR

13.     22/03/45                ALHORN                                           297126   THE LATEST RUMOR

14      23/03/45                UNNA                                              231767    OUR GAL SAL

15.     24/03/45                ZIEGENHAIN                                     297126   THE LATEST RUMOR

16.     24/03/45                STEENWIJK                                      297126   THE LATEST RUMOR

17      28/03/45                HANOVER                                         297126   THE LATEST RUMOR

18      31/03/45                ZEITZ                                              339162     LD-U

19.     03/04/45                KIEL                                                 297126   THE LATEST RUMOR

20.     08/04/45                EGER                                                297126   THE LATEST RUMOR

21.     09/04/45                MUNICH                                            297126   THE LATEST RUMOR



CHOWHOUND

         01/05/45               WALKENBURG, HAGUE                         297126   THE LATEST RUMOR

         07/05/45               SHIPHOL                                            297126   THE LATEST RUMOR



POW FERRY MISSIONS

         19/05/45               POW                                                   48705     EP-Z PFF

         04/06/45              CASABLANCA FERRY MISSION,                 48252     EP-E





*****************************************************************************************************************

JOHN T. "Jack" FORD Jr. 



Obituary



FORD JOHN T. "JACK" FORD, JR. 89, of Bonita Springs, FL, died Friday, July 6, 2012, at Joanne's House at Hope Hospice, after a brief illness. Jack was born May 15, 1923, in New York City, a son of the late John T. and Josephine (Corkill) Ford, Sr. In 1941, Jack went to the University of Notre Dame and after two years left school to join the U.S. Army. He was a veteran of the U.S. Army Air Force having served as a tail gunner on a B-17 during World War II. After the war, he returned to Notre Dame and graduated in 1947, with a B.S. Degree in Accounting. In 1947, he joined Haskins and Sells as an auditor, and in 1951, left to join the C&O Railroad in Cleveland, and went on to hold a variety of posts in the Finance Department. In 1963, C&O merged with the B&O Railroad to become the Chessie System, and later with Seaboard Coast Line to become CSX. Jack retired in 1980, from the CSX Corp as their Executive Vice President and Chief Finance Officer. Jack served on the boards of several corporations, was a member of St. Leo the Great Catholic Church, Spanish Wells Country Club, former President of the Notre Dame Club of Southwest Florida and served on the Advisory Board of the Business School at the University of Notre Dame. He is survived by his son, John T. Ford, III and his wife, Cynthia of Ellicott City, MD; three daughters, Ann Ford Weadock and her husband, Thomas of Ruxton, MD, Margaret Ford Harrington and her husband, Mark of Potomac Falls, VA and Libby Ford and her wife, Pamela Barrale of Rochester, NY; one brother, Joseph W. Ford and his wife (Anne) of Riverdale, NY; 11 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his wife, of 54 years, Mary E. "Betty" Ford, in 2005; two sisters, Patricia Crowley and Ann Marie Ford and one brother, Charles J. Ford. THE FAMILY WILL RECEIVE FRIENDS, MONDAY, JULY 9, 2012, FROM 5:00 - 7:00 P.M., AT SHIKANY'S BONITA FUNERAL HOME. Catholic Scripture services will be held at 6:30 P.M. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated Tuesday, at 11:00 A.M., at St. Leo the Great Catholic Church, 28294 Beaumont Rd. Bonita Springs, FL. Memorial donations in his memory may be made to Hope Hospice – Health Park, 9470 Hope Park Circle, Fort Myers, FL 33908. Arrangements are being handled by Shikany's Bonita Funeral Home (239) 992-4982.



.

 Published in The Plain Dealer on July 8, 2012



****************************************************************************************************************



               John Ford Diary 

Mission #1

Date - 6-Feb-'45

Target - Chemnitz - Area Marshalling Yards

Bombing Altitude 26000 ft.

Flight Time - (approx.) 10 hours

Oxygen - 6 hours - 10 min.

Ship - 126 "Latest Rumor"

Flak: moderate and innaccurate

Damage: tail section wrinkled

Remarks: Dry run over Dresden, through moderate flak barrage. Made second run over Chemnitz Area (Zwibau) dropping bombs there.



Mission #2

Date - February 9

Target - Weimar (armament plant)

Bombing Altitude 26000 ft.

Ship No. - 126 The Latest Rumor

Flight Time: 8 hours

Oxygen: 5 hours 35'

Opposition:

Flak - light & inaccurate

Fighters - E/A sighted on several different occasions. Only actual contact was with jet propelled fighters - (Me 262) - attacks centered in tail cone. Negative battle damage.4 ship "Company Front" - 6 o'clock by 262's.



Mission #3

Date - 15 February

Target - Cottbue Marshaling Yards

Bombing Altitude 23,200 ft.

Ship #811 "Baby Sweet"

Flight Hours; - 8 hrs - 35 min.

Oxygen time; 5 hrs - 20 min.

Flack demonstrated our only opposition - it was fairly heavy but for the most part inaccurate. No visibile battle damage. Our first big show. Practically every plane in the 8th Air Force was in the air. Sweated it out with only one tail gun, fortunately fighter escort was on the ball.

10/10 cloud coverage over target prevented visual reconnaissance of target damage. However large column of smoke mushroomed up through overcast, leading us to believe we had "pretty fair" success. Intelligence later reported that column of smoke seen over target resulted from a direct hit on freight cars loaded with ammunition & shells for Eastern front. Bombing results judged excellent.



Mission #4

17 February

Target - Frankfurt (Geissen) Railway Yards

Bombing Altitude - 24,000 ft

Ship #126 "The Latest Rumor"

Flight Time - 6 hours - 20 min.

Oxygen: - 3 hours 30 min.

Remarks: - Day run on Frankfurt through heavy barrage. Due to 10/10 coverage made 2nd run.

Opposition: No E/A were in evidence. Flak was moderate - much more accurate than in our previous sorties. Battle damage was confined to propeller on #4 engine, from which an oblong piece was torn out by a flak blast. No casualties other than my stomach which was rent with dry heaves all during the flight.



Mission #5

Date - 19 Feb.

Target - Osnabruck Marshalling Yards

Bombing Altitude: 24,00 ft

Ship #126 The Latest Rumor

Flight Time: 4 hours, 50 min

Oxygen 3 hours.

Opposition: Flak was moderate but inaccurate, due to heavy cloud coverage. No apparent battle damage.



Mission #6

21 Feb - '45

Target: Nuremburg Marshalling Yards

Altitude: 25,000 ft.

Ship No 126 The Latest Rumor

Flight Time: seven hours

Oxygen - five hours

Opposition: No E/A were visible at any time during the mission. Later reports have even indicated that following waves were subjected to fighter attacks. Flak was heavy - much heavier than on preceding missions with possible exception of Frankfurt. Battle damage was confined to tail area - a hole about a foot long on the right horizontal stabilizer - about two feet from my shoulder!



Mission #7

February 28 - '45

Target: - Kassel R.R. Marshalling Yds.

Altitude: - 25,000

Ship # 602

Flight Time: - seven hours

Oxygen: - 4 hrs. 30 min.

7000 LB. bomb load

Opposition: - Heavy, concentrated flak barrage. Due to 10/10 cloud coverage barrage was fairly inaccurate. Negative battle damage. Lost #2 engine over I.P.

Our first string of missions with the 8th sets a record. Heaviest tonnage in two week period since war began. Topped it off by carting 7000 pounds (G.P.'s and incendiaries) this morning. We needed all the runway to get the load up in the air.



Mission #8

March 4 - '45

Target: - Marshalling yards at Ulm

Ship #861 Sweet Nancy II

Flight Time: 8 hrs. 45 min.

Oxygen: 5 hr. 50 min.

Bombing Altitude: 26,000 ft

Remarks: Unusually bad weather conditions. Flew majority of time between two solid cloud layers. Visibility restricted not only by coverage but by thick, persistent contrails. Opposition was limited to a few scattered rockets. Due to weather no fighters were anticipated - or experienced. Flak conspicuous by its absence



Mission #9

March 8 - 1945

Target - Marshalling yards at Siegen

Ship #126 "The Latest Rumor"

Flight Time: 8 hours 15'

Oxygen: 5 hours

Bombing Altitude: 25,500

Remarks: Originally briefed for Dortmund. Made runs on city, but because of heavy clouds, turned off and bombed Seigen - by instruments.

No E/A visible - flak defenses around Dortmund heavy & accurate. Pilot's windshield shattered by burst. Defenses around Seigen negligible. Almost forced to ditch because of lack of fuel. Landed with one tank dry.



Mission #10

11 March - 1945

Target: - Hamburg - Oil Refineries

Ship # 963 "Mason - Dixon"

Flight Time: seven hrs. 30'

Oxygen: 4 hrs. 15 min.

Altitude - 22,000 ft

Remarks: - Everything happened at once. Oil line on #2 burst just before I.P.; feathered engine but continued our run. Three minutes before bombs away #1 ran away uncontrolled for six min. Lost close to 2000 ft of altitude, making bomb run after main force. Every gun in Hamburg was tracking us - thought our career was over. Just as we dropped our load, #3 was hit - fortunately just above oil feeder line. Luck was with us however & #1 was controlled just as #3 was hit. The Boss nursed her along on 1-3-4 engines, even managing to regain formation.



Mission #11

Date - 12 March

Target: Swinemunde Naval Port

Home of the "Admiral Scheer." Germany's last major warship.

Ship # 126 "The Latest Rumor"

Flight Time - 9 hrs.

Oxygen - 5 hr. 15'

Bombing Altitude 22,000 ft.



Mission #12

March 15 - 1945

Target: - Oranienburg {Marshalling yards about 10 miles outside of Berlin.}

Ship #126 "The Latest Rumor"

Bombing Altitude 20,500 ft.

Flight Time: 7 hrs. 35 min.

Oxygen - five hours.

Remarks: Target of fleeting priority. At the time of bombing, several thousand reinforcements for the western front were in troop trains on the siding at Oranienburg. Visual target - flak light but extremely accurate. At least 75% of squadron came back with holes and battle damage.



Mission #13

19 March - 1945

Target: - Berlin (marshalling yards)

Ship #126 "The Latest Rumor"

Bombing Altitude 25,200 ft

Flight Time: seven hrs-

Oxygen: 5 hrs - 15 min

Remarks: Hit Berlin on our lucky 13th! It was a rough show - intense flak, accurate & tracking. Subject to fighter attacks, carrying on a running battle with jet propelled Me-262's for 20 minutes. Our squadron - flying low-low position - was only outfit attacked, losing five of our twelve ships. Put in my first fighter claim, having seen him fall off at seven o'clock with left wing burning. Subject to ten different tail attacks, all by jets, and came home with less than a 100 rounds left in each gun. As yet no confirmations of E/A destroyed have been released. [Almost missed the trip - had a sprained ankle & was supposed to be grounded]



Mission #14

21 - March - 1945

Target: Plauen (armament plant)

Ship #126 "The Latest Rumor"

Bombing Altitude: 22,000 ft

Flight Time: 8 hours

Oxygen: 5 hours

Remarks: Had a run-in with those damn jets again. Lost three or four ships, none from our squadron this time however. First encounter at I.P. - three Me-262's hit low squadron, blowing up one ship, damaging another. Made one more pass on low squadron before being driven off by escort. On route home 15 jets jumped our squadron, making one fly-through attack, damaging several ships but not knocking any down. The speed on this attack was terrific! - well over 600 mph. I got in about 100 rounds at them and believe I damaged one but have no confirmation. Picked up a few flak holes around Dresden. Engineer had a close call - 2 inches from his head.



Mission #16

28 March - '45

Target - Marshalling yards in Ruhr Valley

Ship #767 "Our Gal Sal"

Bombing Altitude 20,000 ft.

Flight Time: seven hours

Oxygen: four hours

Remarks:

A visual target. An excellent example of precision bombing - plastering the marshalling yards without touching a building in the town. Only opposition was a moderate flak barrage encountered while crossing the lines. One ship was hit, killing the pilot - ship went out of control, ramming a second ship before plunging to earth. No chutes were seen - entire crew declared lost.



Mission #17

March 24 - '45

Target - Steinwyk (airfield in Holland)

Ship #126 "The Latest Rumor"

Altitude: 14,000 ft

Oxygen time: 2 hrs 45 min

Flt. Time: 5 hours.

Remarks: Easiest target to date. No opposition of any description. Beautiful job of precision bombing.



Mission #18

March 24 - '45

Target Ruhr Valley (airfield) (Ziegenhain)

Ship #126 "The Latest Rumor"

Altitude: 25,000 ft

Oxygen: 4 hours - 15 min.

Flt. Time: seven hours

Remarks: The longest day's work since arrival - from 1:30 AM to 9 P.M. Supplied air support for Montgomery's new offensive across the Rhine. Quite a show; we had an easy time of it though some groups met fierce opposition. A total of 90 planes were lost in day's ops.

ZIEGENHAIN

Mission 18 - (Afternoon 2:00 - 8:30 p.m.)

March 24 – 1945

Long days work

1:30 in the morning til 9:00 in evening



Mission #19

March 29-45

Target: Hanover

Ship #126 "The Latest Rumor"

Flight Time: 8 hours

Oxygen - 4 hrs.

Remarks: Intense flak barrage. An oil line on number three broke over the target forcing us to make the return trip on three engines. No E/A in evidence.



Mission #20

30 March-45

Target: - Hamburg

Ship #047 "Fever Beaver"

Flight Time: 8 hours

Oxygen - 5 hrs 15"

Remarks: Am almost convinced that this is our "jinx" target. Once again we lost an engine while on the bomb run. Flak was intense, accurate and tracking. We picked up over 20 flak holes - about five in the tail section - fortunately no one was injured. Manifold pressure on # four engine was shot out, and no. two gas tank hit. As a result we had to make the trip home on two engines. In order to maintain level flight, we had to jettison guns, flak suits, etc. - everything loose. Sweated out a dip in the North Sea but managed to limp home to the base - an hour late! Almost given up for lost.

E/A were all over the area, several diving through formations. Escort on ball however.



Mission #21

31 March-45

Target: Zeitz (oil refinery)

Ship #162

Flight Time: 7 hours

Oxygen - 5 hrs.

Remarks: One of Germany's last remaining sources of fuel. Heavily concentrated flak barrage - several ships hit & damaged badly but we made it through with comparative ease. Still plenty scared. E/A were in area but escort kept them from hitting at us.

The target was located in the heart of Liepzig - the most heavily defended section of the 3rd Reich. Reputedly the greatest flak concentration in existence. No argument to the contrary from our crew after this ride.



Mission #22

2 April-45

Target - Kiel (submarine pens)

Ship #126 "The Latest Rumor"

Flight Time 7 hours

Oxygen: 4 hrs.

Remark: Fairly rough. A 10/10 cloud coverage was all that saved us from really catching it. As it was we gave sheet-metal a good workout. Lead navigator missed I.P. by 20 minutes bringing us over another battery of 105's. Hope the long promised rest comes soon!



Mission #23

6 April-45 

Target - Eger, Czech. Marshalling Yards

Ship #126 "The Latest Rumor"

Flight Time 8 hours

Oxygen 3 hrs 45"

Remarks:

A long haul but because of advances of ground troops only in enemy territory for about two hours. E./A. all over area but escort on the ball. Flak moderate and accurate.Fanatical resistance by the Luftwaffe. Made pass after pass until ammo exhausted and then deliberately rammed their ships into ours. Either they're crazy or the supermen Hitler claims.



Mission #24

Target: Munich Airdrome

April 9 - 1945

Ship #126 "The Latest Rumor"

Flt. Time - 7 hours

Oxygen - 3 1/2 hrs.

Remarks:

Glad when this was out of the way. We just caught the edge of flak defenses - for a change - but fighters were with us for almost an hour. They didn't hit our group but they had us on edge for the whole trip.

[Flak leave tomorrow].



Chowhound Missions

May 1 - 1945

Dropped food parcels to Dutch civilians. A truce was made with the Nazis, allowing us to fly into Occupied Holland with 10-in-one rations, in an effort to ease the famine that is ravaging the country.

Received a warm welcome from the civilians who waved from housetops, windows, streets. Came in at 500 feet enabling us to see what was going on below for a change.

May 7 - 1945

Another chow mission. Got a good look at Amsterdam on way home.

V ...-