S/Sgt
Clarence A. GRIFFIN
Assigned to the 100th Bombardment Group
Location:
Unit: 350th Bombardment Squadron
Rank:
Position: Ball Turret Gunner
Additional 100th Service Notes
Status: CPT
Comments: 28 FEB 45 KASSEL
Comments and Notes
Memo 1:
CREW
2nd Lt Ethan Porter P CPT 28/2/45 KASSEL
2nd Lt Emmet B.Turner,Jr. CP CPT 28/2/45 KASSEL
2nd Lt Vernon R.Henriksen NAV CPT 28/2/45 KASSEL
Lt John D. McGregor NAV NOC Original Navigator, taken off crew when sent from 95th to 100th, became a Radar Navigator)
2nd Lt Nathaniel T.Gault BOM CPT ( Became a Lead Radar Navigator (Mickey) with Ivan Champion Lead Crew, see below)
Cpl Victor P.Distelrath TTE CPT 28/2/45 KASSEL
Cpl Clarence A.Griffin BTG CPT 28/2/45 KASSEL
Sgt Donald F.Houk ROG CPT 28/2/45 KASSEL
Cpl Harland D.Hand WG CPT 28/2/45 KASSEL (Became toggelier when Gault left crew)
Cpl James A. Murray WG CPT 28/2/45 KASSEL
Cpl Francis O.Crist TG CPT 28/2/45 KASSEL
350th Sqdn. Crew,as above,joined the 100th Group on 15/9/44. See S.O.C. p. 88/89
Original Navigator was Lt John D. McGregor
Ethan Porter was the pilot who vainly attempted to warm McNabb and Rojohn at Hamburg on the last day of the year 1944.
Veron Henriksen informed jb in 1991 that Emmet Turner was killed crop dusting in CA, he did not know the date, putting it at many years ago…pw
Victor P. Distelrath (Ethan Porter Crew) Missions September 1944 – February 1945
Enemy A/C Crew
Date Mission # Target(s) Duration Results A/C Lost Lost
10/9/44 1 (210) Wiesbaden & Mainz PFF 6.20 Unobs 0 0 0
10/12/44 2 (211) Bremen, AC Factory 7.05 Good 0 0 0
10/15/44 3 (212) Cologne, MY PFF 6.30 0 0 0
10/22/44 4 (216) Munster, MY 7.10 Good 0 0 0
10/25/44 Heligoland (Aphrodite) 4.00 Recall 0 0 0
10/30/44 5 (218) Merseburg 4.00 Recall 0 0 0
11/5/44 6 (220) Thionville,Ludwigshaven,MY 8.05 Hit Target 0 1 9
11/6/44 7 (221) Neumuster, AC Repairs, MY 7.40 Fair 0 0 0
11/9/44 8 (222) Metz, Saarbrucken, MY (S.T.) 7.20 Poor 0 1 1
11/16/44 9 (224) Aachen Area, Ground Support 8.15 Good 0 0 0
11/26/44 10(226) Hamm, MY 5.30 Missed 0 0 0
11/29/44 11(227) Hamm, MY 6.15 Missed 0 0 0
12/11/44 12(232) Giessen, Koblenz 6:50 Fair 0 0 0
12/18/44 13(234) Mainz, MY PFF 7:00 Unobs 0 0 0
12/24/44 14(235) Biblis,Babenhausen,Kaiserslaut 7:40 Excellent 0 0 0
12/25/44 15(236) Kaiserslautern, MY 7:15 Excellent 0 0 0
12/30/44 16(240) Kassel, MY 7:20 Good 0 0 0
12/31/44 17(241) Hamburg, Oil Refinery 7:20 Poor 23 12 111
01/05/45 18(244) Frankfurt, MY 9:45 Good 0 0 0
01/06/45 19(245) Germersheim,AF&Annweiler 7:35 Poor 0 0 0
01/07/45 20(246) Cologne,Auto Bridge,Limburg 7:15 --- 0 0 0
01/13/45 21(248) Mainz, Bridge 7:00 Good 0 0 0
01/14/45 22(249) Derben, Oil Refinery 7:45 Excellent 6 0 0
01/17/45 23(250) Hamburg, Oil Refinery 7:20 Good 0 0 0
01/28/45 24(253) Duisburg, Bridge 5:45 V. Good 0 0 0
01/29/45 25(254) Bielefeld(100th”C”)T.O.,Kassel 6:40 ---- 0 0 0
01/31/45 Bremen/Berlin 6:00 Recall 0 0 0
02/03/45 (255)Berlin 1:20 Returned 0 4 36
02/06/45 26(256) Bohlen Oil(Cld Over),Chemitz 9:30 Good 0 0 0
02/14/45 27(258) Doubraua,Bridge’C’,Chemitz 8:30 --- 0 0 0
02/15/45 28(259) Bohlen, Cottbus,City ST 8:40 --- 0 0 0
02/17/45 29(260) Frankfurt & Giessen 6:35 Poor 0 0 0
02/20/45 30(262) Nurnburg, City 8:00 Good 0 0 0
02/21/45 31(263) Nurnburg, MY (ST) 7:40 Fair 0 0 0
02/22/45 32(264) Kitzingen’A’obscured,
Hueingen,Town’B’ S.T 8:30 Hit S.T. 0 0 0
02/24/45 33(266) Bremen, Rail Bridge 7:10 Poor 0 0 0
02/26/45 34(268) Berlin City 8:10 Good 0 0 0
02/28/45 35(269) Kassel, MY 7:15 Fair 0 0 0
Excerpts from a letter to Jim Brown from Nathaniel T. Gault of February 11, 1991...pw
..I received you letter and am sorry I have not answered. I am recovering from a bout with kidney stones ...spent 12 days in the hospital.
Enclosed is the roster of the Ethan A. Porter crew. (see above) Our crew flew a new Pathfinder B-17 from Langley Field, Virginia to England by way of Labrador and Iceland. We landed in England the latter part of July, 1944, where we were sent to the 95th Bomb Group. A day or two later we were sent to the 100th Bomb Group, 350th Squadron to replace heavy losses by the 100th. Lt. John D. McGregor was taken off our crew and trained as a Radar or Mickey Operator and was replaced by Lt. Vernon Henriksen as navigator.
After flying nine missions as a bombardier with Lt. Porter's crew, I was persuaded by Major Bob Gibson, with a slight twist of my arm, to go to Radar Navigators school in England. I never saw Lt. Porter's crew again as they had finished their missions and I lost contact with them. I understand that Harlan Hand became the toggalier. He was a waist gunner before. Jim Murray was a waist gunner and Francis Crist was the ball turret gunner.
After completing Radar School I became a Mickey Operator and placed on the lead crew of Ivan Champion:
Command Pilot:Capt. C.E. Robbs
Pilot: Lt. I. Champion
Co-Pilot (Tail Observer): Lt. J.A. Plough
Navigator: Lt. R. Andris
Radar: Lt. N.T. Gault
Bombardier: Lt. W.J. Wellings
Radio Operator: S/Sgt H.A. Krumwiede
Engineer: S/Sgt H.E. Lodl
Waist Gunner: S/Sgt F.J. Finn
Waist Gunner:Sgt A.R. Spencer
...I flew 24 missions before VE Day. I was removed from the Champion crew and returned home where I became and instructor at Boca Raton, Florida, before being mustered out of the Air Corps in November, 1945.
I live in Miles, Texas, home of Goodfellow Air Force Base. I am retired after teaching for thirty-five years and I still have my old Navigator's Kit with other papers and relics from World War II. They include my E-6B Computer, Weems plotter and dividers and a few Yank magazines.
N.T. Gault
Crew List
1st Crew List
Use your thumb to scroll through the results box below.
| Rank | Name | Pos | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| LT | PORTER, Ethan | P | CPT |
| Lt | TURNER, Emmet B. | CP | CPT |
| Lt | HENRIKSEN, Vernon | NAV | CPT |
| LT | MCGREGOR, John D. | NAV | NOC |
| LT | GAULT, Nathaniel T. | BOM | CPT |
| T/Sgt | DISTELRATH, Victor P. | TTE | CPT |
| T/Sgt | HOUK, Donald F. | ROG | CPT |
| S/SGT | GRIFFIN, Clarence A. | BTG | CPT |
| S/Sgt | HAND, Harland D. | WG | CPT |
| S/Sgt | MURRAY, James A. | WG | CPT |
| S/SGT | CRIST, Francis O. | TG | CPT |
