Personnel

CREW



1st Lt Herbert Howard,Jr.             P    SEE NOTES OPERATIONS OFFICER, 350TH BS

2nd Lt Gerald A.Brewer               CP    CPT   14/7/44  SOUTH OF FRANCE SUPPLY DROP FOR MAQUIS

2nd Lt William P.Roche              NAV   RFS

2nd Lt Charles W.Harrison          BOM   CPT  19/6/44  CORME ECLUSE. AF

S/SgtEdward C.Montgomery       ROG  CPT  19/6/44  CORME ECLUSE, AF   

S/Sgt Harmon W.Thomas           TTE  RFS   Sgt Mancini took over as TTE

Sgt Edward Q. Lupia                   BTG  CPT   25/7/44 ST LO GROUND SUPPORT

Sgt Robert E. "Ace" Mace          RWG  CPT   25/7/44 ST LO GROUND SUPPORT

Sgt Benjamin J.Mancini              LWG  CPT   19/6/44 CORME ECLUSE, AF (Moved to Top Turret Engineer when Thomas RFS)

Sgt Earl R.Wilbur                       TG    CPT   19/6/44 CORME ECLUSE, AF



350th Sqdn.  Crew,as above,joined the 100th Group on 17/3/44.

NOTES:

According to a letter from Edward Lupia (Dec.1983) Lt Howard was made Operations Officer of the 350th after 5 or 6 missions and Brewer became Pilot of the crew. "Lt.Roche & Sgt.Thomas quit after the 5th mission, if my memory serves me right ". Lupia adds that Ben Mancini "passed away some years ago".



350th Sqdn. Diary for Sept.1944 says Capt.Howard releived as Operations Officer and sent to 55th Fighter Group flying P51s. Replaced as Operations Officer by Capt.Henry Smith. See: T.N.H.I.5.G. p.115 for Howard.Hugh R.Davidson who joined the 100th without a crew flew as navigator with this crew from 1 June 1944.



Missions of Lt Herbert Howard as Pilot of this Crew



DATE:          LAST_NAME:  FIRST_NAME: RANK:  POSITION:     TARGET:                 CREW_NBR: MISSION_NBR:    PLANE_NBR:

3/26/1944         HOWARD         H.G.         LT          P         SCHKEUDITZ/JU-88 PLANT         15         136                 31074

3/27/1944         HOWARD         H.G.         LT          P         BORDEAUX/ MERIGNAC             15         137                 31074

3/28/1944         HOWARD         H.G.         LT          P         CHATEAUDUN/ EVREUX             15         138                 107024

3/31/1944         HOWARD         H.G.         LT          P         LUDWIGSHAFEN/RECALLED        15         139                 31991

4/1/1944           HOWARD         H.G.         LT          P         LUDWIGSHAFEN                       15         140                 31991

4/9/1944           HOWARD         H.G.         LT          P         KRZESINKI (POSEN)                  15         143                 31991

4/10/1944         HOWARD         H.G.         LT          P         RHEIMS/ CHAMPAGNE               15         144                 31991

4/11/1944         HOWARD         H.G.         LT          P         POSEN / ROSTOCK T.O.            15         145                 31991

4/12/1944         HOWARD         H.G.         LT          P         SCHEUDITZ (RECALL)                15         146                  90

4/13/1944         HOWARD         H.G.         LT          P         AUGSBURG                               15         147                107024



Lt Gerald A. Brewster becomes first pilot of this crew 



DATE:        LAST_NAME:   FIRST_NAME: RANK:   POSITION:   TARGET:                CREW_NBR: MISSION_NBR: PLANE_NBR:

5/1/1944           BREWER         G.A.         LT         CP       SAARGUEMINES/WIZERNES         15         110         31991

5/11/1944         BREWER         G.A.         LT         P         LIEGE                                         15         115         31991

5/13/1944         BREWER         G.A.         LT         P         OSNABRUCK                               15         117         31903

5/19/1944         BREWER         G.A.         LT         P         BERLIN                                       15         118         97095

5/20/1944         BREWER         G.A.         LT         P         BRUSSELS                                  15         119         97095

5/29/1944         BREWER         G.A.         LT         P         LEIPZIG                                      15         125         102934

5/30/1944         BREWER         G.A.         LT         P         TROYES                                     15         126         102934

5/31/1944         BREWER         G.A.         LT         P         OSNABRUCK                               30         127         102934

6/2/1944           BREWER         G.A.         LT         P         BOULOGNE                                 15         128         97090

6/4/1944           BREWER         G.A.         LT         P         BOULOGNE                                 15         130         102934

6/5/1944           BREWER         G.A.         LT         P         BOULOGNE(CHG)                         15         131         102934

6/6/1944           BREWER         G.A.         LT         P         FALAISE/OUISTREHAM                15        -132         102611

6/8/1944           BREWER         G.A.         LT         P         TOURS (BRIDGES)                      15         -136         102695

6/11/1944         BREWER         G.A.         LT         P         BERCK sur MER (S.DEF)               15         -137         102934

6/15/1944         BREWER         G.A.         LT         P         MITBURG & WILSTER                  15         -140         102934

6/19/1944         BREWER         G.A.         LT         P         CORME ECLUSE, AF                    30         -142         102934

7/7/1944           BREWER         G.A.         LT         P         BOHLEN/MERSEBURG                  30         155          102934

7/8/1944           BREWER         G.A.         LT         P         CLAMECY-JOLGYN                      30          156          102934

7/12/1944         BREWER         G.A.         LT         P         MUNICH (IND. AREA)                  30         158           31991

7/13/1944         BREWER         G.A.         LT         P         MUNICH (JET ENGINES)              30         159           31991

7/14/1944         BREWER         G.A.         LT         P         SOUTH OF FRANCE                    30         160           31991



Bertram Lobdell,CP on the M.D.Rupert crew 350th flew with this crew for a while as CP. G.Brewer says Jack E.Smith joined his crew as WG (to replace Mancini)  but I can find no record of Smith,...jb



We find only these records of a J Smith in our Operational records.  More info is requested from our readers.(MPF-2014)

DATE:       LAST_NAME:   FIRST_NAME:      RANK:      POSITION:      TARGET:                        CREW_NBR:          MISSION_NBR: PLANE_NBR:

5/1/1944            SMITH          Jack E.          S/SGT          LWG          SAARGUEMINES/WIZERNES          15                   110          31991

5/11/1944          SMITH          Jack E.          S/SGT          LWG          LIEGE                                          15                   115          31991

5/19/1944          SMITH          Jack E.          S/SGT          LWG          BERLIN                                        15                   118          97095

5/20/1944          SMITH          Jack E.          S/SGT          LWG          BRUSSELS                                   15                   119          97095

6/19/1944          SMITH          Jack E.          S/SGT          LWG          CORME ECLUSE, AF                      30                  -142          102934

7/7/1944            SMITH          Jack E.          S/SGT          LWG          BOHLEN/MERSEBURG                    30                   155          102934

7/8/1944            SMITH          Jack E.          S/SGT          LWG          CLAMECY-JOLGYN                         30                   156          102934

7/12/1944          SMITH          Jack E.          S/SGT          LWG          MUNICH (IND. AREA)                     30                   158          102934

7/13/1944          SMITH          Jack E.          S/SGT          LWG          MUNICH (JET ENGINES)                 30                   159          31991

7/14/1944          SMITH          Jack E.          S/SGT          LWG          SOUTH OF FRANCE                       30                   160          31991



Note: See Lt Bert Lobdell record for information regarding 2nd Lt Brewers crew missions from May 20, 1944 until completion of tour.



10. 20/5/44-Brussells, Belgium-Now flying with Brewer.  overcast on takeoff, nearly cracked up on takeoff.  Undecided about Brewer, brought back Bombs

11. 29/5/44-Leipzig-Germany-2nd mission with Brewer- flew #934 LN-W, new ship.  Flew #6 position in lead Squadron, Col Kidd led group.  Composit lost 3 ships, none from 350th Sq.  On return a loose formation of B-24's about 40 in number ran head on into rear of our group.  

Two 24's "flying Coffins" struck  a B-17 and the 17 lost the top Turret, the 24's exploded in a terrible mass of flame.  One minute, two 4 engine bombers with 20 men, the next, nothing but a few pieces of burnt debrie floating down. Hope I never see such a thing again.

12. 30/5/44-Troyes, France-Marshalling Yards, poor formation, good fighter support.

13. 31/5/44-Osnabruck, Germany-rail road yards, heavy flak, Flew No 6 in high Squadron

14. 02/6/44-Versailles-Paris, France-Flak was very accurate.  390th lost 2 ships, I sweated it out for some reason. We came back with no losses.

15. 05/6/44-Abbeyville, France-some flak, two 349th ships ran together and went down.

16. 06/6/44-D-DAY-went to Oren River carried two external 1000 lb bombs Alot of airplanes, We were hit by flak over Gurnesey Island. Pretty Heavy flak.

17. 06/6/44-D-DAY-went to Falise, in the afternoon. Took off 4:50pm got back at 12pm.  Very tired, flew 15 hours without stopping.

18. 08/6/44-Tours, France-Easy mission.  Expect Dear "DoLittle" to increase missions again.

19. 11/6/44-Boulogne, France-a very easy mission, No Flak

20. 14/6/44-Mons, France-Airfield.  Did not drop bombs, returned to base.  Hydraulic pressure gave out on runway but we stopped it alright.

21, 15/6/44-Hanover, Germany- did not bomb due to clouds, hit small town Wilster.  Hit us once with flak and put several holes in ship.  Flew No 3 position on Rosenthal in lead squadron.

22. 16/6/44-Brunsbottelkoog,Germany (note that this mission looks like it was flown on June 18)-Rumoured we will run a shuttle mission to Russia,  Postponed.  No ships lost except out of 390th. Ship was apparently out of control and I saw chutes come out of it like popcorn.

23. 19/6/44-Marannis,France-Airfield, no flak, mission about nine hours long.  Hope to go on Flak leave.

24. 20/6/44-Fallerslaben, Germany-Flew with lead crew "Giles".  Direct hits, good results.

25. 07/7/44-Leipzig, Germany-Missions have been set at 35. Heavy flak, didn't drop bombs.  Went to airport called Gottingion. All ships came back. Two 95th ships (Andrews says planes were 390th) had mid air collision over Holland. Only four chutes seen.  I feltpretty rotten on this one.

26. 08/7/44-Clanecy-Joigny, France- took off 3:30am went on easy trip to france, return 8:30am. NICE. Rosino cracked up our ship "934" this evening at Manningtree. No one injured. SIDE NOTE: Ball Turret gun ran away and guns fired about 50 rounds. Turret gunner operating turret had his head blown off as he tried to get into a ditch.  "Brewer says he probably kicked a couple of times"

27. 12/7/44-Munich, Germany-Heavy Flak.  A 95th ship went down.  Broke in two pieces, no chutes. We flew "991" in No 3 position on lead.  Logged 9 hrs.  Boy am I tired.

28. 13/7/44-Munich, Germany-Flew no 2 on lead in low Sqandron.  Mission was 9 1/2 hrs long.  Heavy flak.  Four ships were lost, one of those went to Switzerland.  We were attacked by a ME 109 on return.  They made one pass at 12 O'Clock on one and 6 O'Clock.  My first glimpse of an ememy fighter and hope my last one.

29. 14/7/44-Brire, France- took ten parachutes, Bombs made up of food, medicine, and guns.  Dropped stuff on plateau out an altitude of 50 feet. 8 1/2 hour mission.  Brewer flew his 35th and last mission.

Second Crew:

Brewer-Pilot-Texas

Howison-Bomb-Kansas

Huge R. Davidson-Nav.-Montana  Joined crew on May 30, 1944

Jack E. Smith-Left Waist Gunner see missions below

F.X. Kiren-Left Waist Gunner on May 29, June 2, 4, 1944



Lt Brewer Crew:



Date          Crew Nbr  Mission Nbr  Last Name        Initial        Rank        Position   Aircraft Nbr        Target

7/14/1944        30        160        LUPIA                E.Q.        S/SGT        BTG        31991        SOUTH OF FRANCE

7/14/1944        30        160        WILBUR             E.R        S/SGT        TG          31991        SOUTH OF FRANCE

7/14/1944        30        160        SMITH               J.E.        S/SGT        LWG        31991        SOUTH OF FRANCE

7/14/1944        30        160        MACE                R.E.        S/SGT        RWG       31991        SOUTH OF FRANCE

7/14/1944        30        160        MANCINI            B.J.        T/SGT        TTE        31991        SOUTH OF FRANCE

7/14/1944        30        160        MONTGOMERY   E.C.        T/SGT        ROG        31991        SOUTH OF FRANCE

7/14/1944        30        160        HARRISON        C.W.            LT        BOM         31991        SOUTH OF FRANCE

7/14/1944        30        160        DAVIDSON        H.R.             LT        NAV        31991        SOUTH OF FRANCE

7/14/1944        30        160        BREWER            G.A.            LT        P            31991        SOUTH OF FRANCE

7/14/1944        30        160        LOBDELL            B.D.            LT        CP           31991        SOUTH OF FRANCE

 

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



I'd like to submit the following obituary from the Houston Chronicle:

 

1st Lt. Gerald Averitt Brewer, 8th AAC, 3rd Division, 13th CW, 100th BG, 350th Sqdn.

 

    Houston. . .Former Vernon, TX resident Gerald Averitt Brewer, 77, died Thursday, October 3, 1996 in Houston.  A graveside military funeral service will be held at 1:30 pm Monday at the Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Houston with the Rev. Harry Adamson officiating.

    Brewer was born August 15, 1919 in Kerens, TX to Donald and Corinne Mitten Brewer.  He graduated from Vernon High School with academic honors and attended the Rice Institute in Houston, where he earned a bachelor's degree.  There he met and married Patricia Helton.

    In May 1942 he enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps and was assigned to the 100th Bombardment Group as a pilot.  He was credited with 35 combat missions and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal with oak leaf clusters, and the WWII Victory Medal.

    Following his discharge he owned and operated Brewer Sales Company in Houston until his retirement in 1992.  He was a member of Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church.

    Surviving is his daughter, Donna Brewer Jackson of Houston, and his stepmother, Leta Brewer Peck of Vernon.

 

Thank you very much.

Donna Brewer Jackson, daughter  (9/25/51)



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

Missions ofT/Sgt Harmon W. Thomas TTE 



            Date Crew Nbr Mission Nbr Last Name Initial Rank Position Aircraft Nbr Target

1.    3/26/1944 15 136 THOMAS H.W. T/SGT TTE 31074   SCHKEUDITZ/JU-88 PLANT

2.    3/27/1944 15 137 THOMAS H.W. T/SGT TTE 31074   BORDEAUX/ MERIGNAC

3.    3/28/1944 15 138 THOMAS H.W. T/SGT TTE 107024 CHATEAUDUN/ EVREUX

       3/31/1944 15 139 THOMAS H.W. T/SGT TTE 31991   LUDWIGSHAFEN/RECALLED

4.      4/1/1944 15 140 THOMAS H.W. T/SGT TTE 31991   LUDWIGSHAFEN

5.      4/9/1944 15 143 THOMAS H.W. T/SGT TTE 31991   KRZESINKI (POSEN)

6.    4/10/1944 15 144 THOMAS H.W. T/SGT TTE 31991   RHEIMS/ CHAMPAGNE

7.    4/11/1944 15 145 THOMAS H.W. T/SGT TTE 991       POSEN / ROSTOCK T.O.

8.    4/12/1944 15 146 THOMAS H.W. T/SGT TTE 90        SCHEUDITZ (RECALL)



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

Missions of Lt William R. Roche 



        Date Crew Nbr Mission Nbr Last Name Initial Rank Position Aircraft Nbr Target

1.    3/26/1944 15 136 ROCHE W.R. LT NAV 31074     SCHKEUDITZ/JU-88 PLANT

2.    3/27/1944 15 137 ROCHE W.R. LT NAV 31074     BORDEAUX/ MERIGNAC

3.    3/28/1944 15 138 ROCHE W.R. LT NAV 107024   CHATEAUDUN/ EVREUX

4.    3/31/1944 15 139 ROCHE W.R. LT NAV 31991     LUDWIGSHAFEN/RECALLED

5.      4/1/1944 15 140 ROCHE W.R. LT NAV 31991     LUDWIGSHAFEN

6.      4/9/1944 15 143 ROCHE W.R. LT NAV 31991     KRZESINKI (POSEN)

7.    4/10/1944 15 144 ROCHE W.R. LT NAV 31991     RHEIMS/ CHAMPAGNE

8.    4/13/1944 15 147 ROCHE W.A. LT NAV 24          AUGSBURG

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



Subj: Military records  

Date: 9/13/2003 2:55:55 PM Pacific Daylight Time 

From: broche@socal.rr.com   (Bill Roche…son)

To: MPFaley@aol.com 

Sent from the Internet (Details) 

 

Mike,

Well..... I thought I had some spare time but a surprise visit from east coast family cured that problem. Everyone is home safe and sound now and I've looked at the paperwork we found recently. In the order of a time line:

 

1. Honorable Discharge from the National Guard, Mass. Rank of Private, 101st Observation Squadron. Dec. 3, 1939 to Nov 19, 1940

 

2. Diploma- U.S.Army Air Forces Pre-Flight School, Bombardier-Navigator. Selman Field, Louisiana. June 25, 1943

 

3. Honorable Discharge from The Army of the United States. Sept. 15, 1942 to Dec 23, 1943. S/N 11093247. Rank of: Aviation Cadet. 107th A.W. Reason: To accept Commission of 2nd Lt., AC-AUS. Selman Field, Louisiana. Dec. 23, 1943.

 

4. Army Air Forces Navigation School Graduation of Class 43-17. Selman Field, LA , Thursday, 10am, Dec. 23, 1943.  

 

5. Certificate of Combat Crew Training, 2nd. Lieut. William P. Roche, Navigator 0-704057. United States Army Training School, 333rd. Combat Crew, Army Air Field, Dalhart, Texas. February 16, 1944.

 

6. Military Record and Report of Separation-Certificate of Service, June 30, 1945: Separation Center, Fort Devane, Mass.

    William P. Roche  0704057  2nd Lt. AC AUS

    Navigator 1034  Dec. 24, 1943 to June 25, 1945

    351 Bombardment Squadron

    100 Bombardment Group

Service Outside Continental U.S. and Return:

 Departure: March 4, 1944  European Theater  Arrival: March 6, 1944

 Departure: June 13, 1945  United States  Arrival: June 21, 1945

 

7. Certificate of Service: Army of the United States, Honorable Service Dec 24, 1943 to June 25, 1945

    William P. Roche 0 704 057 Second Lieutenant

    351st Bombardment Squadron

    100th Bombardment Group

Washington D.C. on September 22, 1954

 

8. United States of America Certification of Military Service: Honorable Relief from Active Duty, Army of the United States

    William P Roche 0704057 2nd Lt. From Dec 24, 1943 to June 25, 1945

    William P. Roche 11093247 From September 15, 1942 to December 23, 1943

St. Louis, Missouri on September 15, 1986

 

9. Commonwealth of Massachusetts Testimonial of Esteem and Gratitude for Faithful Performance of Duties in World War II

 

That's all the official forms I have relating to WWII, so far. All of the above are original documents that have aged to a uniform yellow but are still very readable. All of these are available to the association if you wish to post them. I haven't seen anything resembling a form 5 yet but there are still some boxes in Florida that are unopened. 

 

Based on the above info, the answer to your question, where did he go, is to the 351st Bomb Squadron. The departure and return dates indicate that he was at Thorpe Abbotts until the end of the war in Europe. He probably ferried a new Fort over from March 4 to March 6. The return to the US was probably by ship as that took 8 days. I would also guess that the "Our Baby" photo was taken at or near graduation from combat crew training at Dalhart, Texas in February, 1944. On page 181 of "Plane Names and Bloody Noses", there are 2 pictures of the same plane with 2 different crews, one of them being the Williamson crew. 

 

This is where I need your help again. Based on the long time he was at station 139, I would guess that he was part of operations, either at the Squadron or Group level. If the Group Chaplin knew him as "Red Alert", would that indicate Group Operations in so much as a Red Alert was issued for the station? How were Group and Squadron operations structured? How do I pursue this now?

 

If what my Dad did for the 100th seems elusive and hard to define, it comes as no surprise to his family. When he died on December 20, 1987 of a massive heart attack at home., he was planning his retirement from the Department of Defense, attached to the Naval Air Station at Jacksonville, Florida for the last 11 years. We never were allowed to know what exactly he did for DOD but over the years we were able to figure out that it involved P-3 Orion's finding and tracking Soviet Submarines off our Atlantic coast from Kings Bay, Georgia to Key West, Florida.

 

I flew home the next day anticipating having to handle all the funeral related tasks for my Mother. When I arrived, she gave me the name and number of a young Naval Lieutenant that had been assigned to us. I knew my Dad loved the military and would want a military funeral. Much to my surprise, everything I said or inquired about was answered the same way: "it's already been taken care of ". The family and I had literally nothing to do but deal with the grief. 

 

The funeral was December 23, and the church was filled with uniforms. Almost all were Navy but an Army Honor Guard had been brought down from Atlanta because of Dad's service with the 100th. The motorcade to the gravesite was unlike any I had ever seen before. The police stopped traffic in both directions, making everyone pull off to the side of the road and park. At the cemetery, a large number of chairs had been set up with my Mother and the rest of the immediate family in the front row and everyone else seated behind us. The Army honor guard was already there when we were seated. After the religious testimonies and final blessing, 7 soldiers fired 3 rounds each from their M-16 rifles. A single soldier played taps while 2 more removed the flag from Dad's coffin, folded it into the traditional star field triangle, inserted 3 spent cartridges and presented it to my Mother. To this day I cannot hear taps being played without being transported back to that afternoon. As the crowd passed by to offer their final thoughts to us, a Navy Captain approached and said that despite being unable to speak specifics, he wanted  us to know that he had to assign 2 full-time and 1 part-time person to take care of what our Father did for him alone. When we returned home that day, everyone felt that our Dad would have been pleased by all the military attention he received. 

 

Back home again, I took advantage of everyone being present to confirm what I had already been told, no one had anything to do with arranging Dad's funeral ceremony. We could only enjoy the fact that he was that highly thought of and of course, wonder what he might have done all those years to earn it.

 

The Naval Lieutenant assigned to us handled all the paperwork for my Mother so that she would receive Dad's pension and VA benefits as soon as possible. Additionally, the Navy placed a bronze grave marker inscribed with: William Paul Roche, 2nd Lieutenant, USAAC. As a final act of generosity, The Navy planted a tree with another bronze plaque just outside the entrance to the building Dad worked in. The tree is a Mount Vernon Red Maple taken from George Washington's home at Mount Vernon and is a seedling taken from one of the Red Maples the former first President planted after the Revolutionary War was ended. We were invited and attended the dedication ceremony the following summer.

 

As a footnote, a couple of months later, one of my Sisters met a Navy aviator based at JAX NAS and of course told him the story of our Father and how we still did not know what exactly he did for DOD. He was a helicopter pilot whose task was to ferry senior officers from warships anchored off-shore to the base. He was confident that because of all the high level officers he knew, he would be able to find out for us what our Dad did. A few days later he reported back that he had made many inquires but was astonished that he could not find any answers. Within a week he was transferred to an obscure military base in North Dakota. Before he left he told her of his unexpected reassignment and how he would be thousands of miles from any oceans and had no idea what he would be doing. Needless to say, we all felt terrible about this and could only hope that we had not ruined this young man's career. Since then, we have been content with what we do know and happy with the thought that whatever he did do, it was important to our country's national defense and he did it well. 

 

I have some additional small boxes here to go through yet and there are still some in Florida. My hope is that there are still more 100th treasures to be discovered. Any help you or the association might offer to fill in the blanks would be greatly appreciated. I would think that having served with both the 350th and 351st squadrons, someone still walking around would remember him.

 

Bill