Photo Gallery

Lt Cullimore Crew with Silver Dollar

S/sgt Joseph Nelson TTE on Lt Earl Cullimore Crew

S/Sgt Joseph Nelson on Bicycle in 418th BS area

Uniform of Arthur Woodgate

Girdle Gertie nose art photo w/ Lt Wade Pratt Without any context, I showed the enlarged image to my 98 year old mother. She responded “That’s Wade. He’s standing in snow.” (I think it’s construction debris associated with April ‘45 hardstand work, which moved 821-O to park on runway 04.) I would like more information on this photograph. I think it is Dad. His letter of April 16, 45 says “Still haven’t named our ship.” May 2, 45 is the first mention of Girdle Gertie. The officers went to Bournemouth and some crew to Ireland on Flak leave (ending April 30), so I think the name and paint job happened just before or after the flak leave. I’m also wondering if the bomb/girdle/duck cartoon came with the plane and Wade’s crew added the name after it became ‘their a/c’….Mike Pratt

From his yearbook 1941