349th Sqdn. Crew, as above, joined the 100th Group on 3/12/44. Paul Valentine joined the crew of J. W. King and finished with them according to a letter to this writer by Robert Culp. . . jb

From Harry Valentine (son of Lt Valentine):
"Our first mission on my return from leave was a tough one. There were many flak guns guarding the target and several German fighter airfields near our route to the target. For this mission there would be a full colonel for division flying in my position. Out squadron will be flying group lead. In this position our plane is equipped with Mickey, a through the clouds bombsight. The target is Nuremberg. Meteorology has guaranteed a beautiful clear day, all day. Today, I am supposed to ride in the tail as group formation control officer. I didn't go there. I told our regular tail gunner to take his normal position. In case of fighter attack he is the best man for that position. The flight to the buncher beacon was pleasant and uneventful and the planes formed quickly into formation. Our group entered the bomber stream on time and in the correct position.

The trip to the target was routine. The sky was blue and the sun was bright. The bombing altitude was twenty thousand feet. This is the lowest I can ever recall going on a bomb run, since I have been with the group. When we reached the I. P. and turned on the bomb run, all hell broke lose. There was heavy flak and German fighters coming in form all over. I was manning a waist gun. The next thing I remember was a big bang and the sound of shattering plywood and tin being crumbled up. On the intercom, the radar operator in the radio room screamed, 'I have been hit. ' He came stumbling through a large hole where the partition and the door to the radio room used to be, between the waist and the radio room. There was a large hole through the radio room floor and the skin of the airplane.

About half of the radio room floor was gone. The oxygen tanks were located in that area and the shell that hit us blew up the tanks, causing more damage to the plane. The radio operator, sitting beside the radar operator, was perfectly all right. I think that was a miracle. He stayed at his position and continued on with his work, with half the radio room gone.

At this late time on the bomb run, there was no way that we could abort the group lead position. We had no oxygen and had to breath the air at this altitude. The atmosphere at twenty thousand feet is sufficient to survive on without extra oxygen. However, you would have to restrict your physical activity to an absolute minimum. If we were to get excited or have physical activity, we could become light headed and even pass out.

It appeared to us that the Mickey operator had some small pieces of flak in the calf of his leg. We made him as comfortable as we could back in the waist. Our lives had been spared by the low altitude for this mission. Had we been at twenty six or thirty thousand feet, where most of the missions I had been on were flown, we would have had to abort the formation and dive for a lower altitude.

Leaving the safety of the group fire power would have given the fighters easy access to our crippled B-17. As we started our long let down on the return trip, the lower the altitude, the easier it was to breath. We had radioed ahead and after landing there was an ambulance waiting for the Mickey operator. He had some small pieces of metal removed from his leg and there was no after effects. When he was back on his feet, the public relations officer had the radio operator and the radar operator stand on the ground with their heads and shoulders up through the hole into the radio room for a picture.

Once again everything worked out to our best advantage. A hit a few feet in any direction would have been a tragic disaster. Reality again, that this is war, that men and equipment are expendable. The Air Force doctrine, 'We never miss a target because of enemy opposition. '

Hope the information wasn't too long. Harry Valentine (son of Lt Valentine)

LARSEN CREW:
DATE: 31 March 1945
349th Sqdn
A/C #44-6470
MISSION: Zeitz
MACR#13714, Microfiche#5010

EYEWITNESS:
" A/C 44-6470 was hit by flak immediately after bombs away. #3 engine was knocked loose and dropped off the wing. The A/C nosed up; then leveled off and started for the under cast in a steep glide. At the Rally point pilot made a 180 degree turn and headed back toward Russia. He was heard over VHF saying that #4 prop was running away and that he would attempt to reach the Russian lines. The A/C was under control and there was no fire. One chute was seen to leave the A/C. Allied fighters were escorting A/C. "

349TH SQDN. . . CREW JOINED THE 100TH ON 24 DEC 1944. FLEW FIRST MISSION 17 JAN 45 (HAMBURG) AND THE 100TH'S FINAL MISSION (ORANIENBURG) 20 APR 45.

THEY FLEW FIVE (5) "CHOW HOUND" MISSION, DROPPING FOOD IN HOLLAND AFTER 20 APR 45.

JACK TOLLIVER LEFT THE CREW AFTER AROUND 12 MISSIONS FOR LEAD CREW TRAINING (REPLACED BY S/SGT SEYMOUR MYERS COURTESY OF ROBERT CULP) AND GEORGE MAYBERRY DEPARTED AFTER 20 MISSIONS TO BECOME THE 349TH'S ENGINEERING OFFICER.

AT MAYBERRY'S DEPARTURE, LT PAUL VALENTINE JOINED THE CREW AS CP. HE HAD CAME TO THE 100TH WITH THE R. N. WIELAND CREW ON 03 DEC 1944. WHEN T/SGT LASALLE COMPLETED HIS SECOND TOUR, HE WAS REPLACED BY T/SGT JAMES MCCULLOUGH FROM LT FOWLER'S CREW.