Ground crewman Chuck Galian's 'baby' was 'Outhouse Mouse' a B-17 with 323rd Sqdn. which flew on 139 missions. His account of the trip across the Atlantic on the 'Queen Mary' is revealing 'Packed like sardines. we alternated sleeping on deck one night and the next in a cabin....English rations confirmed my suspicions that none of the cooks managed to graduate from cooking school'.

On arrival in England they were trucked to initially to RAF Kimbolton 'we were introduced to some unknown ingredient in our meal one day which put our entire Group as well as the RAF attached lads out of commission....there was a mass of troops walking around like bow-legged cowboys for a few days'. They managed to get acquainted with the English countryside and hostelries before the entire 91st Bomber Group was transferred to Bassingbourn.



Charles “Chuck” Galian, age 86 Milwaukee, WI, died on February 23, 2008, as reported by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. He was preceded in death by Connie, his beloved wife of 61 years.

During WWII, Chuck served in the US Army Air Force on the ground crew for the 91st Bomb Group of the 323rd Bomb Squadron. As an electrician he repaired B-17 ''Flying Fortress'' bombers. While stationed in Bassingbourn, England, he met the love of his life Connie at a USO dance. They married in London on Connie's birthday-July 8, 1944.

Chuck was a lifelong Milwaukee resident and worked at WI Bell for over 30 years. He enjoyed designing and constructing model airplanes, creative writing and cooking. Chuck will be remembered by all for his love of joke telling and sharing old stories with family and friends. (Folded Wings, The Ragged Irregular Newsletter, April 2008)