James Lee Stafford

Military
Staff Sergeant James L. Stafford, tail gunner of the 305th Bomb Group, from Cisco, Texas, shows his girlfriend's freshman school cap, which he wore as a good-luck charm on raids under his steel helmet. He had taken it on 20 raids by April 21st 1943. Passed for publication 21 Apr 1943. Printed caption on reverse: 'No. 14. Photo Shows: S/Sergt. James L. Stafford from Cisco, Texas, the tail gunner of Flying Fortress wearing his girl-friend's Freshman school cap which he wears under his flying helmet on all o media-458142.jpg FRE 10460 Staff Sergeant James L. Stafford, tail gunner of the 305th Bomb Group, from Cisco, Texas, shows his girlfriend's freshman school cap, which he wore as a good-luck charm on raids under his steel helmet. He had taken it on 20 raids by April 21st 1943. Passed for publication 21 Apr 1943. Printed caption on reverse: 'No. 14. Photo Shows: S/Sergt. James L. Stafford from Cisco, Texas, the tail gunner of Flying Fortress wearing his girl-friend's Freshman school cap which he wears under his flying helmet on all operations. The crew of this plane "Old Grand Dad" will not take off unless he is wearing it. The hat has been on 20 missions.' Censor no: 259782. On reverse: Planet News Ltd., US Army Press Censor ETO and US Army General Section Press & Censorship Bureau [Stamps]. Roger Freeman Collection

Associated to airman's record using image caption.

Object Number - FRE 10460 - Staff Sergeant James L. Stafford, tail gunner of the 305th Bomb Group, from Cisco, Texas, shows his girlfriend's freshman school cap, which he wore...

Assigned to 418BS, 305BG, 8AF USAAF. Flew two tours, final mission to Koblenz 11-Dec-44. ETD





Awards: AM, WWII Victory, EAME.

Connections

See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.

Units served with

Unofficial emblem, 305th Bomb Group.

305th Bomb Group

  • Unit Hierarchy: Group
  • Air Force: Eighth Air Force
  • Type Category: Bombardment

Aircraft

Places

Events

Event Location Date Description

Born

Carlsbad, NM 31 May 1921 Son of Don McEachern.
Cisco, TX

Died

Based

Thorpe Abbotts Assigned to 418BS, 305BG, 8AF USAAF.

Revisions

Date
ContributorAl_Skiff
Changes
Sources

https://www.fold3.com/image/625767010
https://100thbg.com/index.php?option=com_bombgrp&view=personnel&id=4932…

Date
ContributorLucy May
Changes
Sources

https://100thbg.com/index.php?option=com_bombgrp&view=personnel&id=4932…

Date
ContributorAAM
Changes
Sources

Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / http://www.mcadams.org/fpdb/sqds_name2.asp

James Lee Stafford: Gallery (6 items)

The crew of a 305th Bomb Group B-17 Flying Fortress have a last-minute briefing before they board to take-off. The engineer (standing in the back row) has not been identified; the remainder of the crew are, from left to right: Lieutenant R.L. Caukin, bombardier from Los Angeles, California; Staff Sergeant James L. Stafford, tail gunner from Cisco, Texas; Lieutenant John H. Perkins, co-pilot from Chicago; Lieutenant H.B. West, navigator from Fall River, Massachusetts; Staff Sergeant Gerald W. Brookman, wai

Object number: FRE 10449 - The crew of a 305th Bomb Group B-17 Flying...

The crew of a 305th Bomb Group B-17 Flying Fortress walk to their plane. From left to right: Staff Sergeant Lyle F. Horton, ball gunner from Morganstown, West Virginia; Lieutenant Charles O. Cramer, pilot from Akron, Ohio; Staff Sergeant Gerald W. Brookman, top turret gunner/engineer from Wichita Falls, Texas; Staff Sergeant James L. Stafford, tail gunner from Cisco, Texas; Lieutenant R.B. West, navigator from Fall River, Massachusetts; Lieutenant R.L. Caukin, bombardier from Los Angeles, California; Lieu

Object number: FRE 10450 - The crew of a 305th Bomb Group B-17 Flying...

Staff Sergeant James L. Stafford, tail gunner of the 305th Bomb Group, from Cisco, Texas, shows his girlfriend's freshman school cap, which he wore as a good-luck charm on raids under his steel helmet. He had taken it on 20 raids by April 21st 1943. Passed for publication 21 Apr 1943. Printed caption on reverse: 'No. 14. Photo Shows: S/Sergt. James L. Stafford from Cisco, Texas, the tail gunner of Flying Fortress wearing his girl-friend's Freshman school cap which he wears under his flying helmet on all o

Object number: FRE 10460 - Staff Sergeant James L. Stafford, tail gunner of...

Staff Sergeant James L. Stafford, tail gunner of the 305th Bomb Group, from Cisco, Texas, standing in the centre, shows his girlfriend's freshman school cap, which he wore as a good-luck charm on raids under his steel helmet. With him from left to right are Staff Sergeant Gerald W. Brookman, from Wichita Falls, Texas; Staff Sergeant B.B. Cropp, from Justin, Texas; and Technical Sergeant Lyle F. Horton, from Morganstown, West Virginia. Passed as censored 21 Apr 1943. Printed caption on reverse: 'No. 13. Ph

Object number: FRE 10461 - Staff Sergeant James L. Stafford, tail gunner of...

Staff Sergeant James L. Stafford, tail gunner, cleans the twin .50 calibre machine-guns in the tail turret of his 422nd Bomb Squadron, 305th Bomb Group B-17 Flying Fortress (JJ-Y, serial number 42-29555). Passed for publication 21 Apr 1943. Handwritten caption on reverse: 'JJ-Y, 305BG.' Printed caption on reverse: 'No. 11. Photo Shows: S/Sergt. James L. Stafford from Cisco, Texas, the tail gunner cleans his guns. He is credited with three Nazis.' Censor no: 259779. On reverse: Planet News Ltd., US Army Pr

Object number: FRE 10462 - Staff Sergeant James L. Stafford, tail gunner...

A bomber crew of the 306th Bomb Group walk past their B-17 Flying Fortress. From left to right, they are: Staff Sergeant Lyle F. Horton, from Morganstown, West Virginia (ball gunner); Lieutenant Charles O. Cramer, from Akron, Ohio (pilot); Staff Sergeant Gerald W. Brookman, from Wichita Falls, Texas (top-turret gunner); Staff Sergeant James L. Stafford, from Cisco, Texas (tail gunner); Lieutenant R.B. West, from Fall River, Massachusetts, (navigator); Lieutenant R.L. Caukin, from Los Angeles, California (

Object number: FRE 4383 - A bomber crew of the 306th Bomb Group walk past...