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Photo sent home by B-17 Pilot, Bernie Kellenyi
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Portrait of Bernard Kellenyi, 1st Lieutenant in the US Army Air Force and Recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross
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Holy Smokes Crew
Front Row Pilot, Bernard Kellenyi, Co-pilot Frank Zerbe, Navigator Ed Magee, Bombardier Norman Roesenthal. Back Row Waist Gunner Tony Siano, Tail Gunner Clayton Christiansen, Engineer Loy Knowles, Waist Gunner Stanley Schum, Radio Oper. Clarence Harris, Ball Turret Harold Barry
After enlisting in the Army Air Force and earning his degree in Architecture from Catholic University he was accepted at Flight School. Flight training was completed at bases in Florida, Ohio and Arkansas. He received orders to pilot a B-17 across the Atlantic and report for combat duty in England. Before he left he married his high school sweetheart, Margie Bingham, in Savannah, Georgia. His co-pilot Frank Zerbe was best man. Bernie was part of the 388th Bomb Group of the 8th Air Force that flew out of Knettishall, England. Ultimately he flew 35 combat missions, the last on Christmas Eve, 1944. Bernie received the Air Medal and 4 Oak Leaf Clusters (representative of 5 Air Medals) for various “tough” missions and, ultimately was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. After the War, Bernie returned to NJ where he bought a home in Red Bank and raised three children. By 1948 he became sole proprietor of his own Architectural practice and over time earned several distinctions including President of the NJ State Board of Architects and induction into the College of Fellows of The Architects Institute of America. Bernie is greatly admired and sorely missed by his children, children-in-law, and grandchildren.
Service
Units served with
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Group
The 388th Bomb Group flew strategic bombing mission from Knettishall, Suffolk from June 1943 to the end of the war. During this time, though, detachments were sent to Fersfield, Norfolk to conduct Aphrodite missions. In these Aphrodite missions veteran...
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Aircraft
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B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Cheyenne 21/5/44; Kearney 5/6/44; Grenier 17/6/44; Assigned 413BS/96BG Snetterton 19/6/44; transferred 560BS/388BG Knettishall 20/6/44; battle damaged Berlin 5/12/44 with ?; force landed Knocke, Bel; 9RTD; Salvaged. HOLY SMOKES.
Missions
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18 July 1944
Flew an easy one over Denmark to Germany. Only had one hours sleep between yesterday and today.
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19 July 1944
Schweinfurt, Germany ball bearing plant was the target. Hit by flak and fell behind formation at 8:45 am above Aachen, Germany and crashed at Haren, Belgium at 10:06 am in the air district.
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24 July 1944
Bombed enemy troop concentrations and thus assisted the Allied breakthrough at St. Lo. About 1500 planes of US went to St. Lo in Cherbourg. We came back with our bombs. Couldn't find the target.
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31 July 1944
Flak knocked out #2 engine, the interphone system, the VHF plus other damages. We got back to the base before the formation.
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Associated Place
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Military site : airfield
Knettishall was built to Class A standard for an American Bomb Group that would be bringing up to forty heavy bombers with them in three or four Squadrons. The 388th Bomb Group, which stayed at Knettishall for their entire service in the ETO, flew B-17...
Events
Event |
Location |
Date |
Born |
Atlantic City, NJ, USA |
23 July 1919 |
Based |
Knettishall |
July 1944 – 11 January 1945 |
Died |
Shrewsbury, NJ, USA |
24 February 2013 |
Buried |
Mount Olivet Cemetery, Middletown, NJ, USA |
1 March 2013 |
Following a funeral mass at St. James Catholic Church in Middletown, NJ with military honours.
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