William Beety
Military | First Lieutenant | Pilot | 96th Bomb Group
Assigned Oct 1944
Lady Moe the Donkey
Military
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"Lady Moe" the donkey mascot of the 96th Bomb Group. Associated caption: 'Lady Moe was Queen of the Heath, and she was free to roam wherever she pleased. She was so popular on the base that both the ball park and movie theatre were neamed for her. Furthermore, like many other pets on the base, she was a seasoned aviator and had actually been on a bombing mision. So she related well to the flying crews and could be seen at the control tower "sweating on" the bombers returning from a mission. Cigarettes were a favourite of Lady Moe, she ingested them as chewing tobacco.'
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Lady Moe Ball Park at Snetterton Heath, named for the donkey mascot "Lady Moe" of the 96th Bomb Group. Associated caption: 'Lady Moe was Queen of the Heath, and she was free to roam wherever she pleased. She was so popular on the base that both the ball park and movie theatre were neamed for her. Furthermore, like many other pets on the base, she was a seasoned aviator and had actually been on a bombing mision. So she related well to the flying crews and could be seen at the control tower "sweating on" the bombers returning from a mission. Cigarettes were a favourite of Lady More, she ingested them as chewing tobacco.'
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An airman and "Lady Moe" a donkey mascot of the 96th Bomb Group outside Nissen hut barracks at Snetterton Heath. Associated caption: 'Lady Moe was Queen of the Heath, and she was free to roam wherever she pleased. She was so popular on the base that both the ball park and movie theatre were neamed for her. Furthermore, like many other pets on the base, she was a seasoned aviator and had actually been on a bombing mision. So she related well to the flying crews and could be seen at the control tower "sweating on" the bombers returning from a mission. Cigarettes were a favourite of Lady More, she ingested them as chewing tobacco.'
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Lieutenant Beety and "Lady Moe" a donkey mascot of the 96th Bomb Group outside Nissen hut barracks at Snetterton Heath, 1944. Image via Eugene Blue, 96th Bomb Group. Written on slide casing: 'Fall 1944, Beety & "Lady Moe" outside out barracks 338th Bomb Sqdn.'
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War artist Frank Beresford paints a B-17 Flying Fortress with the assistance of "Lady Moe" the donkey mascot of the 96th Bomb Group. Handwritten caption on reverse: 'Frank Beresford - Little Moe.'
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Airmen of the 385th Bomb Group pose with donkeys under the wing of a B-17 Flying Fortress at Telerghma airfield. Official caption on image: "A-141." Passed for publication 6 Sep 1943. Printed caption on reverse: '#53: Aircrew with "Moe"'. On reverse: US Army Press Censor ETO and US Army General Section Press & Censorship Bureau [Stamps].
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Lady Moe, famous mascot of the 96th Bomb Group, supports the war effort in her bond-promotion blanket.
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Lady Moe, famous mascot of the 96th Bomb Group, assists war artist Bruce Beresford at Snetterton Heath.
Lady Moe, a Tunisian donkey, was the mascot of the 96th Bombardment Group.
Moe was picked up in an Algerian slum in August 1943 by a B-17 crew taking part in the Regensburg shuttle mission, she accompanied the crew back to England on August 24, 1943 on the return leg of the shuttle mission. On this return trip the crew bombed Bordeaux, France, making Lady Moe the only known donkey ever to fly on a combat mission.
Moe became internationally famous as 'Queen of the Heath' even serving as a mascot at the Army-Navy football game at London's White City Stadium on November 12, 1944. At home at Snetterton she lent her name to the base cinema and ballpark, developed a taste for tobacco, toilet roll and doughnuts and became increasingly irascible.
Moe died on 3 October 1945 when wandered onto a railroad track near the base and was killed by a train. She was buried at the airbase in a simple ceremony. To those who served with her, she will always be remembered as the "Queen of the Heath"
Service
People
Units served with
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96th Bomb Group
Group
The 96th Bomb Group flew B-17 Flying Fortresses to targets across occupied Europe from May 1943 to April 1945. ...
Missions
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VIII Bomber Command 86
24 August 1943
The 8th Air Force is intent on dishing out some "pay back" to the Luftwaffe for the toll it took on bombers of the 17-Aug-43 mission to Schweinfurt/Regensburg. So, This mission has three attack elements and a diversion element. The attack elements are...
Associated Place
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Snetterton Heath
Military site : airfield
Intended to be an RAF bomber base, construction of Snetterton Heath started in Autumn 1942 but continued until mid-1943, because it was extended after allocation as an Eighth Air Force bomber base. It had eventually three concrete runways, 50...
Events
| Event | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Born | Tunisia | |
| Based | Snetterton Heath | 1943 |
| Died | 3 October 1945 |
Revisions
| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 13 August 2018 14:44:28 | Emily | Changes to nickname, biography, events, place associations and mission associations |
| Sources | ||
'Lady Moe, Queen of the Heath' Documentary on Youtube Roger Freeman Collection |
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