Harold E Kren
Military
Niles W. Hartung Crew
466th BG - 787th BS
Standing Left to Right: unidentified person, Hal Kren (B), Niles W. Hartung (P), Clifford Smith (CP), Richard Gates (N), unidentified person
Kneeling Left to Right: Kowalski (R/O), Nelson Anderson (FE), unidentified person, Pollack (G) 466th Bomb Group collection
Grandson: Justin Benard
Object Number - UPL 16224 - Crew #743 Niles W. Hartung Crew 466th BG - 787th BS Standing Left to Right: unidentified person, Hal Kren (B), Niles W. Hartung (P), Clifford...
5 August 1944 - 7 January 1955: 5 August Brunswick, Germany; 6 August Hamburg, Germany; 8 August Clastres, France; 11 August Strasbourg, Germany; 15 August Vechta Airfield, Germany; 25 August Lubeck, Germany; 27 August Oranienburg, Germany; 5 September Karlsruhe, Germany; 8 September Karlsruhe, Germany; 9 September Mainz, Germany; 11 September Magdeburg, Germany; 3 October Gaggenau, Germany; 6 October Wendendorf, Germany; 12 October Osnabruck, Germany; 14 October Kaiserslautern, Germany; 18 October Cologne, Germany; 1 November Gelsenkirchen, Germany; 2 November Castrop/Rauxel, Germany; 5 November Karlsruhe, Germany; 6 November Sterkrade, Germany; 10 November Hanau, Germany; 21 November Harbourg, Germany; 26 November Bielefield, Germany; 2 December Bingen, Germany; 5 December Munster, Germany; 23 December Dahlen & Lissendorf, Germany; 24 December Gerolstein, Germany; 26 December Neiderlahnstein, Germany; 27 December St. Wendel, Germany; 29 December Gerolstein, Germany; 30 December Remagen, Germany; 31 December Koblenz, Germany; 3 January 1945 Zweibrucken, Germany; 5 January Kern, Germany; 7 January Rastatt, Germany
DFC/ Air Medal w/ 4 Oak Leaf Cluster/ ETOE w/ 4 battle stars/ American Theater/ Victory Medal
Retired from the USAF as a Lt. Colonel
Connections
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Units served with
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
People
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 466th Bomb Group 787th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: O-699816
- Highest Rank: Captain
- Role/Job: Pilot
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-24 Liberator
- Nicknames: Earthquake McGoon
- Unit: 466th Bomb Group 787th Bomb Squadron
Missions
- Date: 25 October 1944
Places
- Site type: Airfield
- Known as: Attlebridge Arsenal, Station 120
Events
| Event | Location | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Born |
San Francisco, California | 10 September 1920 | |
|
Enlisted |
Fresno, CA, USA | 6 February 1943 | |
|
Other Graduated |
Deming, NM 88030, USA | 5 February 1944 | Class 44-2 AAF Bombardier School |
|
Other First Combat Mission |
Brunswick, Germany | 5 August 1944 | "Brunswick, I recall quite clearly, was an easy run. Perhaps an ideal first mission - at least as we experienced it. There was flak over the target and some en route, but all low and a good distance away. I recall being glad that, by now, we had established air superiority such that enemy fighters were not the dread force they had been, and the flak defenses certainly seemed not much of a problem. All in all, a piece of cake. The next day's mission to Hamburg corrected my mis-perceptions in a hurry!" |
|
Other 2nd Combat Mission |
Hamburg, Germany | 6 August 1944 | Hamburg changed my attitude about the ease of flying combat 100% or 180 degrees, if you care to look at it that way. We had flak. The flak was radar directed; it was extremely accurate. It was heavy. It was everything that you could think of that would make a mission unpleasant. We were not shot full of holes, but we were scared. Here is where the pilot came in. This one of the reasons I developed so much respect for our pilot, Niles Hartung. He had listened to, and he had paid attention to, and he had heeded the advice we had been given about what to do under these circumstances. He was able to maintain formation, and we were flying just off someone's wing, but he was still able to do evasive action sufficiently while still maintaining formation so that we got through this whole mess. He showed that quality many, many, many times over. We survived the mission. |
| San Francisco, CA, USA | 25 Alpine Terrace |
Revisions
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / self & Page 322 in the book SECOND AIR DIVISION by Turner Publishing Company, 1998 edition, D790.A2S45