Dad was a veteran of the 392nd BG March 18 raid on Freidrischaven, during which the 392nd suffered its highest single mission losses of the war. On return from that mission his aircraft was very badly damaged and the crew was compelled to perform a crash landing at Biggin Hill just south of London. He also flew the first of 3 missions flown by the 392nd on D-Day bombing the area just inland from Omaha beach. On return from one mission, Dad brought back a very badly damaged B-24 on two engines at full military raated power for over 2 hours. Ever since, he was a great booster of 'Mssrs. Pratt and Whitney and their superbly reliable R-1830 engines--they did it all and more. ' Dad always spoke very highly of his crew and their performance throughout their combat tour. He took great pride in being able to fly in combat with the 8th AAF who he considered to be one of the greatest fighting organizations in the world. He flew his last combat mission on July 16, 1944 with 32 missions to their credit less than 3 weeks after Dad's 23rd birthday.



DFC; Air Medal w/ 3Oak Leaf Cluster