Charles Bliss
Military | First Lieutenant | Pilot | 388th Bomb Group
Retired from the USAF with the rank of Colonel
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Herman B Mays
Military
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A bomber crew of the 388th Bomb Group with their B-17 Flying Fortress (serial number 42-30177) nicknamed "Charlene". Printed caption on reverse: '61552 AC- Crew of the 562nd Bomb Squadron, 388th Bomb Group, beside the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress "Charlene". England. 30 August 1943. Standing left to right are: 2nd Lt John N Haroian, Boise, Idaho; 1st Lt Charles Bliss, Los Angeles, California; 2nd Lt Vernon D Duncan, Columbus, Ohio; 2nd Lt Bernard J Quenneville, Hadley, Mass. Kneeling left to right: S/Sgt Robert E Brailey, Woonsocket, RI; T/Sgt Albert N Brown, Great Falls, Mont; S/Sgt Herman B Mays, Terre Haute, Ind; S/Sgt Lawrence H Ruddell, Wausau, Wisc; S/Sgt Edmund W Wilbert, Westlake, Ohio; T/Sgt Henry G Rotell, Riwabik, Minn. US Air force Photo.'
Evaded (EVD)
It appears that Mays finished his combat tour with the 388th BG on 14 January 1944. I can find no reference to him bailing out and becoming an evade. I also cannot find an explanation for his death in October 1944. A possible explanation would be that flew a 2nd combat tour with another bomb group.
Service
People
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Vernon Duncan
Military | Second Lieutenant | Co-Pilot/Pilot | 388th Bomb Group
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Patrick Lewis
Military | Second Lieutenant | Pilot | 388th Bomb Group
Units served with
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388th Bomb Group
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... -
562nd Bomb Squadron
Squadron
Aircraft
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42-30030 Old Ironsides
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Cheyenne 2/4/43; Sioux City 13/4/43; Kearney 4/5/43; Bangor 23/5/43; Assigned 544BS/384BG [BK-F] Grafton Underwood 29/5/43; transferred 2 SAD Lt Staughton 31/7/43 then 560BS/388BG. ... -
42-30177 Charlene
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Cheyenne 24/4/43; Gore Fd 27/4/43; Cheyenne 2/5/43; Sioux City 13/5/43; Smoky Hill 11/6/43; Dow Fd 16/6/43; Assigned 562BS/388BG Knettishall 23/6/43 as CHARLENE; 15m transferred RCM 803BS Sculthorpe 19/1/44; Oulton 16/5/44; 36BS Cheddington... -
42-30212 Quarterback
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Cheyenne 29/4/43; Sioux City 14/5/43; Smoky Hill 11/6/43; Dow Fd 16/6/43; Assigned 562BS/388BG Knettishall 17/6/43; transferred Aphrodite project, Missing in Action V-sites, Watten 6/8/44 with Lt Joeseph P Andrecheck & T/Sgt Raymond Healy (2... -
42-30213 Lil' One
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Cheyenne 29/4/43; Gore 9/5/43; Sioux City 10/5/43; Smoky Hill 11/6/43; Dow Fd 15/6/43; Assigned 562BS/388BG Knettishall 1/6/43; crashed on take off for Bremen after encountering mechanical problems 13/11/43 with Bob Simons, Co-pilot: Alvin... -
42-31115 Hells Belles
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Cheyenne 21/9/43; Gr Island 6/10/43; Assigned 562BS/388BG Knettishall 25/10/43; Missing in Action Brunswick 10/2/44 with Jim Feeney - not found till 25/2/44, Radio Operator: Norman Kajut, Waist gunner: Marion Forbis, Tail gunner: Lou LeFevre ... -
42-37886 Blitzing Betsy
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Denver 2/10/43; Gr Island 21/10/43; Assigned 562BS/388BG Knettishall 25/10/43; Missing in Action Berlin 6/3/44 with Lowell Watts captured by civilians, Co-pilot: Bob Kennedy, Navigator: Emmett Murphy, Bombardier: Ed Kelley, Flight engineer...
Associated Place
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Knettishall
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 | Terre Haute, Indiana | 1921 |
| Lived in | Vigo County, IN, USA | 1942 |
| Enlisted | Indianapolis, IN, USA | 7 August 1942 |
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Fort Benjamin Harrison |
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| 388th BG Combat Tour | Knettishall, Diss IP22 2TH, UK | 17 July 1943 – 14 January 1944 |
| Died | 12 October 1944 | |
| Buried | Terre Haute, IN, USA | November 1944 |
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Hull Cemetery • Terre Haute, Vigo County, Indiana, USA |
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Revisions
| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 29 December 2017 01:52:23 | 466thHistorian | Changes to service number, highest rank, biography, events, person associations, place associations and aircraft associations |
| Sources | ||
http://www.388bg.info/servlet/Controller?pageType=detail&id=388-I-MAY09-... |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:12:59 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / www.388bg.info/Personnel.html |
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