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The Flying
Wedge, by Ernie Pyle
A visit with the 456th SQ., 323 BG in 1944
456th Bombardment Squadron:
Lineage. Constituted 456th Bombardment Squadron (Medium) on 19 June 1942. Activated on 4 August 1942. Inactivated on 26 November 1945. Redesignated 456th Bombardment Squadron (Light) on 9 September 1947. Activated in the reserve on 26 September 1947. Ordered to active service 10 March 1951. Inactivated on 17 March 1951.
Assignments. 323rd Bombardment Group, 4 August 1942 - 26 November 1945. 323rd Bombardment Group. 26 September 1947 - 17 March 1951.
Stations. Columbia AAB, SC, 4 August 1942; MacDill Field, FL, 21 August 1942; Myrtle Beach Bombing Range, SC, 2 November 1942 - 25 April 1943; Horham, England 13 May 1943; Earls Colne, England, 14 June 1943; Beaulieu, England, 21 July 1944; Lessay, France, 26 August 1944; Chartes, France, 21 September 1944; Laon/Athies, France 13 October 1944; Denain/Prouvy, France, 9 February 1945; Gablingen, Germany, 15 May 1945; Kempten, Germany, 20 May 1945; Clastres, France, October-December 1945; Camp Myles Standish, Mass, 25-26 November 1945. Tinker Field, Okla, 26 September 1947 - 17 Mar 1951.
Aircraft. Martin B-26 Marauder, 1942-1945.
Operations. Combat in ETO, 16 July 1943 - 25 April 1945. Disarmament of German Air Force, May-September 1945.
Service Streamers. None.
Campaigns. Air Offensive, Europe; Normandy; Northern France; Rhineland; Ardrennes-Alsace; Central Europe; Air Combat, EAME Theater.
Decorations. Distinguished Unit Citation: Belgium and Germany, 24-27 December 1944.
Emblem. None.
Then... in the beginning...
Harvey Jacobs at Ktty Hawk Memorial August 1999
Now
Our beautiful Lady
The Lady's Marauder
The B-26 is a lady of parts,
A whole lot of trouble whenever she starts.
She's shy, she's skittish, she's coy, she's bold,
And full many many a pilot she's soon turning old.
A runaway prop on the take-off, 'tis true,
Scares the hell outta me, it would out of you,
But she has them, sure, in any old season
And far's I can see, for no damn good reason.
Then she'll hold one foot daintily in air,
A cute little trick that whitens the hair.
For this baby lands a helluva speed
And three wheels down isn't more than you need.
On the runway she crouches and waddles around
Like a old fat goose ouit of place on the ground.
In the air she's clean, so roundand smooth,
With a little persuasion she'll fly down the groove.
When the pea-shooters threaten, she shoos them away
Like an intent old girl too busy to play.
She doesn't hang around firing ripping bursts,
Just leaves them behind with a roaring spurt.
Of course, if they want to rough and nasty,
She wallops them hard just for being so sassy.
"Yep." said grandpop, storking his beard,
"I flew a twenty-six for over a year.
I wooed her and won her without much trouble,
And wherever we went, we went on the double."
And here's tpo the lady with the numerous quirks,
Who was always so willing to humble the squirts.
Those squirt who trhought it was so easy to fly.
The twenty-six flew ... only God knows why.
R. Burlingame
S/Sgt. Air Corps
22nd Bombardment Group (M)
Memorial Plaque, Marks Hall Earls Colne
Jack Arnold
Henry Allen
Robert Barker
Worden Bishop
Harland Bird
John Bodkin
Ken Brown
Vernon Brant
Noel Butler
William Borkowski
Lewis Caldwell
Anthony V. Caezza
Eugene Cinqueman
George Commenator
Gene Compton
Robert Covarrubias
Thomas Curtin
James Davidson
Lawrence Efta
Ralph Felice
Phil Dolce
Joseph Elston
J.R. Finn
Tom Forster
Bill Garrick
Eugene Gaines
David Gleason
William Glock
William Guerrant; Ted Harwood, W. Guerrant
John Guldemond
Luther Hargroves
Tom Harves, Ted Harwood
Robert Hager
Earl Hestrain, Ted Harwood
Ross Harlan
Warren Hoerr
Al Hammel
John Hurt
Harvey Jacobs
Eli King
Newton Kershaw
John Knight
John Kuczwara
Alfred Latronico
Robert Mc Nurlin
Chris Lennox
Edward Miller
Frank Morris
Manuel Musquiz
Fred Mingus
John Nicholson, James Lamon
Velton O'Neal
Colin O' Rourke
David Pritchard
Harold Parham
Art Pakula
Mike Perello
Louis Rehr
Jack Robershotte
Francis Short
Reid Sprague
Vance Salisbury
Ken Strivers
Frank Sitko, John Symanski
Phil Scheier
Perry Tyndall
Dick Tyson
Paul Warf
George Wolfe
James Womeldorff
George Wood
Sam Yawn
Leon Goodwin
Walter Timmons
Thomas J Curtin
Members of the original cadre on the second anniversary of the formation of the 323rd Bomb Group. Lessay, France, 11 Sept. 1944.
Bottom row, left to right: Richard Reynolds Oliver
Bottom right corner: Richard Reynolds Oliver
456th Bomb Squadron Reunion, Seattle, 1996
Pensacola Reunion, 2002
Left to right: 1. Leon C. Goodwin 2. Russell B. Linger 3. Earl M. Pitts 4. David C. Gleason 5. Walter L. Pochodzay 6. Frank Morris 7. Sam Yawn 8. James H. Davidson
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