Delbert Woffard - Former President of the 459th Bomb Group Association.
Joe Tin Lee - former gunner in the 759th Bomb Squadron, passed away 12/8/2001.
Former 2nd LT George Ostroot Jr. 759 th B S Navigator and 459th BGA Member No.512 passed away 2/16/07 at St Louis, MO. His story of being shot down 6/16/44 on 459 BG Mission No.60 and becoming a P O W will be listed under 759th BS Servicemen Stories.
Ludwig J. Phillips of the 756th BS/459th BG passed away on 12 February 2008 after a long illness.
2nd Lt Rex Goddard of the 757th BG was born on December 21, 1921. He completed 50 missions and received the DFC. Lt. Goodard passed away on February 12, 1995.
1st Lt George Bryant was a Co-Pilot on James Oogle's crew in the 759th BS.
S/Sgt Robert R. Dejongh was a member of the 758th BS. A memorial dedicated to him was discovered in Colleville-sur-Mer in Normandy, France. It is thought that S/Sgt Dejongh was MIA/KIA while executing M#80 July 24th, 1944 in Normandy, France.
Sgt John D Baker served with the 758th BS. It is unknown when he passed away, but he is listed on a memorial located in the Epinal Cemetery.
2nd Lt. Que D Jones was killed in action while serving with the 758th BS on April 28th, 1944. He was a Co-Pilot on Mission # 29, target Porto San Stefano Docks, Italy. Read more in the "Servicemen's Stories
2nd Lt. John Zimmer was killed in action by heavy flak while flying his aircraft in the 758th BS on April 28th, 1944. He was on Mission # 29, target Porto San Stefano docks, Italy. Read more in the "Servicemen's Stories"
Thomas W. Perry It is with great pride and much sorrow that I inform you that my Father, Thomas W. Perry passed away on June 17, 2008. He was assigned to the 459th Bomb Group, 758th Squadron and grearly enjoyed sharing his experiences at Giulia Field up to his final day on earth.
Thank you for your wonderful newletter "Pathfinder", we have greatly enjoyed reviewing past issues, especially the Fall 1997 piece on "Perry's Paupers".
He really got a kick out of it. Michael Perry 513 Foxgate Quarter Chesapeake VA 23322 757-410-1778 nckate2@aol.com
Mryl M. Graham 758th Squadron passed away Monday, July 14, 2008. He attended one of the reunions some years back in Boise, ID and thoroughly enjoyed meeting his "BTO" (Big Time Operators) flying buddies of the 758th Bomb Squadron.
S/Sgt. Harry Jobe Jones 757th Squadron passed away February 12, 2003. He entered the service November 21, 1942 and was discharged July 7, 1945.
S/Sgt. Michael J. Horvath,, passed away 05-05-1997 due to complications during heart surgery. He was originally from Chicago, Illinois.
Robert G DeGroat age 81 of Wilmington, DE passed away January 30, 2003. During WWII, Lt. DeGroat flew B-24 Liberator Bombers with the 459th Bomb Group, 758th Squadron, 15th AAF in Italy. He was shot down 15 December, 1944 and spent five months as a POW at Luft Stalag IIIA, Luckenwalde, Germany. Post war, he was a flight instructor in C-46 and C-119 transports with the USAF Reserve, retiring in 1972 with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.
Forrest "Frosty" G. Hunt, 90 of Decatur, IL died May 17, 2008. During WWII, 1st Lt. Hunt was a Bombardier in the 756th Squadron of the 459th Bomb Group. He flew 50 missions while in Italy.
Lynn Fairbanks Spaulding, 85 of Las Vegas, NV died May 30, 2008. Lynn was born in Taylor, Wis. and enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corp. after his graduation from Mt. Horeb High School. In 1944, he was commissioned as a 2nd Lt. at Ellington Field, Ft. Worth, TX, where he earned his "wings" with Class 44-E. He was assigned to the 15th AAF and flew B-24 Liberators out of Cerignola, Italy with the 459th Bomb Group. Lynn retired as a Major from the U.S. Air Force at Nellis AFB.
Claude Lorraine Porter, 86 of Niceville, Fla. died Jan. 16, 2003. Claude enlisted in the U. S. Army Air Corps and became a B-24 Pilot with the 756th Squadron of the 459th Bomb Group in Italy. He was shot down on a raid to Ploesti, Romania. 2nd Lt. Porter became a POW of Germany and spent one year ia a hospital in Vienna, Aus. which was bombed repeatedly while he was there. He retired a Lt. Colonel in 1973 with 23 years of service.
Robert R. "Bob" Brown, 86 of Charleston, WV died June 16, 2003. Born on March 1, 1922, Bob was a graduate and senior class president of the Charleston High School class of 1940. Bob entered WWII and served as a Bombardier in the 757th Squadron of the 459th Bomb Group. Bob ended his career with the U.S.A.F. in the Strategic Air Command.
Wallace ( Wally ) E. Albritton - 756th Squadron
Ludwig J. Phillips - 756th Squadron
Robert H. Redfield - 756th Squadron
Anthony P. Sylvestro - 756th Squadron
Charles J. Aiesi - 758th Squadron
David Blain - 757th Squadron
Louis J. Frauenholtz - 757th Squadron
Thomas R. Girvan - 757th Squadron
Anthony Pepitone - 757th Squadron
George S. Reese - 757th Squadron
William H. Reinbold - 757th Squadron
Robert C. Sneed - 757th Squadron
Howard A. Allen - 759th Squadron
Hessel H. Holland - 759th Squadron
Thomas A. McCann Jr. - 759th Squadron
Ben Nozicka - 759th Squadron
Robert C. Read - 759th Squadron
Sgt. Anthony Pepitone, side-gunner in the 459th/757th squadron passed away in 2003.
Capt. Frank T. Romanoski Sr., 87, of the 757th Bomber Squadron passed away on December 17, 2008. He resided
in Plymouth Meeting, PA. but was born in Shamokin, PA.on Feb. 3, 1921. His obituary can be found in the Shamokin News Item at Newsitem.com.
John M. "Jack" Morin, 86, an Agawam resident for 60 years, died Saturday, May 3, 2008 at Mercy Hospital. Born June 20, 1921 in Chicago, IL, he was a son of the late Earl H. Sr. and Loretta (McCoy) Morin. He graduated from Mt. Carmel High School in Chicago in 1938, and studied at Northwestern University. Jack enlisted in the armed services and was called to duty in March 1942 as an Army Air Corps Aviation Cadet. He was deployed to Italy in January 1944 and was in command of a B-24 with the 758th Squadron, 459th Bomb Group of the 15th Air Force.
Charles M Millan was a Bombardier in the 459th BG and 757th Squadron. He remained in the Air Force Reserve for 28 years and retired as a Major. He passed away 1/23/95.
Charles Selicious died 7-12-1997 of congestive heart failure. He was a cook in the 756th Squadron. He owned a restaurant his entire life after he got out of the service. He settled in Whatelt, Mass.
T/Sgt L. T. Burnett passed away in August of 2007. L.T. Burnett was born in Okemah, OK on August 6, 1923 where he lived most of his life working on his parents' farm. He enlisted on the 25th of May in 1943 and entered active service in the Army Air Forces on June 1, 1943 at Ft. Sill in Oklahoma. He was stationed in Italy at Giulia Airfield with the 459th Bomber Group, 757th Squadron. He participated in 50 missions as radio operator and waist gunner and his plane was shot down once. On September 19, 1945 he was discharged from the military under the jurisdiction of the Strategic Air Command. During his time in the military he was awarded the Good Conduct Medal, the Air Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters, and a Distinguished Unit Citation and was a T/Sgt upon his separation. Sometime after the War, L T opened a grocery store in the small town of Haskell, OK where he brought his small town life experiences to help the town grow. Everyone who ever worked for him or shopped in his store remember him as a kind man. On August 9, 2007 L T Burnett lost his battle with cancer and was buried in Ft. Gibson National Cemetery in Ft. Gibson, OK. He is survived by one brother, Thurman, his wife, Barbara, his three children Leland, Mary, and Wanda as well as his grandsons Lance, Lyle, Curtis, Kevin Paul, Matthew and Jacob.
Dr. John H. Jack Wilmes, 84, of Lincoln, formerly of Nebraska City, died at his home on Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2009 surrounded by his loving family after a long struggle with Parkinsons and pancreatic cancer.
He was born on Feb. 12, 1925 to John Herman and Kathryn Josephine (Zech) Wilmes in Creston, Iowa. He graduated from Creston High School in 1943. Jack served in the 15th Army Air Force, 758th Sqn of the 459th Bomb Group and he was shot down over Austria on 25 Feb 1945 during World War II. His plane was heavily damaged during combat over Austria and he was classified as missing in action until recovered by U.S. Forces behind Russian lines.
He graduated from Northern Illinois College of Optometry in Chicago, Ill., and began his practice in Bedford, Iowa. He married Betty Noblet in June of 1953 in Maryville, Mo., and the couple moved to Nebraska City in October of 1953 where he practiced optometry for the next 30 years.
Dr. Wilmes was active in the community where he served as commander of the American Legion Post #8 and the VFW. He was active in St. Marys Catholic Church, Scouting, coaching baseball and driving the Lourdes school bus. He served on the Lourdes School Board and St. Marys Hospital Board and was a member of both the Nebraska and National Optometric Associations.
The couple retired to Lincoln in 1982 to be near family.
He was preceded in death by a brother, Jim.
He is survived by his wife, Betty, of Lincoln; three sons, Mark Wilmes of Fort Worth, Texas, Mike Wilmes and wife Trish of Lincoln, and Jay Wilmes and wife Ann of Lincoln; three grandchildren, Jordan Wilmes, Jacob Wilmes and Abigail Wilmes, all of Lincoln; sister Mary Thompson of Westminster, Colo.; several nieces and nephews; other family and friends.
2nd Lt Harold Welborn of the 758th BS passed on, Feburary 16, 2010 in Prineville, Oregon. He was a navigator, and a good friend.
David Waltman
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