Really enjoyed reading this. You can tell how much time and effort you’ve put into tracking everything down—it doesn’t feel like just research, it feels personal. That kind of dedication is what makes these stories actually matter.
I connected with this a lot because I’m working on something similar myself. I started digging into my great grandfather’s service, and it’s kind of turned into trying to piece together his entire B-24 crew and what they went through in the CBI. It’s not the easiest theater to research—there’s just not as much out there compared to Europe—but that’s also what’s pulled me into it more.
I’ve been focusing on the 308th Bomb Group, specifically the 373rd Bombardment Squadron, and the deeper I get, the more it feels like there’s a lot of their story that hasn’t really been fully told yet. I’m hoping to help change that in some small way.
Anyway, just wanted to say I respect the work you’re doing here. Looking forward to the next part.
You just gained a follower Brian! Dont stop with John, there are many more lost stories out there for us to bring to light! If you ever wanted to connect feel free to reach out.
Thanks for the kind response! It’s been an honor to uncover and share John’s story, and my hope is that his legacy is remembered. It took me 6 years of work to get to where I am, and a lot of luck was involved - as well as Apple making a TV show about the 100th Bomb Group; that was a big help!
So, your great grandfather flew “The Hump?” I actually just researched this a few months ago for my college roommate, whose great uncle flew the same route. He was stationed on a base in India, with the 7th Bomb group, 492nd Bomb Squadron. You definitely should keep going with your research, and reach out to whomever you think can help. I sent emails to all kinds of people, even finding John’s daughter via a Zillow house listing in Florida. My biggest piece of advice is to just go for it, and don’t be shy about taking long shots. I emailed the Dutch National Forest Service never thinking it would amount to something and it led to my biggest break.
Thanks for the support and I’m happy to help if you need tips!
Great advice Brian! I have been reaching out to everyone. I just went to a small WW2 Aviation Musuem in Cape May NJ yesterday and presented jy binder of research and they were interesed. I sent them the PDF. Hopefully they can send me some new leads.
My big break came from a Facebook group. A man not even in my great grandfathers crew took a photo of them in India, May 31, 1944 and this was the first photo that had any sort of names attached. Which led to being able to find every crew member of the core crew, who survived their year long deployment and who was KIA. My next stage is taking a trip.to the National Archives in DC, they have replied and have the mission logs amd loading list.
Now its time to put their missions together and see who flew what missions. Their plane the "Tennessee Belle" had 51 successful bomb markings on their plane as well as 4 small sinking vessels and 1 large sinking vessel. I want to put that timeline together the best I can!
Maybe one day we can collaborate or something. Good luck man appreciate you taking the time to reply!
That's amazing, and I bet they were excited! The 100th BG Foundation has been super helpful in my search, and their subsequent Facebook group has taken it to another level. Even just the support has been a big boost. That's where I found the names of the crew members of the Pasadena Nena, which ultimately sent me down a new rabbit hole (that I highly recommend).
I have spent countless hours on Ancestry and other websites searching for any relatives of the crew who flew with the Pasadena Nena. So far, I have found connections to all but 1. There are about 30 of us now in a private Facebook group, and we connect there all the time. I've gotten to know the lead pilot's daughter, a bunch of his grandkids, the daughter of the radio operator, the great-nephew of the bombardier, the nephew of the tailgunner, the nephew of the co-pilot, a few kids of the right waist gunner, etc. It's been awesome.
I have been meaning to go down to the National Archives, as well. I'd love to know what they have there that relates to the Pasadena Nena. I have the MACR report, but that's about it. The lead pilot's grandson has his grandfather's flight log, and I've seen that. One of the waistgunner's kids had a letter that my great uncle sent to his father after he got back from the war - that was such a trip to read.
Keep going - there is so much out there, known and unknown.
Really enjoyed reading this. You can tell how much time and effort you’ve put into tracking everything down—it doesn’t feel like just research, it feels personal. That kind of dedication is what makes these stories actually matter.
I connected with this a lot because I’m working on something similar myself. I started digging into my great grandfather’s service, and it’s kind of turned into trying to piece together his entire B-24 crew and what they went through in the CBI. It’s not the easiest theater to research—there’s just not as much out there compared to Europe—but that’s also what’s pulled me into it more.
I’ve been focusing on the 308th Bomb Group, specifically the 373rd Bombardment Squadron, and the deeper I get, the more it feels like there’s a lot of their story that hasn’t really been fully told yet. I’m hoping to help change that in some small way.
Anyway, just wanted to say I respect the work you’re doing here. Looking forward to the next part.
You just gained a follower Brian! Dont stop with John, there are many more lost stories out there for us to bring to light! If you ever wanted to connect feel free to reach out.
Chris
Chris,
Thanks for the kind response! It’s been an honor to uncover and share John’s story, and my hope is that his legacy is remembered. It took me 6 years of work to get to where I am, and a lot of luck was involved - as well as Apple making a TV show about the 100th Bomb Group; that was a big help!
So, your great grandfather flew “The Hump?” I actually just researched this a few months ago for my college roommate, whose great uncle flew the same route. He was stationed on a base in India, with the 7th Bomb group, 492nd Bomb Squadron. You definitely should keep going with your research, and reach out to whomever you think can help. I sent emails to all kinds of people, even finding John’s daughter via a Zillow house listing in Florida. My biggest piece of advice is to just go for it, and don’t be shy about taking long shots. I emailed the Dutch National Forest Service never thinking it would amount to something and it led to my biggest break.
Thanks for the support and I’m happy to help if you need tips!
-Brian
Great advice Brian! I have been reaching out to everyone. I just went to a small WW2 Aviation Musuem in Cape May NJ yesterday and presented jy binder of research and they were interesed. I sent them the PDF. Hopefully they can send me some new leads.
My big break came from a Facebook group. A man not even in my great grandfathers crew took a photo of them in India, May 31, 1944 and this was the first photo that had any sort of names attached. Which led to being able to find every crew member of the core crew, who survived their year long deployment and who was KIA. My next stage is taking a trip.to the National Archives in DC, they have replied and have the mission logs amd loading list.
Now its time to put their missions together and see who flew what missions. Their plane the "Tennessee Belle" had 51 successful bomb markings on their plane as well as 4 small sinking vessels and 1 large sinking vessel. I want to put that timeline together the best I can!
Maybe one day we can collaborate or something. Good luck man appreciate you taking the time to reply!
That's amazing, and I bet they were excited! The 100th BG Foundation has been super helpful in my search, and their subsequent Facebook group has taken it to another level. Even just the support has been a big boost. That's where I found the names of the crew members of the Pasadena Nena, which ultimately sent me down a new rabbit hole (that I highly recommend).
I have spent countless hours on Ancestry and other websites searching for any relatives of the crew who flew with the Pasadena Nena. So far, I have found connections to all but 1. There are about 30 of us now in a private Facebook group, and we connect there all the time. I've gotten to know the lead pilot's daughter, a bunch of his grandkids, the daughter of the radio operator, the great-nephew of the bombardier, the nephew of the tailgunner, the nephew of the co-pilot, a few kids of the right waist gunner, etc. It's been awesome.
I have been meaning to go down to the National Archives, as well. I'd love to know what they have there that relates to the Pasadena Nena. I have the MACR report, but that's about it. The lead pilot's grandson has his grandfather's flight log, and I've seen that. One of the waistgunner's kids had a letter that my great uncle sent to his father after he got back from the war - that was such a trip to read.
Keep going - there is so much out there, known and unknown.