(Pics Added To Page 2) Found My Grandfather's World War II Pictures In The Attic

[JaySwear]

My Grandfather found these today while he and I were looking for some luggage for a flight he'll be going on soon. I figured I knew a few people here who would love to see some of this stuff. My jaw dropped when I saw what was in this album. Seriously left me speechless. For those of you who know me from this forum, you know that i use the words "awesome" and "amazing" for pretty much anything. But I didn't think those fit here. Anyway, you might not find these as incredible as I did (since this is family to me, and just some old man to you :icon_biggrin but here they are anyway.

I've always been interested in military history. I think I was probably the only kid in my elementary school who could be entertained for hours with just the history channel. My main love has been aviation history, since my grandfather flew in the Army Air Corp during the Second World War. He flew 35 missions over Europe in the Eighth Air Force in the 446th Bomb Group.

He told me that he took most of the pictures in the album, and the rest were given to him from crew members or friends. Anyway, I'll post a small version of the picture, a link to the larger version, and I'll tell you as much as I know about each one.

OH, and some of the pictures were taken while he was on leave in London. If you know any of the landmarks in the pictures he has I would love to know (besides Big Ben!).

Top Left is my Grandfather and Grandmother, most likely after he returned home, but I don't know for sure. I believe the rest are in London, but that I'm not sure of either.

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5090/5219863678_090a2c9252_b.jpg

The B-24 "Bar Fly" and crew.

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5162/5219272237_63fde704f9_b.jpg

The bottom left is an officer from another B-24 ("Goin My Way"), and the bottom right is an officer of the "Bar Fly." I don't know if this is the Pilot or Co-Pilot. Also, a few in-air shots to show bomb drop locations.

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5050/5219272181_0c5fc578b3_b.jpg

A few more bomb drop location pictures. My favorite are the two on the right. You can see that this shows the target before and then after bombs hit. Very cool.

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5284/5219272055_85f977712e_b.jpg

Shots from in-air and on the ground. Pretty self-explanatory.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4087/5219345127_c5d08fcf9f_b.jpg

The bottom right photo says "Unloading flour from B-24 Liberator of 446th Bomb Group, France 1944." Also, those are bombs dropping from the B-24 on the bottom left.

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5201/5219344997_36d8669ae6_b.jpg

The top left photo is labeled "Hamm (Germany)." The vapor trails are absolutely beautiful, too.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4133/5219345213_6a626a460c_b.jpg

The top right plane is a P-47 Thunderbolt. This one is named "The Old Man." The bottom right plane is a P-51 Mustang. The picture reads "P-51 Mustang fighter over France - Sept. 1944." More planes dropping bombs on the top left, and the bottom left may have been taken from my Grandfather's gun position right behind the wing.

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5206/5219345285_23c2083593_b.jpg

The top left photo is labeled "Hanau (Germany)."

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5044/5219937502_36d2f7d982_b.jpg

Top document is my Grandfather's graduation certificate from Buckley Field. Bottom left is his Physical Record Card, and the bottom right is his pay record.

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5241/5219864184_48ab253e6e_b.jpg

Two different citations for Oak Leaf Clusters. I found 3 of these, and he told me he was awarded a total of 5 over his flying career.

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5049/5219864418_44627aa1fd_b.jpg

From the top right going down: my grandfather and two crew portraits. The left document shows my Grandfather was awarded 5 Oak Leaf Clusters, Two Bronze Stars, and received European Theater Overseas Service Bars.

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5088/5219272817_38fd981f0a_b.jpg

Hope you enjoyed these! Click the link under each photo to view them in actual size. There are quite a few more pictures. I might scan in all the in-air shots if somebody would like. I'm still amazed at these pictures I never knew existed. Feel free to ask me any questions that you would like me to ask him. He really doesn't open up about the war at all, and sometimes it's easy to forget he had this part of his life altogether.

 

[Jusatele]

that is so cool
My father was in the 351st BG in Polebrook England during WWII, he was a pilot of a B17, ended up doing 9 months in POW camp after being shot down. He was a career guy and got out of the Air Force in 1976, still kicking it in Florida.
That was another time and another mind set than w have today, those guys went off know that 10 percent of the planes were being shot down each mission, and they had to complete 25, not good odds at all.

 

[nexrex]

Beautiful thread. Thanks for sharing these. I have been wanting to do something like this with my grandfathers old photo's from the war for ages. He was a British Navy cook. Unfortunately my grandmother has been slack preserving these, and they are all just sitting around in old biscuit tins.

 

[Tonar8352]

I love it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

 

[nexrex]

that is so cool
My father was in the 351st BG in Polebrook England during WWII, he was a pilot of a B17, ended up doing 9 months in POW camp after being shot down. He was a career guy and got out of the Air Force in 1976, still kicking it in Florida.
That was another time and another mind set than w have today, those guys went off know that 10 percent of the planes were being shot down each mission, and they had to complete 25, not good odds at all.

Yeah, I remember grandad telling me he used to also help load shells into the deck guns. He was telling me you would be locked  and sealed down in a chamber surrounded by shells on racks, and if the ship ever got hit they would flood the area with you in it, just in case there was a risk of them detonating.

 

[exaN]

Wow that is just full of win, great pictures.

 

[Jusatele]

My father told me he looked out the window and saw fighters a way off, got on the intercom and said, "look guys our escort". about 10 seconds later the planes dove at him and shot them down, they were Messerschmidt. His crew never let him live that one down.

 

[Jusatele]

my father with his crew my father is in the middle rear

 

[ORCRiST]

DUDE!!! Thats F-ing AWESOME!!!

What a find!

You need to find a way to seal all that stuff and protect it! That's honest-to-God American history right there.

Major salute to you and yours!

ORCRiST

 

[Graffiti62]

My great grandfather saw some serious time in WWI as an ambulance driver for the troops. I wish there were photos of him in action, but in 1916, there really wasn't a lot of photography being taken that wasn't necessary for the war effort. My aunt still proudly has much of what he came back with, such as his medals (I can't remember what he all received, but if I remember right, there may be a bronze star and a purple heart in there), his gas mask, and his "Doughboy" helmet.

 

[kboman]

One of the best threads this year. Wow. Thank you both for sharing!

 

[jalane]

that's so cool!  i could look at old photographs like that all day.

 

[taez555]

Very cool.  Thanks for sharing.

 

[Mor Paul]

his gas mask

I've never asked, but I think my great grandfather *may* have been in WWI. When we went through his house (long dead), there was a gas mask I decided to save.

 

[hannaugh]

The bomb pictures are crazy! 

My grandpa probably has something like that around somewhere.  He was a captain of a B-29.  He wrote a book about it, and I know there are a lot of pictures in it. 

 

[tfarny]

That is very very cool. Isn't there a Whiskeytown song about this or something?

 

[Jusatele]

Jay Swear

I know the pics are valuable to you
but they are more valuable as a piece of history

http://www.nationalww2museum.org/

having them copied, and sending the originals to the WWII museum, with all info you can squeeze from your Grandfather about them. They will preserve them and display or archive them for future use. It really is important that we preserve such things, My father has given me a lot of his stuff, and I have done such. I am proud of what he did, but he was just one of millions of men who did without complaining. In that time you went out and served your country when asked, and an entire generation did just that.
I personally feel we will never see the mind set and resolve we had in those days. Besides the fact that technology has made such a conflict obsolete, our political feelings would never support such an effort again. We need to honor those who gave everything they had for freedom of other people, and resolve never to let it happen again.

 

[Jusatele]

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~culbert/history/military/journal/journal.htm

that link is amazing, the material was posted by the son of my fathers co pilot the mission he was shot down
My father never knew he was making such detailed records even though they sleep in the same bunk bed while in POW camp, I have spent hours reading the different stuff in the links he has set up, the site can be a little hard to navigate, but it is amazing what is in it.
I have copies of all the material, when Culbert died his son found all of this, he had never talked about it, kept it all away from everyone.

 

[JaySwear]

thats a really good idea. the scrapbook they're all in is in really bad shape right now (probably been around since 1950-1960) so i'm going to just take ALL the pictures out, scan them in, and then start to scan individual photos and get some information from my grandfather on them. so! more pictures to come soon. i'll try to get all the in-air shots, and a few more of the ground crews and such.

and Justatele, that picture of your grandfather's B-17 crew is amazing! i wish my grandfather had a picture that clear. unfortunately most of the pictures i have are pretty small and not entirely in focus.

 

[Jusatele]

I think that is an Army  Air Corp photo, the cameras the troops were carrying were not that good, I really have searched the net the last few years and keep getting more and more, I search by his bomb group, that is another reason to get those photos out there, a lot of guys are looking for photos to send to their dads and grand dads, you may just make some guys decade.