670th BS Personnel

416th Bombardment Group (L)

670th Bombardment Squadron (L)

Personnel

Laon-Athies, France, 1945 L. to R. Cpt Robert Gruetzemacher, Lt. Col. Collins Ferris, Cpt. Bob Kehres
(photo courtesy of Bob Kehres)

Cpt. R.B. Singletary, pilot, Assistant Operations Officer, 670th Bomb Sq.
(photo courtesy of Bart Singletary)

(Personnel who had completed mission requirements were already released
to proceed to their next duty assignment in the USA when this photo was taken.
The next job for the aircrews pictured was to fly the A-26 Invaders back to the USA)

Back Row: Chitty, Bishop, O'Brien, Bower, Balch, Morris, Rosenquist, Rowbothan, Wimberly, Henson, Page, Wilbur, Errotagere

Middle Row: Popeny, Ford, Green, Sheley, Wallace, Grunig, Fry, Conley, Forbes, Curtis, Kitchen, Bell, Porter, Goss

Front Row: Kirk, Warren, Heinke, McNutt, Boerner, Ferris, Compston, Sheehan, Turner, Stankowski, Turman, Gruetzemacher

Wethersfield England, 1944, mission delay in progress—so sweating out signal from the control tower.
Back row L to R: Sgt. Falk (gunner), Cpl. Tyson (aircraft mechanic)
Front row, gunner Robert E. Lee, Sgt. Elston (crew chief), Danny Shea (Pilot).
(photo courtesy of Bob Kehres)

Left to Right: Capt. Donald J. Reichert (670th Bomb Sq. Flight Surgeon);
Lt. William E. "Billy" Brewer, BN; Theron S. "Ted" Merritt, Pilot
at Villaroche, France, December 1944 (photo courtesy of Wayne Downing)

Lt. Harry V. Popeney, 670th pilot in front of his A-26B Invader in 1944,
Melun-Villaroche, France. (photo courtesy of Wayne Downing)

Miss Laid, the first A-20 Havoc to complete 100 missions without a failure or abort.
From left to right: Tsgt Royal S. Everts, Crew Chief; Cpl Edson Haddon, Assistant Crew Chief;
Msgt Horace R. Burch, Line Chief; 1st Lt. Charles L. McGlohn, pilot;
Ssgt John Moran, gunner; Ssgt Paul Briskall, gunner. (NARA photo)

Miss Laid was renamed "La France Libre" (more politically correct) to participate in a ceremony in Paris honoring the accomplishment.
The former name and nose art still shows faintly through the olive drab overcoat (probably not by accident) as the crew pose in the cockpit area.
Photo 1, Left to right: Capt. Hugh Monroe, pilot; Ssgt Steve Risko, tunnel gunner; Ssgt Wilmar Kidd, turret gunner.

Photo 2, Left to right: Ssgt Risko; Cpl Haddon; Ssgt Kidd; Capt. Monroe; Tsgt Everts (NARA photos)

A-26 crews of 670th Bomb Sq. at Melun-Villaroche, France, winter 1944/45
From left to right: Robert L. Kirk (BN), Robert J. Rooney (P),
uncertain Johnson, Hugh A. Monroe (P), Unknown, Unknown, Unknown
(photo courtesy of Wayne Downing)

Left to Right: Lt. Thurman L. Goss (BN), Ssgt Anthony A. Gomez (Crew Chief), 1st Lt. Wayne E. Downing (P)

The crew chief is digging out a piece of flak from this A-26 Invader.
It was an unusual mission where the plane received 300 flak holes but none of them severed a vital operating item in the plane.
There was a lot of flak digging and skin patching for the ground crew. (photo courtesy of Wayne Downing)

1st Lt. Russell Ford, 670th Bomb Squadron Pilot, in the 670th living area
at Laon (A-69) Airfield, France in March 1945.

Hit by flak on a mission against the Dinslaken factory area in Germany, Lt. Ford crash landed just across the front lines on the American side where the soldiers, who were fighting in the mud and the cold weather, helped him out of his A-26 Invader. They were startled to discover that he was flying combat in his Class A uniform (nickname for this uniform was "Pinks and Greens") under his flying suit. They had some 'Comments' about how the Air Corps fought the war while they were on the muddy front lines. Lt. Ford was taken to the 298th General Hospital near Liege, Belgium. He returned to duty in the 670th Bomb Squadron in a few days. (photo and text submitted by Wayne Downing)

Lt. Wayne Musgrove (left) a pilot in the 670th, with unknown officer,
at Laon-Athies, France (photo courtesy of Wayne Downing)

Major General Samuel E. Anderson, Commander Ninth Bomber Command
pinning a DFC on First Lieutenant Wayne E. Downing in France - 1945.
(photo courtesy of Wayne Downing)

Capt. Bower

Capt. Bob Bower and A-26 "Burke II"

Jim Abbot and Bob Kehres relaxing at "Camp Chicago" in Marseille, France 1945
as they await transfer to the Pacific Theater, which was ultimately aborted by VJ day.

Villaroche, France: 2 Oct 44. In foreground, 9th AF parachute rigger Autry L. Freeman.
In background, Sgt Angelo Miranda 670th Bomb Squadron parachute rigger. (NARA photo)

Lt. Dan Nolan, Communications Officer, 670th Bomb Sq.,
Wethersfield RAF station, 1944 (photo courtesy of Wayne Downing)