e he [Music] a [Music] soon after America's entry into World War II the US Army e8th Air Force moved its headquarters to England there it joined the Royal Air Force in a massive buildup of air bases from which British and American Heavy bombers could launch air attacks against Nazi Germany's War Machine on August 17 1942 a formation of only 12 B7 bombers of the 97th Bomb Group flew the first heavy bomber raid by the American forces the target was ruin France Colonel Frank Armstrong was the air Commander for the mission under the leadership of such generals as tuy spots Ira Aker and Jimmy dittle the eth became the greatest air Armada in history at Peak strength the eight could put up more than 2,000 four engine bombers and 1,000 fighters on a single mission for these reasons it became known as The Mighty 8 the 100th Bomb Group a B17 Flying Fortress unit joined the E Air Force in England in May 1943 it took over a former ra F Aerodrome situated near the village of Thorp Abbotts the rural Countryside of East Anglia in Northeast England was noted for its picturesque Villages sprawling farms and friendly people their slow quiet Lifestyles formed by hundreds of years of tradition and Customs quickly changed and would never again be the same the Yanks had arrived the British viewed the arrival of thousands of Spirited Young Americans with mixed emotions grateful that they had arrived to help battle Hitler's Germany but baffled bewildered and a little irritated by their freewheeling American ways a little culture Clash maybe but a little Fascination oh I think so my name is Ralph Story and as your host I can relate to this and many other wartime experiences because I served in England as as a P-51 pilot assigned to the eth Air Force good morning many years later accompanied by family and friends graying Veterans of the 100th Bomb Group and other units those same high-spirited young men who were stationed here during the War years have returned to England on emotional pilgrimages to visit the areas where they experience some of the most exciting times of their young lives morning good to see you again Andre the natives of Thorp Abbotts and neighboring Villages where an Airfield was located have joined forces and contributed their time and resources to restoring part of the old base including the original control tower a permanent Museum and Memorial has been established as an everlasting tribute to their friends those free wheeling Americans first this morning we salute three nations the Queen for Britain [Music] the United States of America [Music] I have been asked by the writer of this letter to read this to you and I am greatly honored to do so 10 Downing Street the Prime Minister over 40 years ago the United States eth Army Air Force under its great leaders General eer and his successor General dittle came to this country to join with our own Royal air force bomber command in the Strategic Air offensive against Nazi Germany of all its formations none had a more distinguished record than the 100 Bomb Group which flew continuously on operations from the middle of 1943 to the end of the war we in the United Kingdom will forever be grateful to you and your comrades and I am delighted that the members of your Association have been able to return to see us once again I know all too well that your group paid a heavy price Regensburg Breman monster and Berlin are names that doubtless none of you will ever forget and your nickname the bloody H hundredth is one of which you have every reason to be proud also we must remember those who gave their lives in the cause of Freedom so many years ago by coming back to visit us you are not only helping to renew the bonds between our two Nations but also showing that you recall those of your number who never went home to all of you attending this reunion weekend American French and British I send my warmest greetings Margaret Thatcher September 1986 [Applause] this is the Armed Forces Radio Service with the news from New York Sergeant Riley Jackson reporting massed fleets of eth Air Force b7s and b-24s hammered the heart of Germany's aircraft industry during daylight yesterday their fourth major blow in five days Berlin Regensburg mster and schweinf for all came under heavy attack now many years later this is former Sergeant Riley Jackson visiting a base where that World War II story and many others like it actually had their Beginnings it is to this field where members of the 100th Bomb Group were stationed that they and others of the eth Air Force come back to renew wartime friendships to relive exciting experiences and to visit the graves of men who died in combat at that time a young boy of some 14 years who lived on a farm not far from here and was keenly appreciative of the fact that these men and their equipment had arrived to help his countrymen defeat a common enemy thus the seeds were planted That Grew into lifelong friendships between Roger Freeman and the men and women who were stationed at these bases during the war our English co-host Roger Freeman noted humorist author and highly regarded as the top historian on E Air Force operations in England during the war can probably best describe the British reaction to the arrival of the Americans during the early stages of World War II you know when you fellas arrived here the Americans weren't really welcomed this was a very rural area miles away from anywhere and in those days there was no electricity or Main's water or searage it really was a rather depressed agricultural area and the people here had never seen anything like you the only thing they knew about Americans was the Americans they had seen on the movies and suddenly the impact of 3,000 young men each young man wanting to do his own thing amongst them was quite a thing for anybody to take and so there was a great deal of Suspicion particularly amongst the farmers I can remember a story about one farmer whose Farm was surrounded by inent Hut camps and he went to Market about 6 months after the Americans arrived and he saw an old buddy and the old buddy came up to him and said hi Horus how are you getting on with them their Yankees and and Horus us he said getting on he exploded getting on he said I'll tell you how I'm getting on with them since they've been there my gate posts have been knocked down my cat's been run over my dogs run away my apples have been stolen my hens are gone off the lay my daughter's pregnant and my wife has run off with one and I can't drown M sorus cuz the Biggers have drunk all the pubs dry how are you who is this CLA Harden hello claa how are you my god I've been waiting mons to see how have you been well just great how have you been just great I said my God I jumped down with the guy 40 years you landed you landed in the tree right you had to be the luckiest guy in the world you bail out of a burning airplane you land in a tree you almost run over by a British Convoy right right yeah and I remember you it kind of Knocked you out didn't it still I'm still out yeah you're still out we never did we recover from that but you do you remember about the time you came to and the uh lovely lady was standing there and she said I'd rather not go into that at Point Harry Harry Crosby you were a navigator what do you remember of this place and what sort of reaction well what I remember mostly is just just how much of was going on you'd come up and the b7s had come in and you'd count how many were coming back and there was just always a big excitement something big going on all them was a big operation a lot of people and and something a lot of important stuff going on it really holds dear memories for you oh yeah my heartbeat strong my my the tears come the eyes John was saying that he was got te about it I know John John schs what did you do well I was in the run the photo lab what what's this place mean to you what do you feel coming back here well what I remember mostly is when we were sweating out the planes we were wondering if we had any pictures because sometimes all deal sometimes all the planes were shot that had cameras on you didn't care about the guys with the pict that's what I notic I was the plane we had to get those pictures or we were in trouble Waterberry now you were in Communications but didn't you didn't have another job I had my first love the band the band uh the band for dance band for the officers the man we had a marvelous time we really contributed to the morale oh they did Glenn Miller one better Glenn Miller one better and greatest day was when Glenn came to the base Roger uh seemed like a crowd like this and it was tearful and wonderful and never forgotten it la [Music] well fellas there's a big crowd here today at this dedication and air show it's it's really something isn't it you must get a hell of a thrill out of this [Music] this abandoned collection of tinan huts and concrete roads was once a piece of a bomb group's home what's a Bomb Group a bomb group was a self-contained American Air Force organization placed on one English Airfield with 3,000 Brash Young Young Americans who cursed about our weather complained about our weak beer and or almost every morning would wake us with the throb and drone of their bombers going to war but that was a long long time ago this is the intersection of two concrete runways both over a mile long once they were highways to a battlefield in the sky from these very runways some 2,000 young men never returned I find these places very evocative because they bring back childhood memories of standing at the end of runways such as this and watching the fortresses and liberators pound along them the pilots keeping them down to the very end of the runway they were heavily loaded with bombs and Fuel and then the pilot would pull back on the stick and the aircraft would stagger into the sky for us kids each takeoff was a thrill but for the young men inside they must have been filled with apprehension because they knew that if a motor failed that within seconds they would probably crash they would buy the farm Tuesday August 17 1943 a date of awesome significance in the history of World War II American bombers had penetrated the LT baf's most Savage and determined fighter defense umbrella to destroy one of Germany's key targets the measure Schmid aircraft works for Hitler's Germany this was an unbelievable shock for the fledgling United States ate their Force barely a year old and operating out of bases in England it proved conclusively the case for daylight Precision bombing of enemy targets the third division was commanded by a young Colonel by the name of Curtis E lame his outstanding leadership in directing his Crews from the lead plane was truly remarkable his performance was to have a profoundly favorable impact on future command assignments and responsibilities now it's General lame and I'm certain he still remembers August 17 1943 uh you won't have any trouble if I ask you about the importance of that mission then why was it so important well I think it was a combination of the two Targets that we want to hit on this mission that made it so important the other Target was steinford I first heard of the mission uh early in July of 1943 when General ler came out and visited my headquarters and told me about uh the importance of the ballbearing Factories at swinford and uh the desirability of hitting them as early as possible uh this was exceptionally important at the time because this is the deepest that we'd ever penetrated into Germany and we had very few Fighters and they didn't have the belly tanks yet and we didn't have the p-51s uh yet so we had have to accomplish this Mission a great deal of it without fighter escort so it called for some unusual planning and the plan was that uh the third division which was the newest form and had the latest B17 with the longer range tanks uh would lead the eth Air Force in bypassing swinford and hitting the messersmith plant over on the Austrian border which was an important Target in that that produced a great percentage of the 109 fighter airplanes that were being turned out at the time and then instead of coming back to England and fighting the German air force on the way back we would go out through the brener pass over Northern Italy and land down in North Africa a forecast of the importance of the mission scheduled for today was evident as the ground Crews prepared the giant bombers for combat orders from headquarters of the eth Air Force called for a maximum effort operation all flyable planes were scheduled to take part with extra Fuel and ammunition aboard one of the major problems that plagued Advanced planning in England was the unpredictable weather and this mission was no exception half the forces committed to the operation including the all important fighter support experienced a costly delay in takeoff placing the entire mission in Jeopardy of the many bomber units participating the 100th Bomb Group Crews took an especially heavy beating of the 21 fortresses that left their base in England early that morning nine had been shot from from the skies before the target at Regensburg had been reached Captain Everett Blakeley had proven to be a skillful pilot and a natural born leader he was only 24 years old when he was assigned the responsibility of leading the entire 100th Bomb Group formation on this critical shuttle mission to North Africa our guests are two men who were there EV Blakeley and Bob wolf so let's start with you EV if you were to sum up the importance of the Regensburg raid would it be the damage would it be the target the thing that made this very significant as a mission was strategy our strategy in bombing was Precision bombing in daylight and British had their night bombing and this was the first big test of R8 Air Force bombing strategically deep in Germany pinpointing Target and uh taking on enemy action and hopefully getting back without severe losses this was the big test for our strategy for as an Air Force now let me ask Bob do you remember that day particularly Bob the weather or anything else special I remember the day and I remember the weather was a beautiful day once we got over the uh Channel and over onto the continent beautiful blue sky we cross the coast give or take a few minutes about 10:00 in the morning and we were jumped by the fighters uh from that moment on [Music] [Music] [Music] how long did this last Bob about 2 hours 2 hours mhm I mean that's a you mentioned how long 2 or 3 minutes could be U I hate to try and an eternity about 5 minutes before we actually started the bomb run the fighters for some reason disappeared maybe it was a small prayer that I uttered I don't know they disappeared well at least they quit bothering us to just before the target so you had a clear run at the Target we had a pretty clear run at the Target and managed to plaster it very well we had excellent results on our bombing and uh the plant was uh uh not completely destroyed but it was completely out of action for about 3 months could you see the bomb hits yes yes I mean you could see the success as it was taking place yes and we took pictures as it was taking place of course after the first bombs hit was nothing but a lot of smoke around there the pictures are not much good to strike photos but you could tell where they got in the Target area or not then we usually followed it up with what we call Post strike reconnaissance to show the results after the fires as smoke had cleared away so the bombing Mission itself despite the losses was a success was a success yes now beyond that you've now hit the target but You' still you're a long way from home uh yes we are it's a long ways through to North Africa and we've uh gone through a pretty hectic experience and the command is uh straggling out in spots that I didn't like so after leaving the target I made a couple free circles to uh uh get them back together again before going across Italy because we might have gotten fighter attacks uh from Italian based Fighters but that circle is going to use up some more gas well that's right it's a compromise of trying to get your troops in the best possible position for another attack but at the same time you're you're using up gasoline uh that you might lead at the other end now you've got a tight group going across the Alps and uh I would think that's Hazard is not as tight as a tight as I'd like if though uh time to got on the other side I decided I'd better close them up a little bit more so we made a couple circles over Lake KO uh to get in better shape uh then went on uh down between the mainland of Italy and Sardinia and Corsa uh at Sea and went on into North Africa but you're now all running out of gas over the Mediterranean we're low on gasoline some of the airplanes actually we dropped a couple three in in the Mediterranean I think we lost one crew in the Mediterranean cre CRS I think were picked up by the rescue people we've had severe tail damage uh to our aircraft that was causing us to uh use more gasoline than we had anticipated and as we across the Mediterranean on our way into Africa all the red lights started blinking on the gas gauges which indicated we were getting pretty low and uh as we approached our made our Final Approach to land uh we simply could not go around even though the tower at the field told us to the aircraft simply would not get up any more speed when we did get off the Runway we got far enough off and I just cut the engines and stopped right there our Landing was quite normal at uh tgma how many many planes left nine nine left out of the 21 we started out with where'd you stay uh Bob if there wasn't any base there wasn't any Town well this was sort of an emergency field and uh that first night we camped out underneath the aircraft because the dirt felt better than the inside of the aircraft at that point when was your first chance to kick up your heels in in happiness at completing this tough Mission well if you don't count count the wild motorcycle ride across the field in the middle of the night to report in uh the next day when we flew to mares we all headed for the nearest ice cream paror and now North Africa and not at all what you expected or had arranged for no North Africa the the war had moved on there was no Depo at TMA that's a small Detachment there uh we had the problem in of gathering my Forest because all of them didn't land at to luras some of them were so short of gas that they landed the first spot they could get down so there were scattered at some other fields and I got them all together the next morning uh those that were flyable and then we had the problem of uh uh getting back in shape for the mission to come home I'm just wondering if there wasn't anything there how'd you get gas where didd you sleep what I mean where'd you eat well they had a Detachment there and it broke out some emergency rations and we got something to eat not much uh the beer was pretty good though that makes up for there was a brewery operating in nearby that uh made uh uh something closer to American Beer than we got in England and that was very good uh we got something to eat and uh people slept in the airplanes were under the wing it was nice warm weather and uh uh that time I was thinking suddenly dropping down into the Mediterranean for a little B must have been quite a I mean that's a real contrast to England it was and uh young people 19 20 years old most of them never seen Africa been out of the country before and they became tourists very rapidly but I finally you can't do that until you get your airplane ready to go back get it gas get the bombs loaded if you need any uh holes patch and things of that sort I got some help from the nearby Bomb Group that sent some people over to do the T work that the crews could to do after they got their airplanes ready to go and we were there for 3 days before we went back and we finally got about 85 airplanes flyable to go home with out of the 125 we started with the importance of the return to England by Colonel Curtis L and the B7 flying fortresses from North Africa was indicated by the presence of the top brass from E Air Force Headquarters at his base to greet Colonel lay upon his arrival he had led the third division bombers on this historic Mission they were vitally interested in a briefing by Colonel L as to the results and other details of this the most important Strategic Air Mission carried out in Europe up to that time I was happy for a mission because one we got the target uh which is important uh we had to pay an admission price yes but if you miss the Target and have to go back again the price is higher it seemed to me that uh in the early days where we really didn't have enough over there to get anything much done about all we accomplished was to train the left waffle on General started out at the bottom and you went all the way to the top of the Air Force uh was there anything wrong at the top top had to learn too uh for instance I had to learn uh how to be a commander I never commanded anything uh in the Air Force before and there I find myself commanding a division as a a colonel when uh I had no command experience I had to learn my job too everybody had to learn from the ground up it was tough in the etto it was wartime England but there was no war between the Americans and their Newfound friends there were parties picnics movies and dances the funloving happy go-lucky Yanks made friends with everyone they passed out gum and chocolate bars to the youngsters and many of the young ladies of The Villages were treated to a good time on the town at the local pug romances flourished and many of the English girls became American War Brides the relationships between the local people and the American servicemen were generally good and in some cases some very special relationships were founded and bonds established which exist to this day one of the most interesting stories I've heard is that of Pam rud she was Pam foran when the gis were at Thorp abotts in 1943 1944 Pam's mother took in washing laundry from the gis on one of the sites not far from their house and their house was on the main ipswitch Norwich Road mother did the washing she'd wash everything except the GI socks she felt that was a bit too strong so she let Granddad do that but I won't say anymore Pam you tell your story I was uh going back with some friends from school one day and uh on the way towards their home uh we passed site one and that particular day two Americans were playing baseball I can see the baseball gloves on the hands they're throwing and you know catching this baseball and um childlike we asked if uh they had any candy or gum and uh this little fella who turned and smiled to us children he went into his barracks and uh got quite a bit of can candy and gum force and Hershey bars I remember the Hershey bars very well mhm and I remember my mom saying to my brother that she would do one more American laundry so I said well um have you anyone to do your laundry and he was over the moon about this he said no I said well my mom will will do your laundry for you if you so wished so into his Barracks he went brought a great big duffel bag out of laundry huge bag and uh following him were several more Americans in that b Barracks asking me if my mother would do theirs as well it's midafternoon on an October day in 1943 the ground Crews at Air Station 139 in Thorp Abbotts England await the return of a formation of b7s from the 100th Bomb Group that took part in a raid over monster Germany the mood on the ground is extremely tense how many combat Crews would survive this Dangerous Mission and return to the base at600 hours their questions are answered aone B7 two of its engines shot out in the Blazing air battles Glides onto the runway the only Survivor of 13 planes that left the base early this morning that battered Flying Fortress was piloted by a young Lieutenant from Brooklyn New York his name was Robert Rosenthal and this is the beginning of the Rosenthal Legend after playing ball in college and earning a law degree the boy from Brooklyn enters the United States Army Air Corp in 1942 in the summer of 1943 Rosenthal and the other combat ready Crews arrive in England and become a part of the fledgling e Air Force in the month of October they took part in three consecutive missions that would bring a challenge to even the most hardened veteran combat crew members the first mission is over Breman the mission the following morning takes them to Maran B this is to be one of the longest missions to date and then on October 10th 1943 at the early morning briefing session Lieutenant Rosenthal and the other Crews were told that the T Target for today was Monster Germany this turned out to be one of the most disastrous missions ever flown by a Bomb Group in the eth Air Force Lieutenant Rosenthal and his crew were the only ones to return to base before his military service ended Robert Rosenthal was to become one of the most decorated officers in the history of the United States Air Force his tour of Duty as a B7 pilot included flying an incredible 52 combat missions over Nazi occupied Europe his unbelievable experiences included being shot down not once but twice Bob service records reveal the acts of Daring courage and airmanship from which Legends are made it is estim ated that more than 350,000 Americans served in the eth air force during the war in Europe I know because I was one of them I went into the service in 1942 I became a flying instructor at Randall field in Texas and later I went overseas as a P-51 fighter pilot assigned to escort the bomber formations to their targets [Music] half of the United States Army Air Force losses in World War II were suffered by the eight more than 47,000 casualties with over 26,000 dead the close relationships between the Americans and the British was evident they joined the ground crews in sweating out the return of the battle weary formations and share in the grief when the dead and wounded were removed from the plains or crash sites a former commander of the E Air Force General Robert T Harris has stated the veterans of the mighty e became the fathers of a power they gave us the standards of personal courage airmanship and dedication by which our Airmen until the end of time will be measured there was rejoicing in relief when the war that had devastated Europe finally came to an end on May 8th 1945 the men and women of the eth Air Force joined in the wild celebration they went to England to help a friend in need their task now completed they prepared to return to their homes in the states however a sense of loss and sadness was felt throughout the cities Villages and rural areas as the Americans said goodbye to their English friends [Music] the liberators and flying fortresses then lifted off the runways for the last time the Yanks were gone giant British liners and small victory ships all loaded with GIS returning from Europe steamed toward America in 1945 for the majority of those aboard discharge and civilian life lay ahead for many thousands who had served on foreign lands the return trip home was filled with excitement in anticipation of a joyful and happy reunion with family and friends Left Behind when they went off to war the reception they received Upon returning to America was an experience they would long remember [Music] hi good to see you you br it is a considerable compliment to the Americans who served here at Thorp abotts in World War II that years after they left a group of Englishmen have got together and refurbished some of the old building buildings and turned them into a Memorial Museum the man responsible in the first instance for this his idea was Mike Harvey Mike what got you into this well earlier in my working life I was involved in Demolition and pulled many of these old places down um I never thought that was control to and decided that I would try and restore the thing as a memorial for many the War years soon became history and memories would fade away but for others the experiences friendships and memories would become a permanent part of their future lives for decades they would be driven by a compelling desire to return to England where they had been stationed to visit the old airbases the local Villages renew acquaintances swap stories of the War years and remember those who died any return trip to England by men and women who served there during the War years is highlighted by an emotional visit to the American cemetery near the historic city of Cambridge to visit the honored Graves of Fallen comrades the air battles over Europe proved to be very costly for combat Crews of the eth air force over 20 6,000 young aviators lost their lives many of them are buried here let them in Peter they are very tired give them the couches where the Angels sleep let them wake whole again to new Dawn's fired with sun not war and may their peace be deep remember where the broken bodies lie and give them the things they like let them make noise God knows how young they were to have to die give swing bands not gold Harps to these are boys let them love Peter they have had no time girls sweet as Meadow Wind with flowering hair they should have have trees and bird song Hills to climb the taste of Summer in a ripened Paar tell them how they are missed say not to fear it's going to be all right with us down [Music] here recorded on the Great Wall of the missing are the names of 5,125 Americans that were listed as missing in action they died discharging their duty to our country and to free men everywhere out of their death came victory in Europe [Music] [Music] we now come to a little bit which is not in the program from France the presence of an elite group of former members of the French underground resistance movement who had saved the lives of hundreds of Allied Airmen presented a special opportunity for all to show their heartfelt appreciation to their French benefactors these Brave Patriots had placed their own lives in constant jeopardy with their acts of courage and heroism I'm very very happy to be here and it is thanks to this radio station in Paris you blue which is for young women of my age 75 you give homage homage and uh and gratitude to whatever the French underground was able to do anyhow I'm very proud of my Commendation from the King of England I'm very happy I hope to see a lot of you today goodbye [Music] we have come home th abits is our home we feel that this land is ours as well as yours this was our base during the war we lived here we fought from here here we flew from here we spilled our blood here and we died here and this is where we came to know you and when we came we shared with you our aspirations for victory and for peace and our dedication to freedom and liberty and justice the bloody 100 the most famous bomb group of the war flew every tough Mission we like other groups in the eth Air Force flew in daylight because the targets were easier to see at the same time we were easier targets for the enemy our great air generals hap arold Tu spots Irish EA and the greatest commander air commander of all General Curtis lame planned and executed these daylight raids we struck the enemy deep in their hotland at all times the 100th group flew where the action was where the danger was greatest and the targets most crucial though they shot us down nothing could quench the Flaming and soaring Spirit of this group [Applause] [Music] once the Skies over this ancient history rich land of Great Britain were filled with the sights and sounds of Allied war planes many years later the appearance of a lone vintage B7 Flying Fortress over the air base from which so many had flown combat missions brought excitement and tears to the eyes of the American veterans English and European friends and wartime comrades in arms come to join in the renewal of a spirit that had created lifelong bonds of cherish friendships the Airmen that flew bombers and Fighters out of England painted a legacy that could never be equal and now they're back back to the place where it all happened back where wounds and scars of a bygone era remain permanently a part of American and English History [Music] this Runway which launched the bombers of the bloody hundreds time and time again if it could talk what it could tell the bombers of the hundreds would take off and in the halflight of dawn they would Circle and join the bombers from all the other bases in eastanglia from ntiel and San Heath from ruam and rual and all those other very English names and there in the sky sometimes in the blue and sometimes in the clouds they would Circle and form their vast formations but would sometimes stretch from Horizon to Horizon a site like that is a site you never forget a site which Hollywood could never recreate all those vast formations all those young men perhaps 20,000 of them up there going to war sites we shall never see again sights the world will never see again but SES we will never forget e [Music] [Music] la the e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e
