" We have nothing to fear - but is fear itself" - Franklin D. Roosevelt, - President - U.S.A.
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Pictures of:

THE WAR HORSE CREW --- BASE COMMANDERS --- OTHER CREWS --- BOMBERS and PEOPLE ---



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LISTEN UP NOW,the best source to get any information on the 385th Bomb Group - 8th U.S.Army Aiforce - Great Ashfield, England
I have found was from a Bill Varnedoe. His email address is billvar@bellsouth.net

COL. ELLIOTT "Pete" VANDEVANTER Jr.
( 1917 --- 1974 )
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BASE COMMANDER
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385th BOMB GROUP - Great Ashfield
Suffolk - England
FEB. - 1943 --- SEPT. - 1944.
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Major Vandevanter activated the 385th BG at Spokane, Washington U.S.A. - May 1943 and moved the group to England.
Not asking his Airmen to do anything he would not do - he flew formation lead pilot with the 385th Bomb Group on 24 combat missions over Germany ( including the first raid on Schwinfurt Germany ) between June 1943 and September 1944.
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"Pete" Vandevanter - age 22 - a graduate of
The U. S. Military Academy - joined the Army Air Corps as a Second Lieutenant in 1939 and retired in 1959 as a Brigadier General
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We SALUTE you Sir !
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COL. G. Y. JUMPER
BASE. COMMANDER
SEPT. - 1944 --- MAY - 1945

AMERICA's - WW-II
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"FREEDOM FIGHTERS"
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All men of the 385th Heavy Bomb Group
Great Ashfield England - 1943 to 1945
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Long may the Light of Liberty shine on OLD GLORY
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LT.C. H.( Bud ) LAMPING
FIRST PILOT - "WAR HORSE"
May - 1944 --- October - 1944

Lt. Lamping decided to make a career in the military. After many years of flying B-29s out of Alaska on patrol he graduated to the "BIG" bombers and a Lt. Colonel before retirement.

FRANK REESE MAYS
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A.K.A. "Junior"
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BALL TURRET GUNNER on the "WAR HORSE"
35 Combat Missions + in the Ball Turret
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Note the ball turret is as much glass as metal so the gunner could see out around him. An 18 inch round glass between his feet allowed for sighting the two 50 cal. machine guns. The man's back was laying against the aluminum door and frame with the outside air temperature 55 degrees below zero - just an inch away
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SGT. IKE BLAIR
RADIO OPERATOR - WAR HORSE
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Ike was the one crewman that could not fly a combat mission without having a "BM." Shortly after take-off Ike would use a small cardboard box fitted with two common red brick ( for weight ) to receive his deposit. Once finished the box was tied with string and placed on the bomb bay doors. When the bombardier opened the doors prior to dropping bombs the small cardboard box would fly away - falling gently to earth. The crew always wondered what some German thought when the box was found and opened ?
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"IKE" - We've lost track of you fellow - Where are you ? ANYBODY know ?
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JIM ( DUKE ) SKOPHAMMER
RIGHT - WAIST GUNNER
"WAR HORSE"
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Duke came from the farmlands of Iowa and was only one of a number of brothers and sisters. When Duke returned to the States after compleating his tour of flying 35 combat missions he served as a crewman on an airplane searching the Atlantic coast of America for German U-Boats.
After discharge from the Army Air Corps in 1945 Duke attended college. Duke broke a leg playing college football - which slowed down his chasing the Ladies. However after college Duke became a family man and with a rewarding career in Engineering - retired.
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"AIRMAN'S NIGHTMARE"
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385th Bomb Group receiving enemy flak on daylight air-raid over Germany
The sky became filled with thousands of pieces of hot-steel shrapnel from bursting 88 mm anti-aircraft shells.
However - A B-17 Group flying combat out of England was NEVER detered from reaching a target and dropping bombs due to enemy action
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WAR HORSE - DROPPING PAYLOAD OVER TARGET
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This photo taken by a pilot through his opened window just after bombs were away

German P.O.W.Picture
LT. George Kontos
Navigator on "Blue Champagne"
549th.sqrd. - 385th.Bomb Group
Liberated May 1944

STANDING-( L- R )
COOPER - MAYS - BLAIR
KNEELING-( L- R )
WOLVERTON - MAXWELL

LT. MURPHY
Navigator on WAR HORSE
LT. MURPHY Replaced LT. DUTT who was KIA On Combat Mission.

James Kincanon
Base Chaplin - Great Ashfield

"There were No Atheist In Combat !"
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SGT. David ( POP ) Maxwell
Top Turrent Gunner
War Horse
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"Pop" Maxwell retired to his home in Florida - where he still lives today - after serving in the military. He liked the Florida sunshine and farming the rich soil. David was also a great inland fisherman in the backwaters of Florida - along the Swannee River. At the age of 29, David was the oldest man on the War Horse crew in 1944
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Jim ( Duke ) Skophammer "War Horse"

MAIN ENTRANCE
GREAT ASHFIELD - SUFFOLK - ENGLAND
385th BOMB GROUP
HOME of VAN'S VALIANTS
548th Sqdn.
549th Sqdn.
550th Sqdn.
551st Sqdn.

Chin Turret Guns OF WAR HORSE
Shiny Part is Where Flak Damaged WAR-HORSE on Same Mission LT.DUTT Was KIA

( note the name painted on the chin turret - "Nice Girl" - This was placed there by the crew referencing the bombardier's girl friends )

High Altitude Flight Gear
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Just Imagine = 25,000 feet up - 50 (F) degrees below zero - moving about in a B-17 with the waist windows open.
No compression - breathing oxygen from a bottle - enemy fighters attacking - flak bursting about in the formation of bombers - machine guns firing
And try operating machine guns or firing from a Ball Turret - possibly getting in and out of a Ball Turret after the B-17 has been hit and going down - dressed like this !
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"Eight Ball"
This 3-foot diameter symbol was awarded to "The Squadron of The Month" with the most "social you know what." The Eight Ball symbol was hung over the squadron insignia at the entry to a squadron area.

Here - Lt. Oscar B. Heintz, laughingly demonstrates the symbol hung on the P.T. Instructor's stand in front of the Ground Crews exercise area.

( Not all Airmen's battles were fought in the air ! )

SGT. WILBUR COOPER
TAIL GUNNER - WAR HORSE
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Cooper returned to the States and married his life-long girlfriend. All those love letters exchanged while in England paid off !
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We lost Cooper a few years ago - God Bless You Cooper - You are not forgotten !
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WAR HORSE -WITH CREW - GREAT ASHFIELD, ENGLAND - JULY 1944

Photo taken after Lt. W.W. Dutt was KIA

Standing Left to Right =

Slaper - Wanzak - Lamping - Murphy

Kneeling Left to Right =

Mays - Skophammer - Wolverton - Maxwell - Cooper - Blair

Frank Reese Mays - "Lucky Bastard"
A horse shoe up his arse if you know what I mean.
Completed all 35 combat missions required of him - including two on D-Day June 6, 1944

S / SGT. MARVIN B. (SKEET) WOLVERTON
Left Waist-Gunner on War Horse

Skeet was shot-down over Berlin on October 6, 1944 and survived to be taken prisoner by the Germans. Skeet was liberated from a Stalag in May of 1945 and returned to the States for medical attention and rehabilitation.
( and he hated his name Marvin ! )

Sgt. Wolverton was laid to rest in 1998 at Quincy, Illinois

GOD BLESS YOU SKEET !
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You will never be forgotten by the War Horse Crew !
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LT.Wanzak.- War Horse co-pilot
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Wanzak melted back into civilian life after returning to the States and never heard from again ?
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Frank (left ) & brother, Charles J. Mays Jr.
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Charles served in the Pacific Area, "Island Jumping", for three years ( 1942 -1945 ) while Frank went to Europe. Between the two, they had the world covered during WW2.

Photo taken in 1945 while brothers were home on leave

Note that Charles was "Regular Army"
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Aerial Gunner's "SILVER WINGS"
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The gunner's Silver Wings were worn with pride for all to know of his accomplishment. Once a gunner served in combat he was allowed to place the wings over a deep-sky-blue patch over his heart.

The patch and wings were elevated in place to allow for wearing of awarded medal ribbons.
Foremost was a bullet with wings on each side - over a round Bull's-Eye symbol

Sample of Photos taken at Great Ashfield for German Passports in event Airman was shot down and managed to get to the Underground for escape back to England. These two photos are of Frank Mays, taken in June 1944 and were carried with him on every combat mission. He was required to let his hair grow and not shave for an extended period of time prior to photographs. The clothing was typical German. One can see the youth of 19 years of age is obvious and shaving not a problem.

JOHN LAFFERTY - CANADIAN
K.I.A - Dec.11.1944
Buried at Groesbeek, Holland
Uncle of Ann Hannon - Maine - U.S.A.
and - Joyce Holmans - Halifax, Canada

Just one of many Canadian Soldiers KIA
that made the ultimate sacrifice
fighting for DEMOCRACY for ALL during WW II.

Pvt. Carl Hannon
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U.S. Infantry
Korean War Veteran
30 Cal. Squadron Machine Gunner
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23rd Regiment --- 2nd Infantry Division
"The Indian Head"
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"The Grunt"
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( also known as - "The Iceman" )
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Very Much a 50's Guy
Alive and Kicking Every Day !
"An Irishman that kissed The Blarney Stone"
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Thanks To Carl for making the War Horse Site possible
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Standing on Left = T/Sgt Frank Reese Mays - Engineer / Top Turrer Gunner

Kneeling on Left = Lt. B. Boyd - First Pilot

When Mays returned to the States he found himself mistakenly (?) reassigned to a "Green" B-17 Crew training to head for the Pacific Combat Area. This crew photo was taken in May 1945 at Alexandria Louisiana

Near end of overseas "Phase Training" with the B-17 crew - the assignment "error" was discovered - Mays was pulled from the B-17 crew - retrained - and reassigned as a Flying Crew Chief on a B-29 Super-Fortress.

T / Sgt. Mays flew with the B-29 crew until V-J Day in August 1945 - the same day the B-29 bomber and crew had received orders to leave the States headed for the Pacific Combat Area .

The Super Fortress and crew were grounded with Mays removed from the crew - and honorably discharged from the Army Air Corps September 19, 1945
at Fort Meade Maryland