WELCOME

This is the official website for the 457th Bomb Group (H) Association and it is dedicated to preserve the history of this bomb group. On the website you will find lots of information on missions, men and the machines stationed at Glatton during 1944 – 1945.

The website is built upon the excellent work of Lt. A. Willard “Hap” Reese, a retired B-17 pilot who served in the 751^st squadron of the 457^th Bomb Group.  After the 50^th anniversary of VE Day, he felt called to document the history and images of the Group to be sure it was always available as part of the record, in memory of the bravery and sacrifice of those with whom he served.

As an amateur computer user, he began to assemble photos, documents, and every resource he could find while developing his website dedicated to what the veterans knew as the “Fireball Outfit”. He connected with the 457^th Bomb Group Association around the year 2000 and his website was publicised as the first official website of the Association.

Hap spent countless hours over the years scanning documents, digitising microfiche from the Army Air Corps records held in the National Archives, soliciting photo collections and other narratives to add to the website. He was especially proud of the calendar he created that documents every mission flown by the 457^th, with all loading lists and mission narratives incorporated and commemorating any crews or aircraft lost.

The message board on the website was a busy place. 457^th Bomb Group veterans, family members of veterans, and interested people from all over the world asked and answered questions and shared stories. After Willard Reese died in March 2008, the website was no longer updated but was preserved by his daughter, Diane. It was incorporated into this Association website in December 2022 to ensure it would always remain part of the historical record. You can view the original website here. Please be aware, this site was written over 14 years ago and web coding has moved on a lot since then, we are trying to ensure all the links work and images appear. If you find missing pages or images, please fell free to report them to us and we will endevor to rectify the issue.

Willard Reese considered creation of the original 457^th Bomb Group website to be an important piece of his life’s work. For many years people visited the website, learned from it, connected with old buddies, asked questions, read stories, searched for family members, and studied the photos which filled the website. We are forever grateful for the dedicated effort of Lt. A. Willard “Hap” Reese, and the contributions of many volunteers who helped make the original site a fitting tribute to the 457^th.

The new website is still expanding and we hope to be able to provide more and more information about the 457th Bomb Group in the future. With this website we hope to provide information to family members or anybody interested in the 457th Bomb Group. This way we preserve and honor those brave men who fought for our freedom.