New Items

Recent Additions and Revisions

Date Web Site Page Submitted
by:

June 15th, 2008
Father's Day 2008 updates.

Quite a few fixes made, to fix spelling of several names and update related information. More to come very soon!

Diane Reese, webmaster

May 26th, 2008
Memorial Day 2008 updates.

In addition to adding "In Flanders Fields" to the home page and removing the pointer to the Glatton Reunion information, several website updates and fixes were made (correcting misspelled names, fixing aircraft numbers). I have a number more fixes to make this afternoon, thank you all for your patience.

In remembrance of all those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom. We remember, and salute you.

Diane Reese, webmaster

March 5th, 2008
The section under "Photo Archives" button on the home page, and titled "Scenes From Around Glatton" has had the navigation buttons on each page revised so that the viewer can jump from any photo on any page to any other of these 260 photos or to the Home page. This will make access to the 260 photos in this section much easier.

Willard Reese

February 10th, 2008
A number of corrections and small changes have been made throughout the site, in response to your emails over the last few months.

It is only through your submissions, suggestions, and emails that we are able to keep this site as complete and accurate as possible. Thank you for your continued support and help.

Diane Reese

January 6th 2008
A new section, described as "The Zemper Collection", has been added to the website. It represents a collection of high resolution photos taken during 1944 and 1945 by Duane Zemper, the Photo Officer at Glatton, and his staff. These photos have come to us in the past months after 62 years in storage. We offer our thanks to the Zempers, Duane and his grandson Eric, who have generously contributed them to this website for our viewing. These photos are scanned negatives and represent clarity and detail such has not been seen on this website before. Some are duplicates of what we already have, and as time permits, we will replace the older versions with these upgrades.

If you desire a copy of one of these photos for framing or to use in a manuscript or publication, you will need to get permission from Eric Zemper [ ezemper(at)comcast.net ] who can provide you with the full scale version of any of these photos.

There are 425 photos in this group. They will be found listed as "The Zemper Collection" under the "Photo Archives" button on the home page.

Diane and Hap Reese

Nov 5, 2007 Revisions to the Home Page of the bomb group are finally complete. After more than 10 years of accumulating information, the home page had become a sea of buttons with overlapping content. We have now modified this page so it is smaller and more intuitive. All links and every page that was available on the old home page is still available on the new home page.
However, if you prefer to use the old home page or are having some difficulty running this new version, then you can revert to the old home page by clicking here. If you encounter technical problems running this version, please contact the webmaster.
Diane Reese

August 23rd, 2007
Our thanks to Gegory Christ, grand nephew of Paul R, Moore, who picked up the fact that we had completely lost the information on the Emanuell Hauf crew that was lost while attempting to ditch in the English Channel. The incident occurred on May 28th, 1944 and all the crew were lost. Our records are now updated and a picture of the crew is now in the "Air Crew Archives.
Gregory Christ

June 21st, 2007
We have spent the past months simplifying access to the scanned loading lists. In order to get from the "Narratives" page to the scanned lists, the original code required you to pass through numerous pages to get to your objective.

Previously, if you were on the Narrative page and wished to look at one of the Squadron scanned loading list you were required to pass thru a minimum of seven and sometimes up to 10 pages.
Now you can do it with ONE click of the mouse. It's simple, take a look.
Willard Reese
Diane Reese

June 16th, 2007
I've been experimenting with some video presentations with my limited computer skills. My first attempt on this website is with the following slideshow which depicts the few nervous hours that preceeded the 457th Bomb Group's first mission on Feb 21st, 1944. The mission was led by Col James Luper. I would appreciate any feedback on this movie as to it's timing and continuity. To play the movie just click
Preparations for first mission on Feb 21st.1944 Here

Willard Reese

May 18th, 2007
We have just *reindexed* all our "Search Engines" on the website to reflect the many changes that were made to the website in the past few months. There are six separate search engines located throughout this site, and most only search the section in which they are located. The one on the home page, however, searches the entire website and may take some time to run, so be patient.
Willard Reese

May 16th, 2007
My daughter Diane, and grandson Gregory, who live in California, recently had an opportunity to see and fly in the B-17 "Aluminum Overcast". "Aluminum Overcast" is one of three of the remaining twelve flyable B17's that take passengers. They took a few of the video's you'll see here. To see and hear the old lady once more, select from the video links below:

Aluminum Overcast starting up her engines: Here (1.24 mins)

Aluminum Overcast starting taxiing out for takkeoff: Here (1.07 mins)

Aluminum Overcast starting taking off: Here (45 secs)

Aluminum Overcast in flight: Here (9.54 mins)

Diane Reese

May 12th, 2007
A new section has been added under the "Photo Archive" button on the home page. To date we have added, updated and enhanced the Photo Archives of "Aircraft", "Air Crews", "Support Personnel", And "Officers Photos". We have now added a six page gallery called "Photos around Glatton". This gallery consists of all the photos that do not fit into any of the aforementioned sections. There are over 250 photos here that were taken in 1944/1945 and are the balance of the photos in our possession. (almost anyway)
We will now remove the old sections that were still displayed under the "Photo Archives" button on the home page.
Willard Reese

May 4th, 2007
A new section has been added under the "Photo Archive" button on the home page. For years now, the portrait photos that were taken of each officer at Glatton were mixed in with other photos related to that time and place. We have now separated them out and displayed them on this page. We have only a relatively few photos considering all the men who served and we will welcome any additional photos that you might send us to help make this section complete.
Willard Reese

Mar 6th, 2007
We have added a new feature to our Message Board. You will find a "View All" at the bottom of every section on the board. If you click on this it will display ALL the messages in that section, one following the other. This enables one to read all the threads without going back and forth to the main message board.
Willard Reese

Feb 5th, 2007
We have finally completed and added to the website our "Prisoners of War" section. On this page are listed all the 457th Bomb Group POWs from WW II - together with the names of the prisons in which they spent their captivity. A new button has been added on the home page. Clicking on the individuals name will display information leading up to the downing of his aircraft and to his capture. There are a number of "Unknown" prisons opposite some flyers names.....we'd like to complete this list with your help. If you notice that there is no "Stalag Luft" name next to yours or your relatives, please drop us an email and we'll update the page. We expect to add more details about individuals as time permits. Our thanks to John Wranesh (a POW) who helped with this presentation.
John Wranesh
Willard Reese

Jan 25th, 2007
One group of flyers that has been neglected here on the website are our comrades who were shot down and became "Prisoners of War". These POWs suffered hardships that most of us cannot envision. John Wranesh has written a description about his confinement at Stalag Luft IV and the "Long Forced March" across Germany. Within this story you will find a link to the sworn testimony of Dr Leslie Caplan, MD concerning this march. Dr Caplan is mentioned by John Wranesh in this story. You'll find this good reading. We would like to hear from more of you who were POWs and add your stories to this collection.
John Wranesh

Jan 18th, 2007
We recently found copies of a story in the old Bernie Baines files that has laid dorment for many years. It is story written by a member of a crew that "rode the plane down" into enemy terrority after being battered by flak. It is an excellent account of the ordeal of crash landing and capture by enemy forces. It can be accessed here
Willard Reese

Jan 13th, 2007
After years of disappoinments, we have finally obtained scanned copies of all the Group's 'Crew Loading Lists' from the National Archives in Maryland. These are near perfect copies of the documents that were typed 60 years ago by each squadron's operations officer the night before a mission. This set of documents is presented as a backup and verification of the loading lists that we placed in the "Narrative" section earlier last year.
One way to access these supplements is to select a mission date on the calendar that comes up when you click on the Narratives and Loading Lists" button on the home page. This selection will bring up the "Narrative" for that mission. Scroll down that page to the former loading list and you will see a line in red that will link you to the complete new scanned loading list. Once there, select the mission number or date, select the squadron, then finally, select the page (there are sometimes one, two or three pages per squadron)
Enjoy.
Willard Reese

Dec 13th, 2006
For your interest we have added a "Then and Now" photo that we think will interest most of you old flyers. The image is a little wide but just scroll across. Times change lots of things and lots of things stay the same.
To see the old field then and now click Here
Willard Reese

Dec 10th, 2006
We have added a list of files in the Recent Submittal section. These are photos that were taken by Roy Norris and Chris Welch of the final preparations of the area for the dedication of the 457th Memorial on Connington Ln. and Old North Rd.
Roy Norris &
Chris Welch

Dec 7th, 2006
We have completed reindexing all the "Searchs" on the website. This will enable a search to find the latest additions and will correct a few discrepencies.
There are now six (6) different search locations on this website, on theHome page, the Aircrew Archive Photos home page, the Narratives and Loading List page, the Aircraft Database page, the Roster page and the Support Personnel page.
Willard Reese

Nov 15th, 2006
We have added a considerable number of new files on the home page under "Recent Submittal". The newest of these files was submitted some time ago by Teri Lynns but are only now being published here. Teri's father was Col Richard Herbert, 457th Communications Officer. Most of the photos she has submitted are new to this website. Don't hesitate to send us any photos you have laying around. We'll post them here without delay.
Teri Lynns

Nov 7th, 2006
We have added a new section to our Photo Archives. Thanks to Alan Morton, who made first contact with Mike Shinners, we now have a delineated list of all except the last 16 missions that our group flew. Mike's father, Capt John Shinners, was Personnel Officer at Glatton.
The list can be seen in the "Photo Archive" on the home page as "Mission List Archive" or you may click here.
Alan Morton &
Mike Shinners

Nov 2nd, 2006
A long overdue section has been added to our Photo Archives. We have finally gathered together and sorted all the photos we have of what I call "Support Personnel". A search engine has also been added to assist in finding a person or place. These are the nonflying personnel who kept the planes flying, prepared the food, nursed the ill and injured, loaded the bombs and did all the mundane things around the field that were necessary to get a mission off the ground. To these men we owe a debt of gratitude. To visit this section click on the new button labeled "Support Personnel" or click here.
Willard Reese

Oct 21, 2006
In conjunction with the completion of our "Loading List" project, we have extracted all the names from all the loading lists, removed duplicate names and posted them under the "Roster" button on the home page. We have also included a "Roster Search" engine on the Roster home page that will allow you to search for any name. There are now 4636 names of crewman in this list. You may also search by the letter of the last name of the individual.
Willard Reese

Oct 5, 2006
We have upgraded the "Search" capability on the "Home Page" and on the "Narratives and Loading Lists" page so that it should be consierably faster. Those with dial-up service will be grateful, I'm sure.
Willard Reese

Oct 2, 2006
The Loading List project is now complete. All our group's loading lists, from Feb 1944 to April 1945, that are available at the National Archives, are now posted in the Narratives section of the website. A narrative also accompanies each mission and our "Search" capability has been reindexed to search for the name of any flyer. To access the lists start here

I wish to thank, James Luper, Mike Burgess and Diane Reese for their help over the past year with the typing of these lists.
Willard Reese

Sept. 16, 2006
We have added 88 photos from the 2006 Mini-Reunion to the Reunion Page. (Thank you to Michael Rodgers). They are here

Jim Derk

August 23rd, 2006
We have added the March 2006 Newsletter in a form that you can all view. To check out the March Newsletter click here

Willard Reese

August 21st, 2006
We have added the Decmeber 2005 Newsletter in a form that you can all view. To check out the December Newsletter click here
The March 2006 Newsletter will be added shortly.
Willard Reese

August 8, 2006
We have added a search capability to the "Crew Photo Archives" so that you may now search for individual crew members by name in the photo archives.
Willard Reese

July 28, 2006
For those who have not already seen the NEW "Photo Archives / Air Crew Photos, we invite you to look now. In matching up the names of crew members with the photos we encountered a considerable number of errors; wrong name in crew photo, misspelled names, wrong mission date, wrong pilot's name, etc. We will appreciate your reviewing as many of these records as you can for accuracy.
If you find an error and feel confident you are correct, then contact us and we will make the necessary changes.
We especially would like you to look at the "Unknown Crews" - U - (20 of them). See if you can identify any of these pictures or even any of the men in those pictures. Many times we can identify the crew if we have only the name of one of the crew members.
Thank you.

Willard Reese

July 15, 2006
Continuting with our project of updating and impoving our website, we have added a new section titled "Flight Crews of the 457th Bomb Group". There are over 300 pictures of crews that were taken in 1944, '45. In setting this up we have attempted to put all the photos of each crew in one place and have determinded that the best way to index these groupings of photos was by the pilots last name.

At the top of the first page is a letter alphabet. Clicking on the *letter* of the *last name* of the *pilot* will take you directly to that section of pictures. And, of course, clicking on the thumbnail will bring up an enlarged picture that has been resized, recropped, and further enhanced. As time permits and when volunteer help is available, we expect to add the names of individual crew members in the space under the enlarged photo. All of these photos are now over 60 years of age and the quality of many of them is deteriorating. We hope this restoration will preserve these photos for many years to come.
To access this archive of crew photos click on the "Photo Archive" button on the home page.
Willard Reese

June 10, 2006
For the past few months we have been working on a project to up-grade all the photos on the website. We have now completed the first phase of this project which included enlarging, cropping and enhancing all photographs of aircraft in our possession (at least we think it is all). The photos, we believe, are clearer in detail and are more easily accessed. The first section, "Aircraft Archives", which is posted now, are photos of "Aircraft of the 457th". They are listed numerically by serial number of the aircraft, with all pictures of a particular aircraft displayed on the same page. There are about 350 photos in this section and they are accessed from the "Photo Archives" button on the home page. At some date in the future we plan to do the same with photos of crews.
Willard Reese

May 14, 2006
Added eight new, stunning images from the recovery of the 42-31552 "My Buddy" in Switzerland. (The smashed Ball Turret is already on display at the Aviation Museum in Altenrhein, Switzerland). Click here
Jim Derk

May 14, 2006
Added the two most recent newsletters to the Newsletters page. All members should have received hardcopies of these from Nancy. These are large files and because of the nature of Adobe Acrobat, tend to stay that way so those on dial-up connections should avoid.
Jim Derk

April 2nd, 2006
In conjunction with the re-creation of the Loading Lists, we have been able to extract all the names from the loading lists, sort them by last name, remove duplicates, and create a roster of the names of all airmen who flew with the 457th. A new button has been added to the Home Page labeled ROSTER. This will lead you to the 3600 + names we have accumulated. When we have completed the loading lists, there will be more names to add. If there are missing names or misspelled names, please contact me or Jim.
Willard &
Helpers

March 18, 2006
The "Search" box on the Home Page has been reindexed to include recent additions to the website. This search engine will not, however, search the Crew Loading Lists.
To search the loading lists, go to the Mission Narratives - Loading List button which will take you to the loading list home page. Here you will find a "Search" box that will allow you to search only the loading lists. You can enter a single first or last name but by checking the "exact phrase" below the box, you can search using the full name. The input must then have first, middle initial (if there is one) and last name.

We apologize that many of the loading lists are not yet complete. If your name or missions are missing, know that the loading lists are being worked on and will be completed sometime before summer.
Willard &
Helpers

March 16, 2006
Added the new officers of the 457th Bomb Group Association to the Officers Page
Jim Derk

Feb. 18, 2006
The New Narratives - Loading List Pages.
Willard
&
Helpers

Feb. 4, 2006
Added link to new Library of Congress Web site that documents troop positions from June 6, 1944, to July 26, 1945. Starting with the D-Day Invasion, the maps give daily details on the military campaigns in Western Europe, showing the progress of the Allied Forces as they push toward Germany. Some of the sheets are accompanied by a declassified "G-3 Report" giving detailed information on troop positions for the period March 3 through July 26, 1945. These maps and reports were used by the commanders of the United States forces in their evaluation of the campaigns and for planning future strategies. Click here
Jim Derk

Jan. 20, 2006
.Added some new photos of A-2 jacket discovered on Ebay. Click here Also added info about Mini-Reunion coming up to Reunion Page.
Jim Derk

Jan. 15, 2006
Many updates today. New photo page of photos from Sherman Roberts, added to the Photo Archives page. Several new photos added to the Personalities Page. I just received the original telegrams my grandmother received when my uncle was shot down on a bombing run. I have added them to the Derdzinski Recollection page. Click here Also added info about Mini-Reunion coming up and corrected various spelling mistakes
Jim Derk

Nov. 2, 2005
Added four new drawings from artist Mark Stylings (www.markstylings.com) who is starting the drawing of the planes of the 457th. Click here
Jim Derk

September, 2005
Added 457th Bomb Group Loading Lists for the months of September, 1944, commencing with Sept. 3rd mission #117 through mission #129. For the most part, the quality is somewhat better than the other mission lists but still not what we would wish. The balance of the months will be added in the near future. To access, click on "Mission Narratives" and then the month you wish to check. Page through the month to the mission or date you want. The loading lists are at the bottom of each page.
All 457th
flying crews

October 4, 2005
Added 457th Bomb Group Loading Lists for the months of August, 1944, comencing with August 7th mission #105 through mission #116. For the most part, the quality is somewhat better than the other mission lists but still not what we would wish. The month of September will be added next and the balance of the months after that. To access, click on "Mission Narratives" and then the month you wish to check. Page through the month to the mission or date you want. The loading lists are at the bottom of each page.
All 457th
flying crews

August 25, 2005
The book "The Fireball Outfit", written by Ken Blakebrough, has been added to our website this date. This rare book will be of interest to anyone who wishes to experience what it was like on the ground and in the air at Glatton airfield during WWII. We are indebted to Ken for allowing us to publish his book here. You can start reading by clicking on the "The Fireball Outfit" button on the home page or by clicking here
Ken Blakebrough

June 17, 2005
Added 457th Bomb Group Loading Lists for the months of October 1944 to April 1945. For the most part they are poor quality but they are there for whatever you might get out of them. The balance of the months will be added shortly. To access, click on "Mission Narratives" and then the month you wish to check. Page through the month to the mission or date you want. The loading lists are at the bottom of each page.
All 457th
flying crews

June 12, 2005
Added new photo of Arthur Tieman and a map pouch courtesy of Peggy Racine. Click here and Click here
Jim Derk

May 22, 2005
Changed "Officers" page to reflect resignation of Joe Toth at his request; Also manually edited and removed spam from the GuestBook (not the Message Board.) There are some reuqests for information on the Guest Book too; Please pay it a visit. Fixed some typos
Jim Derk

April 13, 2005
With great sadness I post more information about the loss of our friend Ray Pobgee, Ward Councillor for Dogsthorpe, who died April 7 giving a speech to the Peterborough City Council. He was a great friend of the 457th. Here are some links to coverage of this loss. Click here and here and here.
Jim Derk

March. 31, 2005
I have returned from my hiatus from my MBA. Thanks for your patience. I have corrected issues on several pages and added the Benos photos back to hereI also have added a new photo from a historian in Berlin of 44-6103. You can see that here
Jim Derk

Feb 18, 2005
We have added a section to the main menu in the "Photo Archives". This section contains numerous pages of photos submitted recently to the Association from members and families of several of our airmen and ground crew.
Teri Lynn
Alan Morton
Trevor Day
&
Brian Goodykoontz

Dec. 5, 2004
Corrected and additional information on below photos from Bob Benos, son of Nicholas T. Benos, a ball-turret gunner for the 457th.
Jim Derk

Nov 28, 2004
We have received a CD of previously unseen photos from Bob Benos, son of Nicholas T. Benos, a ball-turret gunner for the 457th. These are being placed in the correct directories now. Click here and Click here and Click here
Jim Derk

Sept 26, 2004
Five new photos added to Miscellaneous section. Click here
Jim Derk

Sept 10, 2004
Site restored following hurricane outage in Florida
Jim Derk

Aug. 28, 2004
Some new additions to the Photo archives. Click here, here, here and here. Edited Guestbook and removed duplicate and entries. Corrected many pages and updated others as needed.
Jim Derk

Aug. 27, 2004
Aligned listing of Johnson Flight Crew by name, rank and position with photo. Click here
Alan Morton

Aug. 27, 2004
Some new additions to the "Crews" photo archives. Click here
Jim Derk

Aug. 25, 2004
Some new additions to the "Crews" photo archives. Click here
Jim Derk

Aug. 15, 2004
Some new additions to the "Crews" photo archive thanks to the donation of the daughter of Thomas Parks. Click here
Jim Derk

Aug. 14, 2004
Some new additions to the "Personalities" section. Click here
Jim Derk

July 30, 2004
Hap Reese has made a wonderful walkthrough of a B-17. Click here
Jim Derk

July 30, 2004
Ray Pobgee has given us some excellent images of the new memorial seating. Click here
Jim Derk

July 14, 2004
Joe Landy, who lives near our old airfield, has given us some more images of the new monument. Click here
Jim Derk

July 14, 2004
Mark Brotherton's great photo site of 8th AF bases was added to the LINKS page. Click here
Jim Derk

July 8, 2004
Some PDF files of the news coverage surrounding the monument dedication and the theft of our flags. (They were promptly returned.) Click here,
Jim Derk

July 7th, 2004
Newly discovered photo of the crew of the "Our Baby." To see photos of the crew, click here
Jim Derk

June 27th, 2004
Additions to our Honor Roll for Sgt. Edwin Dale Waggoner, KIS 4 May 1944, thanks to information from his niece, Susan. Sgt. Waggonner died from wounds suffered when a waist gun he was tossing overboard accidentally discharged. To see photos of him and his crew, click on Crews and Personalities here
Jim Derk

June 12th, 2004
On this date we have cause to rejoice. A replacement for your present webmaster has been found. His name is James S. Derk. To read about Jim and his qualifications click here
"Hap" Reese

June 2nd, 2004
On this date we have added a series of photos taken in Glatton on Memorial Day and showing the New Memorial dedicated to our comrades who lost their life while serving with the 457th Bomb Group. This memorial is the result of the generous contributions of so many of our fellow flyers, their families and our many friends.
Roy Norris

June 3rd, 2004
On this date we have added a story to our "Personal Recollections" section. The story is about George Derdzinski's experience being shot down on a mission to Dessau, Germany, and the trials they suffered in Prison Camps in the winter of 1944/1945.
Jim Derk

May 26th, 2004
On this date we have added a section to the recently received images from the daughter or our Groups communication officer, Major Richard Herbert. The images are from Richard's collection and are well worth perusing. To view the four (4) pages proceed here.

We have also updated the "Search" box on the Home page. It has been reindexed now so that it will search every item on the website including the ones that have been added since the last indexing in January.
"Hap" Reese
[Webmaster]

May 21st, 2004
With a limited time to spend on the computer these days and with more health problems poking their ugly head, I have decide to take the easy way to display the many photos that have been sent to me in previous months.
Placing these photos in their respective places is extremely time consuming.

I have elected to place these photos in one folder and separate them by the name of the person who sent me them. The familiar format, thumbnail with a description alongside, is used and one can proceed from one page to the next by using the progress buttons at the top and bottom of each page. To review some of the photos in this collection you may commence HERE.

To date we have three submitters, Richard Herbert (3 Pages), Alan Morton (1 Page), and William Murry (1 page). More to come.
"Hap" Reese
[Webmaster]

May 6th, 2004 Several years ago, when we first received the cdroms containing most of the images from Bernie Bains collection, we found that there was one cdrom from which we could not access all the images. This past week, through some effort, we have managed to recover this data. The images are in addition to those presently displayed as Visiting Aircraft at Glatton under the Photo Archive button on the home page. Check out this page and see almost 135 fighters and bombers from the 1941/1945 period. "Hap" Reese
& Bernie Baine

Apr 24th, 2004 On this date we have added a new button to the website home page and rearranged the buttons. A new link titled Nose Art is our attempt to recover thumbnails of nose art from as many of the photos in our collection as we can. Perhaps many of you will see one of your favorites. "Hap" Reese

Mar 25th, 2004 On this date we have placed our retirement banner on the 457th Home Page. It is with sadness that I wrote this email to Don Pierson, our Association President. It's been a fun trip and I've enjoyed the many hours I've spent at this keyboard and the friends, seen and unseen, that I have communicated with over the years.
It's time to go.
"Hap" Reese

Mar 22nd, 2004 On this date we have updated the "....... MESSAGE from the Association Board of Directors" link on the Home Page. This document presents the current financial position of this fund raising effort. Craig Harris

Mar 15th, 2004 On this date we have added links to almost all the B-17 Bomb Groups that are presently available on the internet. You will find them listed under the "Links" button on the home page. Willard Reese

Feb 23rd, 2004 On this date we have added an account written by Major Raymond Syptak of his time spent with the 457th. Major Syptak passed away on Feb 9th, 2004. His son, Mark, forwarded us this story and granted permission for us to use it here. You'll find it under the "Personal Recollections" button on the home page. Mark Syptak

Feb 21st, 2004 On this date we have added twenty additional photographs of Conington and Glatton Field to the "Glatton Today" folder. These photos were contributed by Roy Norris, a camera buff who lives in the city of Peterborough, England. Take a look at how things have changed since you were there. Roy Norris

Feb 14th, 2004 On this date we have added a banner on the Home Page asking all visitors to this web site to check out the Message from the 457th Bomb Group Assocation Board. This is an important message to all members and friends alike who are looking for an update on the financing of the Memorial to be created at the old Glatton airfield in England. Willard Reese
[webmaster]
&
Craig Harris

Feb 2nd, 2004 Thanks to his generosity and with the permission of Ken Blakebrough, we have completed our "Mission Summary" of all the missions flown by the 457th Bomb Group. These tables display each mission, it's date, target, no. of Aircraft, casualties, Group leader, and much more. These are four large files that take some time to load, so be patient. (The tables appear in Ken's book titled "The Fireball Outfit".) Willard Reese
Ken Blakebrough

Jan 29th, 2004 The Mission Narratives are now almost complete about a week ahead of schedule. All of the 236 missions have been posted and are all linked together so that you may jump to "Next", retreat to "Previous", return to the "Index" page, or jump right to the "Home" page from each mission.
The "Search" box on the "Index" page will allow you to find names, mission targets and almost everything else. The table of links on that same page allows you to link to the first mission of each month and from there you will have to go "Next" to view the rest of the missions for that month.
Good Reading. Willard Reese

Jan 29th, 2004 We have now completed the posting of the recent issue of the 457th Newsletter. We have scanned this paper using an Optical Character Recognition (OCR) program and because it's new to us we have elected not to show any images. This leaves some major voids in the text on some pages. We will attempt to fill this in as we become more familiar with the program. The "Newsletter" button on the Home Page will lead you to the first page of the Newsletter and from there you may page thru the document using the navigation buttons at the top of each page. Willard Reese

Jan 15th, 2004 If your eyes seem to be deceiving you when you check out the selection buttons on the home page, it's because we have added two button and rearranged the rest. We feel the new arrangement is more 'user friendly'. We hope this meets with your approval. Willard Reese

Jan 3rd, 2004 We have added two new buttons to the home page selections. One for the "What's New" (this page), and one for "Mission Narratives". The Mission Narratives are a "work in progress" and hopefully will be completed sometime in February. The "Mission Narratives" will provide a detailed description of each of the 236 missions flown by the 457th Bomb Group. Mission information was obtained from the 457th records at the National Archives. (Courtesy of James Bass) Willard Reese

Dec 7th, 2003 We have increased the capacity of the group's Message Board from 300 messages to 600 messages and have added a "Search" box that will allow you to search through the Message Board for names, subjects, or numbers.
(Note: To access the oldest messages, click on the "page 1, 2 " in the upper right corner of the message board page) Willard Reese

Nov 7th, 2003 We have added a link on the home page to the new 457th Memorial which will be installed at Glatton airfield. This is a NEW memorial and contributions from all members, guests and friends will be welcomed. (See the link for details) Craig Harris

Sept 6th, 2003 We have added a couple photos sent to us by The Serendipity Youth Theatre of Chicago. Here is the correspondence and photos sent to me by their leader, Tom Camacho. See old "Lady B. Good" 43-38594 in all her glory. Tom Camacho

June 25th, 2003 We have just added a short story submitted by Murray Swerdlove about his gastronomical adventures while visiting Edinborough, Scotland. Here is his description of some adventure in eating during wartime shortages. Murray "Morris" Swerdlove

June 18th, 2003 In the past few weeks I've had the pleasure of connecting with Jack W. Gazzale who flew with the 457th in 1944. He has written up his memory of a disaster that struck his plane while forming up for a mission to Munich. Here is his description of a mid-aid explosion over England. Jack W. Gazzale

June 7th, 2003 As of this date we have added a new, better, faster, more complete "Search" engine that will locate any name or number on this website. One extra nice feature is that it not only locates the page but locates the word on the page and makes it possible to decide if this is what you are searching for. Try it and you'll see what I mean. Willard "Hap" Reese

March 28th, 2003 As of this date we have added the latest issue of the Association's Newsletter which was mailed during the months of January and February, 2003. This issue contains some information on the 2003 reunion to be held in Rapid City, South Dakota. Check it out and plan your mission for August 28th to September 1st. Willard "Hap" Reese

Dec. 23, 2002 In the April Newsletter we asked for help from anyone who had information on the mid air collision of #42-31541 which took place during a training exercise at Wendover Field, UT on Dec 23rd, 1943. Carey Jones has provided us with a detailed eye witness account of this deadly accident.
In addition we have recently received an email account from T. J. Shields confirming Carey Jones account and indicating that he is a surviving member of Snow's crew. This email is appended to the above link titled "eye witness account". Carey Jones &
T. J. Shields

Nov, 09 2002 Another new button has been added to the Home Page which will take you to a series of slideshows. These slideshows will enable you to quickly and effortlessly view all the photos in our Archives. The slideshows are broken down into catagories for your viewing and are not totally complete as of this date. Additions will be forthcoming in additional catagories as soon as we can put them together.
To view these slideshows you must have Javascript enabled in your browser and if your modem is less that a 56K type, the slideshow performance will be eratic. Willard "Hap" reese

Oct 19, 2002 457th Honor Roll. A new button has been added to the home page which will take you to a chronological listing of all crewmen of the 457th who made the supreme sacrifice. The listing includes the MACR number, date, aircraft serial number, mission and pilot's name. Instructions on obtaining MACR's is also linked to this page. Willard "Hap" Reese

Sept 23, 2002 James Bass, author of the Fait Accompli trilogy has requested this information be placed on the website in hopes of finding addresses of families of 457th crewmen that were KIA.
PROJECT LIBRARY PLACEMENT. If you have a house address of one of the members of the group who were Killed in Action contact James Bass - E-Mail dbass@dtccom.net - Phone: 615-735-1122; Fax: 615-735-3149
James Bass

Sept 07, 2002 Photos of Morton, Middlebrooks, Sempf and Colin of the James Hall crew. Alan Morton

Sept 06, 2002 Six new Strike photos from Breman, Oranienburg, and Munich added to our collection. Alan Morton

Sept 06, 2002 A photograph of some members of the James L. Hall crew after returning from a mission to Berlin on Mar 28th, 1945. Alan Morton

Sept 04, 2002 Two photos added of members of the crew of Lt Harlan J. VanDeilen displaying some of the aircraft damage to 42-97535, Bouncing Betty II, after the mission to Oranienburg on Apr 10th, 1945. Walter C. Cobourn

Sept 03, 2002 New information on loss of Gallagher crew on Nov 2nd, 1944 New MACR

Aug 30, 2002 Photograph and description of the new 457th stained glass window donated by the Association. Window is in the chapel at the 8th Air force Historical Society Society in Pooler, GA. Photo by
Craig Harris

Aug 8th, 2002 An account of the Mini-Reunion 2002 in Peterborough on May 25th to 29th, 2002. Written by
Will Fluman

Aug 4th, 2002 In 1944 and 1945 many US and RAF aircraft visited Glatton airfield. Here are photos taken of a few of those aircraft. Bernie Baines
collection

Jul 15th 2002 The April 2002 Association Newsletter is now on this website, thanks to Nancy Henrich and her helpers. (The December 2001 Newsletter is still on as well) Nancy Henrich
Asso. Secretary

2002 The German account of the crash of 43-38904 and how the residents of a small village burried the plane's crew when it crashed just outside their town center.
Robert Botwright's
niece Pat Davis

Recent Additions and Revisions

Date	Web Site Page	Submitted by:
June 15th, 2008	Father's Day 2008 updates. Quite a few fixes made, to fix spelling of several names and update related information. More to come very soon!	Diane Reese, webmaster
May 26th, 2008	Memorial Day 2008 updates. In addition to adding "In Flanders Fields" to the home page and removing the pointer to the Glatton Reunion information, several website updates and fixes were made (correcting misspelled names, fixing aircraft numbers). I have a number more fixes to make this afternoon, thank you all for your patience. In remembrance of all those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom. We remember, and salute you.	Diane Reese, webmaster
March 5th, 2008	The section under "Photo Archives" button on the home page, and titled "Scenes From Around Glatton" has had the navigation buttons on each page revised so that the viewer can jump from any photo on any page to any other of these 260 photos or to the Home page. This will make access to the 260 photos in this section much easier.	Willard Reese
February 10th, 2008	A number of corrections and small changes have been made throughout the site, in response to your emails over the last few months. It is only through your submissions, suggestions, and emails that we are able to keep this site as complete and accurate as possible. Thank you for your continued support and help.	Diane Reese
January 6th 2008	A new section, described as "The Zemper Collection", has been added to the website. It represents a collection of high resolution photos taken during 1944 and 1945 by Duane Zemper, the Photo Officer at Glatton, and his staff. These photos have come to us in the past months after 62 years in storage. We offer our thanks to the Zempers, Duane and his grandson Eric, who have generously contributed them to this website for our viewing. These photos are scanned negatives and represent clarity and detail such has not been seen on this website before. Some are duplicates of what we already have, and as time permits, we will replace the older versions with these upgrades. If you desire a copy of one of these photos for framing or to use in a manuscript or publication, you will need to get permission from Eric Zemper [ ezemper(at)comcast.net ] who can provide you with the full scale version of any of these photos. There are 425 photos in this group. They will be found listed as "The Zemper Collection" under the "Photo Archives" button on the home page.	Diane and Hap Reese


Nov 5, 2007	Revisions to the Home Page of the bomb group are finally complete. After more than 10 years of accumulating information, the home page had become a sea of buttons with overlapping content. We have now modified this page so it is smaller and more intuitive. All links and every page that was available on the old home page is still available on the new home page. However, if you prefer to use the old home page or are having some difficulty running this new version, then you can revert to the old home page by clicking here. If you encounter technical problems running this version, please contact the webmaster.	Diane Reese

August 23rd, 2007	Our thanks to Gegory Christ, grand nephew of Paul R, Moore, who picked up the fact that we had completely lost the information on the Emanuell Hauf crew that was lost while attempting to ditch in the English Channel. The incident occurred on May 28th, 1944 and all the crew were lost. Our records are now updated and a picture of the crew is now in the "Air Crew Archives.	Gregory Christ

June 21st, 2007	We have spent the past months simplifying access to the scanned loading lists. In order to get from the "Narratives" page to the scanned lists, the original code required you to pass through numerous pages to get to your objective. Previously, if you were on the Narrative page and wished to look at one of the Squadron scanned loading list you were required to pass thru a minimum of seven and sometimes up to 10 pages. Now you can do it with ONE click of the mouse. It's simple, take a look.	Willard Reese Diane Reese

June 16th, 2007	I've been experimenting with some video presentations with my limited computer skills. My first attempt on this website is with the following slideshow which depicts the few nervous hours that preceeded the 457th Bomb Group's first mission on Feb 21st, 1944. The mission was led by Col James Luper. I would appreciate any feedback on this movie as to it's timing and continuity. To play the movie just click Preparations for first mission on Feb 21st.1944 Here	Willard Reese
May 18th, 2007	We have just reindexed all our "Search Engines" on the website to reflect the many changes that were made to the website in the past few months. There are six separate search engines located throughout this site, and most only search the section in which they are located. The one on the home page, however, searches the entire website and may take some time to run, so be patient.	Willard Reese
May 16th, 2007	My daughter Diane, and grandson Gregory, who live in California, recently had an opportunity to see and fly in the B-17 "Aluminum Overcast". "Aluminum Overcast" is one of three of the remaining twelve flyable B17's that take passengers. They took a few of the video's you'll see here. To see and hear the old lady once more, select from the video links below: Aluminum Overcast starting up her engines: Here (1.24 mins) Aluminum Overcast starting taxiing out for takkeoff: Here (1.07 mins) Aluminum Overcast starting taking off: Here (45 secs) Aluminum Overcast in flight: Here (9.54 mins)	Diane Reese
May 12th, 2007	A new section has been added under the "Photo Archive" button on the home page. To date we have added, updated and enhanced the Photo Archives of "Aircraft", "Air Crews", "Support Personnel", And "Officers Photos". We have now added a six page gallery called "Photos around Glatton". This gallery consists of all the photos that do not fit into any of the aforementioned sections. There are over 250 photos here that were taken in 1944/1945 and are the balance of the photos in our possession. (almost anyway) We will now remove the old sections that were still displayed under the "Photo Archives" button on the home page.	Willard Reese
May 4th, 2007	A new section has been added under the "Photo Archive" button on the home page. For years now, the portrait photos that were taken of each officer at Glatton were mixed in with other photos related to that time and place. We have now separated them out and displayed them on this page. We have only a relatively few photos considering all the men who served and we will welcome any additional photos that you might send us to help make this section complete.	Willard Reese
Mar 6th, 2007	We have added a new feature to our Message Board. You will find a "View All" at the bottom of every section on the board. If you click on this it will display ALL the messages in that section, one following the other. This enables one to read all the threads without going back and forth to the main message board.	Willard Reese
Feb 5th, 2007	We have finally completed and added to the website our "Prisoners of War" section. On this page are listed all the 457th Bomb Group POWs from WW II - together with the names of the prisons in which they spent their captivity. A new button has been added on the home page. Clicking on the individuals name will display information leading up to the downing of his aircraft and to his capture. There are a number of "Unknown" prisons opposite some flyers names.....we'd like to complete this list with your help. If you notice that there is no "Stalag Luft" name next to yours or your relatives, please drop us an email and we'll update the page. We expect to add more details about individuals as time permits. Our thanks to John Wranesh (a POW) who helped with this presentation.	John Wranesh Willard Reese
Jan 25th, 2007	One group of flyers that has been neglected here on the website are our comrades who were shot down and became "Prisoners of War". These POWs suffered hardships that most of us cannot envision. John Wranesh has written a description about his confinement at Stalag Luft IV and the "Long Forced March" across Germany. Within this story you will find a link to the sworn testimony of Dr Leslie Caplan, MD concerning this march. Dr Caplan is mentioned by John Wranesh in this story. You'll find this good reading. We would like to hear from more of you who were POWs and add your stories to this collection.	John Wranesh
Jan 18th, 2007	We recently found copies of a story in the old Bernie Baines files that has laid dorment for many years. It is story written by a member of a crew that "rode the plane down" into enemy terrority after being battered by flak. It is an excellent account of the ordeal of crash landing and capture by enemy forces. It can be accessed here	Willard Reese
Jan 13th, 2007	After years of disappoinments, we have finally obtained scanned copies of all the Group's 'Crew Loading Lists' from the National Archives in Maryland. These are near perfect copies of the documents that were typed 60 years ago by each squadron's operations officer the night before a mission. This set of documents is presented as a backup and verification of the loading lists that we placed in the "Narrative" section earlier last year. One way to access these supplements is to select a mission date on the calendar that comes up when you click on the Narratives and Loading Lists" button on the home page. This selection will bring up the "Narrative" for that mission. Scroll down that page to the former loading list and you will see a line in red that will link you to the complete new scanned loading list. Once there, select the mission number or date, select the squadron, then finally, select the page (there are sometimes one, two or three pages per squadron) Enjoy.	Willard Reese
Dec 13th, 2006	For your interest we have added a "Then and Now" photo that we think will interest most of you old flyers. The image is a little wide but just scroll across. Times change lots of things and lots of things stay the same. To see the old field then and now click Here	Willard Reese
Dec 10th, 2006	We have added a list of files in the Recent Submittal section. These are photos that were taken by Roy Norris and Chris Welch of the final preparations of the area for the dedication of the 457th Memorial on Connington Ln. and Old North Rd.	Roy Norris & Chris Welch
Dec 7th, 2006	We have completed reindexing all the "Searchs" on the website. This will enable a search to find the latest additions and will correct a few discrepencies. There are now six (6) different search locations on this website, on theHome page, the Aircrew Archive Photos home page, the Narratives and Loading List page, the Aircraft Database page, the Roster page and the Support Personnel page.	Willard Reese
Nov 15th, 2006	We have added a considerable number of new files on the home page under "Recent Submittal". The newest of these files was submitted some time ago by Teri Lynns but are only now being published here. Teri's father was Col Richard Herbert, 457th Communications Officer. Most of the photos she has submitted are new to this website. Don't hesitate to send us any photos you have laying around. We'll post them here without delay.	Teri Lynns
Nov 7th, 2006	We have added a new section to our Photo Archives. Thanks to Alan Morton, who made first contact with Mike Shinners, we now have a delineated list of all except the last 16 missions that our group flew. Mike's father, Capt John Shinners, was Personnel Officer at Glatton. The list can be seen in the "Photo Archive" on the home page as "Mission List Archive" or you may click here.	Alan Morton & Mike Shinners
Nov 2nd, 2006	A long overdue section has been added to our Photo Archives. We have finally gathered together and sorted all the photos we have of what I call "Support Personnel". A search engine has also been added to assist in finding a person or place. These are the nonflying personnel who kept the planes flying, prepared the food, nursed the ill and injured, loaded the bombs and did all the mundane things around the field that were necessary to get a mission off the ground. To these men we owe a debt of gratitude. To visit this section click on the new button labeled "Support Personnel" or click here.	Willard Reese
Oct 21, 2006	In conjunction with the completion of our "Loading List" project, we have extracted all the names from all the loading lists, removed duplicate names and posted them under the "Roster" button on the home page. We have also included a "Roster Search" engine on the Roster home page that will allow you to search for any name. There are now 4636 names of crewman in this list. You may also search by the letter of the last name of the individual.	Willard Reese
Oct 5, 2006	We have upgraded the "Search" capability on the "Home Page" and on the "Narratives and Loading Lists" page so that it should be consierably faster. Those with dial-up service will be grateful, I'm sure.	Willard Reese
Oct 2, 2006	The Loading List project is now complete. All our group's loading lists, from Feb 1944 to April 1945, that are available at the National Archives, are now posted in the Narratives section of the website. A narrative also accompanies each mission and our "Search" capability has been reindexed to search for the name of any flyer. To access the lists start here I wish to thank, James Luper, Mike Burgess and Diane Reese for their help over the past year with the typing of these lists.	Willard Reese
Sept. 16, 2006	We have added 88 photos from the 2006 Mini-Reunion to the Reunion Page. (Thank you to Michael Rodgers). They are here	Jim Derk
August 23rd, 2006	We have added the March 2006 Newsletter in a form that you can all view. To check out the March Newsletter click here	Willard Reese
August 21st, 2006	We have added the Decmeber 2005 Newsletter in a form that you can all view. To check out the December Newsletter click here The March 2006 Newsletter will be added shortly.	Willard Reese
August 8, 2006	We have added a search capability to the "Crew Photo Archives" so that you may now search for individual crew members by name in the photo archives.	Willard Reese
July 28, 2006	For those who have not already seen the NEW "Photo Archives / Air Crew Photos, we invite you to look now. In matching up the names of crew members with the photos we encountered a considerable number of errors; wrong name in crew photo, misspelled names, wrong mission date, wrong pilot's name, etc. We will appreciate your reviewing as many of these records as you can for accuracy. If you find an error and feel confident you are correct, then contact us and we will make the necessary changes. We especially would like you to look at the "Unknown Crews" - U - (20 of them). See if you can identify any of these pictures or even any of the men in those pictures. Many times we can identify the crew if we have only the name of one of the crew members. Thank you.	Willard Reese
July 15, 2006	Continuting with our project of updating and impoving our website, we have added a new section titled "Flight Crews of the 457th Bomb Group". There are over 300 pictures of crews that were taken in 1944, '45. In setting this up we have attempted to put all the photos of each crew in one place and have determinded that the best way to index these groupings of photos was by the pilots last name. At the top of the first page is a letter alphabet. Clicking on the letter of the last name of the pilot will take you directly to that section of pictures. And, of course, clicking on the thumbnail will bring up an enlarged picture that has been resized, recropped, and further enhanced. As time permits and when volunteer help is available, we expect to add the names of individual crew members in the space under the enlarged photo. All of these photos are now over 60 years of age and the quality of many of them is deteriorating. We hope this restoration will preserve these photos for many years to come. To access this archive of crew photos click on the "Photo Archive" button on the home page.	Willard Reese
June 10, 2006	For the past few months we have been working on a project to up-grade all the photos on the website. We have now completed the first phase of this project which included enlarging, cropping and enhancing all photographs of aircraft in our possession (at least we think it is all). The photos, we believe, are clearer in detail and are more easily accessed. The first section, "Aircraft Archives", which is posted now, are photos of "Aircraft of the 457th". They are listed numerically by serial number of the aircraft, with all pictures of a particular aircraft displayed on the same page. There are about 350 photos in this section and they are accessed from the "Photo Archives" button on the home page. At some date in the future we plan to do the same with photos of crews.	Willard Reese
May 14, 2006	Added eight new, stunning images from the recovery of the 42-31552 "My Buddy" in Switzerland. (The smashed Ball Turret is already on display at the Aviation Museum in Altenrhein, Switzerland). Click here	Jim Derk
May 14, 2006	Added the two most recent newsletters to the Newsletters page. All members should have received hardcopies of these from Nancy. These are large files and because of the nature of Adobe Acrobat, tend to stay that way so those on dial-up connections should avoid.	Jim Derk
April 2nd, 2006	In conjunction with the re-creation of the Loading Lists, we have been able to extract all the names from the loading lists, sort them by last name, remove duplicates, and create a roster of the names of all airmen who flew with the 457th. A new button has been added to the Home Page labeled ROSTER. This will lead you to the 3600 + names we have accumulated. When we have completed the loading lists, there will be more names to add. If there are missing names or misspelled names, please contact me or Jim.	Willard & Helpers
March 18, 2006	The "Search" box on the Home Page has been reindexed to include recent additions to the website. This search engine will not, however, search the Crew Loading Lists. To search the loading lists, go to the Mission Narratives - Loading List button which will take you to the loading list home page. Here you will find a "Search" box that will allow you to search only the loading lists. You can enter a single first or last name but by checking the "exact phrase" below the box, you can search using the full name. The input must then have first, middle initial (if there is one) and last name. We apologize that many of the loading lists are not yet complete. If your name or missions are missing, know that the loading lists are being worked on and will be completed sometime before summer.	Willard & Helpers
March 16, 2006	Added the new officers of the 457th Bomb Group Association to the Officers Page	Jim Derk
Feb. 18, 2006	The New Narratives - Loading List Pages.	Willard & Helpers
Feb. 4, 2006	Added link to new Library of Congress Web site that documents troop positions from June 6, 1944, to July 26, 1945. Starting with the D-Day Invasion, the maps give daily details on the military campaigns in Western Europe, showing the progress of the Allied Forces as they push toward Germany. Some of the sheets are accompanied by a declassified "G-3 Report" giving detailed information on troop positions for the period March 3 through July 26, 1945. These maps and reports were used by the commanders of the United States forces in their evaluation of the campaigns and for planning future strategies. Click here	Jim Derk
Jan. 20, 2006	.Added some new photos of A-2 jacket discovered on Ebay. Click here Also added info about Mini-Reunion coming up to Reunion Page.	Jim Derk
Jan. 15, 2006	Many updates today. New photo page of photos from Sherman Roberts, added to the Photo Archives page. Several new photos added to the Personalities Page. I just received the original telegrams my grandmother received when my uncle was shot down on a bombing run. I have added them to the Derdzinski Recollection page. Click here Also added info about Mini-Reunion coming up and corrected various spelling mistakes	Jim Derk
Nov. 2, 2005	Added four new drawings from artist Mark Stylings (www.markstylings.com) who is starting the drawing of the planes of the 457th. Click here	Jim Derk
September, 2005	Added 457th Bomb Group Loading Lists for the months of September, 1944, commencing with Sept. 3rd mission #117 through mission #129. For the most part, the quality is somewhat better than the other mission lists but still not what we would wish. The balance of the months will be added in the near future. To access, click on "Mission Narratives" and then the month you wish to check. Page through the month to the mission or date you want. The loading lists are at the bottom of each page.	All 457th flying crews
October 4, 2005	Added 457th Bomb Group Loading Lists for the months of August, 1944, comencing with August 7th mission #105 through mission #116. For the most part, the quality is somewhat better than the other mission lists but still not what we would wish. The month of September will be added next and the balance of the months after that. To access, click on "Mission Narratives" and then the month you wish to check. Page through the month to the mission or date you want. The loading lists are at the bottom of each page.	All 457th flying crews
August 25, 2005	The book "The Fireball Outfit", written by Ken Blakebrough, has been added to our website this date. This rare book will be of interest to anyone who wishes to experience what it was like on the ground and in the air at Glatton airfield during WWII. We are indebted to Ken for allowing us to publish his book here. You can start reading by clicking on the "The Fireball Outfit" button on the home page or by clicking here	Ken Blakebrough
June 17, 2005	Added 457th Bomb Group Loading Lists for the months of October 1944 to April 1945. For the most part they are poor quality but they are there for whatever you might get out of them. The balance of the months will be added shortly. To access, click on "Mission Narratives" and then the month you wish to check. Page through the month to the mission or date you want. The loading lists are at the bottom of each page.	All 457th flying crews
June 12, 2005	Added new photo of Arthur Tieman and a map pouch courtesy of Peggy Racine. Click here and Click here	Jim Derk
May 22, 2005	Changed "Officers" page to reflect resignation of Joe Toth at his request; Also manually edited and removed spam from the GuestBook (not the Message Board.) There are some reuqests for information on the Guest Book too; Please pay it a visit. Fixed some typos	Jim Derk
April 13, 2005	With great sadness I post more information about the loss of our friend Ray Pobgee, Ward Councillor for Dogsthorpe, who died April 7 giving a speech to the Peterborough City Council. He was a great friend of the 457th. Here are some links to coverage of this loss. Click here and here and here.	Jim Derk
March. 31, 2005	I have returned from my hiatus from my MBA. Thanks for your patience. I have corrected issues on several pages and added the Benos photos back to hereI also have added a new photo from a historian in Berlin of 44-6103. You can see that here	Jim Derk
Feb 18, 2005	We have added a section to the main menu in the "Photo Archives". This section contains numerous pages of photos submitted recently to the Association from members and families of several of our airmen and ground crew.	Teri Lynn Alan Morton Trevor Day & Brian Goodykoontz
Dec. 5, 2004	Corrected and additional information on below photos from Bob Benos, son of Nicholas T. Benos, a ball-turret gunner for the 457th.	Jim Derk
Nov 28, 2004	We have received a CD of previously unseen photos from Bob Benos, son of Nicholas T. Benos, a ball-turret gunner for the 457th. These are being placed in the correct directories now. Click here and Click here and Click here	Jim Derk
Sept 26, 2004	Five new photos added to Miscellaneous section. Click here	Jim Derk
Sept 10, 2004	Site restored following hurricane outage in Florida	Jim Derk
Aug. 28, 2004	Some new additions to the Photo archives. Click here, here, here and here. Edited Guestbook and removed duplicate and entries. Corrected many pages and updated others as needed.	Jim Derk
Aug. 27, 2004	Aligned listing of Johnson Flight Crew by name, rank and position with photo. Click here	Alan Morton
Aug. 27, 2004	Some new additions to the "Crews" photo archives. Click here	Jim Derk
Aug. 25, 2004	Some new additions to the "Crews" photo archives. Click here	Jim Derk
Aug. 15, 2004	Some new additions to the "Crews" photo archive thanks to the donation of the daughter of Thomas Parks. Click here	Jim Derk
Aug. 14, 2004	Some new additions to the "Personalities" section. Click here	Jim Derk
July 30, 2004	Hap Reese has made a wonderful walkthrough of a B-17. Click here	Jim Derk
July 30, 2004	Ray Pobgee has given us some excellent images of the new memorial seating. Click here	Jim Derk
July 14, 2004	Joe Landy, who lives near our old airfield, has given us some more images of the new monument. Click here	Jim Derk
July 14, 2004	Mark Brotherton's great photo site of 8th AF bases was added to the LINKS page. Click here	Jim Derk
July 8, 2004	Some PDF files of the news coverage surrounding the monument dedication and the theft of our flags. (They were promptly returned.) Click here,	Jim Derk
July 7th, 2004	Newly discovered photo of the crew of the "Our Baby." To see photos of the crew, click here	Jim Derk
June 27th, 2004	Additions to our Honor Roll for Sgt. Edwin Dale Waggoner, KIS 4 May 1944, thanks to information from his niece, Susan. Sgt. Waggonner died from wounds suffered when a waist gun he was tossing overboard accidentally discharged. To see photos of him and his crew, click on Crews and Personalities here	Jim Derk
June 12th, 2004	On this date we have cause to rejoice. A replacement for your present webmaster has been found. His name is James S. Derk. To read about Jim and his qualifications click here	"Hap" Reese
June 2nd, 2004	On this date we have added a series of photos taken in Glatton on Memorial Day and showing the New Memorial dedicated to our comrades who lost their life while serving with the 457th Bomb Group. This memorial is the result of the generous contributions of so many of our fellow flyers, their families and our many friends.	Roy Norris
June 3rd, 2004	On this date we have added a story to our "Personal Recollections" section. The story is about George Derdzinski's experience being shot down on a mission to Dessau, Germany, and the trials they suffered in Prison Camps in the winter of 1944/1945.	Jim Derk
May 26th, 2004	On this date we have added a section to the recently received images from the daughter or our Groups communication officer, Major Richard Herbert. The images are from Richard's collection and are well worth perusing. To view the four (4) pages proceed here. We have also updated the "Search" box on the Home page. It has been reindexed now so that it will search every item on the website including the ones that have been added since the last indexing in January.	"Hap" Reese [Webmaster]
May 21st, 2004	With a limited time to spend on the computer these days and with more health problems poking their ugly head, I have decide to take the easy way to display the many photos that have been sent to me in previous months. Placing these photos in their respective places is extremely time consuming. I have elected to place these photos in one folder and separate them by the name of the person who sent me them. The familiar format, thumbnail with a description alongside, is used and one can proceed from one page to the next by using the progress buttons at the top and bottom of each page. To review some of the photos in this collection you may commence HERE. To date we have three submitters, Richard Herbert (3 Pages), Alan Morton (1 Page), and William Murry (1 page). More to come.	"Hap" Reese [Webmaster]
May 6th, 2004	Several years ago, when we first received the cdroms containing most of the images from Bernie Bains collection, we found that there was one cdrom from which we could not access all the images. This past week, through some effort, we have managed to recover this data. The images are in addition to those presently displayed as Visiting Aircraft at Glatton under the Photo Archive button on the home page. Check out this page and see almost 135 fighters and bombers from the 1941/1945 period.	"Hap" Reese & Bernie Baine
Apr 24th, 2004	On this date we have added a new button to the website home page and rearranged the buttons. A new link titled Nose Art is our attempt to recover thumbnails of nose art from as many of the photos in our collection as we can. Perhaps many of you will see one of your favorites.	"Hap" Reese
Mar 25th, 2004	On this date we have placed our retirement banner on the 457th Home Page. It is with sadness that I wrote this email to Don Pierson, our Association President. It's been a fun trip and I've enjoyed the many hours I've spent at this keyboard and the friends, seen and unseen, that I have communicated with over the years. It's time to go.	"Hap" Reese
Mar 22nd, 2004	On this date we have updated the "....... MESSAGE from the Association Board of Directors" link on the Home Page. This document presents the current financial position of this fund raising effort.	Craig Harris
Mar 15th, 2004	On this date we have added links to almost all the B-17 Bomb Groups that are presently available on the internet. You will find them listed under the "Links" button on the home page.	Willard Reese
Feb 23rd, 2004	On this date we have added an account written by Major Raymond Syptak of his time spent with the 457th. Major Syptak passed away on Feb 9th, 2004. His son, Mark, forwarded us this story and granted permission for us to use it here. You'll find it under the "Personal Recollections" button on the home page.	Mark Syptak
Feb 21st, 2004	On this date we have added twenty additional photographs of Conington and Glatton Field to the "Glatton Today" folder. These photos were contributed by Roy Norris, a camera buff who lives in the city of Peterborough, England. Take a look at how things have changed since you were there.	Roy Norris
Feb 14th, 2004	On this date we have added a banner on the Home Page asking all visitors to this web site to check out the Message from the 457th Bomb Group Assocation Board. This is an important message to all members and friends alike who are looking for an update on the financing of the Memorial to be created at the old Glatton airfield in England.	Willard Reese [webmaster] & Craig Harris
Feb 2nd, 2004	Thanks to his generosity and with the permission of Ken Blakebrough, we have completed our "Mission Summary" of all the missions flown by the 457th Bomb Group. These tables display each mission, it's date, target, no. of Aircraft, casualties, Group leader, and much more. These are four large files that take some time to load, so be patient. (The tables appear in Ken's book titled "The Fireball Outfit".)	Willard Reese Ken Blakebrough
Jan 29th, 2004	The Mission Narratives are now almost complete about a week ahead of schedule. All of the 236 missions have been posted and are all linked together so that you may jump to "Next", retreat to "Previous", return to the "Index" page, or jump right to the "Home" page from each mission. The "Search" box on the "Index" page will allow you to find names, mission targets and almost everything else. The table of links on that same page allows you to link to the first mission of each month and from there you will have to go "Next" to view the rest of the missions for that month. Good Reading.	Willard Reese
Jan 29th, 2004	We have now completed the posting of the recent issue of the 457th Newsletter. We have scanned this paper using an Optical Character Recognition (OCR) program and because it's new to us we have elected not to show any images. This leaves some major voids in the text on some pages. We will attempt to fill this in as we become more familiar with the program. The "Newsletter" button on the Home Page will lead you to the first page of the Newsletter and from there you may page thru the document using the navigation buttons at the top of each page.	Willard Reese
Jan 15th, 2004	If your eyes seem to be deceiving you when you check out the selection buttons on the home page, it's because we have added two button and rearranged the rest. We feel the new arrangement is more 'user friendly'. We hope this meets with your approval.	Willard Reese
Jan 3rd, 2004	We have added two new buttons to the home page selections. One for the "What's New" (this page), and one for "Mission Narratives". The Mission Narratives are a "work in progress" and hopefully will be completed sometime in February. The "Mission Narratives" will provide a detailed description of each of the 236 missions flown by the 457th Bomb Group. Mission information was obtained from the 457th records at the National Archives. (Courtesy of James Bass)	Willard Reese
Dec 7th, 2003	We have increased the capacity of the group's Message Board from 300 messages to 600 messages and have added a "Search" box that will allow you to search through the Message Board for names, subjects, or numbers. (Note: To access the oldest messages, click on the "page 1, 2 " in the upper right corner of the message board page)	Willard Reese
Nov 7th, 2003	We have added a link on the home page to the new 457th Memorial which will be installed at Glatton airfield. This is a NEW memorial and contributions from all members, guests and friends will be welcomed. (See the link for details)	Craig Harris
Sept 6th, 2003	We have added a couple photos sent to us by The Serendipity Youth Theatre of Chicago. Here is the correspondence and photos sent to me by their leader, Tom Camacho. See old "Lady B. Good" 43-38594 in all her glory.	Tom Camacho
June 25th, 2003	We have just added a short story submitted by Murray Swerdlove about his gastronomical adventures while visiting Edinborough, Scotland. Here is his description of some adventure in eating during wartime shortages.	Murray "Morris" Swerdlove
June 18th, 2003	In the past few weeks I've had the pleasure of connecting with Jack W. Gazzale who flew with the 457th in 1944. He has written up his memory of a disaster that struck his plane while forming up for a mission to Munich. Here is his description of a mid-aid explosion over England.	Jack W. Gazzale
June 7th, 2003	As of this date we have added a new, better, faster, more complete "Search" engine that will locate any name or number on this website. One extra nice feature is that it not only locates the page but locates the word on the page and makes it possible to decide if this is what you are searching for. Try it and you'll see what I mean.	Willard "Hap" Reese
March 28th, 2003	As of this date we have added the latest issue of the Association's Newsletter which was mailed during the months of January and February, 2003. This issue contains some information on the 2003 reunion to be held in Rapid City, South Dakota. Check it out and plan your mission for August 28th to September 1st.	Willard "Hap" Reese
Dec. 23, 2002	In the April Newsletter we asked for help from anyone who had information on the mid air collision of #42-31541 which took place during a training exercise at Wendover Field, UT on Dec 23rd, 1943. Carey Jones has provided us with a detailed eye witness account of this deadly accident. In addition we have recently received an email account from T. J. Shields confirming Carey Jones account and indicating that he is a surviving member of Snow's crew. This email is appended to the above link titled "eye witness account".	Carey Jones & T. J. Shields
Nov, 09 2002	Another new button has been added to the Home Page which will take you to a series of slideshows. These slideshows will enable you to quickly and effortlessly view all the photos in our Archives. The slideshows are broken down into catagories for your viewing and are not totally complete as of this date. Additions will be forthcoming in additional catagories as soon as we can put them together. To view these slideshows you must have Javascript enabled in your browser and if your modem is less that a 56K type, the slideshow performance will be eratic.	Willard "Hap" reese
Oct 19, 2002	457th Honor Roll. A new button has been added to the home page which will take you to a chronological listing of all crewmen of the 457th who made the supreme sacrifice. The listing includes the MACR number, date, aircraft serial number, mission and pilot's name. Instructions on obtaining MACR's is also linked to this page.	Willard "Hap" Reese
Sept 23, 2002	James Bass, author of the Fait Accompli trilogy has requested this information be placed on the website in hopes of finding addresses of families of 457th crewmen that were KIA. PROJECT LIBRARY PLACEMENT. If you have a house address of one of the members of the group who were Killed in Action contact James Bass - E-Mail dbass@dtccom.net - Phone: 615-735-1122; Fax: 615-735-3149	James Bass
Sept 07, 2002	Photos of Morton, Middlebrooks, Sempf and Colin of the James Hall crew.	Alan Morton
Sept 06, 2002	Six new Strike photos from Breman, Oranienburg, and Munich added to our collection.	Alan Morton
Sept 06, 2002	A photograph of some members of the James L. Hall crew after returning from a mission to Berlin on Mar 28th, 1945.	Alan Morton
Sept 04, 2002	Two photos added of members of the crew of Lt Harlan J. VanDeilen displaying some of the aircraft damage to 42-97535, Bouncing Betty II, after the mission to Oranienburg on Apr 10th, 1945.	Walter C. Cobourn
Sept 03, 2002	New information on loss of Gallagher crew on Nov 2nd, 1944	New MACR
Aug 30, 2002	Photograph and description of the new 457th stained glass window donated by the Association. Window is in the chapel at the 8th Air force Historical Society Society in Pooler, GA.	Photo by Craig Harris
Aug 8th, 2002	An account of the Mini-Reunion 2002 in Peterborough on May 25th to 29th, 2002.	Written by Will Fluman
Aug 4th, 2002	In 1944 and 1945 many US and RAF aircraft visited Glatton airfield. Here are photos taken of a few of those aircraft.	Bernie Baines collection
Jul 15th 2002	The April 2002 Association Newsletter is now on this website, thanks to Nancy Henrich and her helpers. (The December 2001 Newsletter is still on as well)	Nancy Henrich Asso. Secretary
2002	The German account of the crash of 43-38904 and how the residents of a small village burried the plane's crew when it crashed just outside their town center.	Robert Botwright's niece Pat Davis

this website, thanks to Nancy Henrich and her helpers. (The December 2001 Newsletter is still on as well) Nancy Henrich
Asso. Secretary 2002 The German account of the crash of 43-38904 and how the residents of a small village burried the plane's crew when it crashed just outside their town center.
Robert Botwright's
niece Pat Davis