Those who keep ‘em flying are just as vital as those who fly ‘em. Here fighter pilot Lt. Leonard Fuller makes a point to pose in front of his P-51 with his crew chief, S/Sgt. John McGarity, in 1944. S/Sgt. McGarity worked tirelessly, often all night long, to prepare Lt. Fuller’s ship for the next day’s mission. Both their names are painted near the plane’s cockpit. John went on to become a dentist near Macon, Georgia, where he died in 2014. ¹

Did you or a family member serve in the Army Air Forces during World War II? Please contribute your own biography, or that of a loved one, to the Keep ‘em Flying memorial at the AAF Collection. Contact the curator for details.

ABC News aired a story tonight about Bob Brocklehurst, a World War II fighter pilot.  Recently at age 96, he went up again in a P-51 Mustang, the same type of plane he flew in the Pacific Theater during World War II.  Interestingly, he wore a cap that indicated “41-G.”  I recognized that immediately as his graduating class number, meaning he graduated as a fighter pilot in 1941.  I found his picture in the AAF Collection in a class book from Kelly Field, near San Antonio, Texas. ²

Here he was as a young man above, right.  And here are some excerpts from the news story below.

Mr. Brocklehurst took control of the P-51 and performed a loop maneuver.

You can see the full video at ABC News. ³

This class book also contains a profound passage, which by coincidence I admired back in 2014, when I first read it.

The purpose of a class book may be to give the men a memento of their Advance School Graduation–so, if it does–we deliver in ink, along with their other mementos, a Charge.

At this time a plan has functioned and again the result is a group of skilled men.  Yet it will not be their skill that will distinguish this class from others but their actions as individuals.

An insignia is a very shallow thing unless its meaning is so impressed on the individual that the ideal lives and the banner breathes by his actions.  Noble deeds are commendable but uncertain; everyday details of living are things which cast permanent reflections.  Heed!

This passage, “Noble deeds are commendable but uncertain; everyday details of living are things which cast permanent reflections,” and indeed, Mr. Brocklehurst’s own words in the video are worth remembering.

First Lieutenant Leonard B. Fuller represents America’s Finest.  A farm boy from rural New York, in March 1944 he was a fighter pilot based at Steeple Morden, England in the 357th Fighter Squadron.  Four months later in July 1944 he had flown 40 missions over enemy territory, with 180 hours of combat flight in a P-51 Mustang.

On July 4, 1944 one of his buddies snapped this photo of Lt. Fuller with his plane “Myrt II.”

But this photo never made it home.  Lt. Fuller was killed in action three days later on July 7.  Thanks to Donna Bonning, who researched Lt. Fuller’s story, this photo has come to light after 72 years.  It was found in the effects of fellow pilot Francis Eshelman, whose son James happened to contact Ms. Bonning.  By an amazing coincidence she uncovered what is probably the last known photo of Lt. Fuller.

Lt. Fuller’s plane was hit by flak and crashed near Blankenhain, Germany.  The plane was completely destroyed and there are conflicting reports on whether he was able to parachute out, but he did not survive the fall.

Witness Statement:  I was leading Custard Squadron when we attacked fifty plus Me 410’s.  Lt. Fuller was flying number three in my flight.  The F/A led us over a town where we got heavy accurate flak at about 7,000 feet.  Capt. Haviland, who was flying my wing saw him jettison his canopy, but did not see him get out.  Lt. Fuller called me on the radio and said he was getting out.  I answered his call and he said he was okay.  I did not see him bail out.  /s/ Leslie D. Minchen, Capt., Air Corps. ⁴

Lt. Fuller is credited with destroying 7-1/2 enemy planes during his brief career as a fighter pilot. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, an Air Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters and a Purple Heart.

As an aviation cadet, Lt. Fuller underwent primary flight training at Garner Field, Uvalde, Texas, then basic flight training at Goodfellow Field, San Angelo, Texas, and advanced flight training at Moore Field, Mission, Texas. He was in class 43-I.  Photos of him appear in two class books in the AAF Collection.

Another photograph from Lt. Fuller’s estate shows him during primary flight training at Garner Field.

Here is Lt. Fuller at Steeple Morden, England near a P-51B.

There is much more to Lt. Fuller’s story.  Ms. Bonning has access to many letters written between Lt. Fuller and his parents, as well as additional photographs.  You can read one of the letters and see more photos here in the AAF Collection. ⁵  The plane crash occurred in what would become East Germany under Communist control.  Lt. Fuller’s parents had great difficulty visiting their son’s grave after the war, but they eventually were able to transfer his remains back to the United States in 1950.

He is buried in West Middlebury Cemetery, West Middlebury, New York.  In July 2016 a well-attended memorial service was held to commemorate Lt. Fuller.  It included a fly-over by three P-51 airplanes in missing man formation. ⁶  Another ceremony was held near Blankenhain, Germany where Lt. Fuller was shot down and first interred.

For more information, see Lt. Fuller’s entry at Find-a-Grave ⁷ and at the American Air Museum in Britain. ⁸  There is also information at the Army Air Forces of World War II forum. ⁹

UPDATE:  April 18, 2017:  Thanks to the efforts of Donna Bonning, Lt. Fuller’s former grave site in Germany will have a memorial plaque.

UPDATE:  July 9, 2017:  A ceremony was held in Blankenhain, Germany to commemorate Lt. Fuller’s original grave with a plaque.

Did you or a family member serve in the Army Air Forces during World War II? Please contribute your own biography, or that of a loved one, to the Keep ‘em Flying memorial at the AAF Collection. Contact the curator for details.

My father, John E. “Jack” Voisin, was stationed at Miami Beach, Florida for basic training from August to September 1943.  He returned there in March 1944 for air crew classification processing.

The United States Army Air Forces operated Basic Training Center #4 at Miami Beach.  Jack was housed some of the time in the Netherland Hotel, a seven-story ocean-side hotel on the beach. This sounds luxurious, but as early as 1942 the Army Air Force had bought or leased 452 hotels and converted them into schools and barracks to process the huge number of recruits. ¹⁰  He later stayed in “tent city,” which was a vast group of canvas tents.

Jack was an 18 year old from Michigan who also liked photography.  He took several photographs of the South Beach area along Ocean Drive, among the Art Deco hotels where he stayed and underwent training.  He sent these prints home and wrote descriptions on most of them for his parents.  In studying these I discovered some details that are historically very interesting.  Even though Miami Beach was a paradise, it was essentially a military installation.  It was guarded against enemy attack; something you would not consider while sitting on the beach today.

Jack’s room is marked by a small arrow on the fourth floor, right corner, of the building.  It was right across the street from the beach and ocean.  He wrote, “Home–Netherland Hotel. This is the hotel. I took it at about 7:30 P.M. and the sun was just about down. You can see about a half of a flight marching [by].”

The beach had search light towers.  Jack wrote, “I took this from the top floor of the hotel facing south. You can see a search light above the trees.”

The beach also had .50 caliber machine gun emplacements.  Jack wrote, “Here is a guy climbing up to get a coconut. The tent you see is for the guys that guard the beach. They have a .50 machine gun near it.”

The threat of enemy submarines was real.  Here a dirigible is probably patrolling the waters for submarines.  Jack wrote, “This is the beach [across] the street from the hotel. I took it in order to get the [dirigible] on it. Some times they come right over the hotel.”

Vintage photographs can sometimes reveal interesting clues about the past, as these did about war-time Miami Beach.

The Texas Woman’s University Library has an excellent collection of Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) material.  It even includes several class books from Avenger Field, Sweetwater, Texas.

Thanks to Ben Guttery for providing these links.  Ben also contributed two Avenger Field class books to the AAF Collection.

One of the things I love about America is our willingness to stand up to threats.  Not only to stand up against them, but to respond to them head on.  In a class book from Pampa Army Air Field ¹¹ published near the end of 1943, I noticed something.

“One Way Ticket to Hell” it said, and there was space to write one’s name.  “This ticket entitles the above pilot to a one way trip to Hell.  Ticket also entitles bearer to stop over enroute at Japan to enjoy the AAF Stag Party on the Roof Garden at Tokyo.”  It’s signed, “Here’s lookin’ down your chimney, Tojo.”

Strange, I thought at first.  Then I did a little digging and found a news report from April 22, 1943.

Japanese propaganda radio broadcasts declared that every American flyer participating in future bombing raids on Japan has a one way ticket to hell.  This was taken to imply that captured airmen would be executed, which was the fate of some of Major General Doolittle’s raiders from the previous April. ¹²

The cadet pilots of basic-flight training class 44-E were obviously eager to get their “one way ticket to hell.”  Their response was “Wilco–Class 44-E,” meaning “will comply.”  This was a bit of humor in one sense, but I imagine, deadly seriousness in the truest sense.

2/Lt. Ralph I. Jones was killed August 28, 1944 over Boskovštejn, Czech Republic on his first combat mission.  I recounted his heroic story in an earlier post.

Now for the first time, his picture adorns the monument dedicated to a once-unknown American P-51 fighter pilot. The seventieth anniversary memorial service for 2/Lt. Jones was held last August 30.

[See image gallery at aafcollection.com]

Special thanks to Svatopluk “Svat” Vaculik who found the photograph of 2/Lt. Jones and arranged for its inclusion on his monument.  He also provided the photographs of the memorial service.

Did you or a family member serve in the Army Air Forces during World War II? Please contribute your own biography, or that of a loved one, to the Keep ‘em Flying memorial at the AAF Collection. Contact the curator for details.

A ceremony marking the seventieth anniversary of the death of Lt. James E. Hoffman, Jr. was held last August 23 near Věžky, Czech Republic.  Lt. Hoffman was a decorated P-51 pilot who was shot down August 22, 1944.

A monument to this American hero was erected in 1946.  This year a photograph of Lt. Hoffman now adorns the monument.

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Special thanks to Svatopluk “Svat” Vaculik who found the newspaper article about Lt. Hoffman and arranged for the photograph on Lt. Hoffman’s memorial.  He also provided the photographs of the memorial service. For full details of the crash, including other pictures and newspaper accounts, see the excellent book by Jan Mahr. ¹³

Did you or a family member serve in the Army Air Forces during World War II? Please contribute your own biography, or that of a loved one, to the Keep ‘em Flying memorial at the AAF Collection. Contact the curator for details.

Monday, August 28, 1944. It was a bright sunny day in the small village of Boskovštejn, in then Czechoslovakia, now the Czech Republic. Shortly before 9:00 am, five hundred miles to the south, nineteen year old Second Lieutenant Ralph I. Jones climbed aboard “Birmingham Boomerang,” his P-51B Mustang, a single-seat, single-engine fighter airplane. That day was his first combat mission. It was also his last.

The 15th Army Air Force, 31st Fighter Group, 308th Squadron was based in San Severo, Italy. First Lieutenant Walter J. Goehausen, Jr. led “Blue Flight,” a group of four fighter airplanes. 2/Lt. Jones was his wingman. In position 3 was First Lieutenant Jack R. Smith, while Second Lieutenant Eugene P. McGlauflin flew as his wingman in position 4.

Fourteen more P-51s from the 308th Squadron took off that day. They joined other squadrons in the same Fighter Group, and in turn they joined other Fighter Groups for a total of 149 fighter aircraft. The 31st Fighter Group’s leader that day was Lieutenant Robert J. Goebel, a combat ace.

Their mission: Escort and protect 168 B-17 bombers from the 5th Wing as they bombed the Moosbierbaum oil refinery and adjacent chemical works 25 miles northwest of Vienna, Austria. As fighter pilots, they were to protect the bombers from enemy aircraft as they flew into, over, and out of enemy territory. With ten crew members per bomber, there were 1,680 lives depending on these 149 fighter pilots.

2/Lt. Jones was assigned to the 308th squadron just six days prior to the bombing mission to Moosbierbaum. He earned his wings as a fighter pilot back in March 1944 and was finally shipped overseas to San Severo by August.

The bomber formation reached the target area about 10:45 am, where plane after plane dropped their bomb loads. The attack lasted about 45 minutes.

In total, 70 to 80 enemy fighters resisted the attack with their own counter-attacks (Carter, 1991). At 11:20 am Lt. Goehausen and the pilots of Blue Flight encountered three such enemy fighters, flying Focke Wulf FW-190 aircraft. In an instant, they engaged the enemy. 2/Lt. Jones as wingman, began to follow Lt. Goehausen as he dove into battle. In the fast-paced confusion of armed confrontation, it was the last moment his fellow pilots saw 2/Lt. Jones.

On the ground however, 2/Lt. Jones was still very much in sight. The men, women and children of Boskovštejna and the nearby village of Jevišovic listened to the roar of engines and rat-a-tat-tat of gunfire, while watching the small specks in flight above them. The dog fight was already in progress when they came upon Boskovštejn from the northwest flying in the direction back towards Vienna in the southeast.

In an instant a loud explosion befell the American pilot. A wing separated from the fuselage and black smoke billowed as the plane fell in a spiraling spin to the ground.

A large crowd of villagers rushed to the crash, but flames and exploding ammunition kept them from getting too close. They eventually saw a gruesome scene: The charred torso of the unidentified airman, without a head, with no legs and only one arm. Body parts and wreckage were scattered over a large area.

Local authorities duly reported the crash to Nazi officials, including the Gestapo, and the crash site was placed under guard. Villagers were coerced into searching for the missing wing, which still contained two machine guns and ammunition. They were also ordered to turn in any artifacts they took from the crash site. Within days the wreckage was taken away and the plane’s components analyzed.

It is reported the Nazi officer in charge ordered dirt be thrown over the pilot’s body. Local citizens appealed and were able to take the body to Jevišovic for a hasty burial ceremony.

Upon returning to base, Lt. Goehausen and Lt. Smith submitted statements for the Missing Air Crew Report. This report was required whenever an airman went missing or was killed in action.

Lt. Goehausen gave his account of the last time he saw his wingman, 2/Lt. Jones:

On 28 August, 1944, 18 P-51’s of our Squadron took off from SAN SERVO A/D, Italy, at 0905 hours, as penetration, target, and withdrawal escort for the 5th Wing over [MOOSBIERBAUM] Oil Refinery near VIENNA, AUSTRIA. I was leading Blue Flight composed of four aircraft, and 2nd Lt JONES was my wingman. At 1120 hours we were 20 miles northwest of VIENNA, AUSTRIA at 27,000′ when we sighted 3 enemy aircraft at the same altitude. As we engaged them, they split S’d and dove down. Lt JONES started to follow me as I dove in pursuit, but that’s the last I saw of him. /s/ Walter J. Goehausen, Jr., 1st Lt, Air Corps. (NARA, 2014)

Lt. Smith, at Blue Flight position 3 that day, also gave a statement:

We attacked enemy aircraft 20 miles northwest of VIENNA, AUSTRIA. Lt JONES was the number two man in Blue Flight, and the last I saw of him was when his Flight Leader split S’d after a FW-190. /s/ Jack R. Smith, 1st Lt, Air Corps. (NARA, 2014)

A split-S maneuver is a half-roll, which results in the pilot flying upside down. This is followed by a dive, such that as the pilot pulls out of the dive, he is flying upright in the opposite direction.

Lt. Goehausen and Lt. Smith each successfully shot down one enemy fighter that day.

The Missing Air Crew Report also includes a hand-drawn map showing approximately where these men thought they last saw 2/Lt. Jones. On a modern map, the same area is circled in blue. The bombing target that day, Moosbierbaum, is indicated with a star, while the crash site near Boskovštejn is indicated with a diamond. The blue line simply connects Boskovštejn with San Severo, Italy, where the 31st Fighter Squadron was based. It does not represent an actual flight path.

If the pursuit of these enemy aircraft started near the target city of Moosbierbaum, the air battle undoubtedly covered a large area. The crash site at Boskovštejn is 60 miles from Vienna, so it could have covered roughly 1,800 square miles of territory. However at speeds approaching 400 miles per hour, it probably happened very quickly. An eye-witness account mentions the dog fight lasted only a couple minutes over Boskovštejn.

In a rare coincidence, Lt. Robert J. Goebel describes the day 2/Lt. Jones went missing in his book, “Mustang Ace: Memoirs of a P-51 Fighter Pilot.” Lt. Goebel led the 31st Fighter Group on the mission that day:

Six days before the August 28 mission, two new pilots had been assigned to the 308th. They were an unlikely pair, in age, rank, and temperament. The older was a captain [probably George E. Marquis Jr.]; the younger, a second lieutenant named Jones.

We first lieutenants who had forty to fifty missions under our belts and were doing all the combat leading resented a newcomer senior in rank to us. Of course it wasn’t the captain’s fault that he had been promoted while doing Stateside duty. But, as far as we were concerned, a new guy was a new guy. Both of them were ignored, socially. Afloat in this great sea of indifference, the captain and Jones gravitated toward each other and became inseparable. The captain obviously had been around and probably had a lot more flying time than Jones did, so he looked out for the lieutenant whenever he could.

On August 28, Jones was scheduled on the mission to Vienna. After the mission, I walked into ops, made my report, and talked to my flight. Jones wasn’t back yet. His only friend, the captain, sat on a bench outside the ops hut and waited. He had a worried frown across his brow.

Had it been only four months since I had sat there watching the eastern sky for Johnson to show up? It seemed like a year, but I remembered it well. I knew the captain was waiting in vain, as I had. Lieutenant Jones certainly was down somewhere and was not coming back. Almost everyone had left, and it was quiet now. I waited another twenty minutes inside the hut. Then I went out and put my hand on the captain’s shoulder. When he looked up, the tears were streaming down his cheeks.

“I’m sorry,” I said. “There’s always a chance that he’s a POW. But there’s nothing you can do for him here.”

He got into the jeep with me, and I left him with his own thoughts as we drove back to the housing area. On August 31, Lieutenant Jones was dropped from the squadron roll. (Goebel, 2009)

After the war, in August 1946, the citizens had raised funds and erected a black marble obelisk in memory of this unknown American hero. Politicians, military leaders, school children, and the citizens of Boskovštejna and Jevišovic attended the dedication ceremony. It is inscribed: „Na památku americkému letci zde sestřelenému v leteckém boji 28.8.1944,“ which translates “In memory of the American airman who was shot down in air combat August 28, 1944.”

A few weeks later in September 1946, a United States Army detail came to exhume the body of 2/Lt. Jones. Another ceremony was held, in which local school children sang the American and Czechoslovakian national anthems. The school headmaster spoke in English about this hero’s sacrifice for their freedom. He thanked the US delegation for helping to liberate them and promised the airman would always be remembered with gratitude. His body was then brought in procession from Jevišovic past the monument and on to Boskovštejna, where the citizens placed bouquets of flowers.

At its dedication and for decades later, the monument commemorated only an unknown American flier. The pilot’s name was never communicated to the citizens. This changed in 1990 when a plaque was affixed indicating “James Ralph,” which unfortunately is incorrect. The citizens did not learn the actual name of 2/Lt. Jones until the 50th anniversary memorial service in 1994. The plaque was amended with “Jones,” but still incorrectly reads “James Ralph Jones” rather than “Ralph I. Jones.”

Today the monument is still maintained by the citizens of Boskovštejn.

2/Lt. Jones was hastily buried in a Jevišovic cemetery in 1944. His body was exhumed in 1946 and transferred to the Lorraine American Cemetery near Saint-Avold, France where he lies in plot C, row 11, grave 89.

The solemn reverence and respect shown to 2/Lt. Jones by the people of the Czech Republic is remarkable. It started that fateful day in 1944, and has continued through the decades to today. He was one young man who just earned his wings as a fighter pilot. He was shunned as a rookie by hardened veteran pilots. He flew only one mission, yet did one very extraordinary thing. He had the courage to confront a fierce enemy, above a small village in a foreign land. And in so doing, he touched the minds and hearts of hundreds if not thousands of people, generations later, still grateful for his part in liberating them from Nazi oppression.

The story of 2/Lt. Jones was brought to my attention by Svatopluk “Svat” Vaculik, a visitor to the AAF Collection website. He and several others had been searching for years for a photograph and any additional information on 2/Lt. Jones. Svat finally found his photograph in a class book from Gibbs Field, Fort Stockton, Texas. Air Cadet Jones at that time was in primary flight training, class 44-C. He would go on to basic flight training and advanced flight training and eventually earn his pilot’s wings in March 1944. It is still unknown where he attended basic and advanced flight training, and thus a later picture of him remains elusive.

Svat will use the above photograph of 2/Lt. Jones during the 70th anniversary memorial ceremony later this year. For the first time, a face will adorn the memorial for this once-unknown, but now recognizable airman and hero.

Did you or a family member serve in the Army Air Forces during World War II? Please contribute your own biography, or that of a loved one, to the Keep ‘em Flying memorial at the AAF Collection. Contact the curator for details.

References

The authoritative source on the story of 2/Lt. Jones and the basis of this blog post, is the excellent book by Jan Mahr (Mahr, 2011). It contains newspaper and eye-witness accounts, official records, and extensive photographs about this and several other airmen shot down in the Czech Republic.

(AAFC, 2014) Army Air Forces Collection, “Solo: Class 44-C, Gibbs Field, Fort Stockton, Texas” (item 000382), AAF Collection, http://AAFCollection.info/items/list.php?item=000382 (accessed 09 May 2014), page 44.

(Asisbiz, 2014) Matthew Laird Acred, Asisbiz Free Virtual High Resolution Images for Screensavers and Wallpaper, http://www.asisbiz.com/il2/P-51B-Mustang/P-51B-31FG308FS-43-6851-Jones.html (accessed 09 May 2014).

(Carter, 1991) Kit C. Carter and Robert Mueller, “Combat Chronology 1941-1945: U.S. Army Air Forces in World War II,” Center for Air Force History, Washington, DC, 1991. Fifteenth Air Force, August 28, 1944, page 474.  Available online at the Air Force Historical Studies Office, http://www.afhso.af.mil/booksandpublications/titleindex.asp (accessed 09 May 2014).

(Fold3, 2007a) National Archives and Records Administration, “Ready to take off from their base in Southern Italy are these P-51 Mustangs of the 15th AAF. These planes have been used with a great deal of success as high altitude escort to the Boeing B-17 and Consolidated B-24 heavy bombers. 31st Fighter Group,” Black and White and Color Photographs of U.S. Air Force and Predecessor Agencies Activities, Facilities, and Personnel – World War II, NARA Reference 342-FH-3A22954-53784AC, Fold3, http://fold3.com (accessed 09 May 2014).

(Fold3, 2007b) National Archives and Records Administration, “Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses Of The 15Th Air Force Leave The Smoldering Oil Refinery At Moosbierbaum, Austria, On Aug. 28, 1944,” Black and White and Color Photographs of U.S. Air Force and Predecessor Agencies Activities, Facilities, and Personnel – World War II, NARA Reference 342-FH-3A04850-65580AC, Fold3, http://fold3.com (accessed 09 May 2014).

(Geocache, 2014) “The American Pilot’s Monument,” GC1ZR1E, Geocaching.com, http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?wp=GC1ZR1E (accessed 09 May 2014).

(Goebel, 2009) Robert J. Goebel, “Mustang Ace: Memoirs of a P-51 Fighter Pilot,” Pacifica Military History, 2009, pages 201-202.

(Grave, 2014) Find A Grave, 2Lt Ralph I Jones, Lorraine American Cemetery and Memorial, Saint-Avold, Departement de la Moselle, Lorraine, France, http://findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSmpid=47317337&GRid=56656816 (accessed 09 May 2014), plot C-11-89.

(Honor, 1946) War Department, The Adjutant Generals Office, Administrative Services Division, “World War II Honor List of Dead and Missing Army and Army Air Forces Personnel from Pennsylvania, 1946, documenting the period 05/27/1941 – 01/31/1946, Record Group 407, National Archives Identifier 305313, http://research.archives.gov/description/305313 (accessed 09 May 2014), “43, Columbia and Crawford Counties: 47 of 134.”

(Mahr, 2011) Jan Mahr, “VZPOMÍNKY NA NEZNÁMÉ LETCE” (Memories of the Unknown Airmen), vlastním nákladem autora vydalo Muzeum letecké bitvy nad Krušnohořím 11. 9. 1944 v Kovářské, 2011. http://www.museum119.cz.  Chapter 6, Pomník neznámému letci (Monument to the Unknown Flier), pages 155-166.

(Maurer, 1983) Maurer Maurer, “Air Force Combat Units of World War II,” Office of Air Force History, Washington, DC, 1983. Thirty-first Fighter Group chronology, pages 83-85. Available online at the Air Force Historical Studies Office, http://www.afhso.af.mil/booksandpublications/titleindex.asp (accessed 09 May 2014).

(Memorial, 2014) National World War II Memorial, World War II Registry, Washington, DC. http://www.wwiimemorial.com/ (accessed 09 May 2014), Ralph I. Jones, Pennsylvania, O-715546.

(NARA, 2014) National Archives and Records Administration, “Missing Air Crew Reports,” http://www.archives.gov/research/military/ww2/missing-air-crew-reports.html viewed via “Missing Air Crew Reports (MACRs) of the U.S. Army Air Forces, 1942-1947,” Fold3, http://fold3.com (accessed 09 May 2014). 2/Lt. Jones’ report is MACR 8264. MACRs are sometimes filed by aircraft tail number, 43-6851.

MACR 8264

(Vaculik, 2014) Svatopluk “Svat” Vaculik, correspondence with Mike Voisin, curator, AAF Collection, http://aafcollection.info, April and May 2014.

The monument to 2/Lt. Jones is also visited by those interested in geocaching, a popular hobby world-wide. Numerous people pay their respects and learn local history while hunting for hidden caches (Geocache, 2014).