Jimmy Stewart Bomber Pilot

Jimmy Stewart was one of the few Hollywood celebrities to actually serve in a combat role during WWII. He actually had to pull strings to get into combat. He ended up flying 20 missions in B-24 bombers based in East Anglia (an area north of London centered around Norwich). He joined the army a few months before WWII as a Private and by the end of the war he was a full Colonel. I was especially interested in this book because he flew the same type of bomber at about the same time as the Hetzler Crew. Stewart was always an epitome of himself and by all of the accounts in this book, he was pretty much the same man in real life as on screen. Many quoted him as we know him: "Aw shucks fellas" or "just a doggone minute now". Interestingly, his first role in Hollywood after the war was as George Bailey in It's a Wonderful Life! I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the air war in Europe or in Jimmy Stewart.

Ulysses Tebbs' Gravesite

One of my history research projects that I am working on right now is about a WWI soldier named Ulysses Tebbs. Tebbs was an African American soldier from St. Louis that was a member of the famed 369th Infantry Regiment, The Harlem Hellfighters. A few months ago I wrote the American Battle Monuments Commission and asked for a photo of Tebbs' gravesite. Not only did I receive the photo, but they also sent a poster of the Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery in which he is buried. I also received photos of the two Hetzler Crew members that are buried in Europe as well. Really cool stuff!

Russell B Jones, Radio Operator

On the banks of Lake Superior in the year 1922, Ed and Ruth Jones of Duluth, Minnesota gave birth to their third son, Russell. Little did his parents know that 21 years later this baby would die in a horrific and terrifying explosion, 21,000 feet above Nazi Germany, when his B-24 bomber was shot down by anti-aircraft fire. Russell was the Radio man on the Hetzler Crew. Russell joined the Air Corps in November of 1942 and became part of the Hetzler Crew about a year later when it was formed in Wendover, Utah. I don't know that I will find any of Russell's siblings unless his parents had additional children after the 1930 census. His two older brothers, Vincent and Wallace, would be about 91 and 88 years old if still living. Russell is buried here in St. Louis at Jefferson Barracks along with 5 of his crew mates, so he is most likely one of the men that went down with the plane.

According to the census of 1920 and 1930, Russell's father was a drayman, which I guess is an old fashioned name for a truck driver, but maybe they meant driving a wagon pulled by horses, I'm not sure. Typical for the upper mid-west, Russell was of Scandinavian heritage. 3 of his grandparents were from Sweden. According to his enlistment record Russell was 5'11" tall and weighed 135 lbs. His army serial number was 17156534. As with all of the men of the Hetzler Crew, I hope that he lived life to its fullest and experienced the best that life had to offer in his short life.

If you are a relative, friend or have any information about Russell B. Jones, please contact me: kirbhund at scglobal.net

S SGT Richard B. Clark, Big Fork, Montana

Staff Sergeant Richard Benjamin Clark of Big Fork, Montana was the B-24 waist gunner on the Hetzler Crew that was shot down over Germany on March 23, 1944. I have just begun doing a little serious research on Clark. I am researching all 10 members of the Hetzler Crew. I am doing a series of presentations in each of the men's hometowns. I am also writing a book about the crew and my odyssey to learn more about their lives. Of the 10 crew members, only Richard Clark and Donald Davis are still buried in Europe. Clark is buried at the Ardennes American Cemetery in Neupre, Belgium. His parents, Don and Nellie Clark moved to Montana by way of Nebraska and Kansas. By 1930, according to the census, they had 6 children: Effie, Vera, Richard, Verne, Wanda and then James. Of course, they may have had more children after 1930. I am currently searching for his siblings. I have a few promising leads so far. The census list Clark as 12 years old in 1930, which would have made him about 25/26 at the time of his death. He was one of the older crew members, along with the pilot and co-pilot. For the air war in Europe, these guys were considered an older crew, with their ages ranging from 21-27. It was quite normal for the pilots to be about 21 and the crew to be even younger. Richard Clark's serial number was 19019740. I list this as an additional way that search engines can find my blog and hopefully family members and others can find me.

If you are a relative, friend or have any information about Richard B. Clark, please contact me: kirbhund at sbcglobal.net

Howard W. Lynde

Staff Sergeant Howard W. Lynde, known to his friends as Jerry, was the nose-gunner on the Hetzler Crew that was shot down over Germany on March 23, 1944. Jerry was 24 years old and was the only member of the Hetzler Crew that I know was wounded in battle. On March 6, 1944 during our first daylight, large scale raid on Berlin his B-24 bomber, Jayhawker, after unloading its bombs on Berlin, was attacked by one ME-109 and two FW-190's simultaneously at short range. Jayhawker was riddled with holes. The nose gunner position is surrounded by glass, which splintered, wounding Jerry in the arm. The gunners aboard Jayhawker kept up a barrage of fire to keep the fighters at bay and somehow, the crew made it home. He survived this historic and horrific battle only to be killed in action a few weeks later bombing a small Nazi airbase near Alverskirchen, Germany.

Jerry was from Recluse, WY and grew up on a ranch. Of the 10 members of the Hetzler Crew, only Jerry and Jimmie Adkins are buried in their hometowns. Currently, I am busy tracking down any living relatives of his that I can find. Tragically, Jerry had a step-brother, Leonard Harris, who was also killed in the war about the same time. Luckily, Leonard Harris had a daughter, Linda. It would be great to be able to contact her. Jerry had several siblings and step siblings and I am hoping to make contact with one of them soon, if they are still living. I am in a race against time with this research, but I am closing in.

Serial #: 17024585

If you are a relative, friend or have any information about Howard W. Lynde, please contact me: kirbhund at sbcglobal.net

458th Bombardment Group

The Harold Hetzler Crew, about which I am researching and speaking, was part of the 458th Bombardment Group based in Horsham St. Faiths just north of Norwich, England. I have been greatly helped in my research by Darin Scorza. Darin runs the 458th website http://www.458bg.com/ and really helped jump start my research 2 years ago, when I first began my project. Darin's father, Navigator Samuel Scorza, witnessed the explosion that brought down the Hetzler crew from a nearby bomber. Darin's father was an original member of the 458th, just like Harold, and completed his tour of 30 combat missions in June of 1944. The photo shows the Howard Slaton crew, click the picture for that crew's story.