Collections

Menu, program, and invitation from the Torch Awards

25 for 25 Fundraiser mailer, pamphlet, and flyer

This collection related to the 27th Troop Carrier Squadron includes a manuscript that consists of memoirs entitled "Freedom Rings," which were gathered from members of the Army's 27th Troop Carrier Squadron about their time in the China-Burma-India (CBI) Theater. The squadron was in the CBI Theater from 1942-1945. The squadron was involved in many Office of Strategic Services (OSS) and SACO (Sino-American-Cooperative-Organization) operations, including rescues and liberations of P.O.W.'s. The collection includes their veteran's association magazine/newsletters as well.

This collection relates to the 385th Bombardment Group, Heavy, that was stationed at Station 155, Great Ashfield, Suffolk, England during World War II.  The collection includes a publication which documents the group's history during the war.

This collection includes a manuscript entitled "History of the 38th Air Engineering Squadron" in the Army Air Force in the Pacific. It covers 1940, when training began, to August 1945. The squadron provided 3rd- and 4thechelon aircraft maintenance and other air base services in the Pacific Theater.

The collection of the 460th Heavy Bombardment Group Society contains a unit history of this B-24 U.S. Army Air Corps Group, 55th Wing, 760th, 761st, 762nd, 763rd Squadrons and Group Headquarters, which served in the Italian Campaign. This collection primarily focuses on the memory of the war and those who served in the 460th. Included is a listing of the airmen who were held as prisoners of war, including their squadrons, positions on the plane (e.g. pilot, gunner), the date, mission, and what country or stalag in which they were held. Also included is a booklet, "Remembering the 460th Bomb Group (H)," which contains photographs, personnel lists, and maps, and was prepared as a gift from Duane and Betty Bohnstedt to their members. There are mission lists, target details, flight records, and crew searches. The collection includes issues of the society's veterans' association magazine, "Black Panther" from mid-1990 to their final issue, December 2005.

This collection relates to the 484th Bombardment Group (Heavy) that was assigned to the 15th Air Force and based in Torretta, Italy as a component of the Foggia Airfield Complex during World War II and assigned B-24 Liberator heavy bombers.  The materials contained in this collection were subsequently assembled during the post-war period by the 484th Bombardment Group Association.  The collection contains official reports, data sheets, statistics, newspapers, Missing Air Crew Reports, personal histories, photographs, and unit histories.

The 494th Bomb Group Association compiled these records from their time in service with the 7th Air Force. Included are official records (copies), including flight records, crew rosters, general orders, citations and awards, and other documentation on their flights and service. The collection has documents on the following bombardment squadrons serving within the 494th: 308th, 365th, 373th, 461st, 864th, 865th, 866th, and the 867th. Some information on the 5th Air Force, 13th Air Force, 14th Air Force, and the 11th Bomb Group is included. Personal memoirs written by the following pilots or crew members include (boxes #): Raymond J. Barker (7), T.C. Cartwright (1), Sam Fouts (7), Donald Kyle (7), Rolf Steu (7), Ben M. Snyder (7), and Richard "Dick" Stansfield (10) (Stansfield was the first president of the Association from 1990-1991). There is a list of members by alphabet and by home state. Also, the collection includes extensive correspondence between Association members, especially from Dave Rogers (who was president when the collection was donated), including reunion plans, recollections and memories, and other official business of their association. The collection has news clippings, copies of obituaries, letters of condolence, newsletter submissions, etc. Newsletters include, but are not limited, to the following: "Liberator Briefing: Journal of the International B-24 Liberators Club" (boxes 1, 8) and "Kelly's Kobras" (boxes 6). The collection is extensive at over ten cubic feet of material, plus microfilm from Maxwell Air Force Base and the National Archives. There are 75 books, six audio tapes, and four videos. There are large reconnaissance aerial photos, apparently taken or used by the 494th Bomb Group in October 1944, of locations on the island of Luzon in the Philippines. Included are shots of the areas in and around Manila, some of which show the POW camps of Santa Tomas and Bilibid, Corregidor Island, Clark Air Field, Nichols Air Field, and other points. Also, there are smaller aerial photos of points on Luzon in October 1944 and in early 1945, including photos of Bam Bam Town, Bunawan, Cebu City, Clark Air Field, Diklom Airfield, Mabalacat, Mindanao Island, and Tacolaban on Leyte. There are also photos of points in Japan taken in early 1945, including ones of Miho Air field in Honshu, Miyakonojo Airfield, Tomitaka Airfield, and other sites in Kyushu, including notations of possible munition sites. Cassette tapes: 1) KOFI - talk 08/05/02 - Angel's Weep, 2) Bert Lee Show KTKT 12/01/99, 16 copies, 3) 494th Bomb Group Association Business meeting in 1988, 2 tapes Video tapes: 1) Lonesome Lady Story by NHK Public TV, Hiroshima, Japan, Tom Cartwright, B-24 pilot; 2) 05/03/02: #1 Return to Hiroshima, JMC Tom C., #2 Big John JMC; 3) Return to Japan with Tom Cartwright 10/99, Hiroshima A-Bomb Memorial; 4) Hell in the Pacific -- Palau Island UPDATED: The collection also contains a manuscript entitled "494th Bombardment Group (H) History WWII". This manuscript is a compilation of information and quotes from archival records, a unit history, letters, diaries, Monday, January 08, 2018 Page 1058 of 1151 and personal stories from airmen. The manuscript includes photographs from and about the 494th Bomb Group and the missions they completed, as well as stories on particular individuals from the group. The 494th Bomb Group completed missions in the Pacific Theater. Locations mentioned include Orlando, Wendover?, Mountain Home, Kauai, Corredgidor, Zamboanga, Koror, Shanghai, and Hiroshima. It includes information about the five squadrons within the 494th: 864th, 865th, 866th, 867th, and the 494th HQ Squadron. Retired Colonel Samuel D. Maloney was a B-24 pilot and airplane commander in the 866th Bomb Squadron of the 494th Bomb Group in the 7th Bomber Command, 7th Air Force. This collection consists of several articles he wrote for the "Pinepost", a publication in Davidson, North Carolina. The first covers his experience of Christmas 1944 while training at Muroc Air Field in California's Mojave Desert: four of them traveled to Los Angeles and had dinner paid for by Joe Yule (Mickey Rooney's father) and comedian Billy Reid. They then traveled to a show and Chinatown. The second article is a remembrance of Chaplain (Capt.) Milton Dowden who served in the 494th in the Pacific Theater. The chaplain would be at every plane departure and return, once receiving permission to fly as an additional crew member over Shanghai, though the flight was cancelled. He also led a somber prayer service after the bombing of Hiroshima. The third article is about Maloney aboard the USS Alkaid heading from Palau to Okinawa in June 1945. Having had ministry interest prior to service, he led a 600-strong Sunday service and a Bible study of over 100 people for all religions. He remarks how glad he was that it was interracial, as members of an African American Army unit attended. The fourth article covers WWII experiences, both on the Home Front and of servicemen in the foreign theater. The last article details the "Lonesome Lady," a B-24 that left Okinawa with nine servicemen to attack Honshu Island. The plane was shot down with the pilot and the copilot being captured and taken to Hiroshima. The pilot was taken to Tokyo, and four days later Hiroshima was bombed. The article details what happened to the rest of the flight crew and the erection of a memorial at Hiroshima to the Americans who died there.

Photos (some photos mounted on foam core some on non photo paper)

Program for the "75th Anniversary Celebration Rotary Club of Fort Lauderdale, Florida." Saturday, April 26, 1997. 1 spiral-bound booklet (8.5 x 11 inches) 42 pages.