Horace Lanford served in the Army Air Force in the 741st Bombardment Squadron of the 455th Bombardment Group in the European Theater (ETO). The collection contains a thoroughly depicted history of the 741st Bombardment Squadron of the 455th Bombardment Group by Lanford, who was the squadron commander. The manuscript contains memorandums constituting and activating the squadron in May 1943 and the training bases to where the squadron were sent, including McCoy Air Force Base in Orlando, Florida. The manuscript includes rosters of the 741st and 455th, including former Senator George McGovern when he was a pilot in the squadron. There are detailed award lists; letters of commendation; and personal, unit, and reunion photos. The most useful tool for the manuscript is the formerly classified war diaries of the squadron, including mission reports, after action reports, MIA/KIA/POW lists, and medical records from the squadron's flight surgeon. The most exciting portions would have to be the detailed MA adventure letters, aerial photographs of bomb sites, and the handwritten mission logs.