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597th BS, 397th BG Pilot Uniform Group


ssggates
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I was very pleased to get this one, it turned out to be a very nice and complete group. It originated at an estate sale just a few miles down the road from where I live.

William enlisted in January, 1942 and received his commission as a pilot on June 26th, 1943. He was assigned to the 597th Bomb Squadron of the 397th Bomb Group. The B26 pilots were repeatedly assigned the task of bombing bridges and attained such good results with these difficult targets that they began to be referred to as the “Bridge Busters”.

William arrived with the squadron in England and after a short period of training, he flew his first mission (#2 for the squadron) on April 21st, 1944. William would fly a total of 58 missions, his final one coming on November 5th, 1944 against an ordnance depot in Homburg. He earned a total of 13 Air Medals.

On June 6th 1944, William flew two missions in direct support of the DDay invasion. The first in the morning targeted German batteries in Les Dunes De Varreville. The second in the afternoon targeted German batteries in Trouville.

After completing 58 missions, William left combat duty. He was assigned to 2117th AAF Base Unit at Buckingham Army Air Field, Fort Myers, Florida, for a period, and in May 1945 was placed on terminal leave and sent home.

After the war William enjoyed a long career as an airline pilot with United Airlines, and upon retirement moved to Siloam Springs, Arkansas, where he lived until he passed away in 1997.

 

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I really love the small items. ID bracelets and dog tags, also his personal stamp and key with his monogram on it. I could not resist putting on the aviators and imagining what was seen through those lenses. It is very possible they witnessed first-hand the invasion fleet off coast and even the beaches of Normandy as fighting raged on June 6th.

 

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Great group to a B-26 pilot, were you able to get any photos or paperwork? The 9th AF guys get overlooked but did tons of tactical bombing before and after D-day. I really like it since he is from my hometown.

Thanks for posting this.

Mark

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carbinephalen

I'm not sure how I originally missed this one! One of my favorites I've ever held. You couldn't ask for a better group. Thanks for sharing this gem!

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