======================================================================== ======================================================================== ======================================================================== 20150802: Check back every day or so for more additions to follow: http://www.dansher.com/wwar2/BnB.html ======================================================================== Sat, 13 Jul 2013 16:32:52 -0600 To: Robert Hutchings From: Dan Martin Re: 1st Lt Robert J. Crutcher. 92nd BG / 327th BS. Hello Robert [Hutchings] and thank you for contacting me. I do not use Facebook any longer and am sorry to miss what your Fame's Favored Few facebook group is doing. I hope its work is mostly mirrored somewhere here: http://www.92ndma.org/ Thank you for posting links to my WWII "Smilin' Thru" website. You are welcome to use whatever information, including photos, you find there. I am sure that would honor my Uncle Bob and all those with whom he served. I have much more info on Bob that I recovered from Mom's things (she passed away several months ago) that remains unposted. There is no way to tell which information would be useful to others. Hopefully a cold week this winter will let me post more of what I think may be of interest. I am getting on myself (73 next week), and I wonder if your org has facilities to accept and process historical WWII info (such as mine) that may later be bequeathed. Write or call anytime. Dan Martin Longmont, CO 303-776-0082 home ======================================================================== Sat, 13 Jul 2013 21:08:56 +0100 From: Robert Hutchings podington.pals@gmail.com Re: 1st Lt Robert J. Crutcher. 92nd BG / 327th BS. Dear Mr Dan Martin, I am currently researching 1st Lt Robert J. Crutcher on our 92nd Bomb Group - Fame's Favored Few - facebook group. We have a link to your research and photographs and we wanted to put a Memorial photograph album on our official 92nd Bomb Group page in Bob's memory. Please contact me via email or feel free to join our friendly facebook group of researchers and amateur historians. https://www.facebook.com/groups/290301027652024/ I look forward to hearing from you soon and hopefully, welcoming you onboard!. Kindest regards, -- Robert Hutchings 92nd BGMA Historian (UK) ======================================================================== Sat, 13 Jul 2013 16:17:54 -0600 From Dan Martin (me) To: Lester Applegate Hello, Lester. First my sincere apology for taking well over a month to reply. You deserve far better than that. I am sorry and my rudeness will not happen again. Your information is very good and much appreciated. May I have your permission to post the contents of your email below verbatim on the Smilin' Thru website? Many others will find it informative I'm sure. I have no evidential information on how my Uncle Bob's B-17 came to be named Smilin' Thru. My GrandMa (Ruby Crutcher) and my Mom (Dorothy Crutcher-Martin) just always said that's the name Bob gave it. Since Bob, Grandma, and Mom have all been long passed away there is no way to know for sure (or even if). My own shallow web searches on Smilin Thru seem to imply that there may have been an other B-17(s) so named. A report of one Smilin Thru said she crashed before returning to base in England. Mom's comments on the back of his crew photo says Bob lost Smilin Thru and commanded several subsequent ships before losing his life in his command B-17 on June 6th 1944. I always thought he was killed in Smilin Thru but now I think not. The name of the ship that he flew on his final mission is unknown. I have much more info on Bob that came from Mom that remains unposted. There is no way to tell which information would be useful to others. Hopefully a cold week this winter will let me post more of what I think may be of interest. Write or call anytime. Dan Martin Longmont, CO dan@dansher.com 303-776-0082 home 393-709-6488 cell ======================================================================== Mon, 3 Jun 2013 14:08:59 -0400 From: lestar@live.com Hello Dan, My name is Lester Applegate. I am an associate member of the 8th Air Force Historical Society, Roanoke Virginia Chapter. I came to be involved with this group after becoming acquainted with Earl "Jeff" Baker. He was the left waist gunner on "Smilin-Thru" on her final mission, which was the second raid on the ball-bearing factories in Schweinfurt on 14 October, 1943, which became known as "Black Thursday". That was Jeff's fourth of 28 missions. 2nd Lt. Erwin Johnson was the pilot on that mission. From what Jeff has told me that crew was to take subsequent command of this ship, which this was their first mission on it. He said Lt. Johnson intended to change the name of the ship to "Little General" in honor of the historic train from his hometown of Chattanooga, Ten. In fact, they already had "Little General" painted on their A-2 flight jackets (Jeff still has his). Unfortunately, not only was this the ship's last mission, but Lt. Johnson suffered a broken ankle during the "bail-out", the only casualty, and was given a medical discharge. As in the first attempted raid to Schweinfurt, the Germans were ready and waiting for the bombers when they crossed the channel. The bombers still managed to fight their way to the target, drop their bombs and head for home. Over 60 bombers were lost, and some 600 crewmen. "Smilin-Thru" was shot up pretty bad, and some of the control cables were severed. German fighters continued to harass the damaged B-17 across the channel. As Jeff tells it, the best chance they had was to fly "on the deck". That way if the Germans tried to dive down on them the fighters couldn't pull up in time, and there wasn't enough room for the Germans to come up underneath them either. If the Germans had to attack them on the same level then the B-17 crewmen at least had a chance to fight them off with their guns. Once clear of the fighters, Lt. Johnson told the crew that with the controls shot up he would not be able to take the ship down for a landing. However, he could take the plane up. So once they cleared the coast, he took the plane up to 5000 feet and gave the bail-out command. He checked each station to make sure all crewmen were out, then bailed out himself. By that time his parachute opened just before he hit the ground, hence his broken ankle. I am curious, and I'm sure Jeff would like to know if you know anything more about when your "Uncle Bob" may have named the ship "Smilin-Thru". As best as I can tell, Bob was in the 327th Squadron of the 92nd Bomb Group, the ship had just been transferred to the 545th Squadron of the 384th Bomb Group, and this was its first mission with that group. I assume that is why this crew was to take subsequent command of the ship, and the pending re-naming. I don't know if you know anymore than that, or if any of this information will help you, but please feel free to contact me. Lester Applegate lestar@live.com http://8thafhs.org/index.php http://mightyeighth.org/ ======================================================================== Thu, 20 Dec 2012 19:15:15 -0500 From: Luke St.Blanc Dan, Thank you so much, you have no idea how much this means to me. I would sit for hours talking to my grandfather about aircraft, and would always go with him to air shows in the area. During numerous discussions with him about books written about the air war we came across a book and on the back cover was a picture of a ground crew in the south pacific. He looked at the picture and realized that he brother was in it, Hamilton Hebert(USMC) it was VMF-214 the Black Sheep he called Uncle Hammie who confirmed that he was with 214, my grandfather kept in touch with Hamilton throughout the war via telegram but never knew where each other was stationed. My grandfather was a pilot before the war, after the attack on Pearl Harbor he enlisted with the hopes of flying; however he was 27 at the time and was not accepted. So he did the next best thing, worked on the machines he so loved to fly. After his service he was employed by Shell Oil as a mechanic working 7 and 7. After retirement he built a single seat experimental aircraft in his garage out of wood, aluminum, and cloth which he flew hundreds of hours around the Acadiana area. He flew so much that my father constructed an airstrip on our property so that he could fly in to have lunch with us on Sundays. I really miss my "paw- paw" Willie and I am so grateful to you for honoring him and all others that have served our country. Regards, Luke St.Blanc, TFO United States Marshal's Service Violent Offenders Task Force Lafayette, Louisiana ======================================================================== Wed, 19 Dec 2012 21:44:33 -0500 lukestblanc@cox.net (See: WWII folder) Dan, My name is Luke St.Blanc from Charenton, Louisiana. My grandfather is William H. Hebert from Franklin, Louisiana who served in the USAAF during WWII. Attached is a Picture of one of the B-17s that he maintained I hope you can use this for your website. My grandfather is the Sgt. on the far left of this picture, it is great considering how old it is. Please stay in touch. Regards, Luke (337) 578-9889 Attachment: IMG.jpg Renamed to: B17_William_H_Hebert_left_h.jpg See: .\B17_William_H_Hebert_left_*.jpg .\B17_229784_Smilin_Thru_*.jpg having same tail number as below: http://www.markstyling.com/1ad_b17s2.htm October 1943 545th BS 384th BG Boeing B-17F Flying Fortress 42-29784 JD*V ‘Smilin-Thru’ 14-10-43 http://airfixtributeforum.myfastforum.org/archive/decals-your-requests-please__o_t__t_13960.html "Serial" "T" "Cd" "Ltr" "Nickname" "Sqd" "Gained" "Fate" "Date" "Factory" 42-29784 F GD E/F Smilin-Thru 534 9/11/43 Transfrd 10/4/43 Boeing http://www.381st.org/UnitHistory/Data/AircraftInventory.aspx See Also: http://384thbombgroup.com/_content/_pages/aircraft.php http://384thbombgroup.com/_content/_pages/One384thAircraft.php?AircraftKey=42-29784 http://gallery2.384thbombgroup.com/v/384thWWII/Aircraft/B-17F-Aircraft/42-29784 http://384thbombgroup.com/_content/_pages/OneCrew.php?SortieKey=823 http://384thbombgroup.com/_content/_pages/SortieReport.php?SortieKey=823 http://www.dansher.com/wwar2/rc11B17ST43.jpg http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1942_1.html http://www.richardfonk.nl/Boeing%20B-17%20data(1)%20(version%201).htm http://forums.ubi.com/showthread.php/472033-The-complete-B17-F-skinpack-of-the-384thBG-544-545-546-547BS-d-l-here-Forums http://www.mission4today.com/index.php?name=Downloads2&file=details&id=1221 http://305thbombgroup.com/305th%20Aircraft%202.html http://forum.armyairforces.com/Psychiatrist-on-missions-with-the-305th-m150663.aspx End of Text