Holiday Greetings from the past.

[pletheron]

This is my favorite historical photograph from my Father. These men weren’t home for Christmas in 1944. However it doesn't seemed to have dampened there spirits too much.


My Dad and his friends went for a stroll at Bassingbourn after a fresh snowfall on or about Christmas 1944. Dad snapped the picture. They are standing in front of the 91st BG, 323rd BS Operations Office in hanger #3.


Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Holidays and a safe and prosperous New Year!


Cheers,
Terry

 

[Moses03]

Great photo! Thanks for sharing.

 

[oldmsgt]

Nice vintage pic! Gotta love that "Keep Off The Grass" sign. Reminds me of one I saw outside Keesler AFB in Biloxi, MS in the early 70's, it said "Dogs and Airmen Keep Off The Grass"!

The Old Master Sergeant

 

[SSI01]

Nice photo.

Dad spent one Christmas in the Aleutians after fighting on Attu and then invading Kiska to find the late tenants gone in the fog. No photos. Nothing to really take photos of.

He spent another Christmas in the cold, snow and ice moving north into the southern flank of the German pincer surrounding Bastogne. Patton didn't give his folks a moment's letup in the fighting - the enemy either. The general was down on cameras and no one wanted to incur his famous wrath. Nonetheless a photo or two taken in the field would have been priceless.

I never asked him because he was reticent to speak very much about his combat experiences, but I would have liked to know if he had ever experienced a Christmas from 1945 on without thinking of those two very difficult and dangerous holidays in the Army.

 

[pletheron]

Nice photo.

Dad spent one Christmas in the Aleutians after fighting on Attu and then invading Kiska to find the late tenants gone in the fog. No photos. Nothing to really take photos of.

He spent another Christmas in the cold, snow and ice moving north into the southern flank of the German pincer surrounding Bastogne. Patton didn't give his folks a moment's letup in the fighting - the enemy either. The general was down on cameras and no one wanted to incur his famous wrath. Nonetheless a photo or two taken in the field would have been priceless.

I never asked him because he was reticent to speak very much about his combat experiences, but I would have liked to know if he had ever experienced a Christmas from 1945 on without thinking of those two very difficult and dangerous holidays in the Army.

Dad flew a number of missions in support of the troops fighting in the Bulge. Who knows, your father may have looked up on the 24th of December to see those bomber formations on there way to give the enemy a thrashing. Dads formation hit the German airfield at Merzhausen. The weather over UK was bad that day. The 91st BG and many others climbed out in the fog, breaking through above 500 feet. On return from the mission Bassingbourn was still fogged in, so the 91st and other groups diverted to Bury St. Edmunds and other bases with suitable weather. Here is a very good web site from a fellow in Holland that researched this mission. http://24december1944.com/
Cheers,
Terry

 

[SSI01]

There are some parts of "Fury" that bring back a few things he let slip. Watching the bomber contrails crawl overhead in the winter sky was one of them. He saw his share of TacAir, probably P-47s and P-38s, working ahead of him. The beginning of "The Blue Max" comes to mind here, because I remember him telling me once or twice about dogfights he witnessed above or near his battery.