Three Newspaper Articles Found

I found these in my collection today and thought they would be of interest to the readers of this blog. They were kept by the brother of William R. Perkins who flew with the 354th Fighter Group.


1) Clayton K. Gross (whom we have met and interviewed over the last few years) is mentioned in this article!:



2) Charles W. Lasko is mentioned in this article:



3) Charles F. Gumm is mentioned in this article:

The 355th FS pilots ready for mission on April 17, 1945

I found this in my collection. This is a PR photo of pilots of the 355th Fighter Squad of the 354th Fighter Group taken on April 15, 1945.

Do you recognize any of the pilots?







Our friend, Chuck Tighe (of the 355th FS) just sent me an email letting me know that this same photo is included (in color) in Steve Blake's book "The Pioneer Mustangs Group - The 354th Fighter Group in World War II."

In the book the caption lists the men as:

Capt. Gus Allen(far left) leading the "briefing".

L to R - Lt Bob Roberson, Unknown (1) , Unknown (2) , Lt. John Hayes, Unknown (3) , Lt Angelo Carnivale.

Kneeling are Lt. Russell Kline and Lt. Girard Kress.

Chuck also believes the men not identified in the book are:

Unknown (1) - Dick Lill
Unknown (2) - Ralph Van Cleave
Unknown (3) - Harold Philpott


Thanks, Chuck!

I am going to forward this photo to Ralph Van Cleave's widow. She will be happy to see it!

A page from Chuck Tighe's WWII Collection ( May 1945's "Awards and Decorations" )

I just found this page from one of the 354th Fighter Group's files given to me by Chuck Tighe.

The page is dated June 7, 1945 . It lists the "Awards and Decorations" given to the members of the 355th Fighter Squadron of the 354th Fighter Group during May of 1945.

I have highlighted (in yellow) then men whom we've interviewed. (Ralph Delgado, Linwood Genung, Robert Ramer, Ted Skoronek, Chuck Tighe and Bruno Peters) It was an honor meeting all of them!

I highlighted (in red) a pilot named Ralph Van Cleave. Ralph passed away in 2006. His widow (Virginia) discovered some 16mm film he shot during the war. I am in the process of finding a place to transfer it.

A special thanks to Virginia (for letting me borrow the priceless film) and her friend Peter Iversen who put this all in motion!

MACR: 1st LT. FRED G. BUCKNER

One of the pilots of the 354th Fighter Group named Fred G. Buckner was lost over the English Channel. It is believed that while he was flying in formation through the clouds he developed vertigo and flew into the water.

Here is his MACR report.

AIR & SPACE MAGAZINE - VERTIGO ARTICLE

Our friend Chuck Tighe (who served in the 354th Fighter Group ) sent me a copy of this article from a 2008 issue of "AIR & SPACE" magazine for my research.

An online version of this article can be found on this link : http://www.airspacemag.com/military-aviation/The_Disorient_Express.html .