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Category Archives: Davis, James B

Orchestration of a Bomb Run

April 5, 2023 7:00 AM / 4 Comments on Orchestration of a Bomb Run

384th Bomb Group dropping bombs
Photo from the Ken Decker collection, November 2019
Courtesy of the 384th Bomb Group photo gallery

The bombardment missions of the 8th Army Air Forces in World War II were well planned with targets selected and the route determined in advance, and weather conditions checked at the air bases in England, along the route, and the area of the target. Probable flak zones were identified, too.

The bombs were loaded, the planes were readied – repaired and fueled – by the ground crews. The air crews were awakened, fed, briefed, and dressed in flight gear, armed with maps, ammunition, oxygen, and a prayer from the Group’s clergymen.

Pilots, navigators, bombardiers, and gunners manned their positions and prepared for their day’s work. Regardless of their position or job on the crew, the goal of each man was the same, to drop their B-17’s bombs on the day’s chosen target.

The navigator’s job was to plot the course both to the target and back to base. The gunners’ jobs were to protect the plane from enemy aircraft so that it would make it to the target. The bombardier’s job was to release the bombs at exactly the right moment for them to strike the target as accurately as possible.

The bombardier worked closely with the pilot to insure an accurate bomb drop, making their positions much more involved in the accuracy of the bomb release than the remainder of the crew, but all of the crew members had roles to play in getting those bombs to their destination.

The bombing mission could take many hours, depending how deep into Germany the formation would travel to arrive at the target, and as many hours for the return trip home. But the most critical period of the mission was that of the bomb run, which began at the Initial Point and concluded with Bombs Away, and was generally measured in minutes, a fraction of the length of the mission.

The steps taken between the B-17 pilot and bombardier depended upon several factors, including whether they were manning a lead aircraft. The lead aircraft carried the lead bombardiers and these officers determined the exact time and location of the bomb release. Other bombardiers of the formation who were following the lead dropped their bombs with the lead rather than calculating their own time and place to drop their bombs.

The 303rd Bomb Group’s website explains in great detail the factors that had to be controlled for the bomb run to be successful and the bomb release to be accurate. I will only summarize here and the 303rd’s information can be reviewed for the detail.

To assist the Bombardier in doing his job successfully, the Pilot had to,

  • Place the aircraft in the proper position to arrive at a point on a circle about the target from which the bombs could be released to hit the target.
  • Control the altitude of the aircraft, which partially determined the time of the bomb fall from time of release to the moment of impact.
  • Control the true airspeed, the measure of the speed of the aircraft through the air.
  • Control the groundspeed, the speed of the airplane in relation to the earth’s surface, while maintaining the correct altitude and constant airspeed.

The Bombardier, in determining the time and place of the bomb drop, controlled,

  • Bomb ballistics, by consulting bomb ballistics tables to account for type of bomb.
  • Trail, the horizontal distance the bomb was behind the airplane at the instant of impact, obtained from bombing tables and set in the bomb sight. However, trail was affected by the altitude and airspeed, which were controlled by the pilot, and by bomb ballistics and air density.
  • Drift, which was determined by the direction and velocity of the wind, and was set on the bombsight by the bombardier.

Prior to the bomb run, and even before takeoff, the pilot worked to set up the correct conditions to determine the proper point of bomb release.

  • Prior to takeoff, the pilot checked the aircraft’s flight instruments – the altimeter, airspeed indicator, free air temperature gauge, and all gyro instruments – for accuracy.
  • The pilot checked the C-1 automatic pilot for proper function.
  • The pilot checked the PDI (Pilot Direction or Directional Indicator), which was an instrument the bombardier used to indicate heading changes to the pilot in order to direct him to the proper location for the bomb drop.
  • If the bomb run was to be made on auto pilot, the pilot adjusted the auto pilot before reaching the target area under the same conditions that would exist over the target, and would continue to adjust due to changes in load due to gas consumption, before reaching the target.
  • The pilot adjusted the turn compensation knobs of the auto pilot to coordinate with the bombardier making turns to it.
  • The pilot adjusted the PDI using coordinated smooth turns and trimmed the aircraft so that the aircraft flew practically hands off with the bomb bay doors open.
  • The pilot and bombardier considered the effect of evasive action before reaching the initial point of the bomb run.
  • The (lead) bombardier selected the initial point onto the as-briefed heading for the beginning point of the bomb run.
  • Depending on whether the bombardier is the lead bombardier, either he or the pilot directed the aircraft to the exact position of the initial point and was on the as-briefed heading.

Even though the longest possible bomb run seldom exceeded three minutes, during the crucial portion of the bomb run, from initial point until bombs away, evasive action was discontinued, and flak and fighter opposition were ignored if bombs were to hit the target.

Either before or during the bomb run,

  • At the initial point of the bomb run, the (lead) bombardier took over the direction of flight by engaging a clutch on his bomb sight. He made adjustments on the sight to hold the sight’s hairline on target, automatically guiding the aircraft to the required course and target. He gave directions to the pilot for the operation of the bomb run.
  • The bombardier asked the pilot for a level, which means the pilot accurately leveled the aircraft using his instruments, and held that level until the bombs were dropped. Just one degree of tilt before or at the time of the bomb drop could cause an error of around 440 feet at an altitude of 20,000 feet.
  • In the case of a manually flown mission using the PDI (rather than using the auto pilot), the bombardier zeroed the PDI while the aircraft was lined up on a direct course with the target. The pilot then adjusted the stick and rudder to hold the PDI on zero.
  • The pilot maintained the selected altitude and airspeed as closely as possible while the bombardier set his course. Again, minor changes could greatly increase the error in the bombs reaching their target.

At the carefully calculated moment, the bombardier released the bombs on the target – Bombs Away!

After bomb release,

  • Evasive action could be continued if it had to be discontinued during the bomb run.
  • The pilot could continue to fly the aircraft on auto pilot or choose to fly manually.
  • The aircraft and the formation headed for home.

Sources and Further Reading

Carlsbad Army Airfield public Facebook page

Facebook post from Carlsbad Army Airfield, Bombardier Training

303rd Bomb Group:  Duties and Responsibilities of the Bombardier

B-17 Flying Fortress Queen of the Skies, Crew Positions, Bombardier

© Cindy Farrar Bryan and The Arrowhead Club, 2023

The B-17 Bombardier

March 29, 2023 7:00 AM / 3 Comments on The B-17 Bombardier

My dad, George Edwin Farrar, was a waist/flexible gunner with the John Oliver Buslee crew of the 384th Bomb Group of the 8th Army Air Forces in World War II. On 28 September 1944, the Buslee crew and the James Joseph Brodie crew of the same group became forever connected when the B-17’s they were aboard on a combat mission over Germany suffered a mid-air collision.

I am currently updating the biographical information of the men of these two crews, and I thought it would be a good time to explain the duties involved in each position of the airmen aboard the aircraft, the B-17. I have recently updated the information of the four 384th Bomb Group Bombardiers and one Togglier who flew with the John Oliver Buslee crew of the 544th Bomb Squadron and the James Joseph Brodie crew of the 545th Bomb Squadron.

Marvin Fryden, assigned Buslee crew bombardier

James Buford Davis, Jung crew bombardier & Buslee crew replacement bombardier after Fryden’s death

Robert Sumner Stearns, Durdin crew bombardier, but bombardier of the Buslee crew on 28 September 1944

William Douglas Barnes, Jr., assigned Brodie crew bombardier

Byron Leverne Atkins, Chadwick crew flexible (waist) gunner, but togglier of the Brodie crew on 28 September 1944

For a list of all of the airmen of the Buslee and Brodie crews, see permanent page The Buslee and Brodie Crews, which is maintained with new information/posts.

Duties and Responsibilities of the B-17 Bombardier

According to the 303rd Bomb Group’s website, the bombardier’s job was the most important of the entire B-17 crew as “accurate and effective bombing is the ultimate purpose of your entire airplane and crew.” This makes “every other function … preparatory to hitting and destroying the target.”

But the bombardier could not act alone. The B-17’s pilot and bombardier worked together to set up the conditions for the bomb run. Many factors were involved in positioning the aircraft and setting the course from the initial point of the run to the target.

The success of the mission rested on the accomplishment of the bombardier during the bomb run, which made up just a matter of minutes, between the initial point of the run and the target, of the multi-hours long mission to the target.

Some of the many things a bombardier must understand were his aircraft’s,

  • Bombsight
  • Bombing instruments and equipment
  • Racks, switches, controls, releases, doors, linkage, etc.
  • Automatic pilot as it pertains to bombing and how to set it up and make any adjustments and minor repairs while in flight
  • Bombs and how to load and fuse them

The bombardier must be an expert in target identification and in aircraft identification and he should be able to assist the navigator in case the navigator becomes incapacitated.

Please refer to the 303rd Bomb Group’s website for the full list of bombardier responsibilities and much more detailed information.

My next post will cover the process and actions necessary for a successful bomb run.

The B-17 Togglier

According to an article posted on the Carlsbad Army Airfield’s public Facebook page,

When there was a shortage of bombardier graduates coming into the operational units, the continental air forces completed their crews with enlisted men who had received individual bombardier training in their own units.

While a good portion of the aircraft in the formation, especially the lead aircraft, carried bombardier school graduates as their bombardiers, many carried toggliers.

Bombardiers were commissioned officers who graduated from bombardier school as part of their stateside training. Toggliers were enlisted men who did not did not attend bombardier school in the States before going overseas into combat.

The togglier was usually a gunner who was retrained and reassigned to sit in the bombardier’s seat in the nose of the aircraft. The togglier was trained to “toggle” a switch to release his aircraft’s bomb load as soon as the lead bombardier released his bombs.

When the standard bombing procedure changed for the non-lead crew/aircraft bombardiers and toggliers to drop their bombs with the lead bombardier, many bombardier graduates pursued lead bombardier training or navigator training within their combat groups.

Location of the Bombardier in a B-17

The bombardier of a B-17 sits over the bombsight in the Plexiglas nose of the aircraft. Should the bombardier have to bail out of the aircraft, he would likely bail out through the door below the nose.

In the following diagram, Robert Stearns is noted in the bombardier position in the nose of the aircraft along with the other Buslee crew members in their positions on September 28, 1944.

Buslee Crew in Position on September 28, 1944
Diagram courtesy of 91st Bomb Group and modified by Cindy Farrar Bryan in 2014

B-17 Bombardier Position Photos

I took the following photo of the Collings Foundation’s B-17 Nine-O-Nine a few years before its tragic crash. It shows the nose of the B-17 with the navigator’s table in the left foreground and the bombardier’s seat in the front of the nose in the middle.

Nose position of the navigator and bombardier of the Collings Foundation’s B-17G Nine-o-Nine In Leesburg, Florida, November 4, 2017

This photo, shared by photographer John Slemp, shows a much better view of the bombardier’s position.

© (2009) John Slemp

To see more of John Slemp’s photographs, or to purchase his book of photos of WWII Bomber Boys’ flight jacket art, please visit his website.

Stories of 384th Bomb Group Bombardiers and Toggliers

I thought it might also be interesting to read stories, diaries, and journals written by or view video interviews of some of the 384th’s own bombardiers. You’ll find a chart of several bombardiers of the 384th Bomb Group below with links to their personnel records and their written and oral histories as are provided on the Stories page of 384thBombGroup.com.

Airman Personnel Record Stories, Diaries, Journals, and Interviews
Ackerson, Donald Richard⇗ Résumé of Tour of Bombing Action in Europe⇓ (0.084 MB)
Fleenor, Charles Thurman, “Chuck”⇗ B-17 Bombardier, Speaking at 2011 Reunion⇗
Deignan, Charles Joseph⇗ 2005 Veteran’s History Project Oral History Interview⇗
Furiga, Frank Dominic⇗ 2004 Veteran’s History Project Oral History Interview⇗
Richard, Oscar Gabriel, III⇗ Oral History Interview⇗
Walton, Daniel Alton⇗ Oral History Interview⇗
Burns, Robert (NMI)⇗ My Bit For Victory⇓ (2.721 MB)

Sources and Further Reading

303rd Bomb Group:  Duties and Responsibilities of the Bombardier

303rd Bomb Group:  Military Occupational Specialty

B-17 Flying Fortress Queen of the Skies, Crew Positions, Bombardier

TM 12-427 Military Occupational Classification of Enlisted Personnel

The Military Yearbook Project – Army Air Force WWII Codes

The Army Air Forces in World War II: VI, Men and Planes, Edited by W.F. Craven and J.L. Cate, Chapter 19: Training of Ground Technicians and Service Personnel

Training to Fly:  Military Flight Training 1907 – 1945 by Rebecca Hancock Cameron

Facebook post from Carlsbad Army Airfield, Bombardier Training

Carlsbad Army Airfield public Facebook page

Thank you to the 91st Bomb Group for granting me permission in 2014 to use and modify their B-17 diagram for use on The Arrowhead Club.

© Cindy Farrar Bryan and The Arrowhead Club, 2023

James Buford Davis, Update – Part 2

March 15, 2023 7:00 AM / Leave a comment

James Buford Davis

New information from a new search on Ancestry.com, and new information from military records have provided me with some new and updated information regarding James Buford Davis, the second bombardier of the John Oliver Buslee crew of the 544th Bomb Squadron of the 384th Bomb Group of the 8th Army Air Forces in WWII. Davis was the crew’s replacement bombardier following the death of original crew bombardier Marvin Fryden.

To view my original post and other information about James Buford Davis, please see the links at the end of this post.

Continued from James Buford Davis, Update – Part 1

Return to the States

James Buford Davis arrived back in the States on 4 January 1945 from overseas combat duty as a bombardier, 6 months, 35 missions, B-17 combat experience in the ETO.

From 7 December 1944 to 15 May 1945, James Davis was assigned to AAFRS#4, 1040 AAFBU, SAAAB, Santa Ana, California, Return to US, leave and processing.

From February 1945 to May 1945, James Davis was hospitalized in Santa Ana due to combat fatigue. He was admitted on 21 February 1945.

In the doctor’s initial summary, he described James as,

Twenty-three year old bombardier on a B-17, 6 months overseas with the 8th Air Force, 35 missions completed. No wounds, injuries or serious illnesses while overseas. At present, feels nervous, tense, sweaty palms, loss of 15 pounds in weight, feels insecure.

James’ general appearance and condition on admission was,

Well developed, well nourished young adult male in no physical distress at the present time.

The doctor’s final diagnosis was,

Operational fatigue, mild, manifested by nervousness, restlessness, tension, sweaty palms, and loss of weight, 35 combat missions.

On 27 February 1945, James was transferred to the Convalescent Hospital Facility, Convalescent Hospital Division, AAF Regional Hospital, AAF Redistribution Station No. 4, at Santa Ana Army Air Base. The Transfer Diagnosis was “Suspected operational fatigue” with a Working Diagnosis or Impression of “Mild operational fatigue.” No “Contemplated laboratory tests or special examinations” were performed “at this station.”

Even though symptoms, including nervousness, tensions, and mild startle reactions, persisted, notes indicated “no major problem,” and “program satisfactory,” resulting in an eventual disposition on 7 or 9 May 1945 for a return to line of duty. Summary of Progress was “Uncomplicated.” Condition on completion of case: was “Recovered.” No details of what the “program” entailed were included.

Throughout the entire process, doctors noted James’ “tenseness and restlessness” was “more pronounced when in crowds.”

He slept fairly well, but “Occasional difficulty in sleeping persists with rare dreams. Program satisfactory, attendance good.”

Only one comment in the doctor’s notes indicated what was likely causing James’ “mild operational fatigue.”

Two of his crews were lost while Pt. [patient] was not flying with them. There is apparently some guilt reaction associated with the fact that the Pt. was not with his crew.

On 19 April 1945, James was described as, “Feels fairly well. Occasional lapses in feeling of security. CAA course completed.” Other comments were illegible.

By 27 April 1945, notes read, “Feels well – is ready for discharge as soon as restriction is lifted.” And by 4 May 1945, “Generally improving. To start illegible Monday.”

In the Request for Discharge, the Ward Officer noted that Davis’ condition was “Recovered” for Discharge to General Military Duty.

Today we refer to James’ “operational fatigue” as “Post Traumatic Stress Disorder” and we know recovery can take years, not weeks, if ever.

On 7 May 1945, Germany surrendered to the western Allies at General Dwight D. Eisenhower’s Headquarters in Reims, France. German Chief-of-Staff, General Alfred Jodl, signed the unconditional surrender, to take effect the following day.

On 8 May 1945, V-E (Victory in Europe) Day was declared as German troops continued to surrender to the Allies throughout Europe. However, World War II was still raging in the Pacific theater, and James was still an active duty airman who might be called upon in some capacity to help defeat the Japanese.

From 16 May 1945 to 14 July 1945, James Davis was assigned to MAAF, Midland, Texas, Student Officer, Bmbdr Refresher Course, AT-11, Norden.

On 23 May 1945, James was assigned to 2528 AAFBU, AAFld, Midland, Texas (CFTC).

On 4 June 1945, James Davis was assigned to Army Air Forces Instructors School (Bombardier). He attended from 4 June 1945 to 14 July 1945 and successfully completed the course of instruction with Class 615 Graduate. His overall academic rating as an instructor was Excellent and he ranked 35 in a class of 223.

From 15 July 1945 to 20 July 1945, James was assigned to MAAF, Midland, Texas, awaiting orders.

From 21 July 1945 to 17 October 1945, James was assigned to CAAF, Childress, Texas, Continuation Trainee.

In early August 1945, the United States Army Air Forces dropped atomic bombs on Japan, on Hiroshima on 6 August and on Nagasaki on 9 August. On 14 August, Japan agreed to an unconditional surrender. Surrender documents would not be signed until 2 September. Some consider the 14 August 1945 date to be V-J (Victory in Japan) Day, but others consider 2 September 1945, when the surrender document was signed, to be V-J Day.

During his time in Childress, on 26 August 1945, James B. Davis was suspended from all flying duties, grounded because about a week before, on 21 August, he fell while playing basketball at the Gym at the 2512th AAF BU (BS), CAAF, Childress, Texas, and injured his right knee. He received treatment in the hospital for sixteen days before his release on 11 September 1945 and return to flying duties.

On 22 October 1945, James Davis received his dated orders of separation, and relieved from Active Duty on 11 November 1945 at Amarillo AAF Texas.

On 23 October 1945, James Davis completed an “Application for Appointment and Statement of Preferences for Reserve Officers.” His application was for the Grade of 1st Lt., and Section was Air Corps.

Release from WWII Active Duty

James Buford Davis was relieved from active duty on 11 November 1945 at Amarillo Army Air Field Separation Base.

Military Record and Report of Separation/Certificate of Service

James Davis’ separation record listed his Military History,

  • His Grade was 1st Lt.
  • His Date of Entry into Active Service was 26 Feb 1944
  • His Date of Relief from Active Duty was 11 Nov 1945
  • Military Occupational Specialty and No. – Bombardier 1035
  • Battles and Campaigns – Northern France, Germany
  • Decorations and Citations – Air Medal w/5 OLC
  • Service Outside Continental U.S. and Return – listed below…
  • Wounds Received in Action – None
  • Total Length of Continental Service – 1 year, 2 months, and 10 days
  • Total Length of Foreign Service – 0 years, 6 months, and 3 days
  • Education (years) – Grammar School 8, High School 4, College 2
  • Reason and Authority for Separation – RR 1-5 cs TWX AFPMP 1097 Hq AAF TWX 40[illegible]-28539 Hq AAF TC 11 Sep 45
  • Service Schools Attended – Preflight Primary, Preflight Bombardier, Gunnery, Advanced Bombardier, Bombardier Refresher Course

Service Outside Continental U.S. and Return

  • Departure from U.S.
    • Date of Departure 1 Jul 44
    • Destination ETO
    • Date of Arrival 4 Jul 44
  • Departure from ETO
    • Date of Departure 26 Dec 44
    • Destination USA
    • Date of Arrival 4 Jan 45

James Davis’ Separation Qualification Record noted his

  • Date of entry into active service – 26 Feb 44
  • Date of separation 11 Nov 45
  • Place of separation AAF Sep Base #19. Amarillo, Texas

The Military Occupational Assignments noted,

  • 1 month, Grade Pvt., Military Occupational Specialty – 521 Basic Trng.
  • 25 months, Grade 1st Lt., Military Occupational Specialty – Bombardier 1035

The Summary of his Military Occupations noted,

  • BOMBARDIER: Flew as bombardier on B-17 crew. Has 6 1/2 mo. 275 hrs as a bombardier overseas for the period in the ETO. Has EAME Ribbon with 3 bronze stars, Air medal with 5 oak leaf clusters. Overseas service bars, and presidential citation.

James Davis’ Military Education noted,

    • Pre-flight – 3 1/2 mo. Studied subjects relating to air crew trng. including physics, math, weather, maps and charts and radio code.
    • Primary Pilot Trng. 1/2 mo. Flew single engine planes and studied subjects necessary for aircraft flying.
    • Aerial Gunnery. 1 1/2 mo. nomenclature and operation of (50 & 30) Cal machine guns. Operation and maintenance of all types turrets used in aircraft.
    • Advanced Bombardiering Trng. 4 1/2 mo. Theory of aerial bombardment operation and maintenance of Norden bombsight and bomb racks. Advanced studies in physics, math, meteorology, practice bombing and navigation missions. Pilotage, radio, and D/R navigation.
    • Bombardier, Refresher Course. 1 1/2 mo. Refresher course in bombardiering.

Civilian Education noted,

  • Highest grade completed – 2 yr College
  • Degrees or diploma – None
  • Year left school – 1942
  • Name and address of last school attended – Purdue Univ; Lafayette, Ind.
  • Major courses of study – Mechanical Engineering

Civilian Occupations noted,

  • Student

Medals and Decorations

During his military service with the 384th Bomb Group in World War II, James Buford Davis earned three bronze stars, an air medal with five oak leaf clusters, and a presidential (unit) citation. He was also awarded the EAME (European–African–Middle Eastern Campaign) Ribbon, WWII Victory Medal, and American Theater Ribbon.

Additionally, on 29 January 1944, while an Aviation Cadet, James Davis was recommended for the Good Conduct Medal and was approved on 14 February 1944.

Reserve Duty

James Buford Davis was tendered appointment in the Officers’ Reserve Corps, Army of the United States, effective 23 October 1945 and took the Oath of Office at AAAFld, Amarillo, Texas on that date.

James Davis transferred to the Department of the Air Force per Transfer Order 1, NME, 26 September 1947. As noted in a fact sheet from Evolution of the Department of the Air Force,

On September 26, 1947, by order of the Secretary of Defense, personnel of the Army Air Forces (AAF) were transferred from the Department of the Army (formerly the War Department) to the Department of the Air Force and established as the United States Air Force (USAF).

From the National Archives, Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library, online documents regarding the Korean War,

The Korean War began on 25 June 1950, when the Northern Korean People’s Army invaded South Korea in a coordinated general attack at several strategic points along the 38th parallel, the line dividing communist North Korea from the non-communist Republic of Korea in the south.

The United States entered the Korean War on 27 June 1950, just two days after it began. Concerned that the Soviet Union and Communist China might have encouraged the invasion, President Harry S. Truman committed United States air, ground, and naval forces to the combined United Nations forces assisting the Republic of Korea in its defense.

On 4 October 1950, James Davis wrote a letter to inquire about his status in the reserves, “as to the probability of my being called up for active duty & if so, how soon?” He continued,

I could better arrange my affairs if I knew whether or not I am to be called.

My 5 year enlistment in the reserves will be terminated in November [1950]. It is my understanding that all reserve enlistments have been frozen. Am I correct?

The official response to his inquiry noted, in part, that he was assigned to Hq and Hq Sq. Tenth Air Force (VRS), Selfridge Air Force Base, Michigan, and

Inasmuch as higher Headquarters allocates the quotas to be filled, this Headquarters is unable to advise you as to the exact date you will be recalled to active duty.

Higher Headquarters has directed that all commissions in the United States Air Force Reserve which would terminate on or subsequent to 27 July 1950, would automatically be extended indefinitely.

Note: VRS is “Volunteer Reserve Section.”

On 22 January 1951, James wrote again to ask about his Reserve Corps status and if he was to be called up, how soon.

The official response on this occasion was,

At this time you would not be ordered to active military service involuntarily except in a case where your military specialty could not be obtained through volunteer sources. All orders to active military service are based upon the immediate needs of the Air Force. In view of this no definite time can be set when you might be ordered to active military service. In the event your services can be utilized you will be promptly notified.

In an Air Force Reserve Inventory Questionnaire he completed on 14 October 1952, James Davis noted that his,

  • Employer was Allison – Div. of G.M.C., Indianapolis, Indiana.
  • Present position was Senior Clerk.
  • Duties: to initiate buys of component parts for turbo jet engine & to make any changes in purchase of parts to make material deviations when specified is not available.
  • College education was Purdue University, completed 4 years, graduated, BS degree in Science (date 2-49), major Business Administration.
  • Marital status was married with 2 dependents (wife and child).

Again, from the National Archives, Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library, online documents regarding the Korean War,

Acting on a campaign pledge, President-elect Dwight D. Eisenhower went to Korea on December 2, 1952. After visiting the troops, their commanders and South Korean leaders, and receiving briefings on the military situation in Korea, Eisenhower concluded, “we could not stand forever on a static front and continue to accept casualties without any visible results. Small attacks on small hills would not end this war.” President Eisenhower sought an end to hostilities in Korea through a combination of diplomacy and military muscle-flexing.

On 1 April 1953, James Davis’ reserve status in the Air Force was terminated.

In a continuation of the previous excerpt from the National Archives,

On July 27, 1953, seven months after President Eisenhower’s inauguration as the 34th President of the United States, an armistice was signed, ending organized combat operations and leaving the Korean Peninsula divided much as it had been since the close of World War II at the 38th parallel.

Civilian Life After the War

After the war, James Davis continued his college education at Purdue University in Lafayette, Indiana.

At the age of 27, James married Joan Joslyn McShirley (born 12 March 1925), daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Herbert McShirley of Sulphur Springs, Indiana, on 21 August 1948 while a student at Purdue. James and Joan were married in her parents’ home.

James graduated from Purdue with a BS degree in Science with a major in Business Administration in February 1949.

The 1950 Federal Census reports that James B. and Joan J. Davis lived in a house on a farm of three or more acres and described as at “left on Hwy 81” in Rumsey, McLean County, Kentucky. James was 28 years old and Joan was 25. James’ occupation was farmer. In an undated military form I found at the NPRC, James noted his “Present civilian occupation” as Farming, managing 460 acre bottom land farm.” This was likely the same farm on which James and Joan lived in 1950.

James’ and Joan’s son, Sean Cameron Davis, was born 1 November 1951 in New Castle, Henry County, Indiana.

In 1967, James, Joan, and Sean lived in New Castle, Indiana, and Sean attended the same high school from which his father graduated in 1940, New Castle Chrysler High School.

On 10 January 1967, Sean Davis, James’ and Joan’s only child, died in Indianapolis, Indiana, at the age of fifteen, from a subarachnoid hemorrhage (bleeding into the space between the brain and skull) due to arteriovenous malformation (when arteries in the brain connect directly to nearby veins without having the normal small vessels, aka capillaries, between them).

On 2 September 1967, James Davis’ WWII crewmate and friend Chester Rybarczyk, who had become a firefighter in Toledo, Ohio after World War II, died at the age of 44 fighting a fire at a local tavern. A few years later, Chester Rybarczyk’s son Tony connected with James Davis and they stayed in touch, with James sharing memories of Tony’s dad with Tony.

On 20 December 2009, James Buford Davis died at the age of 88 at the Hooverwood Nursing Home in Indianapolis, Indiana. James’ cause of death was dementia with the contributing condition of type 2 diabetes mellitus.

According to James’ obituary as published in the Indianapolis Star, at one time James owned Express Auto Supply in Hobart, Indiana and later co-owned the Kentucky Fried Chicken franchise in New Castle.

James Davis was cremated at the Greater South Side Crematory in Greenwood, Indiana, with Wilson St. Pierre Funeral Service on Madison Avenue in Indianapolis in charge of arrangements.

On 29 December 2020, James’ wife, Joan McShirley Davis, died in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Notes/Links

Previous post, James Buford Davis, Update – Part 1

Previous post, James B. Davis

Previous post, More Information About James B. Davis

James Davis’ Enlistment Record in the online National Archives (in the Reserve Corps records)

James Buford Davis’ Personnel Record courtesy of the 384th Bomb Group

MOS means Military Occupational Specialty

Previous post, Assigned Military Occupational Specialties of the Buslee and Brodie Crews

Previous post, Timeline for Buslee Crewmembers and Substitutes, 544th Bomb Squadron

Evolution of the Department of the Air Force

National Archives, Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library, online documents regarding  the Korean War

Joan McShirley Davis Find a Grave memorial

Previous post, Chester Rybarczyk – After the War

© Cindy Farrar Bryan and The Arrowhead Club, 2023

James Buford Davis, Update – Part 1

March 8, 2023 7:00 AM / 2 Comments on James Buford Davis, Update – Part 1

James Buford Davis

New information from a new search on Ancestry.com, and new information from military records have provided me with some new and updated information regarding James Buford Davis, the second bombardier of the John Oliver Buslee crew of the 544th Bomb Squadron of the 384th Bomb Group of the 8th Army Air Forces in WWII. Davis was the crew’s replacement bombardier following the death of original crew bombardier Marvin Fryden.

To view my original post and other information about James Buford Davis, please see the links at the end of this post.

Davis Family

James Buford Davis was born on October 5, 1921 in New Castle, Henry County, Indiana to Charles Raymond “Ray” (1891 – 1986) and Bessie “Bess” Millican (1893 – 1981) Davis. James’ birth certificate originally listed his name as Donald Millican Davis, but the name was scratched through and replaced with the name James Buford Davis. His parents changed their minds in naming their son and named James after his paternal grandfather.

In 1920, Ray and Bess Davis lived in Crofton, Christian County, Kentucky and Ray was a farmer. But by the time son James was born in 1921, the family had moved to Indiana.

In 1930, the Davis family lived at 716 [corrected from previous article] South 14th Street in the Fifth Ward of New Castle, Henry County, Indiana. Charles R. “Ray” was thirty-nine years old and Bess was thirty-six.

The 1930 Federal Census notes that Ray was born in Kentucky and both of his parents were from Kentucky. Bess was born in Indiana. Her father was from Indiana and her mother was from Kentucky. James was eight years old at the time of the 1930 census. He had a younger brother Charles Raymond Jr., age five, and a younger sister Evelyn Joy, age four. Ray was employed as a commercial paint salesman in 1930.

In 1940, the family lived at 1216 Woodlawn Drive in New Castle, and had lived in the same house since at least 1935. Ray was still working as a salesman for a paint company. James was now eighteen years old, and had another brother, Neel D. Davis, who was nine.

Education and Civilian Employment prior to Military Service

James Buford Davis graduated from New Castle Chrysler High School with the Class of 1940. Following high school, James attended two years of college at Purdue University where he majored in Mechanical Engineering, specialized in the subjects of math and science, and participated in the sport of wrestling.

While attending Purdue University, from 7 September 1940 through 30 May 1942, James Davis was a Pfc. in the ROTC. He was classified as in “Field Art., Student, Inactive.”

Prior to his military service, James was employed at Perfect Circle Mfg. Co. in New Castle, Indiana from May 1942 to January 1943. The business was a Piston Ring Foundry. James supervised five employees and his position was “Heat Treater.” His duties were to “heat piston rings to definite temperature & for specified time & remove from furnace for cooling.”

Entry into WWII Military Service

Draft Registration

On 16 February 1942, James Davis registered for the WWII draft at the Selective Service Board, Area #1 in New Castle, Henry County, Indiana. He listed his Place of Residence as 1216 Woodlawn Drive, New Castle, Henry County, Indiana, and Mailing Address as Cary Hall – West, West LaFayette, Indiana. James’ Employer’s Name was Purdue University – Student and place of employment was LaFayette, Tipp County, Indiana. He was 20 years old and born on 5 October 1921 in New Castle, Indiana.

Charles R. Davis (James’ father) of the same residence was the person who would always know his address.

James described himself as 5′ 8″ tall, 140 pounds, with gray eyes, brown hair, and a light complexion. He noted no “other obvious physical characteristic that will aid in identification.”

Enlistment

On 21 July 1942, James B. Davis enlisted in the Reserve Corps at Bowman Field in Louisville, Kentucky for Aviation Cadet Training for service in Air Corps Enlisted Reserve. James’ enlistment record notes his residence as Henry County, Indiana and that he was born in Indiana in 1921. His Army Serial Number at the time of enlistment was 15113648. Note: Officers were reassigned with a new serial number when they were commissioned and James’ later become O-769104.

At the time of his enlistment, James Davis had completed 2 years of college and was single, having no one dependent on him for support.

From 22 July 1942 to 6 January 1943, James was a Pvt. in the Air Corps Enlisted Reserve, New Castle Indiana, AAF, Inactive.

Per Special Orders No. 317 from Headquarters Fifth Service Command, Services of Supply, Fort Hayes, Columbus, Ohio, dated 26 December 1942, James B. Davis, 15113648, was ordered to Active Duty effective 6 January 1943 as an Aviation Cadet and would be sent to AFCC, San Antonio, Texas. He was accepted for active duty on 6 January 1943.

Note: James’ enlistment record is found in the Reserve Corps Records, rather than in the Enlistment Records file, link below.

Military Training

From 6 January 1943 to 25 February 1943, James was assigned to classification as an A/C (Aviation Cadet), Air Corps, at the Classification Center, San Antonio, Texas, AAF, Classification, Active.

On 22 February 1943, James’ Final Grade Sheet was reported for the Class of 43-J of the Army Air Forces Preflight School (Pilot) at San Antonio Aviation Cadet Center, San Antonio, Texas. It was stamped at the bottom of the form with “Harmon Flying School, Ballinger, Texas.” It noted James’ Record of Academic Training and Record of Military Training, and Disposition was noted as “SAACCSO 65 Mar.17.1943.”

From 25 February 1943 to 2 April 1943, James was assigned as an A/C (Aviation Cadet) to Pilot Preflight Tng., San Antonio, Texas, AAF, Pilot Training, Active. He successfully completed the training in March 1943.

From 2 April 1943 to 9 May 1943, James was assigned as an A/C (Aviation Cadet) to Primary Training, Bruce Field, Ballinger Texas AAF, Pilot Training, Active. However on 16 April 1943, he was determined to have failed to meet the prescribed standards in flying for further training as a pilot. He had previously been classified for air crew training as (1) pilot, (2) bombardier 4, and (3) navigator 6. James did not successfully complete his pilot primary training and was reclassified in May 1943.

On 23 April 1943, James was reclassified as a Navigator.

From 9 May 1943 to 1 June 1943, James was assigned as an A/C (Aviation Cadet) to Reclassification Center, San Antonio, Texas AAF, Reclassification, Active.

From 1 June 1943 to 26 August 1943, James was assigned as an A/C (Aviation Cadet) to Preflight Training, Ellington Field, Houston, Texas, AAF, Navigator Training, Active, for pre-flight bombardier training of nine weeks.

On 13 or 21 August 1943, James was reclassified as a bombardier.

From 26 August 1943 to 13 October 1943, James was assigned as an A/C (Aviation Cadet) to Aerial Gunnery School, Las Vegas, Nevada AAF, Aerial Gun. Tng., Active, for flexible gunnery training of four weeks.

From 23 October 1943 to February 1944, James was assigned as an A/C (Aviation Cadet) to Advanced Bombardier Training, Carlsbad, New Mexico AAF, Bomb Training, Active. Bombardier training lasted eighteen weeks.

On 25 February 1944, James received an enlisted honorable discharge to accept commission as 2nd Lt., AUS, AAFBS, CAAF, Carlsbad, NM.

James Buford Davis entered active service on 26 February 1944. He graduated bombardier school at Carlsbad Army Air Field in Carlsbad, New Mexico, and became 2nd Lt. as of this date.

From 9 March 1944 to 7 April 1944, James was assigned to 18 Replacement Wing, Salt Lake City, Utah, while awaiting further assignment.

From 14 April 1944 to 23 June 1944, James was assigned to 222 CCTS, Ardmore, Oklahoma for Bombardier, B-17, Phase Training.

Military Service

From 24 June 1944 to 24 July 1944, James Davis was in processing & travel overseas station, via air. He left the USA on 30 June 1944 (reported in his separation papers as 1 July 1944) for England in the European Theater of Operations (ETO).

From 25 July 1944 to 6 November 1944, James Davis served in the 544th Bomb Squadron, 384th Bomb Group, England, 8th AF, Bombardier B-17, 25 combat missions, under G.B. Sammons, Major.

From 7 November 1944 to 6 December 1944, James Davis served in the 544th Bomb Squadron, 384th Bomb Group, England, 8th AF, Bombardier B-17, 10 combat missions under M.A. Booska, Major.

Combat Duty in World War II in the 384th Bomb Group

James Davis’ 384th Bomb Group Individual Sortie record indicates that his duty was Bombardier, one month’s pay was $247.50 which increased to $275.00 when he was promoted from 2nd Lt. to 1st Lt., and his home address was Mrs. Bess Davis (his mother), 1216 Woodlawn Dr., New Castle, Ind.

James Davis was credited with thirty-five missions with the 384th Bomb Group. His first mission was on 9 August 1944 and his last was on 4 December 1944.

Morning Reports of the 384th Bombardment Group and other military documents indicate the following for James Buford Davis

  • On 26 JULY 1944, 2nd Lt. James Buford Davis was assigned to the 544th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), per AAF Station 106 Special Orders #148 dated 26 July 1944 as Bombardier of the Howard Jung crew with the MOS (Military Occupational Specialty) of 1035.
  • On 3 AUGUST 1944, James Davis’ crewmates Howard Jung (pilot), Thomas C. Bates (navigator), and Harold T. Perry (engineer/top turret), and non-crewmate William T. Sellars (radio operator) were killed in a flying/training accident. Jung’s co-pilot James Vrana, also on board, was seriously injured and placed on sick leave. Having never flown a mission, on 8 AUGUST 1944, James A. Vrana was released from assignment and transferred to Detachment of Patients, 4204 U.S. Army Hospital Plant. James Davis was not on board the aircraft in the accident and lost his original crew before he ever flew his first mission.
  • On the 9 AUGUST 1944 Mission 176 to Erding, Germany, target German Air Force (Luftwaffe) Erding Airdrome & Airfield, James Davis joined the John Oliver Buslee crew on his first mission as Bombardier, replacing Marvin Fryden who had been killed on the Buslee crew’s second mission of 5 AUGUST 1944.
  • On the 28 SEPTEMBER 1944 Mission 201 to Magdeburg, Germany, the Buslee crew went from duty to MIA (Missing in Action). James Davis was not on board the aircraft and lost his second/replacement crew on this date. (See note at the end of this list).
  • On 26 NOVEMBER 1944, James Buford Davis was promoted to First Lieutenant effective 26 November 1944 per Headquarters, Eighth Air Force Special Orders #323, EXTRACT dated 26 November 1944.
  • On 6 DECEMBER 1944, James Davis was released from assigned & transferred to Casual Pool 79th Replacement Depot AAF Station 591, departed per 3 SO 341 HQ 1st Bomb Division (Completed Tour).

Note: Chester Rybarczyk, the original Buslee crew navigator, was also not on board Buslee’s aircraft on 28 September 1944. James Davis and Chester Rybarczyk became good friends while serving in the 384th Bomb Group and maintained a close friendship after their service ended.

More about James Buford Davis and his return to the States, release from WWII active duty, appointment to the reserves, and civilian life after the war in my next post…

Notes/Links

Previous post, James B. Davis

Previous post, More Information About James B. Davis

James Davis’ Enlistment Record in the online National Archives (in the Reserve Corps records)

James Buford Davis’ Personnel Record courtesy of the 384th Bomb Group

MOS means Military Occupational Specialty

Previous post, Assigned Military Occupational Specialties of the Buslee and Brodie Crews

Previous post, Timeline for Buslee Crewmembers and Substitutes, 544th Bomb Squadron

Previous post, Chester Rybarczyk – After the War

© Cindy Farrar Bryan and The Arrowhead Club, 2023

The Bombardier in the Buslee Crew Photo

June 15, 2022 7:00 AM / 2 Comments on The Bombardier in the Buslee Crew Photo

Five years ago, in February 2017, I posed a question to my readers. Do you think the bombardier in the John Buslee crew photo is Marvin Fryden or James Davis? I am referring to the airman standing in the back row on the far right.

The Buslee Crew

The Buslee Crew

Marvin Fryden was the John Buslee crew’s original bombardier. Fryden was killed on his second mission on 5 August 1944 aboard the B-17 Tremblin’ Gremlin by a burst of flak. James Buford Davis replaced Fryden as the Buslee crew’s bombardier on 9 August 1944.

On the back of the Buslee crew photo that I have, the man standing on the far right is identified as James Davis. I have always questioned the accuracy of that identification. I have always believed that the bombardier in the photo is Fryden.

I have positive identifications of the remaining members of the crew in the photo. These are the identifications provided on the back of the photo in my mother’s handwriting.

Back row, left to right:
• 2Lt. John Oliver Buslee, Pilot, from Park Ridge, Illinois
• 2Lt. David Franklin Albrecht, Co-Pilot, from Chico, California
• 2Lt. Chester A. Rybarczyk, Navigator, from Toledo, Ohio
• 2Lt. James B. Davis, Bombardier, from New Castle, Indiana

Front row, left to right:
• Sgt. Erwin V. Foster, Ball Turret Gunner, from Elmira, New York
• Sgt. Sebastiano Joseph Peluso, Radio Operator/Gunner, from Brooklyn, New York
• Cpl. Lenard Leroy Bryant, Waist Gunner, from Lubbock, Texas
• Sgt. Clarence B. Seeley, Engineer/Top Turret Gunner, from Halsey, Nebraska
• S/Sgt. Eugene D. Lucynski, Tail Gunner, from Detroit, Michigan
• Sgt. George Edwin Farrar, Waist Gunner, from Atlanta, Georgia, (my dad)

I have been able to verify through other photographs of these men that those identifications are accurate. I only questioned the identification of Davis as the bombardier and hoped I could eventually determine if that identification is accurate as well.

Unfortunately, at the time I was attempting to analyze the faces in the photo, I only had a photo of James Davis, no photo of Marvin Fryden. On my visit to the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis in October 2016, I found this photo of James Buford Davis in uniform in his Army Air Forces personnel file.

James Buford Davis, second bombardier of the John Buslee crew

James Buford Davis, second bombardier of the John Buslee crew

To my eye, when comparing the photo of Davis to the bombardier in the crew photo, I could not determine that the airman in the crew photo was Davis, and so concluded that it was Fryden. But I still felt a great deal of uncertainty without a photo of Fryden to use for the comparison.

James Davis on the left. Davis or Marvin Fryden on the right?

James Davis on the left. Davis or Marvin Fryden on the right?

I had another reason to believe Fryden was in the photo. I believed that James Davis would not have appeared in a Buslee crew photo that also included Clarence Burdell Seeley.

James Davis did not join the Buslee crew until the 9 August 1944 mission and would not have appeared in a crew photo until, at least, he had been named as the bombardier replacement for their crew. So James Davis would not be in a Buslee crew photo on or before 5 August, when Marvin Fryden was killed. Add to that, Clarence Burdell Seeley looks very healthy in the crew photo, not what I would expect after 5 August 1944.

On the 5 August 1944 mission in which Marvin Fryden was killed, the Engineer/Top Turret Gunner Clarence Burdell Seeley was hit by flak and seriously injured. A jagged piece of steel ripped through the lower part of his right leg above the ankle. He was taken to the 65th General Hospital for treatment and was hospitalized there for 35 days.

The 65th General Hospital was at Redgrave Park in Suffolk County, England. Redgrave Park is about 85 miles/137 km from Grafton Underwood, home of the 384th Bomb Group. During his period of hospitalization, Seeley would not have been in the Grafton Underwood area for a crew photograph.

Back in 2017, I enlisted 384th Bomb Group Combat Data Specialist Keith Ellefson in my research and he speculated that,

I suspect the 65th General Hospital was the general hospital closest to the field (Halesworth, Station 365) that they [the Buslee crew] landed at upon return from the [5 August 1944] mission. Once he [Seeley] was ambulatory and it was determined that he would possibly recover well enough to go back on flight status, I imagine he would be returned to GU [the 384th’s base at Grafton Underwood] for convalescence and evaluation by the squadron flight surgeon.

If I recall correctly, five years ago Keith believed the bombardier in the photo to be Davis and believed the photo was taken at Grafton Underwood. At the time, I was under the assumption that the photo was a photo of the original crew taken at Ardmore, Oklahoma at the end of their crew training before they left the States for England.

In the past few years, I have found more information in the records of the 384th Bomb Group which provides more detail about the timeline of Seeley’s hospitalization and recovery period.

According to military records, on 13 August 1944, Seeley was moved from the 65th General Hospital to the 4209 U.S. Army Hospital Plant, APO 587. APO (Army Post Office) 587 was located at Knettishall, England, which was about 5.5 miles/8.8 km from the 65th General Hospital at Redgrave Park, still far from Grafton Underwood.

But on 11 September 1944, Seeley went from absent sick (LD) 65th General Hospital to duty. Even though he would not return to flight duty until Mission 203 on 2 October 1944 (four days after the Buslee crew went MIA on the 28 September 1944 mission to Magdeburg, Germany), Seeley was likely back at Grafton Underwood on or shortly after 11 September.

Now I see a window of opportunity for the Buslee crew photo to include both James Davis and Clarence Seeley that I did not previously see. The crew photo could have been taken sometime during this period between 11 and 28 September. That is the only way I can see both James Davis and a healthy Clarence Burdell Seeley appearing in the same photo.

Sounds like the issue of all the parties being available at the same time for a photo op between 11 and 28 September 1944 works out fine, right? Not so fast. I also discovered that ball turret gunner Erwin Foster was out on sick leave at the 303rd Station Hospital at Thrapston between 10 and 26 September. And tail gunner Eugene Lucynski went MIA with another crew on 19 September, bailing out of Tremblin’ Gremlin over Belgium. He was injured and hospitalized at an unknown location reportedly until 10 November.

Thrapston was only about 5.5 miles/9 km from Grafton Underwood. So I see a possibility that Foster was still close by, maybe even still at Grafton Underwood and being treated on an outpatient basis. If he was on base or able to travel to the base long enough for a photo, perhaps the crew photo was taken during a narrower window of between 11 and 18 September 1944. By 19 September, Lucynski would not have been in the photo.

And recently my other issue – that I had no photo of Marvin Fryden for comparison purposes – was also resolved. Ash Samet, Marvin Fryden’s widow’s grandson (of Marilyn’s second marriage to Jerome Samet), contacted me just a few weeks ago and sent me a portrait of Marilyn and Marvin Fryden. The grandson’s name is Ash Samet. Ash is a computer graphics artist.

Marvin Fryden, bombardier of the John Buslee crew, 384th Bomb Group, 544th Bomb Squadron
Photo courtesy of Ash Samet

I ran the question by him of who he thinks the bombardier in the Buslee crew photo is – Fryden or Davis – and he created this very elaborate comparison of the facial features of both Davis and Fryden to the bombardier in the crew photo.

Photo analysis of Buslee crew photo with comparison to photos of Marvin Fryden and James Davis
Created by Ash Samet, Marilyn Fryden’s grandson and computer graphics artist

If you click the comparison graphic, then click again to enlarge, you can review the detailed comparison that Ash performed. I am going to note Ash’s findings here, too, but please keep in mind, this is Ash Samet’s work and Ash’s words, and I credit Ash Samet fully with this expert analysis.

Ears

One of the first things I notice between the pictures are their ear-shapes! The greyscale photo has an almost angular feel to it, matching James, where Marvin’s ears (for lack of a better word) are almost bean-shaped. Silhouette aside, the greyscale image has an attached earlobe, like James, where Marvin’s earlobes are detached.

Eyes

It’s hard to see since it’s in shadow, but I thought it was interesting how James’s eyelid falls so low that it’s almost giving the appearance of a monolid, where Marvin has a definitively double eyelid. The greyscale image is squinting, but since the brows are lower/not raised, the skin above the eye isn’t being stretched. If he had a double eyelid as defined as Marvin’s, it would be more exaggerated as the folds compress with a squint!

Lips

Another landmark I notice between these pictures is the lips- Marvin has very full lips, and while they could pull to be thinner in a smile/squint, I’d estimate the corners of his mouth would have to reach more towards aligning with the outsides of his eyes. The middle photo’s mouth is pulled slightly wider, but still close enough to a neutral position that I’d say the lip thickness matches James more!

Mouth

James’ mouth also has more of a natural curl at the corners, which is accentuated by the expression in the middle photo.

Smile-lines

A more subtle detail in the photo is the “smile-lines” look very angular- even seeming to make a diamond-shape! Though the left picture of James is a neutral expression, you can see a natural indent that looks similar.

Based on the fat distribution on Marvin’s face, I’d imagine if his mouth pulled wider he’d show dimples.

Nose

The picture of James has a nose with noticeably round features matching the greyscale photo more closely than the picture of Marv, but aside from that, it looks like the eye-to-nose proportions of Marv’s nose is longer than the other images.

Eyebrows

Also a minor detail that’s harder to see- but the eyebrows of the greyscale image seem to reach much closer to the middle of the face than Marv’s- it could possibly be shadow, but they’re dark enough that I’d wager the actual hair itself is darker than Marvin’s!

Well, that kind of does it for me. Ash Samet has me convinced. I’m going with identification of the bombardier in the Buslee crew photo being James Buford Davis.

Keith Ellefson was trying to lead me down that road, but I resisted. I was so convinced that the Buslee crew photo was taken in Ardmore, Oklahoma, where the crew performed their final training. But Keith said, no, the background looks more like England than Oklahoma. To me, if the location was Ardmore, it had to be Fryden in the picture. I wanted to believe it was Oklahoma and I wanted to believe it was Fryden.

And Keith thought the bombardier looked like Davis, too. I should have listened. I just couldn’t get my head around the fact that the crew photo may not have been taken before the crew’s first mission with all ten original crew members. I took the wrong road. I took the scenic route instead, leading me about five years in the wrong direction. Sorry for not listening to you five years ago, Keith. And thank you Ash Samet for taking me by the hand and showing me the proper path step by step to the correct identification of James Buford Davis, the airman, the bombardier, in the photo.

Sources/Notes

Previous post, Davis or Fryden?

Previous post, A Photo of Marvin Fryden, Bombardier of the Buslee Crew

Previous post, August 5, 1944 Mission 173 Press Release – Transcription

Numerical Listing of APO’s January 1942 to November 1947

65th General Hospital

Notes about the 65th General Hospital link: the American Air Museum in Britain website will be down from 30 June 2022 until September 2022 for reconstruction. A notice on their site reads:

The American Air Museum archive is temporarily closing for reconstruction. We are working on a site-wide upgrade which will be completed in September  2022. To allow the American Air Museum team time to process the database, we will be stopping crowdsourced contributions from 30 June 2022. This means that from 30 June 2022 you will not be able to search, add or edit information in the American Air Museum archive. You can find out more about our plans here.

Thank you to the 384th’s Fred Preller and Keith Ellefson for obtaining and sharing WWII reports from the National Archives for the 384th Bomb Group. Thanks to Keith, also, for his superb research, analysis, and advice, and thank you to Ash Samet for providing me with the photo of Marvin Fryden and his photo analysis.

Except for the work – image, graphics, and text – of Ash Samet, © Cindy Farrar Bryan and The Arrowhead Club, 2022

Davis or Fryden?

February 15, 2017 7:00 AM / 2 Comments on Davis or Fryden?

The John Buslee crew’s original bombardier was Marvin Fryden. Fryden was killed on his second mission on August 5, 1944 by a burst of flak aboard Tremblin’ Gremlin. James Davis replaced Fryden as the Buslee crew’s bombardier. In the original Buslee crew photo that I have, the man standing on the far right is identified as James Davis. I have always questioned the accuracy of that identification. I have always believed that the bombardier in the photo is Fryden.

The Buslee Crew

The Buslee Crew

On my visit to the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis last October, I found a picture of James Buford Davis in uniform.

James Buford Davis, second bombardier of the John Buslee crew

James Buford Davis, second bombardier of the John Buslee crew

I feel more certain now that the photo of the Buslee crew actually includes Marvin Fryden rather than Davis.

James Davis on the left. Davis or Marvin Fryden on the right?

James Davis on the left. Davis or Marvin Fryden on the right?

Agree or disagree? I would love some feedback.

© Cindy Farrar Bryan and The Arrowhead Club, 2017

Buslee Crew Photo – A Deeper Look

September 7, 2016 7:00 AM / Leave a comment

Standing, left to right: John Buslee (pilot), David Albrecht (co-pilot), Chester Rybarczyk (navigator), and Marvin Fryden or James Davis (bombardier) Kneeling, left to right: Erwin Foster (ball turret gunner), Sebastiano Peluso ( radioman), Lenard Bryant (waist gunner), Clarence Seeley (engineer/top turret gunner), Eugene Lucynski (tail gunner), and George Farrar (waist gunner)

Standing, left to right: John Buslee (pilot), David Albrecht (co-pilot), Chester Rybarczyk (navigator), and Marvin Fryden or James Davis (bombardier)
Kneeling, left to right: Erwin Foster (ball turret gunner), Sebastiano Peluso (radioman), Lenard Bryant (waist gunner), Clarence Seeley (engineer/top turret gunner), Eugene Lucynski (tail gunner), and George Farrar (waist gunner)

This photo of my dad’s (George Edwin Farrar) crew in WWII still confuses me.  Is the navigator in the photo really James Davis, or is it Marvin Fryden? If it is Fryden, does the photo look like it was taken in the states before the crew shipped overseas? If it is Davis, it must be Grafton Underwood.

I sent the photo to Keith Ellefson, a researcher and combat data specialist with the 384th Bomb Group. Keith pointed out several things in the photo to me that I did not see.

Look at the far background on the right side of the picture. It looks like a tree line to me.  Than would be consistent with GU.  Most of the stateside crew training bases were on large airfields with nary a tree or fence in sight.   Looking at the background over Foster’s head, it looks to me like a fence line with some sort of grass or vines on it.  Again, GU and probably not stateside.  Also, on the far left side over the tire I think I see the slope of a squad tent roof.  If it is a tent, it is probably the crew chief’s lair next to the hardstand. I understand nearly every crew had some sort of shelter near the hardstand for warming, storage, naps, etc.

Keith annotated the photo pointing out a couple of items.

Left to right: Erwin Foster (ball turret gunner), Sebastiano Peluso ( radioman), and Lenard Bryant (waist gunner)

Left to right: Erwin Foster (ball turret gunner), Sebastiano Peluso ( radioman), and Lenard Bryant (waist gunner)

  • Looks like SGT Foster must have had a combat tour previous to this photo being taken.
  • Those are training qualification badges on the sleeves of two of the enlisted men.
  • All of the men in the photo are wearing wings but only Foster has any kind of awards being displayed.
  • I see two different unit patches.  Davis (or Fryden) and Lucynski are wearing the 8th AF patch.  Your dad (Farrar) and Seeley have the generic AF patch.
  • Two of the officers, Buslee and Rybarczyk also seem to have the generic AF patch.
  • Three of the enlisted guys appear to have no unit patch.
  • Then we get to the enlisted ranks, or lack of rank, on their uniforms. On the assignment orders, Lucynski  was a SSG. Your dad, Seeley and Peluso were SGTs.  Foster and Bryant were Corporals.
  • Peluso, Foster and Seeley are ’slicksleeves’  (Old army slang for no rank displayed).  I don’t know what to make of this.  Usually the guys would be immensely proud of their ranks and wouldn’t be caught without them.  If it was just one of them, I could think that the guy had been reduced in rank.  That was not uncommon back in the day.  I don’t recall seeing any of these names being reduced in rank on any special orders.
  • [I commented that perhaps some of the jackets were borrowed. Keith replied that it was a possibility.] Every soldier was issued a ‘Class A’ uniform but ….   Five of them (Bryant, Foster, Seeley, Farrar, and Peluso) were promoted to Staff Sergeant on 9 September 1944, SO #180, 9 SEP 44.  Maybe the three ‘slicksleeves’ had their jackets out for rank change and borrowed the jackets for the picture.
  • Also, talking about ranks, Foster, who had a previous tour, would normally be at least a Sergeant and more likely a Staff Sergeant.  I suspect he had been reduced to Corporal prior to being assigned to this crew.
  • Fryden is a 1st LT in the assignment orders.  The other three officers are 2nd LTs.  Fryden may have had several months or more service in the states, maybe as an instructor, prior to being assigned to this crew. I think there was something like a 6 month to one year time between 2nd LT and 1st LT. He wouldn’t have been promoted before the pilot would be promoted if they both had the same length of time in service.
  • Foster and Bryant were promoted to SGT on SO #158, 6 August 1944.  Since Bryant is wearing SGT stripes in the photo, I think this dates the photo to sometime after 6 August 1944, putting Davis in the picture.

Marilyn Fryden, Marvin’s wife, wrote about Marvin in a post to the 384th Bomb Group’s web site in 2007. Her comments support that he had been an instructor in the states for some time before being assigned to the Buslee crew. Marilyn wrote:

He had been commissioned and assigned as an instructor in the states. We had almost 2 years together. As he constantly said he was not doing his part, he finally requested combat duty and was assigned to the Gremlin with John Buslee, Dick Albrecht and other crew members.

Marvin and Marilyn had married October 8, 1942 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. In a wedding announcement, her parents noted that:

Lieutenant Fryden was appointed instructor at the Albuquerque Air Base and will continue to re-side there with his bride.

After Keith’s analysis, I still question whether the photo includes Davis or Fryden. The back of the photo identifies the navigator as Davis and I believe the identification was provided by the pilot’s father. In a letter to my grandmother dated November 27, 1944, Mr. Buslee wrote:

Early in September we received a snapshot showing the crew members and the plane.  The boys all looked fine and seemed to be in the same high spirit that they enjoyed when we met them in Ardmore.

This comment indicates that Mr. Buslee would have been able to recognize the bombardier since he had met the entire crew. Mr. Buslee offered to send a copy of the photo to my grandmother if she did not have one. My grandmother, Raleigh May Farrar, must have responded to Mr. Buslee that she did indeed have a copy of the picture. He wrote back on December 16, 1944.

I note that you have a crew picture and thinking that you may not know who they are I am sending a list of names in the event that this will interest you.  To look at that group one can well understand what I mean when I say the youth are wonderful.  To my mind that is as fine an assortment of manhood as one could find anywhere and I count it a privilege that my son is among so fine a crew.  Yes I had the good fortune to meet all of them in Ardmore last June and I trust it will be my pleasure to again meet all of them and more that this may be real soon.

Mr. Buslee’s list of names:

WWII-106

Mr. Buslee would not have met James Davis in Ardmore, Oklahoma. At that time, he was not part of the Buslee crew. Marvin Fryden trained with the crew in Ardmore.

Mr. Buslee would also have already known of Marvin Fryden’s death on August 5, 1944. The Buslees and the Frydens both lived in the Chicago area, the Buslees in the Park Ridge area. The Park Ridge Advocate published an article on September 1, 1944 about the crew’s August 5 mission in which Fryden died. Mr. Buslee must have read the article by the time he wrote my grandmother.

Although mortally wounded, the bombardier of a B17 Flying Fortress calmly reported his injury to his pilot and then released his bombs on the target in a remarkable exhibition of sheer courage and presence of mind during a recent American heavy bomber attack over Germany.

The bombardier, 1st Lt. Marvin Fryden, 23, 6719 North Lakewood, Chicago, died later in an army hospital after his bomber, the “Tremblin’ Gremlin,” had reached England with only two of its four engines functioning, its fuselage riddled with more than 100 flak holes and with more than half of its crew wounded.

If the photo includes Fryden, it must have been taken before the August 5, 1944 mission on which Fryden was killed. On that same mission, Seeley was seriously wounded. Davis started flying with the crew on August 9, 1944. Since Seeley was seriously wounded on the August 5 mission, would he have been able to appear in a crew photo after that mission? He wasn’t able to fly again until October 2, 1944, four days after the Buslee crew was lost on the mission to Magdeburg on September 28.

I have not been able to locate any other photos of Marvin Fryden, but I did find a school yearbook photo of James Davis. Putting the photo in question and the photo of Davis side by side, I’m still not certain of the identification. What do you think? Is the man on the left Fryden or Davis?

Photo on left: Marvin Fryden or James Davis? Photo on right: School yearbook photo of James Davis.

Photo on left: Marvin Fryden or James Davis?
Photo on right: School yearbook photo of James Davis.

Enough for today. I have a little more info to add on a couple of the other Buslee crew members, but will hold off for next week. I think this is enough to digest today.

If anyone has a photo of Marvin Fryden (the family spelled the name Frydyn, but Marvin enlisted as Fryden), please contact me. Either comment on this post or e-mail me. Also, if anyone is good at photo analysis, please help me decide – Fryden or Davis?

Thank you, Keith Ellefson, for taking an in-depth look at this photo and providing me with so much information.

Photos courtesy of the 384th Bomb Group.

© Cindy Farrar Bryan and The Arrowhead Club, 2016

More Information About James B. Davis

October 14, 2015 7:00 AM / Leave a comment

I previously wrote about James B. Davis, the second bombardier of the John Oliver Buslee crew of the 544th Bomb Squad of the 384th Bomb Group stationed at Grafton Underwood Airfield in England. Click here for the previous article.

I have found some more information about him before and after his WWII years that I’d like to share.

James Buford Davis was born on October 5, 1921 in New Castle, Henry County, Indiana to Charles Raymond (1891 – 1986) and Bessie “Bess” Millican (1893 – 1981) Davis. Charles Raymond, who went by the name “Ray,” named his son after his own father. He and Bess lived in Crofton, Christian County, Kentucky in 1920 and he was a farmer. But by the time son James was born, the family had moved to Indiana.

In 1930, the Davis family lived at 356 South 14th Street in the Fifth Ward of New Castle, Henry County, Indiana. Ray was thirty-nine years old and Bess was thirty-six. Ray had been born in Kentucky and both of his parents were from Kentucky. Bess was born in Indiana. Her father was from Indiana and her mother was from Kentucky. James was eight years old at the time of the 1930 census. He had a younger brother Charles R., age five, and a younger sister Evelyn Joy, age four. Ray was employed as a commercial paint salesman.

In 1940, the family had moved to 1216 Woodlawn Drive, but still lived in New Castle. Ray was still working as a salesman for a paint company. James was now eighteen years old, and had another brother Neel D. Davis, who was nine.

James graduated from New Castle Chrysler High School with the Class of 1940. The school’s Rosennial Yearbook of 1940 pictured James with the caption “Hi-Y Student Manager.”

James Buford Davis Senior High School Photo

James Buford Davis Senior High School Photo

The code of the sixty Hi-Y boys of New Castle High School was “clean speech, clean living, and clean scholarship.” All boys of good character who desired membership were eligible to join.

After high school, James attended college for two years before enlisting in the Air Corps on July 21, 1942 at Bowman Field, Louisville, Kentucky. As I’ve covered James’s WWII career here, I won’t cover it again. While serving with the 384th Bomb Group, James received 3 bronze stars, an Air medal with 5 oak leaf clusters, and a presidential citation.

After the war, James graduated from Purdue University. He married Joan McShirley on August 21, 1948. They had one son, Sean (1951 – 1967). At one time James owned Express Auto Supply in Hobart, Indiana and later co-owned a Kentucky Fried Chicken franchise in New Castle, Indiana.

James B. Davis, 88 of Indianapolis died December 20, 2009.

Note:  Now that I have found a photo of James B. Davis, I am trying to determine if the bombardier in the Buslee crew photo is the original bombardier Marvin Fryden or replacement bombardier James B. Davis.  What do you think? Is the man standing on the far right Fryden (who I don’t have a picture of) or Davis?

Update, February 2023: Since my original post, I have determined that this Buslee crew photo does indeed include James Buford Davis rather than Marvin Fryden standing on the far right of the back row.

The Buslee Crew

The Buslee Crew

© Cindy Farrar Bryan and The Arrowhead Club, 2015

James B. Davis

September 15, 2014 7:00 AM / Leave a comment

James Davis was not an original member of the John Oliver Buslee crew.  However, his first mission as a bombardier was with the Buslee crew on the August 9, 1944 Mission 176 to the Erding Airdrome & Airfield at Erding, Germany.

What a first mission as a 384th bombardier this must have been for James.  According to the sortie report notes from the 384th’s web site:

The 384th Bombardment Group (H) provided all three groups of the 41st “B” Combat Bombardment Wing – except for three aircraft from the 303rd BG, which formed the high element of the high group. Although the division abandoned operations at the Dutch Coast due to bad weather, the 41st “B” carried on until after they had passed Aachen, at which point the weather had become impenetrable. The wing leader ordered the wing to attack the briefed target of last resort, which the lead and high groups accomplished.  However, the low group’s bombsight gyro “tumbled” just before bombs away, so they went on to bomb a target of opportunity (TOO).

The Buslee crew was part of the low group and their visual target of opportunity was a railroad and highway viaduct in Nohfelden/Hoppstädten, Germany.  This must have been quite a harrowing mission for rookie bombardier, James Davis, but he went on to complete thirty-four missions before finishing his tour and returning to the states.

James was originally assigned to the Howard A. Jung crew of the 544th bomb group on July 26, 1944.  On August 3, 1944, Jung, co-pilot James Allan Vranna, navigator Thomas C. Bates, engineer/top turret gunner Harold L. Perry, and radio operator William Isaac Sellers – who was not a regular member of the Jung crew – were assigned to slow-time a new engine.  On their way back to the base in the darkness, the evening fog settled in.

The aircraft made several passes at the field with landing lights on at a very low altitude but could not see the ground.  The aircraft could not be seen from the ground either, only the glow of his lights in the clouds.  At 2330 hours, even though the crew was unable to locate the runway, Jung attempted to come in under the low ceiling, estimated at 300 feet.  The aircraft struck the trees with a wing tip, tearing off several feet of the wing, crashed and exploded.

Jung, Bates, Perry, and Sellars were killed in the crash.  Vranna, the sole survivor, was seriously wounded (see note below).

With the pilot dead and the co-pilot seriously wounded, the crew broke up.  Ball turret gunner Harold J. Laursen became a member of the Richard H. Groff crew and completed thirty-three missions before finishing his tour and returning to the states.  Radioman Herman J. Wolters flew three missions with the 384th before being transferred to the 36th bomb squad of the 801st bomb group.  Flexible gunners Roland E. Creasy, William F. Peters, and James D. Walker, Jr.’s Army Air Forces careers are unknown.  James B. Davis was the only other Jung crewmember to be reassigned to another 384th crew.

James Davis was born on October 5, 1921 in New Castle, Indiana to Charles R. and Bess Millican Davis.  During his 384th career, he earned three bronze stars, an air medal with five oak leaf clusters, and a presidential citation.  He died on December 20, 2009 in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Notes

According to his obituary on FindAGrave.com, James Allan Vranna “sustained multiple, devastating injuries which he bore with tremendous grace throughout his lifetime. He spent the next three years undergoing multiple surgical procedures and recovering from his injuries.”  James Vranna died July 22, 2012 and is buried in the North Dakota Veteran’s Cemetery in Mandan, Morton County, North Dakota.

© Cindy Farrar Bryan and The Arrowhead Club, 2014

 

September 28, 1944 – 384th BG Mission 201

December 9, 2013 7:00 AM / Leave a comment

Lazy Daisy, Aircraft 42-31222

Lazy Daisy, Aircraft 42-31222

Lead Banana, 43-37822

Lead Banana, Aircraft 43-37822

September 28, 1944 – 384th BG Mission 201.

The 384th Bomb Group Mission 201 was also known as Eighth Air Force Mission 652.

The Buslee crew flew this mission aboard aircraft 43-37822, Lead Banana.  The Brodie crew was aboard 42-31222, Lazy Daisy.

The primary target was the steelworks industry in Magdeburg, Germany.

Buslee Crew List:

  • Pilot – John Oliver Buslee
  • Co-Pilot – David Franklin Albrecht
  • Navigator – William Alvin Henson II
  • Bombardier – Robert Sumner Stearns
  • Radio Operator/Gunner – Sebastiano Joseph Peluso
  • Engineer/Top Turret Gunner – Lenard Leroy Bryant
  • Ball Turret Gunner – George Francis McMann, Jr.
  • Tail Gunner – Gerald Lee Andersen
  • Waist Gunner – George Edwin Farrar (my dad)

Chester A. Rybarczyk flew this mission with the William J. Blankenmeyer crew.  William Alvin Henson II replaced Rybarczyk as Navigator on the Buslee crew.  This was Henson’s third flight with the Buslee crew.

James B. Davis flew this mission with the Raymond J. Gabel crew.  Robert Sumner Stearns replaced Davis as Bombardier on the Buslee crew.  This was Stearns second flight with the Buslee crew.

George Francis McMann, Jr. flew this mission as Ball Turret Gunner on the Buslee crew.  This was McMann’s first flight with the Buslee crew.  Irving L. Miller, who had replaced Erwin V. Foster as Ball Turret Gunner five times on the Buslee crew, also flew with Davis on the Gabel crew this mission.

Gerald Lee Andersen replaced Eugene D. Lucynski for the third time as Tail Gunner on the Buslee crew.

Brodie Crew List:

  • Pilot – James Joseph Brodie
  • Co-Pilot – Lloyd Oliver Vevle
  • Navigator – George Marshall Hawkins, Jr.
  • Togglier – Byron Laverne Atkins
  • Radio Operator/Gunner – Donald William Dooley
  • Engineer/Top Turret Gunner – Robert Doyle Crumpton
  • Ball Turret Gunner – Gordon Eugene Hetu
  • Tail Gunner – Wilfred Frank Miller
  • Waist Gunner – Harry Allen Liniger

James Joseph Brodie (Pilot), Lloyd Oliver Vevle (Co-Pilot), George Marshall Hawkins, Jr. (Navigator), Robert Doyle Crumpton (Engineer/Top Turret Gunner), Gordon Eugene Hetu (Ball Turret Gunner), Wilfred Frank Miller (Tail Gunner), and Harry Allen Liniger (Waist Gunner) were all original Brodie crew members aboard the Lazy Daisy.  The only non-original crew members were Byron Laverne Atkins (Bombardier/Togglier) and Donald William Dooley (Radio Operator/Gunner).

Original Brodie crew Bombardier, William D. Barnes, Jr., last flew with the Brodie crew on September 13, 1944.  Barnes did not fly again until October 17, 1944.  He returned to flight as a Navigator, completed his tour after 35 missions, and returned to the US.

Byron Laverne Atkins flew only six missions, three of them as a Ball Turret Gunner, and one as a Flexible Gunner.  He served as Togglier for the Brodie crew on two occasions – once on September 21 and again on September 28, 1944.

William Edson Taylor, the original Radio Operator/Gunner for the Brodie crew did not fly on the September 28 mission.  On October 5, he flew as Radio Operator/Gunner with the Robert Bruce Birckhead crew.  His aircraft was damaged by flak and crashed near Munchen-Gladbach, Germany (MACR 9754).  Of the crew, four were killed, and five were taken prisoner of war, including Taylor.

Donald William Dooley’s first mission would be his last.  He flew as Radio Operator/Gunner for the Brodie crew on this mission.

Sortie Report Description:

Two Bomb Runs – Primary Target Attacked: The 384th Bombardment Group (H) flew as the 41st CBW “C” Wing on today’s mission. Near the target, another formation of bombers flew below this wing, forcing them to hold their bombs. The wing made a second bomb run and released their bombs on the primary target.

Lazy Daisy Sortie Report Status and Comments:

Failed to Return
MIA; collided with 43-37822 over target; both ships went down on fire and out of control; no chutes observed; crashed near Erxleben, Germany; MACR 9366.

Lead Banana Sortie Report Status and Comments:

Failed to Return
MIA; collided with 42-31222 over target; both ships went down on fire and out of control; no chutes; crashed near Osteringersleben, Germany; MACR 9753.

Source:  Sortie Report – Buslee Crew, Sortie Report – Brodie Crew

© Cindy Farrar Bryan and The Arrowhead Club, 2013

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