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The Commanders of the 303rd Bombardment Group
| James H. Wallace (July 1942 - February 1943) |
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Colonel
O-017490
24 July 1905, Washington DC
10 May 1971, Wichita Falls, Wichita, Texas, USA
65
Crestview Cemetery, Wichita Falls, Wichita, Texas, USA
Son of James J. Wallace and
Gertrud C. Kendall, nee Voss
Husband of Elizabeth B. Hale.
His last rank was Major General. |
| Charles E. Marion (February 1943 - July 1943) |
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Colonel
O-021505
10 July 1910, San Diego, San Diego, California, USA
23 November 1995, Austin, Travis, Texas, USA
85
Son of Charles A. and Elizabeth B. Marion, nee Groff. |
| Kermit Douglas Stevens (July 1943 - October 1944) |
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Colonel
O-350379
16 December 1908, Oregon, USA
21 November 2004, Redwood City, San Mateo, California, USA
95
Son of Fred J. and Jennie E. Stevens, nee Burgess
Husband of Marion Ellen Bass. |
| Lewis Elton Lyle (September 1944 - October 1944) |
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General
O-364599
22 June 1916, Pine Bluff, Jefferson, Arkansas, USA
06 April 2008, Benton, Saline, Arkansas, USA
91
Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia, USA
Son of Lewis Eley and Nellie Lyle, nee West.
Husband of Betty May Mobley. |
17 February 1942: Assigned as a Pilot with 303BG/360BS at Gowen Field, Boise, Idaho.
06 March 1942: assigned as Pilot with crew of B-17F #41-24559 [PU-F] "Ooold Soljer", 303BG/360BS at Gowen Field, Boise, Idaho.
12 June 1942 - 07 August 1942: He and his crew underwent advanced flight training at Alamogordo Field, Alamogordo, New Mexico.
08 August 1942 - 10 September 1942: He and his crew trained in combat formation flying at Biggs Field, El Paso, Texas.
11 September 1942 - 13 October 1942: He and his crew prepared for final deployment overseas at Kellogg Field, Battle Creek, Michigan. It appears that the original intention was for the Bomb Group to follow the "North Crimson Route" to the UK whose central hub was at Detroit, Michigan. Apparently, the decision was changed and the Group flew to Dow Field, Bangor, Maine for final assmbly on 13 October 1942.
24 October 1942: He and his crew arrived at Molesworth aboard B-17F #41-24559 "Ooold Soljer".
Participated in 69 operational missions (3 Combat tours) between 17 November 1942 and 06 October 1944. 3 of those operations were flown with 15th Air Force from Italy (12, 24 and 29 August 1944).
Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) awarded for overall superior job on 46 missions; Silver Star awarded for leading squadron on 15 missions without loss; cluster to SS for gallantry in action on mission to Posen, Poland, May 1944; cluster to SS for gallantry in finishing bomb run over Berlin though plane was afire. | |
| Richard H. Cole (October 1944) |
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Colonel
O-392754
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Lt. Col. Cole was assigned to the 303rd in the fall of 1943. At that time he held the rank of Major, having been previously a Group Operations Officer with an anti-submarine command group stationed in Newfoundland.
Col. Cole was well qualified to take over the squadron and lost no time in getting into the swing of things. He is a fighting commander and has led his squadron on some of the most outstanding of the 303rd's missions. He is well into his second operational tour and will continue until the war in this theater is concluded.
Col. Cole graduated from Rutgers University in 1938. He entered the Air Corps as a cadet and was commissioned a 2nd Lt. in May, 1940. | |
| William S. Raper (October 1944 - April 1945) |
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Lieutenant Colonel
O-421658
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| William C. Sipes (April 1945 - June 1945) |
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Colonel
O-661981
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All pictures
Picture owner: Unknown
Source: American Air Museum |
The pictures of the memorial are licensed under the
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International license. |
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