1944

Johnson, Macaluso, Wild Bill Gornick, Lemmon pose with a crashed "Rum Runner" B-25 in Liuzhou June 1944. William "Wild Bill" Gornick completed his required 200 combat flying hours on "Rum Runner" as it crash landed following a mission against Tien Ho airbase. Bill assisted the maintenance personnel with salvaging all the useable parts they could until he left for the...

George Butsika working under wing of B-25. Yangkai, May 1944.

Pete, Elmer, Frank Bates, and a Chinese guard pose in the revetment of B-25D, #55, 491st Bombardment Squadron, at Yangkai AB, 1944. (Info courtesy Tony Strotman)

491st Bombardment Squadron mechanics - Gibbs, Butsika, McArdle, Lacher, Pete, Beausoleil, unknown, Kealy - at Yangkai in the spring of 1944. Of special interest is the number of machine guns sticking from the nose of the "green house." The original B-25Ds had one flexible gun in the center, operated by the bombardier or navigator. Later, 'official' modifications would add two...

Elmer, Pete, Rex in B-25 of Ringer Squadron at Yangkai, 1944.

John Carberry and Claude Darni in front of B-25 and holding rifles in Yangkai, Spring 1944.

Village elders holds child in Yangkai village.

Gasing #448, Liuzhou, June 1944.

American service men and women pose before "Old 59," March 1944.

Maj. Joseph Callaway, 491st Bombardment Squadron C.O., Capt. Robert Ebey (pilot - Old 59) and 1Lt Paul Sjoberg (copilot) observe as well-wishers offer a safe journey to other crew members of "Old 59" (in flight suits), prior to departing Yangkai for the USA in March 1944. 'Old 59', a B-25D, had completed over 200 combat missions in Burma and China...