On 4th April 1945 the 384th were in action again, with 42 aircraft assigned to bomb a Luftwaffe airfield at Fassberg in Germany. The airfield, just north of Celle, had been operationally flying jet aircraft. With 3 unused ground spare 1 that aborted and 1 that scrubbed the mission, 37 B17s took off shortly after 06:30am, formatting over the airfield at 10,000ft by 08.15am, before making their way towards the target. Group lead was Gee-H and PFF equipped “Trail Blazer” being flown by Lt. Irving H Boyette with Commander Major Thomas Dale Hutchinson, Observer Capt. William Richard Crosby and 3 navigators on board. All lead aircraft today were PFF equipped.

The crews had been ordered to identify the target visually and the low squadron managed to bomb the target on the first run at 10.53am, the lead squadron on the second run at 11.20am, but the high group was unable to bomb due to 10/10^th clouds cover over the target. The twelve aircraft in this group, unable to find a target of chance on the return journey, were all to bring their load of 38 x 100lb M1-A1 Fragmentation bombs back home, after a flight time of just over eight hours.

Flying their final missions today were 2^nd Lt. Charles Huff, co-pilot of “Recall”, 1^st Lt.  William Gregg, pilot of “Primo’s Gin Mill” and his crewmates engineer/top turret gunner T/Sgt. Clifford Olson, 19 year old ball turret gunner S/Sgt. Edward Zygmund Janicki, tail gunner S/Sgt.Dale Hyatt -also 19, and radio operator T/Sgt.Cecil Adolph Hester. Also completing their tours today, Flt. Officer John Hubert Zimmerman, navigator of an unnamed but pictured B17, 19 year old Togglier T/Sgt.La Verne Herman Strutz and his crewmates engineer /top turret gunner T/Sgt.Howard Kunnari and radio operator T/Sgt.Rulon Relyea. Born in 1907 and the ‘grandfather’ of the airmen today, radio operator on “Trail Blazer”  T/Sgt.William Lucas also completed his tour as did tail gunner on “Satans Playmate” S/Sgt.Edward den Helder, S/Sgt.Loren Humphrey, tail gunner on “Kathleen Lady of Victory” and tail gunner S/Sgt. James Herbert Lawrence - who was also 19.

There were no injuries and all planes returned safely.

With kind thanks to the 384th Bomb Group website (384thbombgroup.com) for permission in using material from their records in the making of this story. It holds a wealth of information, documents and photographs of the Group’s activities during World War 2.

Research courtesy of Helen Childs & Keith Andrews on behalf of 384th Bombardment Group Museum.